Review: KNIGHT TERRORS TITANS #1

With this week’s crop of Knight Terrors tie-ins, it appears DC has saved some of the worst for last. Can’t say I blame them for holding these off as they weren’t compelling stories in their own right and didn’t do much for the event. This is true for KNIGHT TERRORS TITANS #1 which tells the nightmare story of….Titans Tower??? While it’s not confirmed whose nightmare we’re actually following until the final page, it turns out the main cover spoiled all along.

The story follows an unnamed female character (who is weirdly never named) trying to escape a haunted building where terror seems to be behind every door. Along the way she encounters different member of the Titans who are trapped in their own mini nightmares, but we never spend quite enough time with any of them to get invested. Donna Troy and Starfire’s nightmares are especially sped through to assemble the team ahead of the final arc of the book. Luckily our female lead has been mentally connected to Raven the entire time, who guides the whole group to the building’s exit. Raven’s presence is waiting for them outside, where they learn they were trapped inside Titans Tower the whole time. Yes, a tower was having a nightmare.

I know it’s not easy to give every member of an ensemble cast a complete story in one issue, but Andrew Constant’s story felt rushed even by those standards. Stakes are never high as you’re introduced to a character’s nightmare and they’re free within the same page. How do you build any tension that way? Also, so much of the issue is from the unnamed female lead’s POV. How are we supposed to care what is happening if we never know who she is?

While the writing and story were subpar, the art by Scott Godlewski, colors by Ryan Cody, and lettering by Wes Abbott saved the issue from being a complete disappointment. They made the most out of a bad situation and were able to create an interesting visual narrative for readers to enjoy. Godlewski’s drawing of the building interiors could have been dropped in any horror-themed comic book and would have worked perfectly. Even with a lot of dark scenes throughout the book, Cody got to play around with a wide range of colors during a few scenes and they popped of the page. Abbott also got to experiment with a variety of lettering techniques and it helped keep things fresh throughout the book.

I have no idea where the conclusion of this story is going. It’s clear that DC believes there are stronger stories to be told, especially since they gave solo tie-ins to some of the other Titans that have shown promise.

Rating: 4/10