Scott Lobdell’s “Teen Titans” has gone from being fairly light book to stumbling through an uninteresting and angst-filled crossover in ‘The Culling’ and struggling to find its way after. Does its latest issue mark a turning point or is it further evidence for the mistakes that were made in some corners of DC Comics’ New 52?
Based on how specifically worded that question is, I’m betting you can guess which one “Teen Titans” #14 turned out to be.
Written by Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by Ale Garza– With Red Robin missing, the rest of the team heads to Gotham City in search of clues.
Allow me to start by pointing out that what happens in these 19 story pages of “Teen Titans” #14 is not reflected at all in the solicitation that was presented in Previews 2 months ago (seen above). What that solicitation says sounds infinitely more interesting and relevant to the DC Universe than what we actually get in these 19 pages. Have I mentioned that this comic book only has 19 pages of story?
The actual story is a continuation of issue #13, in which “Diesel” a love interest from Wonder Girl’s past, returns to steal the ancient magical armor that gives her power. Diesel and his armored cronies take on half of the Teen Titans in a head-to-head battle in Cambodia. Meanwhile, Bunker, Kid Flash, and Solstice remain stuck in New Jersey, presumably for no reason other than for Lobdell to make jokes about how awful New Jersey is. Bunker and Kid Flash fight boredom with bad jokes about playing X-Box and eating Hot Pockets while Solstice is tempted with the opportunity to gain a human form again.
“Teen Titans” under Lobdell has continuously bounced between teen angst and immature humor, neither of which has been handled very well, especially in recent issues. Bunker and Kid Flash sitting around making cracks about junk food and gossiping about their teammates adds almost nothing to the plot, even as a playful diversion. The reader is as bored with them as they are with New Jersey. Not a smart way to spend your precious 19 story pages. One segment where everyone goes back and forth about the fact that Superboy doesn’t understand modern American colloquialisms recalls Brian Michael Bendis’ irreverent dialogue runs, but in just about the worst way possible. Also, is “nerdist” really in the popular vernacular now? I hope not.
And so Lobdell’s jokery and diversions are tiresome enough without even getting to the meat of the story, which not only does a disservice to the Wonder Girl character, but doesn’t even agree with what we’ve come to know about the New 52 Wonder Girl in the first place. The arc is titled ‘The Origin of Wonder Girl’, which would have been a great opportunity to flesh out why we’re supposed to care about this sassy tough girl thief that Cassie Sandsmark has become. Instead, we get a melodramatic romantic downfall tale that carries no weight and is in no way believable. Diesel is written as something of a power-hungry moron who shouts things like “Kill them dead!” to his henchmen, yet we’re led to believe that Cassie has fallen for this guy for reasons that aren’t really clear. She proclaims to even love him still, despite him showing no capacity for redemption or any redeeming qualities of his own. This weakens her character, because she was to this point played as a very independent and savvy character. Speaking of her savviness, in this issue she claims to have left Diesel because she disavowed the life of thievery that he had taken up, yet one of the defining traits of her character when Lobdell kicked this whole mess off was that she was a thief herself. Did issue #1 not depict her driving a stolen car down the Pacific coastline?
Things are supposed to get emotional near the end of the book. This doesn’t work, of course, because the characters aren’t behaving like themselves. When the Teen Titans are finally all reunited, it isn’t long before some of them split off again and we spend a couple pages watching them run over to their other books so they can get in on the crossover action. After all, how could we live without actually watching these characters leave to participate in “Death of the Family” or go fight “H’el” or whatever? While there has been plenty of good that has come out of the New 52, this kind of editorial micromanagement is hurting books like “Teen Titans.” It seems as though some creative minds care more about putting every character exactly where they’re supposed to be, rather than making sure they are true to themselves or interesting.
Continued belowAle Garza’s art only confounds things more. His big-eyed manga-style faces and impossible proportions only serve to make the angst of the book less palpable. Not only that, but the storytelling doesn’t always seem to match the script or even previous panels. In one panel, the heroes sense the oncoming ambush of Diesel and his drones, who are visibly far away in darkness. In the next, they are literally inches away from the Titans, who react in shock. There is a concept inherent in comic book reading where the mind fills in the idea that the villains traveled this space in between the panels, but the way this instance was presented was comical. None of this surprises, given that this was a fill-in job for Brett Booth in a story that apparently doesn’t match what was originally solicited. There was one particular moment where Solstice has to see what she would look like as a normal human female again. She pulls her arms against her chest sheepishly in a skin-tight costume. The moment feels cheapened by a depiction of her that seems overly sexualized rather than one of genuine shock.
So with ill-fitting art, weightless fight scenes, insipid dialogue and pandering romantic elements, there just isn’t enough to like here at all. There are so many good comics coming out every week. Don’t let something more deserving miss your $2.99. This whole corner of the new 52 needs a reboot. And it honestly leaves one wondering whether its a blessing or not that there were only 19 pages of story.
Final Verdict: 1.0 – somebody think of the children. The poor DCU children.
