We're launching a graphic novel event at school in the spring and I thought I'd look at last November's Teen Titans Earth One as a possible recommendation for our library. We currently hold Superman Earth One and All-Star Superman; Astro City; Jeff Smith's Captain Marvel; Hawkeye; a couple of Essential Avengers and Spider-Man; V for Vendetta and others.
I was underwhelmed by Superman Earth One - a 90s-flavoured revamp that prefigured the widescreen catatstrophe ( in many senses) of Man of Steel. Similarly, I found Batman Earth One both too sensational and too bleak. While perhaps not global brands like the former, the Titans were, of course, one of DC's greatest success stories in the early 80s. Wolfman and Perez borrowed much of the torment, family bonding and the star-spanning scope of the Claremont and Byrne X-Men. If the Titans' character relationships seemed more histrionic and often more saccharine, the long-form story telling made their superheroics more grandiose and compelling than their JLA mentors.
However, the Titans have never fared that well since their 80s heyday, despite the cult appeal of the anime-inspired Teen Titans Go cartoon. In the increasingly dark and dispiriting New 52 DCU, the TTs were recently relaunched a second time- mere months before this graphic was published. Does this hardback incarnation have the freshness and vigour of the original series to which it pays tribute?
Well, yes and no. The Dodson art is appealingly cartoony and the writing is teen-friendly, apart from one gag about pubic lice- an increasingly typical DC misstep. I was reminded most of 90s books like Next Men and Gen 13 as a group of Oregon school pupils discover their super powers are the result of a secret experimental project.
Familiar faces from New Teen Titans are here: Cyborg, Changeling, Jericho, Starfire, Terra and Navajo mystic Raven-the biggest departure from the original model. Aside that is from armoured deadbeat dad Slade Wilson, who renacts an infamous early 90s sequence with his son Joey. There are other echoes of the original series,or in the Who fan vernacular, "kisses to the past" (ugh!) in that the Starlabs team are named after Doom Patrol members and there is a reveal of a sister "Blackfire" project in Utah.
While there can be no sense of legacy in the TTs world where they are the only super-beings, the greatest flaw in the graphic novel is the incomplete story. The previous publishing schedule for this line has been quite erratic so it may be a couple of years before a sequel sees print. I think this would have been a better vehicle for a monthly TT series - rather like the New Mutants graphic novel over 30 years ago.
Lemire's writing is servicable enough but I have the distinct impression he's most interested in being a tribute act to comics from the 80s. DC's Justice League United monthly was first advertised as Justice League Canada, reminding this reader inevitably of the torrid and much-missed Alpha Flight.
This comic salavaged some of the characters from the grim'n' grittty Johns/ Finch iteration of the JLA. I had long wanted to see a Finch-helmed take on DC's premiere super-team after the impact of the New Avengers a decade ago (!). Unfortunately this title, with its espionage angle, was subsumed into the Trinity War morass. However, Lemire took Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, tv's Green Arrow and the inexplicably enduring Stargirl ( Johns' tribute to his late sister) and blended them with Animal Man ( like GA, a character scripted previously by Lemire; Supergirl; a new take on Adam Strange and a brand new First Nation character, the elemental Equinox.
The tone of the series seems to be cosmic, despite the Canadian setting. The main villain is Silver Age Hawkman antagonist Byth; the first arc reintroduced obscure 60s Metamorpho-in-space oddity, Ultra the Multi-Alien; and Lobo, the dreary space bounty hunter -DC's Space Wolverine- lopped off Hawkman's arm.
The second arc focuses on a team-up with the Legion of Super-Heroes. I plan to write about the LSH's treatment over the past twenty years but suffice to say for now that the last Levitz run greatly disappointed me. Here we see the return of several classic Legionnaires and the meaningless deaths of Sun Boy and Star Boy happily reversed. There's also a new incarnation of the Infinite Man from my beloved late-70s giant issues of Superboy and the Legion. Even Justice League Detroit's forgotten foes the Cadre show up. Unfortunately, neither hero grouping gets enough of the limelight and the newly-forged JLCanada is lost in the mix.
While I've found the series entertaining if inoffensively vanilla- and successful in its reworking of science adventurers Adam Strange and Alanna- it too has several flaws. Cover copy suggests a shamelessly blatant attempt to cash in on the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I'm all for writers celebrating their own culture but character interplay is minimal and in no way resembles Alpha Flight's compelling blend of duality and tragedy. I wish Supergirl were treated with more respect and awe at DC generally and let's be honest: this book really needs Batman.
The story is extremely decompressed: the debut of the well-intentioned Cree viewpoint heroine Equinox is drawn out in the extreme. And the art, latterly by Britain's Neil Edwards, is workmanlike and rather plastic. I was most put off by another bloody crossover issue in the middle of the first story arc: the dystopian Future Past rip-off, Future's End. Aside from a guest spot from winged Legionnaire Dawnstar ( increasing the diversity of ethnicity), the issue introduced the hilariously 90s Vostok and Stormguard, future analogues of Iron Man and Cap, whom I'd rather not see again. I feel Lemire is worth watching but I'm not sure I want to see him helm a LSH title just yet.
Coming soon: The Reesinger Process
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In case you're interested, Dougie, there's a rendition of Service's Spell of the Yukon by Jim Reeves over on my blog somewhere. I think it's great - why not give it a listen (if you haven't already)? Just type 'Jim Reeves' into the blogger search box on my blog.
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