Absolute Comics Group 2020
Created, Written & Lettered by Benny R. Powell
Illustrated by Nigel Raynor
Coloured by Fahriza Kamaputra & Jay David Ramos
Marcus must come to terms with the source of his father and the Wayward Sons meet up with the Wayward Legends. Is Marcus prepared to meet the real people who inspired the legends of mankind?
Let me just say that this is the kind of book that the Teen Titans should have always been. I’m not talking New I’m talking the original run from 60’s/70’s including those that would’ve ended up being Titans West. One big dysfunctional family that is coming together one at a time as they find the sons and daughters of those Wayward Legends. Demi-gods if you will and they have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. It has the vibe that I loved about the original group and how the diverse personalities make for interesting dynamics between the characters.
I like how we see the variation on the Titans as Tytans and how the zodiac plays out as the creatures like the Taurans come into the picture. It is just familiar enough and just unique enough to make it feel original at the same time. Plus with the way that Benny tells this is what makes it feel so special.
I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. That the kids barely know who their parents are is an interesting factor that will play into the larger overall story but for those who are paying attention to the Wayward Legends series we see who their likely parents really are. The character development that we see is pretty spot on as well and I like how they interact with one another as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter which fleshes them out as complete kids. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re drawn deeper and deeper in.
I am a fan of how this is being told and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and take on more shape. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is extremely nice to see.
I am loving the interiors here. How we see the linework and their varying weights being utilised to create this amount of quality detail work is really impressive. Plus I’m a huge fan of the way that we see backgrounds being utilised as well. Not only do they enhance the moments but they also bring us depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story thanks to how we see the composition within the panels. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective within the panels show a really strong and talented eye for storytelling. I Like how we see the colour work as well. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is really beautifully rendered.
We are finally seeing a modern take on what many cultures would consider the children of the gods. Like Hercules who was born of a god and mortal and granted with extraordinary abilities these kids are the result of an intergalactic police type force that for whatever reason ended up on Earth and having children with the natives. So godlike beings or superheroes there is a thin line between love and hate after all and it all comes down to ones point of view. No matter what your point of view is this book is going to excite you in ways that will remind you why we love comics.