Titans #26, #27 and #28 - DC

Issues #26 and #27 deals with Roy's reacquainting with Jade. She's trying to deal with the loss of Lian . . as is Roy, so they've kind of reached out to each other. Roy is also dealing with the loss of his arm, and because of all that has gone back to using. I have to say, I'm glad that Eric Wallace is focusing more on these two dealing with their loss than necessarily Roy's addictions. I know that it is an issue that Eric's going to have to deal with eventually, but . . I think if he focused on it right now it would take away from other parts of the storyline. Plus, when Eric does finally deal with it, I think he should do so in another mini-series. Obviously Roy's actions and frame of mind have an effect on the people he's around, and working with, but . . I think the heart of that story should be explored in it's own format. Anyways, it seems like Jade wants Roy to suffer a little bit. She hasn't come right out and said so, but . . I think, and it seems only natural, that she would hold him accountable for her loss. That is as well as herself. But, the person that she's really mad at right now is Slade. Which is the reason that she's asked Roy to join up with these new 'Titans'. She wants to kill Slade, but she knows that she's probably not going to be able to do that by herself. These two issues show us the beginning of their plan . . getting Roy into the mix. And in doing so, Slade has accepted a job of retrieving a rich man's son who was taken. What they find is that there's this guy named Elijah . . he kind of looks like Brick from Star City, who's got this new drug on the street called Bliss. When they go to his facility they find that the main ingredient of this drug is some kind of hormone that occurs naturally in children. Which is why this kid was really taken . . not for the ransom. And Elijah has his own group of 'metas' . . the Dominators. Of course there's a big fight, and in the end the 'Titans' win, but . . what have they really won? Roy ends up being the one that actually sets all these kids free. Which is good for him. I guess. But Jade is disillusioned even more about Slade because she thinks that their assignment was to come here, shut down this operation, and liberate all of these captured children. However, in the end, she finds out that Slade was only ever really after the one kid . . the rich kid . . the $10 million payday. And he looks like he couldn't care less what happens to anything, or anyone else. But this also had something to do with one of Elijah's men . . DJ Molecule. But I'm not sure what. Earlier Slade is thinking about the Deftech schematics that Jade and Richards had gotten him. He's thinking about how he's 'one step closer to achieving his true objective. Cheating death itself.' So I'm not sure if DJ Molecule is another component of that plan or not. Anyways, we got a little glimpse into Cinder's mind. And Amon Tomaz, Osiris, is contacted by the White Light. He's told . .'Your sister is needed. Help Isis break free.' Which then leads later on, during the fight with Elijah, where he's accidentally given a dose of Bliss. While he's hallucinating, he thinks he sees his sister. It's through this vision that he makes the connection that the cracks in her statue . . he assumes the rock trying to break free . . occurs whenever he kills someone. So now, his justification for killing is that he's trying to save his sister. Anyways, issue #28 starts out a new storyline where the 'Titans' have been hired to break someone out of Arkham Asylum. But there's lots of reasons for this plan to go bad. First of all, they use a corrupt, greedy guard to get into the facility. That plan always works out. Then, during the course of their infiltration, Jade discovers that Roy is high. Amon is wresting with what he's discovered during his recent 'vision'. And because of that decides that he's going to kill this guard, since he's already a 'bad-guy'. And when the alarm is sounded . . a product of the guards death, Batman is entered into the mix and the issue ends with him face to face with Slade. We also find out that this was all apparently to break out the Mad Hatter. And also for a girl . . Allegra Garcia. Although I'm not really sure who she is. In the beginning of the story we get a glimpse of Ivy Town, where Ray Palmer is starting to look into Ryan Choi's disappearance. I'm not sure what that has to do with this storyline, but it's titled . . 'Family Reunions'. I'm not sure if it's going to be connected to the back-up story in Adventure Comics or not. But I have to say . . so far, I like the way that Eric is handling this team, and these characters. The focus for the most part right now is on Jade and Roy. But we are getting glimpses of Amon, Cinder and Richards. As well as whatever this plan is that Slade is trying to put together. I think he's got a good mix here, and there's a lot of potential. But that's the way this book has always been . . lots of potential, but short on the payoff. I guess we'll have to wait and see if Eric can get a different result. So far . . I think he's on the right path. I'm also enjoying Fabrizio Fiorentino and Cliff Richards' art. I think they give the book a good feel that's similar, but different . . from what we've seen before. Of course, I'm also thrilled to death that this book wasn't cancelled like I thought it was going to be. 'Long Live the Titans!' Or Legion. Whatever!

