Terror Titans #3

I must give Sean McKeever credit for one thing, I had been worried that bringing in Static as a pawn of the Clock King cheapened the character, but it seems that Virgil is one of the only guys to not be broken by the brainwashing of the Dark Side Club. So Static is still coming in pretty strong, now we'll see if he manages to beat Ravager. This issue on its own is ok. McKeever makes it look like Dreadbolt killed his Dad (another meaningless DCU death, check!) I have to say, I'm amazed at the body-count that McKeever has racked up since becoming exclusive to the DCU. I really don't care for the style of stories he's told with DC, and this issue is more of that. The angst is dialed up to 11 throughout, from the horrific origin of Persuader to the general bitchiness of Ravager. (I know Ravager is supposed to be a bitch, but man, Johns made her likable at least!) We also get to see the characters from Infinity Inc. show up for their brainwashing. A huge problem I have with this series is that it drastically lowers the cool factor of so many characters. How are we supposed to ever like these characters again when they are puttering around as brainwashed pawns with no fighting back? The new Star-Spangled Kid is the only character who is shown to resist at all. I also take issue with Clock King being portrayed as cooler and tougher than Desaad and the other new god supporting characters. Clock King is not cool enough to go over on those other villains.

Joe Bennett has a neat style. I've liked his DC art for awhile, and it is strong again here. It is a little pin-upy, but the storytelling is good. Static's DCU costume looks good on that final splash page. In fact, I'd say his art elevates the book a bit.

Fair