The New 52: Teen Titans

Title: Teen Titans
Issue: #1
Release: September 2011
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund


Image via Bleeding Cool

Up to this point with the New 52, I have compared all of the team titles with the Justice League. The JL is, after all, the lead team from which most of the others stem. So if the supplemental teams such as Justice League International or Stormwatch don't add significant flavor to the party, I don't see much point in following them any further beyond an occasional tangent. Before this week, the only team book I read that could match JL was the Green Lantern Corps.

Teen Titans, on the other hand, is a definite winner - a team that can stand perfectly well on its own with only occasional support from the elders. In fact, I will go so far as to say that I preferred this book to JL#1. Many of the characters are, indeed, knockoffs of JL heroes. But if anything, they've been given a little more personality than has been bestowed upon the originals. Kid Flash is obnoxious. Wonder Girl is determined to be independent and hates her name. Red Robin is cocky but harbors lingering resentments. They're just like real teenagers!

Our Girl is an occasional fan of the TV show. I really like the theme song, as performed by Japanese pop megastars Puffy AmiYumi. First, the full Japanese video:



Now the full English version, less interesting visually but more familiar to the American audience:



So, Teen Titans #1 passes my curiosity test. As with the JL, I'm interested to see how all the characters are introduced, most of whom I don't know very well anyway. I get to start fresh.