Review:- We Ride Titans

While in reality it’s probably been over the last twenty (two) years, it certainly feels like Kaiju, the humongous city destroying monsters from Japanese folklore and media, have only just made a ‘massive’ (pun intended) invasion to Western shores. From films like Pacific Rim and the Kong/Godzilla universe, to comics like Kaijumax, it certainly does feel like there isn’t anywhere I can turn without seeing a giant reptile and a super-size robot battling it out.

Well, never ones to miss out on this, Vault Comics has just released the collected edition of We Ride Titans, the five issue mini series from Tres Dean (Eternal Warrior: Scorched Earth), Sebastian Piriz (Black Beacon) and Dee Cunniffe (Friendo) and Jim Campbell (Wasted Space) which sees the protection of a city from the giant monsters fall to a Titan (see super-size robot) controlled and operated by the most recent and dysfunctional generation of a family of Titan operators. However, when Dej, the current pilot is forced out of the pilot’s chair, it is up to his sister Kit to return to the fold and their overbearing father to uphold family tradition and ‘be the wall’.

After previously reviewing issue one I knew that this is a series I would need to read in its entirety at some point down the road. Now that it is here, it makes me happy knowing that my initial views continued to be justified after the other four issues.

We Ride Titans, for all its destructive extravagance, is first and foremost an emotional story about family and the actions which can rip it apart (not even Dom Torretto can help this one). Tres Dean writes this story entirely from Kit’s perspective as every interaction with said family members (her mother, her father and her brother) really give off vibes which helps paint the picture of her relationship with each one. Kit is a wonderfully written protagonist, damaged and in no way faultless, but fiercely independent and unwilling to give in to her father’s ‘parenting methods’ a second time. This makes her very much a mirror image to her brother Dej, whose more internalised suffering has allowed him to take the abuse, leading to a difficult reunion between the siblings in this story as he initially places the blame on Kit for refusing to share the problems he faced.

Of course, how I’ve summarised the children implies their father is a monster when the opposite is true (or certainly could be). Like many parents who push their children in order to succeed (Tennis Coach Richard Williams springs to mind as an analogy), Kit and Dej’s father is a man trapped in the past, here attempting to maintain a legacy that is generations in the making, whether it be fighting off others who would wrest control or ensuring that his progeny are strong enough to take over in the long run.

I could probably go on with where this story has taken my head (I did ponder if Kit’s shunning by her father in favour of his son was to do with more than ability such as her gender or sexuality or even her obvious independence) but this would only go on to display at the skill in which Dean has layered this story with tremendous minutiae and depth that the backstory of Kaiju and Titans feels almost superfluous.

 Of course, Tres Dean’s writing and story building are only half of what makes this series great as artist Sebastian Piriz and colourist Dee Cunniffe create some truly gorgeous artwork. Piriz’s style here has a real Jonathan Luna vibe to it with such clean pencils and sharp facial features while Cunniffe’s warm colours contrast that with a hot, almost wild west tone which works nicely given how cowboy-esque the Hobbs family feel as they control the city’s Titan. The result of this combination gives We Ride Titans a distinct look as it very much feels like East meets West.

That said, Piriz and Cunniffe do mix this look up a bit, particularly during the massive (literally) fight scenes. All of the battles between Titan and Kaiju feel chaotic in both their looks and shades. However, I do feel that maybe this is by design as it implies a sense of inexperience or struggle in controlling the Titan during its primary task.

We Ride Titans is not a perfect series as it does seem to display a few problems. These include the mother of the family unit feeling incredibly underused and underdeveloped compared to the rest of her kin, the somewhat shoe-horned in Ash the Mechanic whose appearance feels superfluous at best and the 11th hour inclusion of the main villain who, while providing a degree of closure to the Hobbs’ family’s problems, does seem to come out of nowhere.

Still, these are in no way enough to ruin an otherwise beautiful story about the struggles of one family as they try to find their purpose, both separately and together. Messrs Dean, Piriz, Cunniffe and Campbell have crafted a terrific story from an intriguing beginning to a touching and sweet final scene. We Ride Titans is a terrific reminder to everyone that no matter what monsters you are facing (even the skyscraper sized ones), your family will always have your back (and if you are lucky, they’ll be in a giant mech suit).