Teen Titans #85 - DC

I'll admit it . . I wasn't thrilled with Felicia D Henderson's stories when she first took over this book. I don't know why. I can't pinpoint a certain thing. They just didn't feel right to me. However, now that she's gotten through the first couple of issues, I also have to admit that I think she's getting better and better with every passing chapter. As well as the artwork of Jose Luis. He definitely has a Ed Benes style to him. Who coincidentally inks his work on the cover. And I think he is also improving with every issue. Most of this issue Aquagirl and Bombshell spend inside of some kind of sea-monster. They got swallowed up last issue, and don't work their way out until near the very end of this one. Also M'Gann spends most of the issue trying to convince the tech-geeks that she needs to also get into the Wylde to help her team-mates. They end up hooking her up to some kind of experimental device that, I guess, expands her consciousness and allows her to enter the Wylde as pure thought. Kind of an astral projection, I guess. Anyways, the rest of the team have found Raven . . they know where she's at, but now they just have to get past all the defenses and actually get to her. However, when M'Gann finally does make contact . . it appears that the Wylde has come back through and taken over her body. We'll have to see how all of that plays out next issue. One theme that definitely comes up this issue, as the team is trying to fight it's way to Raven, is that Cassie and Connor definitely still love each other. That comes up over and over again. Overall I thought it was a pretty decent issue. We don't make a whole lot of actual progress with the story, but . . a few things are explained a little better. I'm also not thrilled with the backup story . . 'Coven of Three'. I think it's a neat idea, putting Zachary, Alice and Traci together, but . . I don't really care all that much about these characters. And this story by Rex Ogle and Ted Naifeh, I don't feel is going to change that. It's interesting. Just not all that engaging. But, as far as the Titans go . . I feel like that book is heading in the right direction. But . . I've said that before. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. So . . we'll just have to wait and see.

Titans #25 - DC

I have to say . . Eric Wallace's story had me just a little confused here. Last issue we found out that the Titans were hired to protect Lex Luthor. Well . . they thought they were hired to take him out, when actually they were hired to expose the chink in his security. It turns out the head of his security was a shape-shifter by the name of Facade. The issue starts out with Lex and Slade in the sewers fighting this chick. The rest of Slade's 'Titans' are on the surface wondering what's going on. They come down to join him, but . . this was a one man show pretty much right from the beginning. Anyways, it turns out that Facade was actually more machine than human and Slade takes her out with a combination of electromagnetics and magnetism. Ta-da! The threats over, now everyone can go home and have a beer. However, we also find out that this little adventure had put quite a strain on this rag-tag group of characters that Slade put together. Osiris is about ready to leave the group, and Jade has become a liability because she can't get past mourning for her daughter. Not to mention that the Tattooed Man is also questioning his involvement. But Slade gets them to hang on for another day. He convinced that he has to get them ready for something that's coming. The part that had me kind of confused was Lex Luthor's role in all of this. We find out later that it appears that Facade was actually one of his own corporate experiments. And apparently some of his scientists had decided to try to use it against Lex. But there's also a hint that maybe he did this all as a test. I'm not really sure. That part of the story was more than a little confusing. Anyways, Osiris is still clinging to his quest to bring his sister back. I thought it was an interesting issue. Eric did a decent job with the story. I thought Fabrizio Fiorentino did a great job with the art, and cover. I think my whole problem is, it just doesn't seem like a 'Titans' book to me. I don't know. Maybe it'll grow on me.

