“Surrounded By Wolves”
Writer: Andrew Constant
Artists: Ted Brandt and Ro Stein
Color Artist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Review by James Attias
Tales of the Titans #4 is a wonderful, deep story that will make you love Beast Boy even more and get you all ready for the upcoming BEAST PLANET!
Let’s swoop in!
Beasts Beneath The Surface
Beast Boy, Gar Logan, the Changeling has had it rough for a few years now, since “Future State” and Titans Academy really. Not to mention during Dark Crisis, where Deathstroke shot him in the face. Yeah… that happened. So, when Titans the ongoing team by Tom Taylor started (reviewed by yours truly), and we saw Gar in a relationship with Raven as a part of the leading Super team of the DC world, it felt great! Of course, wounds like that always leave scars.
We enter this story with Gar having nightmares about the horrible violence inflicted on him by Slade Wilson. This issue’s set before Titans #1, so he and Raven are still living together in their own place. We know that they later move to Titans Tower, with the rest of the team. The way these two are written in this book is truly wonderful, as the empathy that’s shown between each other is really a pleasure to read.
Big. Bad. Wolf.
So, the main story of the issue can be summed up in a few words: Beast Boy Vs Werewolf. We’re introduced early on in the story to DC’s own Werewolf (by night haha) Anthony Lupus, who’s written as one of the creepiest characters I’ve read about in recent times, although the way he’s drawn does remind me an awful lot of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. There was a split second where I even thought it was him. However, as soon as he started talking, and the unsettling, terrifying words and art came to life, all of that quickly changed. Yeah, this guy isn’t in his right mind.
Every character was truly written wonderfully in this book and Lupus scared the $#!+ out of me, but Beast Boy was also explored in a way that I’d say audiences have been waiting a long time for. He was mature, in pain, and he was struggling. I mentioned in my review of Titans #3 that this isn’t your daughter’s waffle-loving little green friend. No. This is a Beast Boy who’s becoming a man. If this issue is any indication of where DC’s taking the character, then I’m petrified that he won’t make it out of Beast World alive.
Conclusion
Tales of the Titans #4 was a smashing final issue to this mini-series and it gave us a wonderful close-up look at four of the Titans. Nightwing, Flash, and Cyborg all have their own ongoing series. They all had an issue each to shine, and I can’t wait to see more of them in the big leagues, in days to come.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
