I haven’t followed the world of the Teen Titans since the launch of The New 52 (aside from the odd Batman crossover), so jumping into this series I wasn’t expecting much, especially with the apparent controversy over some of the character depictions since this new series began.
The book’s story is pretty cliché for a one-off story with a group of spoiled brats getting their hands on special pills that give them temporary powers to serve as the foils for this caper. Initially I wasn’t thrilled by the idea, having seen it done to death, but that part of the story quickly becomes nothing but an auxiliary to a much larger arc that has a great deal of promise.
What really comes through is the incredible art style that the book oozes in spades. Scott Hepburn offers some of the coolest artwork I have seen all year. He manages to keep a natural look for all the characters while infusing lots of hard angles that make everything pop and feel unique to the book. Dan Brown’s colors also help with the bright color palette giving the book a lighter tone in a DC universe that loves the dark and making every book look like Gotham City.
While many of the changes done with the characters weren’t my cup of teas when I saw them, they work here and the camaraderie between the cast can be seen not just in the writing, but in the art as well. Will Pfeifer takes a very basic comic story and weaves an interesting tale that managed to grab me. There is a lot going on here and with the introduction of a new hero to the mix, I am excited about what the future holds for the Teen Titans.
My only real gripe with the book is in the cover art. Not only does it give away a needless spoiler at the end of the book, nothing on it makes much sense. It’s not very eye catching with a solid green background, but most of the characters that our heroes are interact with aren’t even in the book. If you you really want to pick up Teen Titans #5 I highly suggest grabbing the awesome variant cover by Darwyn Cooke.
Teen Titans #5 is a fun read and is friendly to new readers, so if you have been wanting to jump on now would be an excellent time. The New 52 has done a pretty good job at reintroducing old characters in new ways and this issue is no different. I won’t spoil anything, but it sure was a treat seeing Manchester Black in his new role in the DCU. Good stuff all around and makes for an easy recommendation.
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