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The Teen Titans published by DC Comics

Showcase presents The Teen Titans, vol. 2  2007 (SC TPB) 520 pages

Written by Bon Haney, Steve Skeates, Robert Kanigher, Neal Adams with Mike Friedrich. Art by Nick Cardy, George Tuska, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Dick Dillin, others. Inks by Cardy, others.
black and white. Letters: various. Editor: various

Reprinting: The Teen Titans (1st series) #19-36, Brave & the Bold #83, 94, World's Finest #205 (1969-1972) - with covers

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1 (some parts more)

"Showcase presents" are DC's belated answer to Marvel's Essential TPBs -- massive volumes reprinting consecutive runs of comics in economical black & white (as well as a few concurrent appearances in other comics).

This is the second volume of the original Teen Titans, in their "glory" days mixing kitsch and sincerity -- the Flower Power era. The original concept for the team was to take pre-established teen-age sidekicks -- Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, etc. -- and have them form their own junior Justice League. But the concept also sprang out of the temper of the times, as the teen heroes became embroiled in generation gap conflicts (something later incarnations of the team, including the mega-successful Wolfman-Perez version in the early 1980s, de-emphasized because the generation gap had become less tumultuous).

The result was hit and miss as middle age comics scribes attempted to create hip, teen heroes spouting hippy-era lingo -- not to mention mired in some of the sexist attitudes of the times (casually explaining that women often swoon when they first visit Italy!). Which is why the early TT, these days, are often regarded partly as camp. (Of course, one wonders how future generations will look back on modern comics, with their sometimes equally idiosyncratic dialogue of "dude!" and "way!").

By this point, the art on the book had matured significantly, with artist Nick Cardy evolved in both his drawing and composition to a moody, organic style. This collection also includes issues drawn by Neal Adams, Gil Kane and the under-appreciated George Tuska. And when Cardy wasn't pencilling, he was usually inking the others. The result is that, as a collection, the art can't be faulted at all, with hardly a single issue that falls below being well drawn (though I query some of the credits -- sometimes the pencils don't quite seem to evoke the artist credited). .

Towards the end of this collection, the Titans began to move into gothic phase -- which might seem odd, given the brightly coloured heroes. It may have been a reflection of the times (occult films were all the rage and supernatural/horror comics were a new trend) or simply of a comic that was trying to find a formula that would click. But it might also have been an editorial response to Cardy's moody style. One could imagine editors looking at his pages and thinking, hmmm, we need to start writing to his strengths. As a particular example is Teen Titans #28, which is particularly rich with creepy mood and stylish imagery despite not being overtly supernatural (it's the first part of a two-parter, and the conclusion doesn't fully live up to the first half). And this gothic flavour is particularly accentuated when reprinted in stark black and white.

Writing-wise, there's a feeling the comic was struggling to find a direction. The first few issues are mainly written by Titans creator Bob Haney, who delivers goofy, but reasonably entertaining adventures of the faux-hippy heroes. But then there's a shift to a more sombre, more socially relevant tone (courtesy Robert Kanigher) as the Titans fail to prevent the assassination of a peace activist (in a story coming at the end of a decade that had seen a number of American assassinations). Blaming themselves, the teens are then recruited by the mysterious Mr. Jupiter to take part in a vague project to create kind of super teens or something. The Titans discard their costumes, swear off using their super powers, and become a kind of junior version of the Challengers of the Unknown as Mr. Jupiter sends them on various training missions that involve everything from inner city slums to moon landings, with some token nods to non-violence -- with Steve Skeates now the chief writer. But before long, the characters are sort of using their powers, and sometimes back in costume. By the time Haney reassumes the writing reigns, it's the old Titans again, except still answering to Mr. Jupiter, and now with a Scooby Do flavour veering into a supernatural milieu, complete with the kids travelling around in a van!

