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Review: Teen Titans #9
After a long break thanks to Convergence, we’re finally back to regular coverage of Teen Titans. And unfortunately, that old adage of ‘good things come to those who wait’ bears little to no meaning on this poor comic book. Unlike the rest of DC Comics’ line in June, Teen Titans is not getting a makeover or a new creative team. We’re jumping right back in to where we left off with the stuffy writing of Will Pfeifer and the uncomfortable art of Kenneth Rocafort. You’re all better off reading We Are Robin. I’ve got a feeling that’s going to star far more interesting teenagers.
Teen Titans #9
Teen Titans #9 is just an uncomfortable, unwelcoming comic book. It’s not bad, I suppose, but it’s not somewhere I want to be.
Comic Review: 5/10 – Alright.
Teen Titans was just kicking off a brand new storyline when Convergence came along and slammed on the brakes. Superboy has returned, and he’s wanted for killing a bunch of people in suburbia. But those people were really Durlans, the shapeshifting aliens of DC, and he probably didn’t kill them after all. Red Robin and several Titans have gone into hiding to help Superboy uncover the truth, while Wonder Girl and the new Power Girl have joined STAR Labs in hunting down the Boy of Steel. Manchester Black, Pfeifer’s favorite character, has even given the Girls a new team of Titans to help them out — a team that somehow includes a returned Kid Flash.
There’s just something uninviting about Teen Titans #9. The art is all sharp angles, slender characters and muted colors. It’s Rocafort’s usual style, but I think I’m zeroing in on what I don’t like about him on Teen Titans. The pages feel cramped and glum. The characters are never having any fun. The story itself is alright, I suppose. The characters are all largely on point. But Pfeifer never really makes this story about the characters, it’s always about his plot. Here we’ve got a perfect opportunity to follow the Titans on the run or meet the new STAR Labs Titans, but we don’t really do either. Pfeifer writes a nice scene with Beast Boy and Bunker, but those are the only characters who seem to ever get any personality.
We don’t spend any real time with Superboy, despite the weight of the world being on his shoulders. And we spend even less time with the new Titans, including Kid Flash — who is a returned Bart Allen, for reasons that are never explained! It’s just tossed off that this is Bart, back from both time and space, and randomly back to being Kid Flash for STAR freakin’ Labs!
Join me after the jump for a fully synopsis and more review!
Review: Teen Titans Annual #1
Hey everybody, Superboy is back! Remember when he died? Or was…replaced by an evil impostor…who I think also died? Does anybody remember what happened to Superboy? All I remember is that it was really really dumb, and really really confusing, and that the Teen Titans were completely out of the loop. I don’t think they ever knew about the impostor. But regardless of whatever insanity happened a year or so ago, Superboy is back in Teen Titans Annual #1, and he brings with him some much needed team drama!
Teen Titans Annual #1
Unfortunately, the Annual issue is hampered by some pretty terrible art. So I finally get what I want, the Teen Titans are the actual star of their own comic, but I still can’t appreciate it because this is one ugly comic.
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
Despite this being an Annual issue, the Teen Titans story continues from right where it left off, only now with extra pages and a new co-writer in tow. Tom King pays a visit from his successful Grayson comic to lend regular writer Will Pfeifer a hand with Teen Titans Annual #1. The two are paired as co-scripters, according to the credits, with the actual plot courtesy of King. Is this a sign that he might be taking over? I have no idea.
But King brings with him a much-needed focus on the Teen Titans themselves. Pfeifer has been a pretty poor presence on the franchise, and my biggest complaint with him so far is that none of his stories really focus on the Teen Titans themselves. Pfiefer has been too obsessed with either pet characters, like Manchester Black, or whatever new super-villain plot he’s brought to the table. All of that changes, for the most part, with this Annual issue, and I’m very happy with that. But the art by the alternating team of Alisson Borges and Wes St. Claire just can’t keep up.
Superboy is back in the Teen Titans’ lives, and he’s brought a lot of baggage with him. News reports claim that he’s responsible for murdering 21 people in cold blood. Obviously, there’s a lot more to that story than what the news media is reporting, but for now, it’s got the individual Titans at each others’ throats over whether they need to help their old friend or turn him over to the authorities.
