Category Archives: Robin
Review: Teen Titans Annual #3
Holy crap, you guys, I actually liked Teen Titans Annual #3! I fully expected an explosion of horror and bad writing. But damn if Scott Lobdell doesn’t pull one out in the end. I would like to think, that over all these long years of me writing Teen Titans reviews, that you readers have come to trust my judgement. Or maybe you’re finding my blog for the first time and don’t know what to believe. Perhaps you, like the rest of us, just wanted to see how the final issue of Lobdell’s Teen Titans would turn out. I’m happy to say–no, ‘happy’ isn’t the right word. I’m…comfortable saying that Teen Titans Annual #3 isn’t the train wreck I thought it was going to be.
Teen Titans Annual #3
In his final issue on the series he introduced to the New 52, Lobdell manages to go out on a high note, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.
Two things make this final issue pretty good: focus and teenagers. This Annual features the return of Harvest, the villain that technically brought the Teen Titans together at the start of the series. He was a bad character then and he’s a bad character now. But it’s clear from this issue that Lobdell had intended to stretch this story out across several issues. I would bet dollars to donuts that he had always expected to get around to this story, and he never intended it to be only one issue long. But time makes fools of us all, and here is is cramming everything into a single, oversized issue. On the one hand, it sucks, because there are a lot of themes and moments here that would have benefited from a little room to breath, like his attempts to flesh out Harvest’s character and motivation. Predictably, they’re terrible. But maybe Lobdell could have done something more with them. Of course, that’s a big maybe.
On the other hand, forcing Lobdell to rush through this story keeps the focus of the issue tight. I can’t say that the story is all that good, but at least it doesn’t meander and he doesn’t have time for all of his worst traits, like he did in the recent space story. The whole adventure is over and done with in a single issue, and, again, it wasn’t half bad.
As for the teenagers, Lobdell actually takes the time to treat his characters like real people. The first half of the issue, or at least the first few pages, are the Titans out of costume talking to one another about the future of the team and their duty to try and stop Harvest. This was the #1 thing lacking from Lobdell’s Teen Titans: real, human interaction. Had this series regularly contained even an iota of what we see in this issue, maybe it would have been good. Of course, this is still Lobdell’s Teen Titans, and we quickly leave that human stuff behind, but while it’s there, it’s enjoyable. I can say that with conviction.
We also get our first look at what Kenneth Rocafort will be like on art duties. There are times it looks good and times it looks bad, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what he really brings to the table.
Teen Titans Annual #3 finally brings to an end Scott Lobdell’s horrendous comic. It was all mostly bad, but in his final issue, he wraps the comic up nicely, fixes a few mistakes and hopefully hands the thing off to some much better creators. Join me after the jump to finally put a cork in this sucker.
Robin Watch: Have We Already Seen the New Robin in Action?
It was barely a week and a half ago that I was telling you about Robin Rising: Omega, the start of a new story that will see a Robin return to Batman’s side after more than a year. Well now I’m here to tell you about Robin Rising: Alpha, the issue that DC promises will introduce the world to the new Robin. Announced at the C2E2 comic book convention in Chicago this weekend, Batman will have a new Robin this December!
Meaning Robin will now be the first sign of winter.
Good thing they have those silvery winter variant costumes
Of course, the comic con panel didn’t reveal who that new Robin is going to be. It could even be a resurrected Damian Wayne for all I know.
However, considering writer Peter J. Tomasi will be penning the story, and it will take place mostly in his Batman and Robin series, there’s now a greater than ever chance that the new Robin will be his candidate: Carrie Kelley. I don’t think Carrie has appeared all of that often in Tomasi’s series, but he introduced her in the wake of Damian’s death and has been having her try to support Bruce Wayne as a civilian.
Personally, I don’t like the idea of Carrie Kelley as Robin, but I think she could grow on me.
And I think we’ve already seen her in action!
Follow me after the jump to see my new theory!
Review: Teen Titans #30
Strap in, friends. We’ve got a bumpy ride ahead of us. Teen Titans #30 is the worst issue of the entire series. Scott Lobdell has been cancelled, and it’s clear from this issue that he isn’t going down without a war. He’s going to bury his volume of Teen Titans! In horrible dialogue, in ridiculous callbacks, in desperate attempts to wrap-up dangling plot threads; whatever he can cram into this ending, he’s gonna do it.
Teen Titans #30
Lobdell’s Teen Titans has got nothing left to lose and nothing more to gain. It’s going to flame out in craptacular fashion!
Comic Rating: 1/10 – Terrible!
I will never know what Lobdell originally planned for the Titans’ return from the future, but there’s no way it was Teen Titans #30. I’m going to assume that he assumed he’d be writing the series for a long while to come, and that this cancellation was never part of the plan. You’ll see what I mean when we get to the synopsis, but Lobdell just shovels characters, plots and dialogue into this final issue in such a way that it’s clear he’s trying to squeeze in as much as possible before the end. I suppose it was nice of DC to let Lobdell finish the series on his own terms. I would also call it a mistake, except that who cares? Teen Titans is going to restart with a brand new #1 issue, and there’s a good chance that, in a few months, Lobdell’s entire run will just be a footnote in history. We’ll never have to think about it ever again.
