Teen Titans: Year One #2 of 6

Aqualad and Speedy get the focus in the second issue of writer Amy Wolfram's "Year One" book. Her take on prepubescent Aqualad is interesting. I never thought of Aqualad as a wuss, but Wolfram presents that front and center here. I do like her interpretations of Robin, Kid-Flash, and Speedy. The Speedy/Green Arrow confrontation is handled well. The art team of Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe, and Steph Peru do a fantastic job capturing both the youthfulness of the Titans and the seriousness of the out of control grownups. My only concern with the story so far is that it is basically a retread of the one-shot annual back in the 60s. After this issue I'm hoping that Wolfram adds some new twists and turns to this Titans tale.

Teen Titans Lost Annual #1

When my son started reading comics I bought a couple of "Showcase" phonebooks to catch him up on the history of some of my favorite titles. One of those collections was "Teen Titans". We got a good chuckle out of the "cool cat" stories and dialog. Coming on the heels of Sean McKeever's excellent first "Teen Titans" arc and the outstanding beginning to "Teen Titans: Year One", "Teen Titans Lost Annual" #1 is a bit out there. While writer Bob Haney's trippy tale harkens back to the original Teen Titans, I question DC's timing on releasing this long time shelved comic now. If McKeever's "Teen Titans" and Amy Wolfram's "Teen Titans: Year One" draw in new readers, Haney's lost annual may scare them away.

For an homage to the 60s Titans Jay Stephens and Mike Allread nail the art style of the day. Bob Haney's script is wonderfully full of corny dialogue and funny/odd situations. Both my 14 year old son and 9 year old daughter enjoyed this comic as a fun diversion from the seriousness of the other books on the market.

This book is for original "Teen Titans" fans and for those feeling a bit nostalgic for 60s style of comics.

Teen Titans: Year One #1 of 6

Rarely does a book come home that is enjoyed across the board by all the comic readers in my house. "Teen Titans: Year One" looks to be the book to break that mold. Everyone from me (age 39), my son (age 14) and my daughter (age 9) liked the book. This book is a solid outing in terms of both story and art. I like what writer Amy Wolfram is doing here. This book serves to update the first gathering of the original Teen Titans to the modern era. For those of you who have read the "Teen Titans" Showcase books, there are no "hip cats" and "cool dudes" here.

The art team of Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe, and Steph Peru brings a unique look to the Teen Titans on hand here - Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Aqualad. The team members are drawn at what looks to be the 13-14 age range and I like it.

While Wolfram spends most of this first issue setting things up, I was engrossed in the story and am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Teen Titans #54

"Teen Titans" #54 brings the conclusion of writer Sean McKeever's "Titans of Tomorrow...Today" story arc. I like McKeever's handling of the time travel aspects of this story. As events change during the present it affects the future participants in the story. This allows McKeever to play with subtle shifts in the character's attitudes during the story and provides some interesting moments in the story. While opening up future story points, I did find that that the epilogue robbed the ending of some of its power. The art by a gaggle of pencillers and inkers was actually quite consistent. The art team lead by penciller Eddy Barrows did a fine job of presenting McKeever's story. The actions scenes were clearly illustrated and the dialogue scenes provided good characterization.

This was an excellent first story arc for Sean McKeever. I'm hoping that DC will line up a long term artist for this title because McKeever's future looks bright.

Teen Titans #53

Eddy Barrows makes this issue. His art is outstanding. I'm a fan of time travel stories done right (love ole' "Booster Gold") and writer Sean McKeever is doing some interesting things in "Teen Titans" with the "Titans of Tomorrow" story. Stuff happening in the present actually changes the adult Titans world. McKeever retreads a bit of the previous issues with more infighting, but we finally get Luthor and his Titans Army where Barrows does an excellent job of depicting each player. I think McKeever has done a fine job with his initial run on "Teen Titans" but this issue felt a little like he was attempting to stretch the story out longer than it needed. However, he does provide some very nice sequences, especially the Miss Martian fight scene.

Next issue is supposed to wrap up this story. I'm interested to see where McKeever will take this and what impact it has on both the Titans members and its membership.

Teen Titans #52

"Teen Titans" #52 continues the "Titans of Tomorrow" story line with each Titan getting to work with their older selves. The interaction between Tim Drake Batman and Tim Drake Robin was done quite well. McKeever also captured Blue Beetle's characterization very well. I really liked the touch of having Kid Devil's older self get new memories as things changed. However, I was disappointed in the art. Jamal Igle and a gaggle of inkers do a passable job filling in for the absent Ale Garza, but I would have preferred seeing Garza's take on all of this. I like to have artistic continuity in specific stories. This book was solicited as Garza pencilled as is next month's. I hope Garza can finish out this story next month. I give DC credit for making the call and getting the book out on time, but today's artist need to learn to keep to a schedule. McKeever's story is action packed with moments for good character development. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of this with Luthor's Titan Army next month.

Wonder Girl #1 of 6

Spinning out of the absolutely horrible "Amazons Attack", Wonder Girl gets a six issue miniseries and bring a lot of baggage along the way. Writer J. Torres uses the first few pages to catch us up on Wonder Girl's origins and jumps right into her life following the events of "Amazons Attack". Torres is really saddled with a load of bad editorial and writing decisions with this character. Her role in "Amazons Attack" being the biggest issue and driving force her. Another his her relationship with Robin from the pages of "Teen Titans". Both of these turn what could have been a fun book into a mess. The real problem is I just don't care and Torres didn't make me want to either.

