REVIEW: ‘Titans: Beast War World Tour – Gotham,’ Issue #1

Titans: Beast War World Tour – Gotham #1 is published by DC Comics and features five stories from multiple creators. “Good Boy” is written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Miguel Mendonça, colors by Mike Spicer, and letters by Lucas Gattoni. “Wild Harleys I Have Known” is written by Grace Ellis, art by Daniel Hillyard, colors by Rico Renzi, and letters by Gattoni. “Scavengers” is written by Gretchen Felker-Martin, art and colors by Ivan Shavrin, and letters by Gattoni. “Claw and Order” is written by Sam Maggs, art by PJ Holden, and letters by Gattoni. “Wild Thing” is written by Kyle Starks, art by Kelley Jones, colors by José Villarrubia, and letters by Gattoni. This is part of the Titans: Beast War event. The heroes of Gotham are being transformed into animals, leaving those left to either run or fight back.

The second issue of the World Tour series of tie-ins features some differences but has a similar remit. There are five stories instead of three, all featuring a character that has either been turned into an animal or is fighting one. “Good Boy” sees Nightwing chase a transformed Batman into Gotham. “Wild Harleys I Have Known” features a morphed Harley stalking a criminal. “Scavengers” follows a lupine Red Hood tearing through the city. “Claw and Order” sees Orphan try to stop a feline Huntress, and “Wild Thing” sends Stephanie Brown in against Killer Moth.

It’s immediately obvious that that issue has to be read after Titans: Beast War #2 due to the events of the first story. The first page follows straight after the last page of that issue. But it is a great tone-setter for the rest of this anthology, which blends the seriousness of the main book with a quirky comedy. Three of the five stories could be argued to have a comical sentiment to them. Red Hood and Nightwing’s tales are darker, matching the characters they contain. The structure creates a brilliant balance between the stories, moving the tempo up and down.

The Red Hood segment is in the centre and is possibly the most violent and darkest of the lot, but the intensity is surrounded by palette cleansers that are also terrific stories in their own right. The writers develop punchlines that are entirely unique every time. The longest story by far is the first one, and it brings the action to a level the rest of the book never seeks to slow down. The surprises stem from the excitement of seeing what the heroes transform into, as well as how the funniest stories wrap up.

Anthologies like this aren’t the type of comic that is full of in-depth character development. Instead, they try to capture the heroes in brief moments. And yet, all of the figures that haven’t been changed into furry versions of themselves have their voices captured. Zdarsky’s approach to Nightwing is interesting as the tone has to somewhat match that of Tom Taylor’s in the main book. Harley’s story is presented as a hybrid of horror and comedy, using Harley as a funny but frightening figment of imagination. She isn’t even in much of the conversation, as that is reserved for the two characters speaking about her.

“Scavengers” features no dialogue, instead using an incredibly thoughtful narration. It’s like personal poetry that accompanies a cacophony  of noise and carnage. The last two have a similar approach to how the hero reacts to the situations, with a matter-of-fact tone that is used to elevate the humor.

The art is brilliant across the board. The main consistency is all of them include a huge creature that resembles what was once a character. The creativity is brilliant. A consistent effect of the spores is the increase in size, making the beats imposing and frightening due to how massive they have become. This is notable in the lupine characters, Batman and Red Hood, but also in Harley, which is played for laughs. The comedic aspects of the comic are superb as they are mostly visual in nature. Revelations through facial expressions and other clues lead to the conclusions. The final moment of Stephanie’s story doesn’t actually show the biggest part of the fight, with the aftermath denoting what actually happened instead. “Good Boy” and “Scavengers” are great examples of how to utilise the difference in size between the characters, with varying reference points.

The colors are fantastic, and also display the variety in styles. “Good Boy” is presented with a horror feel due to the werewolf, and the darker tones are representative of that. Harley’s story starts in that vein, but as the humor of the book gets involved, the room lightens. “Scavengers relishes in bathing that part of the comic in red, filling the page with a sole shade at various points. But there are also sicklier colors, like bright green or yellow, to explore the outright horror element of the story. “Claw and Order” is mesmerising, with a dreamlike quality to the colors. The purple of Huntress is added but is faint in certain panels, like it’s been added by a paintbrush. And “Wild Thing” uses a limited palette until there is a need for another one used to deliver the punchline.
Gattoni’s lettering is terrific, changing and adapting the caption boxes and the word balloons to help the five stories claim their individual identities.

Titans: Beast War World Tour – Gotham #1 is a great collection of confrontations. This event is doing tie-ins slightly differently, especially early in the crossover. There seem to be fewer individual books connected to Beast World, instead collecting them within single anthologies. It shrinks the space in which creators have to tell individual stories within such an expansive and enormous event, but it’s also better value for money for the consumer. What you have instead is something akin to an annual filled with short stories by excellent and sometimes experimental creators. The concept of turning heroes and villains into animals lends itself to both drama and silliness. Fury and fun can co-exist. Where many writers have captured the intensity and the horror, others lean on the levity that is often necessary.

Titans: Beast War World Tour – Gotham #1 is available where comics are sold.