Showing posts with label solstice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solstice. Show all posts

Friday, January 6, 2012

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.   

Friday, June 10, 2011

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.

Monday, April 4, 2011

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!