The Titans Companion [Paperback]

Glen Cadigan (Author), George Perez (Illustrator), Nick Cardy (Illustrator), Phil Jimenez (Illustrator), Geoff Johns (Introduction)

Book Description

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the New Teen Titans, The Titans Companion is a comprehensive look at the history of the ultimate teen team! From their early days in the 1960s as a team of teen sidekicks through their best-selling days in the 1980s and beyond, this book explores the history of the team through the eyes of its creators! Interviews with Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Nick Cardy, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and others reveal the evolution of the series over the years. While artwork by Cardy, Perez, Adams, Garcia-Lopez, and many more illustrates each era of Titans history!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The New Teen Titans was DC's big hit of the 1980s, one of few that rivaled the popularity of Marvel's X-Men. It had a progenitor in the 1960s Teen Titans, about a team of grown-up superheroes' adolescent sidekicks, which was most notable for its middle-aged writer's embarrassing attempts at "hip" dialogue. In 1980 writer Marv Wolfman revived the concept with a slightly older cast, retaining Robin and Wonder Girl but creating the team's other members out of whole cloth. Drawn by fan-favorite George Perez, NTT was an immediate smash but sputtered creatively and commercially when Perez and then Wolfman departed a few years later. DC has recently launched another Titans update, and an anime-style version of the '80s team is a hit on the Cartoon Network. But it's the Wolfman-Perez series that makes longtime fans' hearts beat faster and that is the focus of Cadigan's retrospective made up of interviews with virtually every writer and artist who handled the Titans' various incarnations, and artwork, much of it previously unpublished, on every page. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (November 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905500
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905504
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're not already one, this'll turn you into a Titans fan!, January 1, 2006

By 

Thomas D. Feeps "Thomas D. Feeps" (Virginia Beach, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Titans Companion (Paperback)

The Titans Companion is a great source of information for fans of the world's greatest teen super-group. It's formatted with dozens of interviews with just about everybody who's ever worked on Teen Titans, The New Teen Titans, Tales of the Teen Titans, New Titans, Team Titans, and whatever other incarnation the teams had. Cadigan has taken the liberty of breaking up certain interviews (Wolfman and Perez come to mind) chronologically, which allows you take in the Titans one era at a time. Reading from start to finish, it's amazing to witness the transformation from a team of four sidekicks trying to bridge the generation gaps to a horde of dysfunctional, de-aged, gritty warriors.

If you're hoping for a comic-by-comic guide of what happened with the team, stick to the internet. I was able to piece most of it together, but there were bits and pieces I needed some more help on.

The book has TONS of b&w artwork, either reproduced panels or convention sketches--they're fantastic!

As somebody who's never read much DC at all, let alone Titans, I learned that Wondergirl was originally just Wonderwoman at a younger age (ie, not Wonderwoman's sidekick). When she showed up in Teen Titans, all of a sudden an origin had to follow, and it's followed poor Donna Troy ever since! Deathstroke the Terminator, and Vigilante both sprung from the pages of New Teen Titans. Speedy's little heroin addiction apparently never came up in the Titans! And that there were a lot of character's I'd never heard of who've joined the Titans over the years, including the Joker's daughter, who was actually Two-Face's daughter, who called herself Duella Dent and fought as Harlequin (not the Batman:The Animated Series one), and who according to Len Wein in a lettercol of DC's Who's Who #15 "show's up at Donna Troy's wedding and Dick Grayson accusing (sic) her of lying. She admitted to the deception and points to her recent addition of 50 pounds, keeping her out of crime-fighting. Since she was never a major character, nor did she ever have her own series or origin, it was decided to omit her reference (from Who's Who) since she will not be seen again."

Suffice it to say, I'm now dying to find a Titans issue with Duella as an active crimefighter in it, to see how the writer's played it. There's a lot of examples like this, where I felt like I was at a a MENSA party or something. I was mingling, meeting people, and listening to fascinating conversations, the whole time thinking "man, I've *got* to find out more about this!"

-Tom

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, especially with Infinite Crisis going on now!, December 29, 2005

By 

Rusty Shackleford "Rusty" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Titans Companion (Paperback)

I picked up this book on a lark, having recently discovered TwoMorrows Publishing and quickly becoming a great fan of the company.

I grew up reading mostly Marvel comics in the 80's, with the exception of maybe a Batman here or there. Over the years, I've caught up on a few of DC's bigger events through some trades, but I'm no expert in DC continuity. The only Teen Titans I'd ever read was "the Judas Contract".

This book takes the reader chronologically through the evolution of the Teen Titans, from the time when it was basically "the Justice League's sidekicks" to it's present day incarnation. We take this journey via interviews with or articles on just about every creator involved with Titans. Every page has great artwork, and most of it is previously unpublished commissions to fans (a TwoMorrows hallmark).

While I think the book is designed for somebody who's a Teen Titans fanatic, it was detailed enough that I could follow along, and most of the plot points were articulated well-enough in the interviews that I didn't have to have read every issue of Teen Titans. That said, there were some moments when I scratched my head and thought "what's a baxter-series?" or something like that? Most of these were quickly rememedied with google or yahoo's help. In fact, here's my recommendation: Do an online search of Teen Titans, and read through the issue summaries--yup, they're out there. If it sounds interesting to you at all, pick up the book. That should be enough info that you're never left scratching your head, and it's also a good litmus test of your Titans fever. I know I've already started plunging through the quarter bins for the wolfman/perez stuff that hasn't been collected in trades yet!

A great book that any comic fan will love!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very highly recommended reading for all Teen Titan fans, March 4, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Titans Companion (Paperback)

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the popular New Teen Titans DC comic book series, Titans Companion is an engaging survey of the history of the series through interviews with creators Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Len Wein, Eduardo Barreto, and other fan favorites. A comprehensive Silver Age section also has interviews with Neal Adams, Nick Cardy, Dick Giordano, among others. Illustrated with black-and-white comic panels and rare character sketches, Titans Companion is a "must-have" for fans of the series, or anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at creative decisions in the comic book industry (such as choosing to dress Nightwing, formerly Robin, in dark colors to make him less of a target but exposing some of his chest to appeal to female fans, now that his legs are covered). Very highly recommended reading for all Teen Titan fans.