Teen Titans - #AwYeah?

I just read Teen Titans #1 (2014).  What volume are we up to?  Who can keep track anymore?  Anyway, it's the second Teen Titans #1 comic already in the New 52 which began in 2011.  

First, the cover.  For a first issue, it's pretty average.  It doesn't say much.  It doesn't give me much insight into the interior, what the story's about, or make me think, "Oh, that looks great.  I wanna buy that."  

On the other hand, I really like Kenneth Rocafort's art and the vibrate colors that leap off the page.  I appreciate that DC tried to appeal to a younger crowd by incorporating social media into the cover, like Twitter ("Chirper" here with #hashtags and @mentions) and Facebook (with the facial tags in the image), but it still doesn't give me any insight into the comic's contents.    

It's also interesting to note that even though they're starting another Teen Titans series (after only a month hiatus), they chose not to create a new logo to distinguish the new series with a "new direction" with a new logo.  They didn't even bother to include "NEW" in the title like the New Suicide Squad series which underwent a similar cancellation/month hiatus/revamp to help boost sales, too.  I have to say that the New 52 logo is my least favorite (and the least creative) of all the TT logos from series' past, so I'm disappointed that they didn't even try something new and different.  My favorite logos, of course, being from the 1980 and 2003 series.  

In this latest first issue, the team, fortunately, is already established.  We don't have to go through another origin story.  I will say that I already like the characters in this new series much better than the previous attempt.  Are they the same characters?  Yes.  But apparently DC listened to its readers and decided to make the comic more "fun" than dark and dreary.  Cassie/Wonder Girl is much more pleasant and easier to deal with.  She's not the friendly Cassie of pre-Flashpoint, but she's better than the first New 52 grumpy version.  And so far, she hasn't said, "Don't call me Wonder Girl" (even though she IS Wonder Girl).  Let's keep it that way.  

Also, Gar is green.  Again.  Beast Boy started out in the New 52 as red.  Now, mysteriously, he's back to being his original green from Pre-Flashpoint, and so far, nobody's questioning it, and we're not given an explanation why.  Will this be addressed?  I'm not complaining, because I do like a green Gar better, so thanks also for that character change. 

That's SO NOT Raven.

Red Robin and Bunker are pretty much the same, so that leaves Raven.  Sigh...  Shrouded in darkness and mystery, she was one of my favorite characters before.  Now she's only shrouded in feathers.  Gone, too, are the squiggly lines around her word balloons that let us know that her voice was oddly inhuman.  I guess she doesn't sound that different from the rest of the teens now, so that's good if she wants to get a job as a phone sex operator.

The award for "Least Missed" in this new series goes to N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and Harvest, both of whom (thank Trigon) didn't make an appearance in the first issue. 
There is, however, a S.T.A.R. Labs, though, like in the 1980s series. 

The best thing about this new series is that the five teenage superheroes are all working together as a team.  Let's hope we can continue to see the team evolve with additional character development and interaction between our five heroes and any new ones that may be added in the future. 

This Joker's No Joke

After Batman's lame reboot in DC's New 52 with the never-ending Court of Owls saga, they followed it up with one of the best Batman stories ever: "Death of the Family."  Yes, it mimicked the original late 1980s "Death in the Family" title to try to grab some headlines and piggyback on that popular story's sales, but we'll forgive DC for that cheap marketing tactic.  

"Death of the Family" gave us the New 52 version of the Joker.  And he is freakin' scary.  How scary is he?  He removed his own face and then loosely reattached it.  And with every issue, the reattached face decomposed more and more as it barely clung to him, tied only with strings, with flies buzzing around the decayed skin.  Twisted!  

The story involved Joker haunting the entire Batman family of superheroes, including Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Catwoman, and Batgirl (alas, no Batwoman), and the stories ran into their own individual titles.  This is the story DC should have rebooted the Batman series with, but I can see why they'd save it in their back pocket. 