It all feels unfocused, careening back and forth (from no costumes to costumes, from pacifism to fisticuffs), not really progressing logically. The Hawk and the Dove join the team during this period...and then disappear with nary an explanation. The comic is clearly trying for a greater sophistication, dealing with gritty themes of race and ghettos and violence...yet this slapdash approach to logic and continuity seems as though they aren't ready to step up to the challenges. This mix of more "adult" material with a fundamentally juvenile tone occasionally results in some questionable material -- like a scene where Speedy and the black Titan, Mal, playfully trade ethnic snipes. Granted, it's only one scene -- in fact, there's a later issue where the Titans trade racist barbs, but then it's supposed to be a sign of something very wrong with the characters. And, indeed, some of the "race"-based banter can actually take on a charming camaraderie ("Black is still beautiful on you, Mal," says Kid Flash at one point).

Also joining the team in these issues are Mal, an inner city black youth without powers, and the enigmatic psychic, Lilith -- characters who, unlike Hawk and Dove, stuck around. And perhaps they give the series more of an identity than just being the "sidekick team" as they are not junior versions of other DC heroes.

I always kind of liked the hip, relaxed interplay between the team that helped distinguish them from their more stodgy adult mentors -- not so much the sometimes clunky hippy lingo ("groovy") but the way they referred to each other by nicknames as if these really are teenage friends hanging out together -- Robin the Boy Wonder is "Boy Wonderful", Kid Flash is almost always called "Flasher". But though initially there seemed to be some, vague, sense of personalities (Speedy the hot head), for a lot of it, the characters are pretty indistinguishable -- a fact made even more awkward once they're no longer wearing costumes. You literally can't tell who's supposed to be who! The whole concept behind Hawk and Dove was the contrasting personalities, and Skeates was actually a writer on their own series -- yet they too often seem without distinctive characters. Robin leaves the team for a few issues in the middle (given that Robin was such a high profile character, perhaps they felt he couldn't be part of the whole "no costume" change) but there's something about Robin/Dick Grayson that works, and his absence I think hurts those middle issues.

Why the series went through these changes, I don't know. One suspects sales were slumping and they were desperate to try anything (explaining why they didn't stick with the concepts). With the addition of Mr. Jupiter, you almost wonder if we were seeing a patronizing agenda. After all, the Titans came about in the generation gap of the '60s, yet by making them agents of Mr. Jupiter, it's as if DC suddenly decided their teen heroes should go back to being subservient to an adult.

Yet despite the weaknesses...this collection still offers some decent entertainment. For one thing, this actually collects some of my (previously read) favourite stories. F'rinstance, there's the three-part tale illustrated and written by Neal Adams that not only is beautifully drawn, but well written. In its three part structure, it's as if Adams set out to write the definitive Titans epic by capturing three different facets of the team -- the first chapter has the Titans in their generation gap role, helping a troubled teen involved with urban revolutionaries, while the second part is more super-hero action, teaming them them for the first time with Hawk and Dove, then the climax goes all sci-fi leading to a showdown in another dimension.

Another of my all-time favourite stories, by Haney and Cardy, is "Rebels in the Streets", from Brave and the Bold, teaming the Titans with Batman in another story playing up the generational issue, while also grappling with inner city poverty.

Even beyond these there are agreeable tales. Some which work precisely because of the attempts at redefining the comic. A story where the Titans go to the moon seems just a little silly, but taken less as a super hero adventure, and more as a techno-drama, it actually does have some mood and atmosphere. While a later story, "Less Than Human?" has the Titans trying to civilize a prehistoric caveman, essentially playing Higgins to his Eliza -- not really a typical plot for a super hero story...which is why it works (in fact, the story was essentially re-imagined for DC's post-Crisis reality in The New Titans #56 (1989) -- and told as a more conventional action-thriller, complete with mad scientists and evil corporations, it doesn't work nearly as well, as a story, let alone as a Human drama). Likewise, the veering into supernatural, though somewhat corny, nonetheless succeeds as page-turners precisely because they're story-driven...not just mindless action.

Part of the appeal of these Showcase presents/Essential volumes is the very mass of material. You can take a little chaff among the wheat. I mean, 17 bucks for over twenty comics -- that's less than a buck an issue. In fact, I realize there's a strange hypocrisy on my part. After all, if DC had released this as a much slimmer volume, collecting Neal Adams' TT #20-22 (which had previously been collected in a digest years ago), B&B #94, and one or two others...I would have had no qualm about giving this four or five stars. So really, I should review this saying, you get some great tales...plus a lot of extra padding. I guess you could see my final rating as an averaging of the review, as the stories range from 4 or even 5 stars...to some 3 and 2 star stories.

