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.

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.

Batman and the Outsiders #1

Of the DC "Trinity", I don't read the solo books of Batman. Growing up I was always a Superman fan and, since the George Perez days, a Wonder Woman fan. I never really got into Batman's solo adventures. I do, however, like seeing Batman bounce off of the other residents of the DCU. That is why you see "Superman/Batman", "Justice League of America", "Brave and the Bold", and, now, "Batman and the Outsiders on my pull list. I wasn't a huge fan of the Judd Winick "Outsiders". Nightwing never came across as strong as he did during the Wolfman/Perez Titans-era and the rest of the team didn't impress me. When I heard that Batman was taking over, I decided to give the title another try.

I was a big fan of the 80s version of "Batman and the Outsiders" and enjoyed seeing Batman quit the JLA to form his own team. While the stories were goofy and the reasons for being a team were weak, the book was a fun monthly read. The new Batman and the Outsiders has Batman establishing a team to take care of business that the JLA or JSA wouldn't want to sully their hands with. The team try out books were interesting but ultimately failed to capture the driving motivation for the team.

Writer Chuck Dixon starts "Batman and the Outsiders" on their first covert op and brings depth of character to each team member. Julian Lopez's pencils along with Bit's inking brings clean lines and outstanding visuals. I especially liked Marta Martinez's coloring. The muted colors fit the tone of the book and bring an almost painted quality to the art. Dixon looks to be taking this team in the right direction. Here's hoping that the creative team can stay together and on schedule.

With an outstanding cover by Doug Braithwaite, "Batman and the Outsiders" #1 is an excellent start to what I hope will be an outstanding team monthly from DC.

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 #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.