TEEN TITANS #5

Review by: chadwhitley

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Avg Rating: 3.8
 
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Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND

Size: 32 pages
Price: 2.99

I started reading Teen Titans with a chip on my shoulder, having been frustrated with DC Comics with regard to their decision to strip Tim Drake of a solo title in the New 52. Five issues in, I still find myself longing for a new Red Robin title, but I find Teen Titans to be a welcome, fun-filled teenage romp through the untamable wilderness of adolescent super-heroics.

It seems to me that for team books, Scott Lobdell tends to choose a primary character and then to base the core of the team concept around him or her, using other characters as supporting players who may or may not be truly defined. If that pattern holds true for Teen Titans, Red Robin would be the more fully fleshed-out fulcrum on which the rest of the cast is balanced, while everyone else plays a more stereotypical role: Kid Flash as the impulsive, “act without thinking” teenager; Bunker as the picture of adolescent braggadocio; Solstice as a picture of emotional moodiness and (possibly) self-doubt, etc. Still, the team is fun to see in action, even if they still haven’t learned the virtues of working together. Though the script is a bit lean, I thought it was mostly well-done, with only a few heavy-handed, power-announcing monologues to clutter the landscape.

Brett Booth’s art is amazing, and it gets better with every issue. The action sequences in particular are spectacularly done. I do have an issue with some of the distorted facial expressions that appear from time to time, and characters in the background have a tendency to look a little unfinished, but on the whole, a solid artistic effort. I noticed, too, that the random gray straps were missing from Red Robin’s midsection, so that gets Booth an extra point on the art, right there.

Great book, great story. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Story: 4 - Very Good
Art: 4 - Very Good

Comments

  1. I dropped at last issue. Would you still suggest reading this one out or will I be bored to death as I was with the four previous issues?

    • That’s an interesting question. I would say that if you didn’t really care for the pacing of the other issues, you’re probably not going to fall in love with the series after this one. The difference is that this issue is essentially a drawn out fight scene between Superboy and the Titans, so if you’re looking for action scenes and a payoff (of sorts) from the previous four issues, there are some of both to be had here. As to whether that payoff is worth the price of admission, well…I found it satisfying, if not completely believable. It’s hard to go into much detail without spoiling, but suffice it to say that the end result of the confrontation between Superboy and the Titans is somewhat rushed and a bit presumptuous. But overall, as someone who has enjoyed the other issues, I thought this one fit nicely within the pace Lobdell and Booth have set thus far.

      A middle of the road suggestion might be to wait a month and check it out for a buck less on a digital platform. 🙂

    • I already pay my comics at 25% of the cover price (trades also :P). Interesting then, I might grab this one issue to see how it goes and maybe grab on the go for issues I’m interested in if I ever feel like it and the comments are good on here.

      Thanks for the reply dude, much appreciated!

      It’s not that I hated the four previous issues, I just didn’t “like” them enough to really care and I can’t shake the feeling that it was better before the New 52 and that the quality of the writing isn’t up to par to other comics I read at the moment. Hence the dropping…

      I yearn for a solo RR title too…

    • 25%? Nice! I recently had to make the switch from shopping at my local comic shop, primarily because it was about 30 miles away (which begs the question: how does one define “local”?). The gas mileage was killing me, and while the customer service there was fantastic, I was only buying enough books to guarantee myself a 20% discount. Budget concerns have required me to reduce those titles down to five, so I’m using DCBS, for now.

      Not sure where I was going with that, but I THINK my intention was to say that I don’t blame you one bit for dropping a book that doesn’t quite live up to the quality for which you’re searching. Most of the books I dropped were decent books; but when money is tight, only the best of the best survive!

      Now, if DC releases a Red Robin solo book, I’ll go without a meal if necessary.

  2. I read this issue last night and realized I was right in dropping the book. It didn’t live up to my expectations. So I say goodbye to TT and Red Robin… it was fun before, not for me anymore! 🙁

    Thanks for the review though, it’s always great to see how two different people will perceive the same thing! 🙂

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