A night in the lives of...
Reviewers background:
So I have been keeping pretty quiet on the review fronts since sometime in the early days of the previous creative team, since I just couldn't bring myself to throw any more bile at it. So you can imagine I was pretty chuffed to hear of a new creative team relaunching the book. I had some concerns when I found out who it was though; a writer thats pretty loathed by other Wonder Woman fans for his (in my oppinion) kick-ass work on Amazons Attack and an artist I'd rather avoid if possible due to him designing the (in my mind) worst costume of the New 52. But with that in mind, lets jump in.
Series thus far:
The team has been slimmed down from the previous volume, mostly by getting rid of those characters who turned out to be psychopaths or so boring that no one really cared about them. They still live around New York, but not in either Tim's demolished appartments or the boat that ended up on the bottom of the harbor. Cassie has relocated from the west coast and Bunker shares his pad with Beast Boy.
In the first issue, the team is already on the roll when a group of terrorists try ramming a schoolbus into S.T.A.R. Labs, only for most of them to end up blown apart by their mystical sponsor, one in a bodycast and the Titans as instant stars, despite some of them appearing somewhat rougher than needed.
This issue:
As the Titans have wandered off for some R&R, Raven has ended up in the Bowery to attend a late night concert to get a taste of normal teenage life and unwittingly ended up hearing a band thats based itself on her. Everything is fine till Raven lets herself go a little too much and band along with audience realizes 'she has come amongst them'. Meanwhile Bunker and Beast Boy are walking around a park, basking in the glow of success from last issue, untill some poor smuck tries to mug them.
Without spoiling too much, Raven's moment of unexpected fame and fans is cut short when the recurring hench-robot-woman appears and is swiftly beaten down when the other Titans are summoned. Tim continues his solo-detective work into S.T.A.R. Labs and the terrorists while most of the other head off for early breakfast, and Cassandra's mom ends up facing twenty or so girls that make up with Wonder Girl Gang.
The oppinion:
Honestly... I love it. Compared to the last volume, this feels like a completely different team even if there's really nothing within to explain why they've changed. Gar and Miguel are reminders of the old Vic and Gar days, Raven's still mysterious and Cassandra is not acting like she's ready to lamp the nearest person at the slightest provocation. The only one really left out at this point is Tim, who has been mostly off on his own, but I suspect he's about to get the limelight in the next issue.
Also I really like that the Titans seem to now appear on people's radar, let me explain that. Under Geoff Johns, the Titans lived on an island, they spent most of their time saving/helping each other, and everything else just seemed to happen off-page. Like Raven was attending high school during that run, it was barely mentioned, and actually only appeared in other books. Now the team is sort of back to the Wolfman/Perez days, where they were local celebrities thanks to the media which turned on them occasionally, now they are inspiring people again, but in different ways and not all of them good.
Also while this issue is mostly what I would call a 'builder' with it's focus on character development, it does have a little fight that lets Raven showcase some of the stuff she can do and a little nudge forwards in regards to the actual story with STAR and the robot-lady.
Niggles:
While a really good issue, I do have some issues with it.
I've still not warmed to Rocaford's art as I find it needlessly busy and most of the characters have this stiff expression to them that makes me wonder if Kenneth wouldn't be an ideal artist to put on a book exclusively featuring robots. Though he is quite good at drawing animals.
The rather sudden and very quick response from the Titans to Raven's summons makes me wonder how far away they really were or if Raven called them at first sign of trouble.
We don't get much on what the goal of Manchester Black and his robot lady really is, which already was quite vague.
What we learn:
- Algorithm/Ladytron, the robot, is apparently the best sort of henchperson you can get, since she reassembles from scrap.
- Raven is invisible to cameras in cellphones
- Bunker might be drinking a little too deep of his own 'feel good' sauce
- Wasted muggers dont like huge birds