In fact, what's odd, is that though I was kind of disappointed by this after a first reading, I've actually found myself re-reading a few of the stories again, and enjoying them more. I never found it a slog, with even the lesser issues easy enough to breeze through. It reminds me a bit of my reaction to Essential Daredevil vol. 2 -- intellectually, I thought it was only okay...yet I found myself happily re-reading parts of it when I was feeling blue. It has to be a mark of something good that I actually whipped through this 500 page titan faster than a lot of other Essential/Showcase volumes I have -- even ones that I initially regarded as better and more rewarding!

So...hit and miss, but certainly not unentertaining.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $16.99 USA

Pocket Book Reprint The New Teen Titans  Published in 1982 by Tor Books, re-issued in 1992 - Black & White Reprinting: DC Comics Presents #26 (the Titans story), The New Teen Titans (1st series) #1-3  Written by Marv Wolfman. Pencils by George Perez. Inks by Dick Giordano, Romeo Tanghal (and Frank Chiaramonte?).  Letters: unbilled. Editor: Len Wein.  Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Number of readings: a few times over the years Originally published right in the thick of the New Teen Titans mega- success, this pocket book compilation collects the first appearance of the team (from a insert in DC Comics Presents #26), plus the first three issues of the regular comic -- broken up into a couple of panels per page, and in black and white. For old time fans of the series, these early stories quickly establish the characters and the group dynamics, as some original Titans reunite and new characters are introduced, plus they introduce various aspects that would be hallmarks of the title for years to come (such as villain, Deathstroke the Terminator, in #2). For those unfamiliar with the team that was, for a time, DC Comics' hottest selling title, it, likewise, provides a nice window on the series. I was never a huge fan of the series, but I still think this is an enjoyable tome. There's plenty of action, ranging from space aliens to costumed villains, plus the series' trademark soap operay angst and character introspection. Plus there's the nice, solid art of George Perez.  The main quibble is that issue #3...ends to be continued! Normally I would object, saying if they didn't have enough pages to include the next issue, better to have just collected the DC Comics Presents story, plus issues #1 and #2 (most such paperback collections only reprint three issues anyway) and allow the collection to be relatively self-contained. In this case, though, I'm ambivalent. While it's true the action-adventure plot of issue #3 doesn't resolve, that issue introduces various pertinent aspects of the series, giving more background to Starfire and Raven, introducing the team's H.Q., etc. So, in a way, as a book establishing the foundations of the team, including issue #3 isn't such a bad idea.  Another quibble is that there are a few spots where dialogue doesn't quite make sense, leading me to assume that a few panels may've been edited out in order to fit into the book.  The "New" Teen Titans started out, unapologetically, as DC's answer to Marvel's The X-Men (at a time when those merry mutants were first really becoming hot) and Wolfman and Perez seemed to hit paydirt with their first try, as the New TT became one of DC's hottest selling titles. Of course, like so many things, such popularity eventually waned (though they had a good run), with the series being overhauled once or twice, then cancelled, restarted, cancelled, etc. Just within the last few years, a revived Titans series went for a while, and now is being replaced by another Teen Titans. Clearly, DC hasn't managed to duplicate the earlier formula for success.  And just as a belated thought about the series, one wonders how much the original Doom Patrol was influencing the creators. Not only did the new Titans include ex-Doom Patroler Beast Boy/Changeling, but other characters included a man in a robotic body and a character who could transform into a black energy silhouette that could only be separated from her body for a short period -- both evocative of Doom Patrol characters. Another question is how come Cyborg talked in stereotypical comic book "black" lingo (lots of "ain't"s and dropped "g"s) when his dad was an educated, successful scientist who didn't?  All in all, a nice read, given that early Titans comics are still probably pretty pricey in the back issues bins, and the only other collection of these early issues -- The New Teen Titans Archive Edition (reprinting the first nine or ten issues) -- is hardcover and very, very expensive.

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