Titans #13 is an unredeemable slog. Six issues into the ‘Dark Winged Queen’ arc, writer Tom Taylor has completely lost me. 

This time around, Nightwing continues to grapple with Raven's split personality while Beast Boy and Cyborg go on a side mission to a sovereign nation to fight Apex Ava. 

What I find so frustrating about this arc is that there's so much context readers are expected to pick up without any of the  emotional weight to justify it. To fully understand this plot, you have to read DC's current Nightwing series, remember details from the Beast Wars event and care about DC's upcoming crossover series. It feels as if Titans is essentially a product caught between other products, like mediocre gruel languishing in a buffet just to fill space in the lineup. 

I understand that writing comics is difficult, and I can't pretend that I'd do it any better. A lot of hard work goes into conceptualizing a narrative, particularly one caught between a series of editorial demands. But I can't help but think that the current Titans offering doesn't even rise to the level of milquetoast blandness that I'd expect of a DC cash-in title. 

For one thing, Titans #13 feels strangely out of place. Absolute Power is currently occupying all the oxygen in the room in terms of big, universe-altering threats, and the Titans are still stuck in this Trigon mess that wasn't interesting past ‘Dark Winged Queen’ part one. 

There's nothing inherently wrong with a comic not paying lip-service to the current big in-universe event, in fact I quite enjoy it when writers are given the space to completely ignore the big events shaping other comics. But in this case, it feels as if Taylor is dragging me along with this other existential threat that I know won't change anything in the long-run anyway. 

Another issue is the visual tone. Artist Daniele Di Nicuolo is great when working with great material, but these panels can't save the mediocre plot. 

Di Nicuolo seems to know the quality of this series and offers a flat, uninspired interpretation of the material to match. 

I feel like a jerk being so negative, so let's pivot to what works about this comic. I think both Taylor and Di Nicuolo like these characters. There's a fun moment where Beast Boy becomes a little critter to attack a bug that reminds me of Titans stories that take themselves a little less seriously. It's written and drawn well.

It makes me wonder whether part of the larger problem with this series overall is that it is trying to get too big. The stakes are so huge that they essentially mean nothing. My favorite DC comic this year, Poison Ivy, features a narrative without constant intergalactic threats, but it packs a punch by offering me character conflict that's legitimately engaging. What if we just locked the Titans in their tower for an issue and made them play Candy Land? At this point that would at least give Taylor the opportunity to play with some dialogue between characters rather than constantly introducing boring villains of the week and side missions. 

Recommended if…

• [Not applicable] 

Overall… 

I'd say that this comic feels like eating my vegetables, but at least Veggies are good for you. Titans #13 feels more like attempting to chew cardboard. 

Score: 1/10