Teen Titans #84 - DC

This issue is ok. I think we're heading in the right direction. But . . I'm just not thrilled with it. The team has split into two groups. Aquagirl and Bombshell are heading into the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently that's where the energy for the portal into Wylde's world shows up. So, they're going to there to lock down the energy, while the rest of them navigate the portal and Wylde's world from somewhere in northeast Asia. How they came up with that spot . . I'm not entirely sure. But . . the efforts work and Cassie leads a team into Wylde's world to find Raven. Other than that? Not a lot happens. Aquagirl and Bombshell do a little bonding, from the bottom of the Atlantic. And they've noticed that everything seems a bit off . . the temperature, the ecosystem, the fish . . basically everything. And they have to chase after the energy of the portal when it moves. Which actually leads into a trap. Their part of the story ends when they're swallowed by a very large eel-type looking fish. Meanwhile the rest of the gang face a couple of challenges in this alien environment. But Static comes up with an idea of blanketing the entire world in a radio signal. Basically he's trying to give Connor something distinctive to listen to. And it works . . until they all seem to be electrocuted by lightning. But somehow this alerts M'Gann back at Titans Tower. The story ends with her also trying to get to Wylde's world. She feels the overwhelming urge that if she doesn't get their soon, the rest of the team may never come back. But . . we don't know why. So far I thought this was the best part of the story yet produced by Felicia D Henderson. I didn't really like her first 2 issues. But she seems to be finding her spot now. We'll just have to see how this story progresses. I did like Jose Luis' pencils. But, I liked his stuff when he did the Red Tornado mini-series also. His style fits in nicely with these characters. Anyways, I don't feel that the book is back to it's greatness, yet. But . . I think we're at least heading in the right direction. I can see some promise. The back-up story is about Traci 13, Zatarra and Black Alice. There are some demons trying to get into our world and apparently they're using these 3 magic wielders desires to alter the reality. It's an interesting story. I don't know that it's worth the extra buck for the book though. It's by Rex Ogle and Ted Naifeh. Again . . we'll just have to wait to see where it goes. I love this team, and I want this book to last. I hope they can pull it all together.

Titans #24 - DC

Well, with this issue . . apparently Wilson and his 'Titans' have taken over the mantle. Although, I don't think either the Titans, or the Teen Titans really know that yet. Plus, I hate to say it, but the Titans team really is no more. Most of them are either in the JLA now, or off on their own someplace. Like Kory . . traveling through the DC Universe. Anyways, it appears the Titans have also taken on their first 'job'. Remember, they're 'Heroes', or 'Villains' (?) for hire now. And their first target? Lex Luthor. These guys haven't been together long, and it seems like Slade kind of throws them together this issue for this mission. They don't really seem prepared. But . . that's kind of the point. Apparently Luthor has a traitor in his midst. He wants to find out who it is. Luthor tries to figure out who it is, but he's hired Slade to flush them out . . should his own persuasion fail. Which is does. Anyways, the point of them not really working cohesively is to minimize the risk of one of them actually taking out the target. They don't know that they're actually here to help Luthor . . not kill him. So they go at his limo, and security with great enthusiasm. They don't really accomplish much. That is until Cinder decides that she's done playing and blows up Luthor's car. But by then Luthor and Nava, his new assistant, as well as the 3 men that are suspect have taken to the sewers. It appears that Nava is the traitor and she's about to shoot Luthor . . until Slade shows up and shoots her in the head. But even that doesn't keep her down. On the final page we see her pop back up. 'He won't make it out of the sewers alive . . Facade always completes an assignment!' Ok, so . . who is Facade? It looks like we have a couple of things to figure out here. I thought this was a pretty good opening chapter by Eric Wallace. He's also got some of the characters doing their own thing. Such as Cheshire and the Tattooed Man who rob Deftech Industries for some digital schematics. I'm not sure what they're up to, but . . Slade doesn't know about it. And Osiris is obsessed with trying to bring Black Adam and his sister back to life. Which, when he lashes out at one of Luthor's body-guards . . killing him, a crack appears on his sister's statue. So Eric gave us a little character development, as well as a good story. I also really liked Fabrizio Fiorentino and Mike Mayhew's art. It looked fantastic. Fabrizio also did the cover, so that gives you a little peak at what the inside looked like. Overall, I thought it was a great start to this new chapter.

Teen Titans #83 - DC

I thought this was a better issue of Teen Titans. I like the inclusion of the Cadmus scientists. They aren't necessarily part of the team, but . . I think it's good to have someone with a more level head, and a different perspective, involved in some of the events that these young heroes get wrapped up in. And don't worry, they aren't 'supervisors' or 'baby-sitters'. They're more like support . . technical support. And I think it's about time. Anyways, I think Felicia D Henderson is doing a better job with her stories. They seem to flow better, and are more cohesive. However, I do still feel that she needs to work on the dialogue. There were a few spots that were a little to 'cartoonish' for me. Some typical 'comic-book' dialogue, that to me just didn't feel comfortable. But . . that comes with experience, so . . I'm sure she'll get there. Anyways, we know that the Wylde took Raven to their dimension. This issue we find out why. It appears that before Raven visited them, while on her search for her father, her energies mutated the dimension and the landscape. Essentially, she created the Wylde. So, either they've captured her for revenge, or to make her their monarch. I'm leaning towards the former. The Titans seem to think that only Raven's energies can destroy the Wylde, so . . the want to consume her before she has the chance. Either way I don't think it's a good situation, and when the Titans do finally get there . . I think they're going to find it a lot rougher than even they expect. Most of the issue is spent with the scientists trying to find out where this dimension is, and how to get there. And the Titans are involved with that also. Various members help with different parts of it. But for the most part, while that search is going on, we get some maintenance on some of the other 'relationships' in the group. Some are moving on, and some aren't. While some are ending, and some are just beginning. Overall, it's kind of the typical life of the typical teenager. These ones just happen to come with batteries. The issue ends with them coming up with a plan on how to go after Raven. Next issue . . the battle begins. We also get an interesting back-up this issue. It's a new story by Rex Ogle and Ted Naifeh. It involves Traci 13, Black Alice and Zatarra. It appears that there's 3 demons that want to get over to our world, but to do so they have to find someone willing to trade places with them. They're watching these 3 and attempting to play on their teen-aged angst. It was interesting, and we don't see these characters much, so . . we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I still don't think this title is back to what it used to be, but . . this issue did seem to make progress in the right direction.

