Customer Reviews

Teen Titans, Vol. 7: Titans East

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

TEEN TITANS: TITANS EAST is the latest graphic novel gathered from the pages of the newest incarnation of the young heroes in the DC universe. Led by Robin (Tim Drake, actually the third person to wear the Robin uniform), the team consists of Wonder Girl, Miss Martian, Kid Devil, Ravager, Cyborg, Raven, and Jericho. They formed the new team after the events of Infinite Crisis (which would take a HUGE column to explain).

This volume opens up with an introspective peek into Kid Devil's life. Since he mysteriously appeared in the pages of the monthly comic series, writer Geoff Johns works his familiar magic in bringing the character to three-dimensional life. I love watching Johns write stories like this, and I knew I was going to be in for a treat when I started in with first-person narrative from Kid Devil.

Johns has got a deft, sure hand with every character he touches. I've yet to hear him strike a false note. To be honest, I wasn't very enamored of the Kid Devil character. He looks kind of neat and is probably fun to draw for the artists, but he just didn't appear to have much depth. After Johns's first arc of the TITANS EAST storyline, I can safely report that just isn't true.

Eddie Bloomberg (Kid Devil) is, literally, a tormented soul. Hero worship was what brought him into the hero biz when he wanted to be the sidekick for Blue Devil. I never much got into Blue Devil either, but he was pretty interesting the way Johns presented him. And, in the end, it was hero worship that boomeranged and trapped Eddie in a situation that could leave him as one of the devil's own - literally - when he turns twenty in three years. That story detail is left dangling for the time being, but I was good with that.

As the story moved into the next section of the arc, Deathstroke the Terminator attacked the Teen Titans with a group of super-powered kids he'd gathered and called Titans East. Long-time readers of the TEEN TITANS will remember that Deathstroke has been a main opponent of the Titans since writer Marv Wolfman created him for the reboot of the series he did back in the 1980s.

Johns is very clever about his plotting. He generally is. Sometimes he lays all his cards on the table and lets the readers simply watch him work magic. Other times, he keeps a card hidden or turned over or turned so that it looks one way when it's really another. That's what he does in this graphic novel and it makes it a little difficult to talk about much of the plot without giving too much away.

Jericho and Ravager are the son and daughter of Deathstroke. Jericho He tells the Titans that he's there to reclaim what is his. Of course, a battle to end all battles ensues.

In Deathstroke's corner there is Batgirl (who we find out later is drugged into listening to Deathstroke), Risk, Sun Girl, Bombshell, Kid Crusader, Match, Inertia, Enigma, and Duela Dent. If you're not a comic geek, the names aren't going to mean much and it would take too long to explain. Just let me say that the line-up is impressive and filled with a lot of Teen Titans history.

Johns's scripts crackle with energy and vitality. The characters, complete with strengths and weaknesses, transcend the page and become real. Wonder Girl is still struggling with the death of Connor, as is Robin, and they're conflicted about the attraction between the two of them. (If Connor ever resurrects and comes back, that's going to be a can of worms!)

Tony Daniels's art matches Geoff Johns's writing. They are really a good match. Johns provides plenty of room to work and lots of emotion and action to draw. There aren't any static pages, no filler. It's all high-action storytelling that keeps readers turning the pages.

I love supergroups because of all the dynamics possible within them. TEEN TITANS has consistently provided that kind of storytelling, and this current volume delivers again. I had a blast reading the story, even slowing down and re-reading scenes and pages to savor the smart dialogue and the beautifully drawn sequences.

The flip Johns provides at the end of the novel is fantastic. I didn't see it coming, and I'm used to his kung fu. But his kung fu is mighty. If you like the Teen Titans, you'll have to pick this one up. Sadly, this is one of the last story arcs Johns will be writing on the book for the foreseeable future. But I continue to enjoy what he's doing on JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA and GREEN LANTERN.

Title: Teen Titans Volume 7: Titans East
Publisher: DC
Writer: Geoff Johns, Adam Beechen
Artists: Tony Daniel, Peter Snejbjerg, Al Barrionuevo, Chris Batista (pencils), Peter Snejbjerg, Jonathan Glapion, Edwin Rosell, Bit (inks), Rich & Tanya Horie, Marta Martinez (colors)
Collects: Teen Titans #42-47
Price: $14.99

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Since I happened to enjoy Teen Titans, Vol. 6: Titans Around the World, I went ahead and picked up Volume 7, hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately, this book didn't deliver. The quality of the storyline took a big dip, once again. This arc marked a big change in the book, in one respect - Geoff Johns hands the scripting chores over to Adam Beechen, who had also been scripting Robin's adventures over in his solo title. I don't know who to blame for the downturn in quality, as this book has been all over the map in terms of quality from its inception. Is Beechen to blame for his new writing contributions, or is he just following a story outline provided to him by Johns? Is DC's editorial staff to blame for directing the book down all-too-well-trodden paths? Who knows? All I know is that I'm (once again) disappointed by the offering.