I was a little disappointed in reading the conclusion of the storyline in Batman #17.  I thought, "That's it?"  However, after a closer second reading, I appreciated it more.  It established an interesting (new) bond between Batman and Joker, and delved a bit more deeply into the Joker's past than ever before.  Joker's still up to his games all in the name of dark humor, but they're much more serious and deadly.  And I like it.  This Joker is extremely psychotic, making him all the more interesting.  I'd love to see even more character development with this new Joker.  

All in all, DC did a fantastic job with the entire "Death of the Family" storyline in Batman, including all of the related titles.  I hope they collect all 23 issues in one chronological graphic novel.  That would make for one fantastic gift.  

I give DC an "A" for effort and an "A" for content, and it almost makes up for the ongoing Owls saga (know when to quit!).  Let's hope the next time we see the Joker, he's paired with the new, darker Harley Quinn (aka Harlequin). 

Bitter Teens

Teen Titans #4 (2011)

In the latest incarnation of Teen Titans #4, the team hasn't fully formed yet and everyone is still getting acquainted...violently.   Superboy and Wonder Girl (Yikes! Can I call her that without getting beat up?) do battle in Times Square on New Year's Eve 2011.  What a difference from the romance and losing their virginity to each other in the previous volume of Teen Titans.  At least this Superboy looks bigger and more toned than the scrawny one in the Superboy solo series.  

Meanwhile, new characters Bunker and Skitter quarrel, too, as do Kid Flash and Red Robin...over clothing.  Sigh...

Unfortunately, the dialogue is reminiscent of Felicia Henderson.  Is "Scott Lobdell" her pseudonym?  Or vice versa?  Both writers seem insistent on giving the teens lame dialogue (even for teenagers) and making them angry...all. the. time.

Old Solstice

And what's with Solstice now being puffs of black clouds with intermittent lightning flashes throughout?   It was so nice adding some diversity to the team last year, and now the beautiful Indian girl is just a puff of smoke?

New Solstice

As for the rest of the characters and storylines -- eh, who cares?  Bring back the old series, please.   

Angry Teens

This ain't your dad's Teen Titans.  Heck, it isn't even mine.  

The latest reincarnation of DC Comics' Teen Titans was nowhere as good as Geoff John's 2003 version or Marv Wolfman/George Perez' 1980 version.  It wasn't totally awful, though, either.  

These new teens are full of anger.  I guess that's closer to how real teens are/stereotyped to be?   In this first issue, we meet Red Robin, off his stint as Robin.  He's got some issues with the whole former Batman team-up thing.  He's also monitoring the recent sudden appearance of teens with superpowers around the world.  

And then there's Cassie Sandsmark (Whatever you do, don't call her Wonder Girl!).  She's definitely got some anger issues, and a bit of mystery surrounding her existence as well.  Gone is the sweet Cassie from series' past.  She's also wearing a costume that's a combination of her former costume and Donna Troy's black starry one.  

As for the rest of the team, we did see some confusing segment about Kid Flash, but the rest (pictured on the cover) are still yet to come.   And, also, where is the new Aqualad? 

After reading the first month of #1 issues of the New 52, I've discovered a recurring theme throughout the new DCU:  the heroes aren't really "heroes," per se.  They're operating covertly, outside the law, as vigilantes and don't really have the support of the public.  All of 'em.  I'm not sure this is a wise decision on DC's part.  Having some vigilantes and covert operations is good.  But all of them?  It doesn't make any of the teams/individuals unique.  Now they're all Suicide Squad, Secret Six, or X-Men-ish.  And how are they all funded?   How do they survive without jobs?  I'd really like to see more of their personal lives, their "secret identities."  That's how we really get to know them as characters, not just by watching them battle one foe after another. 

Teen Titans was better than I expected (I had low expectations), so I hope it develops into another TT series that I really love.  But let's lose the anger...

