TEEN TITANS #1
Written by Scott Lubdell
Drawn by Brett Booth
Review by Brad Jones
Teen Titans #1 is the polar opposite of Legion of Superheroes and Legion Lost: here’s a group of super-powered youngsters assembling for the first time but you actually CARE about them. Instead of trying to overload the reader with every pertinent character in a 20-page spread, we’re introduced to only a few different heroes in this issue, and the change in pacing lends itself wonderfully to a group of characters everyone may not be familiar with. Moreover, there’s a clear reason why these heroes might be searching each other out. The younger generation of super-beings is confident and over-exposed. In a clever opening, we meet Kid Flash, who inadvertently creates an unstoppable inferno while trying to help contain a manageable fire. The Kid’s showboating leads us to Tim Drake, a former Boy Wonder, and now Red Robin, deciding to both rein in the unwieldy youth and protect them in the safety of numbers. Red Robin then finds Wonder Girl, and a tease at our next teenage superhero, Superboy.
The art pops out of the frames and befits the tone of the book. This is a fresh style for a fresh team of heroes, and after the barrage of superhero groups we’ve already seen from the New 52, Teen Titans individualizes itself from the dredge of Legion of Superheroes, Legion Lost, etc. There’s dimension to this book, both in style and substance, and I, for one, am mucho excited to see what and who comes next.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Everything is laid out for you, though you’ll feel part of the club if you have an inkling of who Tim Drake is.
VERDICT
Buy It – After the abysmal Red Hood and the Outlaws, I was more reserved about this “Robin leads a superhero group” book than I normally would be, but I’m happy to say this rises above the rest of those teams and deserves an enthusiastic read.