Sanford Greene's art is not my favorite style and looks rushed. The lack of any sense of background highlights the rushed look. I will be telling my local comics shop to remove this miniseries from my pull list.

Titans, Titans, & more Titans

2008 is shaping up to be the year of the Titans. DC has put "Teen Titans" back on track bringing on writer Sean McKeever and he looks to be taking that book in a very good direction. It has jumped to the top of my first reads when it comes out. Writer Judd Winick is on board the forthcoming "Titans" with the classic Wofman/Perez lineup from the 80s. "Titans" can be a premiere book for DC if it is handled well. There are a lot of Winick haters out there but I'm willing to give the book a try because of my love for the characters. Writer Amy Wolfram and artist Karl Kerschl are bringing "Teen Titans: Year One" exploring the beginnings of the classic Teen Titans lineup. Finally, the "Teen Titans Lost Annual, featuring the original Teen Titans: Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy and Aqualad, is coming from writer Bob Haney, Jay Stephens, and Mike Allred. Let's not forgot "Tiny Titans" coming from Johnny DC as well.

All in all, the Comic Adventures' household is looking forward to all of the Titans books coming in 2008!

Teen Titans #51

I loved Teen Titans #51. Writer Sean McKeever brings a breath of fresh air to the series with his character centric writing. The "Titans of Tomorrow" storyline kicks into high gear in this issue and leaves you wanting more. The last page is worth the read. I really liked meeting the future Titans and seeing them interact with their younger selves. McKeever's handling of the issues involved with time travel stories is done quite well, showing that these events are affecting the timeline. Ale Garza's art really pops and brings depth to each character. While I'm sure everything is not as it seems, the story is progressing quite nicely and is an outstanding start for the Teen Titans new creative team.

Teen Titans #50

In picking up my comics habit after a 10 year hiatus, the first series that I decided to catch up on via TPB was "Teen Titans". I've always been a "Teen Titans" fan and thought it would be a good jumping on point for my reintroduction into comics. Also, I thought my son would get a kick out of the adventures of the younger heroes before moving to the big leagues. We set about finding all of the TPBs that would get us current on this title. I must say that I was impressed by Geoff Johns handling of this team. As a side note, this would lead me on to find Johns' back issues of "The Flash" and start buying Justice Society of America. To continue, while I've enjoyed the team interaction and adveutres of the current Titans, I must say that it is not a good time to be on the team. Death has stalked the Titans for quite sometime. With the losses of Connor (Superboy) and Bart (Flash), the team had entered a morose phase with many of the team sulking through the book.

"Teen Titans" #50 is a cathartic issue that will hopefully dispell all of the angst and sorrow built up over the last year plus. It was Sean McKeever's first issue as writer and he did a fantastic job of stitching together a story that included flashbacks to the hey-days of Titans past, along with the writers and artists from those periods. McKeever comes to DC from the excellent Marvel book "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane". Now some might snicker that I think that book is excellent, but there is a dearth of good comics on the market for young girls. My daughter loved "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane" and I'm hoping that she will take to the "Teen Titans" as well.

McKeever looks to be bringing the FUN and I'm looking forward to reading his stories.

Titans East

TEEN TITANS EAST SPECIAL #1
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund
Titans Tower is back up and running on the East Coast as Judd Winnick, Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund assemble an explosive new team of Titans under the leadership of Cyborg! But their first mission may be their last as powerful forces gather to destroy all Titans past and future!
On sale November 14 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Not new news, but something I wanted to chat about. The Teen Titans East Special lineup is shown on the cover. However, Judd Winick stated during a DC Nation panel that "The first team you see is not the last team." The days numbered for the lineup shown here Dove, Powerboy, Anima, Hawk, Cyborg, Vulcan, & Lagoon Boy as the one-shot will lead to a new Titans series which will star Nightwing, Cyborg, Donna Troy, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy. Does the DC culling of heroes continue in this one-shot? Who is going to die? My bet is on Powerboy.

There are a lot of dots to connect to get this team together - Donna Troy is involved in Countdown, Starfire in Countdown to Adventure, and Beast Boy on Doom Patrol. However, Nightwing is available after leaving the Outsiders. I know fans would like to see Jericho back on the team, but he is currently stuck in Match's body with no relief from that situation on the horizon. With lots of dangling plot lines and use of the team members throughout the DC Universe it will be interesting to see how the team is brought back together again.

Although he hasn't been confirmed for the ongoing montly series, there has been a lot of chatting on the net about Winnick's poor handling of Nightwing during his "Outsiders" run. I have just picked up the last ten issues of "Outsiders" and will form my own opinion of that. For a long time Wolfman/Perez "New Teen Titans" fan, I'm excited to see the classic lineup back together. "New Teen Titans" rivaled the popularity of "X-Men" in the 80s and could acheive that again given a strong creative team. Although I love the Wolfman/Perez teaming, I'd like to see some fresh blood take over the team that they created. Perez is doing excellent work on "The Brave and the Bold" and Wolfman is set to start the ongoing "Vigilante" series next year. I'd like to see Mike McKone or Ian Churchill on the ongoing series with a writer that can handle the team dynamic.