Lastly, I'm not crazy about the logo.  However, I wasn't crazy about the former logo either.  Can we take this back to the marketing department?

The New New Teen Titans

Teen Titans #100

As you can tell from my previous posting, I'm thrilled by the new direction and writing and art chores on the Teen Titans comic.  After the disaster that was Felicia Henderson, I have nothing but high praise for J.T. Krul and Nicola Scott, especially the introduction of their newest diverse member, Solstice.  

On June 1, DC Comics announced:  "DC Comics will be making history this September. We’ll be renumbering the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues. We’re publishing innovative storylines featuring our most iconic characters helmed by some of the most creative minds within the industry."

My first thought was, Damn!  And the Teen Titans are so close to reaching their 100th issue!  Luckily, though, it looks like they still will.  The Teen Titans comic is shipping twice monthly this summer, so it will reach issue #100.  That looks to be like the last issue, though, as DC Comics' series will begin with #1 in September, thereby eliminating the long-running Batman, Superman, Action Comics, Detective Comics, and recently renumbered Wonder Woman comics as well.  So much for reaching issue #1000 for those series one day!

Teen Titans #1 (2011)

DC recently posted on their DCU Source blog some samplings of the future comics/series that will begin anew.   One of those was for the Teen Titans.  In the new series, "Tim Drake is forced to step out from behind his keyboard when an international organization seeks to capture or kill super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he must team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and a hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash."  And then there's the image of the new Teen Titans team and their new costumes.  I really like Red Robin's new costume; it's very "Black Condor."  It's also much more visually appealing than his current costume and really sets himself apart from any Batman, Robin, Nightwing, or Red Hood costumes, giving Red Robin his own identity.  The rest of the team's costumes, though, I can do without.  They look like a throwback to the early 1990s when storylines and character development were "out," and stylized art, accentuated body parts (hello, big female boobies and tiny, tiny waists), and hologram covers were "in."  Who's that crawling on the ground with their hair sticking straight up?   Legion from The New Mutants?  And is that a new Solstice or Terra in the background?  She looks awfully dirty, whoever she is.  I guess the color scheme for the new group is black, red, and gold?   

I'll definitely give the new series a try, since the Teen Titans are my favorite group of all time.  Sadly, though, just when the Teen Titans were getting back on track with Krul and Scott, in comes writing chores by Scott Lobdell with art by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.  I hope they do the Teen Titans proud, but I hope this isn't the rebirth of the quality-lacking 1990s that drove me away from comics oh-so-many years ago.

Teen Titans: Back on Top

Teen Titans #93

I just finished Teen Titans #93, and I have to say that I'm very pleased that my favorite comic series is back on track, thanks to fantastic writing by J.T. Krul and beautiful art by Nicola Scott.  Geoff Johns' Teen Titans is what got me back into reading comics after a 15-year absence (and The New Teen Titans was my favorite comic in the 1980s), so I have a special affinity for the team. 

I love the introduction of Solstice to the team.  She's a welcome addition; I think she has a lot of potential, and she brings a bit of diversity to the team.  I hope she sticks around and doesn't go the route of Terra.

Superboy,
art by Nicola Scott

J.T. Krul has a great handle on the schematics between and personality traits of each team member (unlike some writers whose name I won't mention again).  The dialogue is fitting and the stories move along quickly.  Nicola Scott draws each of the Teen Titans beautifully.  Superboy never looked more handsome with his dark hair and baby blues.  I can't help but look at the cover, though, and think that Solstice eerily resembles Mary Kate and/or Ashley Olsen.  Speaking of the cover, where was Red Robin?  Was he late for the photo shoot?   

Kudos to everyone on this issue.  I'm looking forward to reading The Teen Titans up through their milestone 100th issue and beyond!

The Anticlimactic Return of Bruce Wayne/Batman

In the crappy tradition of the Batman: RIP storyline comes the return of Bruce Wayne/Batman from the timestream in which he was caught.  That's not to say that the individual stories of the Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots are crappy, but the manner in which they were released/are being released are.  First, there has been the ever-delayed releases of current issues of the supposed-monthly Batman and Robin and the mini-series Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, both by the questionably talented Grant Morrison.  

