I have never been the biggest Teen Titans fan over the years. I can’t really say with any certainty just why that is, but the series has never really clicked with me in any of its incarnations. It wasn’t until I binge watched Young Justice (rest in peace sweet prince) that I found myself drawn to these younger characters. Comic wise I jumped on the ship quite late, having skipped the original Titans New 52 run and missing a few early issues of this new series. That being said, it hasn’t been hard to jump onboard and follow along with this series, even if I only picked it up originally because of the cool cover art.
Will Pfeifer shows that he is just as adept at handling the slower moments in a series as he is with the white-knuckle action beats of last months issue. It’s always nice to be able to take a breather every once in a while so that the reader has the chance to not only catch their breath, but to let the little nuances of the larger underlying story arc shine through. Don’t get me wrong, the book is sandwiched with some impressive action set pieces, but this is an issue that is setting the groundwork for some major upcoming plot points. What’s even more impressive is in the ability of Pfeifer to weave in what will undoubtedly be other side stories that will help to better flesh out certain individuals within the team.
The art is once again stylized and slightly over the top, but helps to keep the book in check and not lose itself to the dark and gritty nature of many of its compatriots. Scott Hepburn feels like he is drawing the kind of book he loves, with a great deal of care being given even to background persons and characters. While some of the minutia may get lost from time to time, it is by and large an exciting book on a visual level and fits with what I imagine the younger Titans world is.
I especially enjoyed the somber touches taken by both storyteller and artist with regards to handing the greater superhero world around them. Death is something that is constantly over these kids shoulders and seeing the kind on emotional impact of that without the need for a brooding macabre like atmosphere over the entire thing is a nice touch.
I guess the big thing here that most people want to hear about though, is the introduction of the new Power Girl. I am one that was never interested in the original Power Girl for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact that, to most people, the mere mention of Power Girl brings to mind her large breasts and not any one of her storylines or origin stories, Power Girl just seemed to me like an utterly boring character. This new Power Girl is nothing like her predecessor, and for that mere fact alone I am thankful.
While in story we have yet to see her dawn her Power Girl outfit, the cover art shows here in a full bodysuit with jacket. While it’s nothing special, let alone having much relation to the original Power Girl outfit, I applaud them for not trying to make her sole purpose on the team as just eye candy. God knows this new Titans series already had problems enough with that when it launched. So far I am having a blast with this series and I hope that the groundwork that this issue laid out becomes something special.
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