[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artists: Khoi Pham, Wade Von Grawbadger, & Jim Charalampdis
Summary
This issue does a lot of story telling and adds to the legend that is the League of Assassins, we also get to learn more of Damian’s original purpose. Sometimes a campfire if the best place to learn and share with friends and camping trips tend to be the best way to gain friends. This is even true of the Teen Titans, and a giant creature named Goliath.
We also get to learn all about the Fist of the Demon, the group of assassins currently hunting Damian and the Titans. These villains do have a fairly interesting back story and I feel like Mara is in a way a throw back to Rufio from 1991’s Hook.
Positives
This issue is going to be a hit to anyone that is enthralled with the Demon’s Head and the League of Assassins. The building of that organization’s history is really cool. There are also some great comedic moments between characters in this issue, mostly at the hands of Kid Flash. although Beast Boy and Goliath do share a panel or two which had me laughing.
Negatives
This issue was pretty boring sadly. It is slow paced which may be a function of it helping to set up a new team. Unfortunately Percy is using some pretty cliché tropes in order to make that happen. As the issue carries on it doesn’t actually pick up. We hear the same things we already know about the Teen Titans and only really learn about Damian, which is rewriting some of the history set in Batman, Incorporated by Morrison and Burnham (Not that it is necessarily bad, as many characters have changes to their origins).
Finally, the art style of Khoi Pham is inconsistent in this issue which makes it awkward to read. After reviewing some of his previous work, it feels like he is trying new things with his art which isn’t translating well. Some of the shots have the characters with long foreheads while others have their facial features bunched together. From what I have seen of his interpretations of Marvel characters he hasn’t done anything like this before making me curious about the choice to depict them this way.
Verdict
This issue is slow, boring, and awkward to look it. It does change things and add to the history of characters which is great but it is a rough read.
