So the first issue wasn’t bad, but still nothing great. Granted, my opinion may be a bit bias as I’m upset still volume 3 history is erased for the Titans and maybe even ALL Teen Titan history, depending if all of DC can get on the same page for this relaunch. Which, by the way, Lobdell apparently thinks there is previous Teen Titans history at least.
SPOILER WARNING!
This starts off confusing for me. First issue had Tim listening to a broadcast about Kid Flash. Well really, listening to multiple news reports about various different metas, but on the part of the screen going over Kid Flash it stated “until two months ago no one had ever heard of–” Gave me the impression at least Kid Flash first showed up about two months ago. This issue has Kid Flash beaten up having been captured by someone after his failed rescue attempt in the fire stating “So here I am an hour after my astonishing debut.” Makes me wonder then just who/what that two month bit from the first issue was about. At least Kid Flash in this prison has someone named Danny to talk to.
Tim now, he’s on a nice date with Cassie! They make a good couple as Tim stares at her invisible bracelets and Cassie takes invisible bracelets to mean boobs which she doesn’t seem to happy about. Tim being Tim starts to try and figure stuff out about NOWHERE while Superboy is apparently studying Cassie so he can bring her to NOWHERE, dead or alive. Either way, Cassie lets Tim sleep in the couch and it seems this Cassie could just be living alone. Alone in a house full of a lot of stolen items. Before bed Cassie actually thanks Tim for helping her then labels him as a “good guy” which as most guys should know means he doesn’t get any, so no sex in this DC comic. Not yet at least, though Tim does seem down about that fact (and I can’t say I blame him).
Come morning Tim hunts down Skitter – a girl named Claudia and the twin of the girl you see on the front cover. I find it a bit funny Tim is wearing a Green Lantern shirt, while disturbing some fat guy is wearing a Batgirl costume in the background that doesn’t even fit. Why that guy was tossed in is beyond me, but my retinas will be scared for a good while so thank you for that Brett Booth. But yes, Tim finds out what he thought was true, and that the girl told some government guys. Those government guys apparently sent out the most annoying bounty hunter (on retainer it seems) to hunt down Skitter. My head hurts just from reading the constant “I/we” in here. Seriously, no one actually talks like that so besides being annoyed it is extremely overused, I’m confused to exactly how this person is talking! It apparently is due to being triplets or at least brothers, but I don’t care. Still is a giant head ache. After a scuffle, the two (for a second joined into the fight) run off to attack Skitter. They fail, and Tim shows up and fails to make her believe him. In come confusing part again!
I can’t believe I’m thinking this, but this was so the shortest incarnation of the Teen Titans. Ever.
Yes, thank you Tim Drake for making it sound like there were previous incarnations of the Teen Titans! And right after some people for DC at the New York Comic Convention stated that there was never any Teen Titans in this relaunch universe. Guess Lobdell did not get that memo, or once again, different people through DC have different mindsets behind what is and isn’t still history here. F*&^ DC, get your stuff straight for you are killing me here to a point that I may give up on you and not even care how well some of these new stories are!
Sorry, but DC is really annoying me with this crap. But back to the actual story here, Tim soon finds himself in trouble against Skitter but luckily Cassandra “not Wonder Girl” Sandsmark shows up to save him. Almost as quickly as Cassie appears with the save, she takes off leaving Tim with a knocked out Skitter, and an excuse to jump to Kid Flash just before he makes his daring escape. And during said escape (with no Danny in sight), he comes across the new Solstice. She really looks different from the last one (apparently that black smoke-girl on the cover of issue one is Solstice), and I also wonder why they brought her back? Not that I didn’t find her interesting but she was around for what, the last 4 issues of volume three? I think it would have been nicer if they brought back someone older readers would recognize a bit better first, or even fans of one of the cartoon shows (Miss Martian, Beast Boy, or Raven, or a lot of others for example). That is where we get left off here though.
My bottom line, the newest Teen Titans here has been entertaining enough but nothing grand. As at least hinted by this review and the last one I wrote though, I’m finding it hard to fully enjoy this when DC is all over the place on past history. I really really hope they get things together soon, but that seems doubtful. Lobdell, your writing here isn’t that bad but still not near the Superboy levels for me. Booth’s art (besides one disturbing part) has been amazing, and Rapmund’s colors go a long way as well.
read/RANT! 
I hated issue #1, i will will poke through this one for S&G
I have come to the sad realization that DC comics as a whole does not know what is going on. It’s like everyone writing Green Lantern books said “Screw you guys we don’t want to do a relaunch.” While others, did a complete and total reset. And the more I read the more I think they are not communicating about what each of them are doing. According to Red Hood #1 and this issue of Teen Titans it seems there was a previous TT, but everyone at NYCC said no.
I have spent the last two months working on a timeline and SO many things do not add up.
I feel the pain. Why my last timeline was really just a rant about DC not keeping things straight.
Yeah, it was hard for me to fully enjoy it when halfway through we get notice by Tim that there was a Teen Titans in the past when DC just tried to tell us ‘nope, no TT ever before – hyuck!’ So DC at NYCC state no TT, Lobdell and his editor on this comic at least seem to think there is.
I’m at least going to try and make my assumptions based on what I want and what is seemingly stated in comic, rather than by ignorant (belligerent?) DC people. Comics seem to show Teen Titans have existed at least for Robin/Nightwing, so I’m going to assume they are history despite what NYCC stated for example. Two people in DC claim some Crisis stuff happened vs. Didio who says no Crisis… Well there have been some good hints towards a couple Crisis events in various comics so I’m going to believe at least some Crisis events still went on.
I’ll try to read that soon though. In between classes and gotta set up something soon for my next class that starts in an hour. I know someone linked me to a (Simone’s?) board with people complaining about Lobdell’s answers about how he view’s people’s take on Starfire that basically seem to be a “I don’t care, I like the way I did it” approach. Supposedly a Q/A with Lobdell will take place somewhere on there soon too.
Basically though it sounds like Lobdell just doesn’t care much outside of his own vision and whatever that encompasses at the time. Admirable in some aspects, but worrisome in others.
Hence the admirable. But worrisome in part for he as a writer should know what is going on (though I can understand if he doesn’t with DC being all over the place).
Also a bit worrisome that a lot of people have taken a negative view of Starfire and his answers have been basically come off to me at least as mostly ‘meh, dun care for I enjoy her now’.
I understand that if DC won’t give the writers definitive answers on what did and didn’t happen that that is a huge problem for them. However blindly stumbling forward is only going to make things worse. I mean here we are only two months in and the new DCU is full of contradictions and math that doesn’t add up.
The writers and the editorial staff need to get together and make some choices. They make themselves look bad when they publicly announce one thing only to have it disproved that month in an issue.
Well it also looks bad when some senior members of DC like Harras and Berganza state some Crisis events have happened and then another like Didio comes around stating there has never been any Crisis events.
Though I loved many of the Morrison Batman stuff and Teen Titans things, I’m feeling more and more that they either should never have done this (well okay, I always felt that way) or they should have done a pure from scratch reboot.
Exactly they should have done a complete reset or none at all