Titans #15

Why is the DCU so freaking depressing. Was it really necessary for Tempest's wife and child to be killed off-panel? I know this just sets them up to return as zombies in Blackest Night, but c'mon, surely there are enough dead folks out there that we don't need to kill off a named hero and a child. I'm not even saying this as a huge fan of Dolphin, but I can recognize wasteful killing when I see it. In fact, I think this is even lazier than killing off a character to establish your big bad. Killing off heroes off-panel for no real purpose? That's my new cheapest death.

J.T. Krull does an ok job with the rest of the story, he seems to know his Tempest history at the least. Tempest has always been a bit of a moper, but this is getting ridiculous. I can't get mad at the character for being this grouchy when his life has been this crappy. It is interesting that the new barbarian status-quo set up by Kurt Busiek has basically been brushed aside. The new Aquaman just left, leaving his shirt as a memento. The Atlanteans are all returning to the city. Everything is kind of back to status quo. I wasn't pleased that Mera was kind of brushed aside as being too sad to function, that doesn't seem like her. But setting up Tempest in a leadership role is fine if we get to see more of him. I did enjoy the brief conflict with Slizzath, it makes sense that villains with close ties to death would be hopping on the Black Lantern bandwagon. Also, in case my review didn't make it clear, Tempest never goes on a rampage against his old teammates as the cover suggests.

Jose Luis' art is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes everything looks great but the anatomy is off in a few places too. His art definitely fits in the Titans-style though, so at least it is consistent. My biggest problem is that with all the death in the DCU, it is such a dark place that I don't see how Blackest Night won't leave the DCU a very depressing place.

Average