This past week, I just picked up issue #5 (of 6) of the up-til-now-boring/lame Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.  Additionally, I picked up four one-shots (yes, FOUR issues) of the Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots, featuring (in no particular order) Batgirl, Red Robin, Batman and Robin, and Outsiders.  They were originally supposed to be released two issues per week, but apparently someone was slacking off.  Since they weren't labeled, I had to look at the back of each comic to see the "To be continued in..." box to figure out some semblance of order.  In each comic, Bruce Wayne appears to the other characters with no fanfare.  I take it that the people in his life already know that he's back, but we, the readers, have not seen this come about yet.  Maybe that's because DC Comics has only released issue #5 of the aforementioned Return comic.  For me, the "return" really lost its impact because of the delayed and crazy release schedules.  I'm going out on a limb here, but perhaps everything should have been pushed back to coincide?   And releasing four comics of the same storyline at $2.99 in the same week?  What about the Batman readers who are only kids who spend their allowance on comics?  Can they afford to shell out $12-$15 in a single week on a single character?  I know I wouldn't have been able to as a kid.  DC is really doing a disservice to its younger readers.  If kids aren't shown respect now, they're not going to show DC Comics respect later in life.  Those kids can grow up to be adult comic collectors, too, you know.  As an adult reader, I'm offended with being presented with all of this non-labeled material out of sequence.  I don't watch my Mad Men episodes out of order.  Why should I read my comic books that way? 

With all that said, I will say that issue #5 of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne has been the best so far in that otherwise unnecessary series.  Bruce's parents have been recently murdered, and he learns some not-so-great details about their lives that he probably wished he hadn't.  I've only read two of the Road Home one-shots so far (Batgirl, and Batman and Robin), but both were well-written and enjoyable.  Perhaps, though, the stories would have fit better into their own series instead of one-shot issues so we the readers can, again, see some sequence to the events.  I would have liked to have seen the characters' reactions/reunion with Bruce Wayne.  I'm sure some were heartfelt.  

Sadly, since the Batman: RIP storyline, I've really lost interest in the Dark Knight and his cast of supporting (and not-so-supporting) characters.  Why?  The delays, the out-of-sequence releases, the nonsense storylines, myriad of one-shots, revamping of series titles (and starting over at #1 issues), Batman rip-off characters like Knight and Squire taking over the Bat-titles, the thought (and fear) of the too-many-to-name upcoming Batman series, the concept (and title) of Batman, Inc., etc.  Maybe I'll just stick to non-Bat titles until some of the titles fail and are cancelled and Batman becomes interesting again. 

Number Ones

Recently, DC Comics has been putting out a lot of number one issue comics, trying to reinvent themselves and bring back some old favorites, as well as introduce some new, but familiar, characters. With comics getting cancelled and reinstated all the time, starting from the beginning, it's a wonder that any comics ever make it to three-digit numbering.

In the past couple of months alone, I've started reading six "new" series: Adventure Comics, Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Gotham City Sirens, Red Robin, and Streets of Gotham. Unfortunately, although I love the characters, the comics haven't all wowed me. When I think of first issues, I think "spectacular!" This is the jumping off point, and it should be a story that really grabs hold of you and forces you to add the series to your monthly comic book order list because it's that good. The majority of these series hasn't done that, but I'm sticking with them because I love the characters.

