Titans #1

To say that the Comic Adventurer's household was excited about this book would be an understatement. I came of age reading "The New Teen Titans" under Marv Wolfman and George Perez. It topped my reading list back in the day and continues to be a fun read today. I bought the hardcover volumes so that my son could appreciate the depth and complexity of the stories that Wolfman told. George Perez to this day is my standard bearer for comic art. Ian Churchill on art was a good choice, but given that he is only on for the first issue I will hold judgement on whether the art in "Titans" can match what Perez did back in the day. If Churchill had stayed on he would have been a fine artist for the series. His art here is both dynamic and detailed. Across the board, Churchill delivers in this issue. It frustrates me that DC didn't keep him on the book for at least the first arc. Writer Judd Winick has his detractors in the online community. I've stated before that I'm pretty new to his writing. The pacing of this issue is somewhat slow as Winick takes time to bring the new readers up to speed on who's who in the Titans universe. It is a fairly decent catch up and I dismissed any continuity issues (Starfire still hanging with Buddy) and just enjoyed the story. Winick also takes a couple of pages to up date the reader on the "Titans East" debacle.

My love for the Titans will keep me on for the first arch. If Winick can bring the humor and action that he has brought to "Green Arrow/Black Canary" I will probably stay on for the long haul.

Justice League of America #15

Writer Dwayne McDuffie pulls out the stops on an all out action packed issue of "Justice League of America". McDuffie infuses humor and great dialogue into the wrap-up issue for the InJustice League story. Artist Ed Benes is also in top form producing some great page layouts and action sequences. Ian Churchill's cover was very reminiscent of late 70s and 80s JLA covers - especially seeing Lex Luthor in full battle armor. I liked McDuffie's use of Firestorm here and the comments of the more experienced heros on his use of his powers. It was also nice to see Hal Jordan pop in and the situation with his absence getting comment. McDuffie has a good ear for dialogue and, while there isn't a ton of character development here, he does inch some of the subplots forward during the melee.

McDuffie won me over with this issue. I'm looking forward to a long run.

Titans East Special #1

"Titans East Special" #1 is a very pretty book. Ian Churchill is the star of this book and really shows of his stuff on pencils. The first half of the book is flash back to the Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans and I enjoyed it very much. The last half of the book has Cyborg putting together a Teen Titans East with no help from his former team mates. The train goes off the rails here as the team, minus the horrible Powerboy, could be an interesting mix of characters. Judd Winick, under editorial direction I'm assuming, takes about five minutes to off most of the new players and we are left with a big crater and "To Be Continued in TITANS #1".

This book should have been the first 4-6 pages of "Titans #1" or a special insert in the current "Teen Titans". If you are going to buy "Titans" you really don't need to invest the time or money into "Titans East Special". While it is very pretty, beauty is really only skin deep in this book.