The main problems I have with this book are the same sorts of problems the book has had all along: Art on the book is inconsistent due to a large cast of pencilers, inkers and colorists. Any "new" characters to come along are clones (literally and figuratively) of existing characters. Characters in the book don't grow up unless they travel to other timelines to do so. Cyborg gets demolished and then put back together in every story arc. For a guy who would seemingly have a pretty good chance in many fights due to his great strength, durability and personal weaponry, it seems a shame and a crime that this guy gets so victimized so often. If he is such a patsy, why are the Titans always oohing and aahing over him about his great leadership abilities and telling him that he's the reason that they all can work together as a team. I would think that after seeing that their "leader" play whipping boy to every villain that comes their way making trouble, they'd start to question why he's their leader in the first place. Wouldn't they want someone a bit less ineffectual for their head honcho? Is this guy made of Styrofoam and aluminum foil or what? It all seems pretty silly to me.

The TPB bookends with an opening tale about the origins of Kid Devil (which I did appreciate because I knew nothing about the character prior to him showing up in this book) and a closing tale about the investigation of the murder of Duela Dent, who goes by the Moniker "Joker's Daughter." The main storyline of the book features an all-out battle between Titans East and Titans West. Titans East is a team put together by Deathstroke. Although I'm sure many people would like to hear the line-up of both teams, I don't have that much time to go into that. But, between the two teams, you will find:

* Four former or current protégés of Batman.
* Two demonic-powered characters and one demon slayer.
* Two shape-shifters.
* Thirteen figurative "clone" characters and two literally cloned characters.
* Five characters that have died at least once.
* Three characters from the future.

I can sum this all up as a book that needs some serious help. I have to think this has to start with the editorial positions at the top. This is not at all what I'm looking for in a book. In fact, it's garbage like this that really turns me off to comics, in general. It does more that turn me off, even. It ticks me off. No way do I believe that this is the best way to go in a comic - continual recycling of old themes and characters and villains. You need new blood to sustain a book, and this book is really lacking in that department.

One thing this book is not short on is action. The fight between the two teams goes on pretty much continually throughout two whole issues. There may have been a time in my life that this might have been enough to satisfy me, but I left those days behind me when I went on to high school. Some may still really enjoy this part of the book, but the other problems I had with the book overshadowed the fight scenes too much for me to get much enjoyment out of them. To make matters worse, after all the fighting is done and the dust has settled and the villains have all escaped to fight another day (as usual), Deathstroke gives this reason for the long years of constant fighting with the Teen Titans: He did it all out of love because he wanted his kids (Joseph Wilson - a.k.a Jericho, and Rose Wilson - a.k.a. Ravager) to have a real family that would take good care of them and raise them better than he ever could.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Need I say more? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Do I dare put myself through reading another volume of this series? I really don't know. I do know that in twenty years of reading comics, I can say for a fact that I've never come across any other comic title that has such an inconsistent level of quality. When it's good, it really shines. When it's not good, it is downright awful.

Writing: 4/10
Artwork: 7/10
Cool Factor: 2/10
Overall: 4.3/ 10

I thought this book was just average when I got to the last few pages. It is fill with action but there was so much of it that at one point I thought everything was pointless... Until the last page for Titans East where Deathstroke tell us why he did what he did. I didn't expect that revelation, honestly. That made it all cool.

After that there was the "Whom killed Duela Dent" story. Short and somewhat pointless because is tied up with Countdown and really didn't have much to do here.

The art of the book is ok. Not great but ok. I liked it, but there's several artists so is a bit of inconstant.

Still, if you follow the Titans saga from where Geoff Jones started, well, this is a good continuation.

Very good story! Love the return, rise and resolution of the characters in this story.

I swear there were pages missing from this book. I can't count how many times I had to flip back to try and figure something out that was not explained. The art also bounces around a lot. The first chapter was very poorly illustrated but some of the other chapters looked great. My biggest turn off of the whole run was the over use of splash pages to chew up page count. For a couple of the chapters there is a splash page every 4th page for no real reason.

I'll let some of the plot issues slide because I haven't picked up a titans book in over a year so I might just be out of the loop but the read was very choppy at some points.

I liked the idea of an "Evil" Teen Titans, sort of like "Virtue and Vice" but it didn't really deliver on that. I felt like this was trying to be a newer "Technis Imperative" (which I loved) but lacked the heart.

3 stars because I love Deathstroke and the take on Kid Devil was interesting.

The Teen Titans meet their match when Deathstroke organizes his own group of Titans, the Titans East. Among the members are former Kid Flash nemesis Inertia and a drugged up Batgirl, and soon enough Robin and co. are in up to their heads in a world of hurt. In one of Geoff Johns' final arcs on the series he helped relaunch, Titans East displays what Johns does best; as he fleshes out newer Titans member Kid Devil's backstory, up's the ante of the relationship between Robin and Wonder Girl, and sets the stage for more mayhem to follow. His ability to make you care about what would be considered otherwise minor heroes in the grand scheme of things shines very bright here, further proving that Johns is the best superhero writer in the business today. The various artwork from Tony Daniel and Adam Beechen is quite good as well, making Titans East all the better, and strengthening Johns' already incredibly solid run on the series he brought back from the dead.

It's east vs. the west. Deathstroke is up to his old tricks and it's up to Robin (Tim) to lead his team from the west and a friend is going to help him out. He's going to need it.