That makes for good team drama, so at the very least, Teen Titans Annual #1 is a step in the right direction. I may come to regret this later on, but I think I’m going to get my hopes up, if only just a little bit.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Review: Teen Titans #8
It’s a classic warning to be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it. I am afraid that has befallen me with Teen Titans #8. No, Red Robin still doesn’t change out of his costume, but the Teen Titans are actually the stars of the book for once. And they’re engaged in some pretty cool extracurricular activities. Writer Will Pfeifer has set the Teen Titans up to be minor NYC celebrities, and he actually has some fun with this concept. The problem is in the execution. I don’t really know what it is, but there’s just something off about Pfeifer’s attempts to have some fun in this issue. Maybe my bias had completely taken over my sense of good and bad, but it just doesn’t feel like he thought this issue through very well.
Teen Titans #8
Still, I applaud the effort, and I especially like what he does with Red Robin in this issue. So general kudos.
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
In Teen Titans #8, Pfeifer splits the Titans up to engage in some wacky high jinks. Beast Boy hosts Saturday Night Live (or Comedy Tonight, as it’s called). Raven hangs out with her new rock band friends. Wonder Girl has a weird encounter with a fan. And Red Robin focuses on crime solving, like he’s supposed to do. Manchester Black is still around, still Pfeifer’s pet characters, but the Teen Titans actually get the spotlight for once. I just don’t think Pfeifer put all that much thought into each of these scenarios. It’s clear what he wants to accomplish, he wants the Titans to go viral on social media, but he kind of forces it.
At least he’s trying something different. I rather love the idea of the Teen Titans becoming mini-celebrities and being embraced by youth culture. These characters are perfect for an exploration of social media and its impact on not only our world, but the world of superheroes. I hope Pfeifer is reading the new Batgirl, because that uses social media in ways I wish I fully understood (but I’m about half a generation removed from a full understanding). I can see what Pfeifer is trying to do, and I kind of like what he’s trying to do, but I just don’t think he sticks the landings very well. There’s some square peg/round hole stuff going on here.
Maybe I’m just nitpicking. This is what I wished for, after all. Join me after the jump to see what I mean.
Review – Teen Titans #7
Seven issues into the relaunched Teen Titans, I think I’ve figured out writer Will Pfeifer’s problem: he loves to listen to himself talk. Or in comic book terms, he loves to listen to his characters talk. I’ve mentioned before in my reviews how Pfeifer’s pet character, Manchester Black, goes on and on in seemingly endless monologues — and we get another one or two in Teen Titans #7 — but now we’re also treated to monologues from the new villains about how awesome their evil plans are and how evil they’re going to be.
Teen Titans #7
The Teen Titans are little more than spectators in their own comic at this point. All that matters is how smart and awesome Pfeifer’s pet characters are.
Comic Rating: 3/10 – Bad.
The Teen Titans are no longer the stars of their own comic. They’re set pieces. They’re action figures to be moved around at the whim of other characters. Teen Titans #7 is literally just about Manchester Black’s opposition to the new, bland bad guys in town. And if you (and I) thought those pill-popping rich brats from the last two issues were bland bad guys, then you ain’t seen nothing yet!
This would maybe be forgivable if Pfeifer had interesting stories to tell, but he doesn’t. Or if the art was spectacular, but it isn’t. Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort are producing a fairly standard, if at times sub-standard, comic book. The story is jerky and uninteresting. The villain that opened the relaunch with a splash, Algorithm, is gone. Those rich kids were cliches. And now a new villain has emerged: generic armed bad guys. They don’t have a name, they don’t have costumes, they aren’t memorable characters, and they want to use a villainous device to blow up New York City. Wow. Your’e really stretching the imagination with these guys, Pfeifer.
It doesn’t help that Rocafort returns to the title with the worst art yet. I would have thought taking two issues off would have given him time to shine.
Join me after the jump for the full synopsis and more review!
The 6 Characters on My Teen Titans
Let’s talk about the Teen Titans. I do it a lot on my blog, I know, but they’re worth talking about. The Teen Titans are a very popular comic, with a history dating back to before I was even born. And they’ve been on the air in one cartoon form or another for more than a decade. Heck, they even have their own TV show coming up! So why is their comic book so terrible? Why can’t DC Comics make it work? Maybe because they just don’t know what to do with the Teen Titans. But I know someone who does!
It’s not Batman
In our discussion last week of the highs and lows of DC Comics’ New 52, Henchman Gordon Bishop asked what my ideal roster would be for the Teen Titans. And seeing as how I am totally open to you henchies suggesting Lists of Six, I decided to take him up on his suggestion. It helps that this is one of my favorite games. I’ve already done dream rosters for the Avengers and Justice League, among others.
I’ve also done a previous List on things I would fix about DC’s current Teen Titans comic. So along with those fixes, join me after the jump to find out which New 52 teen superheroes I would write if DC handed me the reigns of the Teen Titans!
And please share your own roster ideas below in the comments!
Henchman-4-Hire 