I was most excited about the return of a Batgirl monthly series, and I was glad that it wasn't going to be about the most recent Batgirl in DC Comics history. That Batgirl, also named Cassandra (I guess someone really liked the name?), wore the mask over her entire face and never seemed to have that "flair" that Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, did. She was more like a vigilante/assassin. There was much mystery over who the next Batgirl was going to be. Would Barbara Gordon regain the use of her legs and take up the mantle again? Would it be a new Batgirl under Barbara's tutelage? I'm sad to report that the mystery was solved immediately within the first few pages of issue one. So much for intrigue. I thought DC would draw out the mystery and excite us with further anticipation. Alas, no. We find out it's Stephanie Brown, aka the former Spoiler character from the cancelled Robin series. Yawn. She's like the teenage girl that everyone's annoyed by. Barbara is still in the comic, though, and I hope she maintains a prominent role since her Birds of Prey series was cancelled.

Adventure Comics features the return of one of my favorite DC characters: Superboy. Not Superman as a boy, but the clone made from both Superman's and Lex Luthor's DNA. When he was created back in the 1990s to help replace the void from Superman's death (due to his fight with Doomsday), I did not like him. He was an arrogant punk who wore sign-of-the-times apparel, a surfer's cut, and even sported an earring in one ear. Now, Conner Kent (aka Superboy again now that the licensing battle over the name trademark has been resolved) is a sexy, young adult who's trying to find his place in the world, much like Superman once did. His costume is a T-shirt and jeans. How cool is that? He's like the jock that everyone idolizes, but without the superior attitude. Deep down, he just wants to feel accepted and loved like everyone else. Of all the "restarts," this is definitely my favorite. I've missed Conner since he "died" a couple of years ago. Teen Titans hasn't been the same since his absence. I'm very curious what will happen with his previous budding relationship with Cassandra ("Cassie") Sandsmark (aka Wonder Girl) now that he's returned. After all, she did lose her virginity to him.

After reading the putrid "Batman: RIP" storyline and Final Crisis mini-series by Grant Morrison, I swore that I would never pick up another comic book written by Morrison. But...there I was picking up -- and enjoying -- the new Batman and Robin series. There's never actually been a "Batman and Robin" title, so this is definitely a milestone. The series features Dick Grayson (the first Robin) as the new Batman and, as Robin, Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne's son with Talia, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul). The relationship between these two is comical, and that's what makes the series enjoyable. Damian is...a smart-ass prick. But Dick deals with it because he's Bruce's son and wants to show him the ropes. I think Morrison must have (finally) set down his joint and started writing something coherent because I've enjoyed the first couple of issues of this new series thus far. And the art by Frank Quitely is amazing. The level of detail harkens back to the days of Kevin Maguire on Justice League International in the 1980s. And, as an aside, I love the title logo for the series.

Catwoman was cancelled and they put her in the new Gotham City Sirens, adding Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to the roster. I like all three characters, but Catwoman's own series had so much more depth. Thus far, Gotham City Sirens hasn't done much for me. We don't get to see the women as individuals outside of their costumes. Who hangs around together wearing their costumes all the time? Don't they ever have to be washed? And I'm not crazy about the title either. It screams "unsuccessful series" and "cancellation." I'll keep reading it, though, because I like to support female-lead series. They're so few and far between.

Speaking of poor title choices, what's worse than Gotham City Sirens? Streets of Gotham. It's about the people of Gotham who may from time-to-time interact with Batman. The only reason I'm buying this is because the back-up feature is Manhunter, written by the fantastic Marc Andreyko. DC also cancelled her own series and put her here in small vignettes with a $3.99 price tag. I think this will be the first of the new series to go, if only for the series' lackluster title.

Lastly, we get to Red Robin. No, not the restaurant chain that serves up awesome burgers and bottomless steak fries. Red Robin is the new identity of Tim Drake, the former Robin. I find it odd that he'd take on that name when Jason Todd, the former-former Robin, took on that name (and very similar costume) during the Countdown series. It's like Tim's just following in Jason's footsteps every step of the way. And Jason isn't someone you'd want to emulate. Anyway, I'm still waiting for something spectacular to happen with this series since Tim left the Teen Titans and the Robin identity for it. The series is very action-driven, but seems to lack a lot of story-driven quality and character development.