I just don’t know if I can properly convey how bad this issue is. I wish I was more poetic or clever, and maybe I could turn this review into its own work of art. But I am not that gifted. I am just a man. A man of many words, yes, some of them rambling, but a man I remain. Though perhaps inspired by some of my favorite superhumans, maybe I can rise to the challenge and use these many words for the good of all Internetkind. Maybe I have what it takes to talk about the painfully unfunny dialogue, the mind-bogglingly pointless cameos or the unfettered love of editorial notes pointing you to previous issues. I think…I think I can do this.
Gulp, here we go! Join me after the jump for the full synopsis and more review of the worst Teen Titans issue you will ever read!
Robin Watch: Robin Rising: Omega!
Big news on the Robin front today! DC Comics and writer Peter J. Tomasi revealed in an interview with the LA Times that Robin is definitely coming back this year for Batman’s 75th anniversary!
But which Robin?
Today’s news seems to point to a resurrected Damian Wayne – but doesn’t confirm it one way or another.
Zombie Robin?
Tomasi will be writing a one-shot called Robin Rising: Omega on July 16, which will kick off the finale of his ongoing ‘Search for Robin’ storyline. That issue will be immediately followed by Batman and Robin #33, returning to the series’ original title. When the last Robin, Damian Wayne, died last year, the series Batman and Robin played a game of teaming up Batman with a bunch of other heroes and villains. They went through everything from Batman and Nightwing to Batman and Aquaman. Throughout the series, Batman has been on a quest to try and resurrect his dead son, Damian – though first he has to get Damian’s body back from the madman, R’as al Ghul!
Will Batman succeed? Maybe. I guess that’s what Robin Rising: Omega is going to be about. Right now, Tomasi is only teasing the outcome of this new one-shot.
In the interview, he said:
Let’s just say that we are most definitely bringing back a Robin for Batman’s 75th anniversary. Batman needs a Robin and Robin needs a Batman, so what more needs to be said except that “Robin Rises: Omega,” drawn by the stupendous Andy Kubert, starts and ends with a bang and everything that occurs in this epic story all has seeds that Pat Gleason and I planted back during our first arc in “Batman and Robin: Born To Kill.”
There’s no gimmicks. We’re telling a character-centric action-adventure story that new readers can easily jump on board due to the way we constructed the opening pages of “Robin Rises: Omega” No. 1 that gives readers the ability to emotionally plug in and get up to speed without having read the series from the start of the New 52.
And it goes without saying, of course, that anyone following the book from our first issue will see that this has all been an organic uber-story and that all the moments they’ve spent with the characters will pay off as Pat, Andy and I serve our only purpose, which is to honor the actual title of the book so everyone can be invested in the roller coaster ride whether you’re new to the party or already scrunched up comfortably in the corner.
Tomasi isn’t coming right out and saying that Batman will succeed in resurrecting Damian, only that they’re ‘bringing back a Robin’ for the anniversary, emphasis on the ‘a’.
Heck, maybe they’re not even giving Batman a new Robin so much as just playing around with Robin. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Apparently it involves Apokolips
Personally, I don’t want them to resurrect Damian. I think comic book resurrections are a little too silly these days, especially if you’re going to do it within a year of the character dying in the first place. If DC wanted Damian to stay Robin, why not just tell Grant Morrison not to kill him?
I’ll admit that Damian was growing on me as a character towards the end, especially in his partnership with Dick Grayson, but bringing Damian back from the dead just so he can be Robin again strikes the wrong chord with me. Especially when DC has been teasing a new, female Robin.
I firmly believe that DC needs to create a new Robin to go along with the New 52. DC needs to create another Tim Drake, someone who can be a popular Robin for another 20+ years. Damian is turning into too much of a stunt character. Plus, what’s the point of threatening Robin’s life if all Batman has to do is resurrect them within a year?
Of course, if they don’t make Damian Robin again, that leaves Carrie Kelley available in Tomasi’s comic. Of the various female candidates, Carrie is the one Tomasi introduced and is writing about. But I want Carrie to be the new Robin less than I want Damian back from the dead, so I dunno what I’m supposed to do.
Just keep reading, I guess.
6 Ways to Fix Teen Titans
Teen Titans the comic book is rubbish. The team itself is pretty awesome, starring DC Comics’ teen superheroes banding together to be radical and fight bad guys. They’ve been a fan favorite super group since their inception decades ago. The Teen Titans cartoon shows on Cartoon Network are some of the most popular superhero cartoons of all time. Fans and kids love the Teen Titans.
But for reasons that still boggle my mind, DC Comics produced a very crappy Teen Titans comic.
We should have known from Day One
When DC rebooted all of their properties in 2011, they had the chance to remake Teen Titans from scratch. They could have done whatever they wanted with the series. But what they did was give it to writer Scott Lobdell, a man whose work hadn’t been popular since the 90s, and let him turn the team into an ugly, directionless mess, stuffed with weak characterization, agonizingly stiff dialogue and more bad vibes than the Legion of Doom.
It’s no surprise that Lobdell’s Teen Titans has been cancelled, with DC starting over with a new #1 issue in July. Can new writer Will Pfeifer and artist Kenneth Rocafort save this series from the gutter? Or is DC still blind when it comes to producing a quality Teen Titans comic?
According to Janelle Asselin at Comic Book Resources, DC doesn’t seem to have any idea what they’re doing – and I kind of agree with her. But I’m more than willing to put my money where my mouth is; how would I do Teen Titans differently?
Join me after the jump to see my six suggestions for making the new Teen Titans relaunch into a better comic book.
Henchman-4-Hire 