Titans - Villains for Hire Special #1 - DC

It appears that Slade has decided to put together a team of his own. And he's decided to call them . . the Titans. He doesn't say why. Just that . . 'It's personal'. His team includes the Tattooed Man, Cheshire, Osiris and a newcomer . . Cinder. This is how the credits read . . 'From the hope of a brighter day, the mercenary Deathstroke has lured four lost souls for a mission only he knows. Villains for hire. This lethal strike team tackles the most Volatile and profitable jobs in the world. These are the all new, all dangerous . . Titans!' Maybe Slade has a grander mission, but this time . . this time he's been hired by Rundine, Dwarfstar, to take out Ryan Choi . . the all new Atom. The funny thing about Slade is that no matter what he's doing, he always follows his strict code of ethics. While they're all fighting in Ryan's house, his girlfriend Amanda stops by. Slade order everyone to stand down and tells Ryan to take care of it. After Ryan talks to her and sends her away, he asks Slade why. 'She's not the mission. The mission is . . killing you.' Anyways, in order to get this band of wandering souls together, he has to promise each of them something. I just think that some of these promises are things that he's not going to be able to deliver upon. Cheshire has gotten sloppy ever since Lian died. Because of that, she screwed up her last mission. And now the target is hunting her. 'Join us and I'll make sure you're problem is taken care of. Permanently!' That one I don't have any doubt he can do. The Tattooed Man's son was killed because of the recent events in the Ink mini-series. 'Leon's murderer has gone underground. But I know where. Join us, Mark, and I'll deliver his head on a platter.' I'm sure he can deliver on that one also. However, Cinder seems to be someone that's come into her powers recently. And she appears to have suffered abuse in her life. She's been hurt enough that she's using her powers to burn away the bad men that like to hurt women. No matter what she has to do to do it. 'I'll deliver the monsters you can' t reach. Politicians. Cardinals. Kings. All you have to do is join me. You can't burn them away, Carla. No matter how hard you try.' To me, that one seems a little vague. I think he just sees her as a weapon with which all he has to do is point. Finally Osiris . . he's having trouble bringing Black Adam and Isis back to life. He's been recently brought back, so he doesn't understand why he can't return the favor. After all, both of them deserve a chance much more than he does. Slade promises him, 'I can make it so your sister and Adam live again. I have friends.' That one I have a little bit of a problem believing that he can pull off. Plus, now that they've come together and helped him kill Ryan . . Oh Yeah! Sorry! Spoiler alert! Ryan Choi is dead!, but I'll get to that in a minute . . now that they've helped him complete their first mission, he doesn't really have any incentive to actually follow through with those promises. Right now he's holding that over their heads, and using it to coerce them into staying. 'You're free to go at any time, Richards. The same goes for any one of you. Any more questions?' Of course if they do leave, then they have no hope of finding the answers they seek. Anyways, yes . . at the end of this story, Slade runs his blade through Ryan and kills him. He then delivers the body to Rundine in a matchstick box. I thought it was a great issue. The only question I had was how Ryan lasted as long as he did against these guys. According to powers and experience, these guys had Ryan trumped . . big time. And it was finally Slade that took him down. I thought Eric Wallace did a terrific job with this story. This issue he showed us how Slade brought everyone together. Even if we don't know why . . yet. The art was done by a team of talent. It includes Fabrizio Fiorentino, Mike Mayhew, Sergio Arino and Walden Wong. But when this story carries over into the Titans monthly title . . starting with issue #24, Eric and Fabrizio with be taking care of the talent. And there's some neat stuff lined up for that book, already. The Titans next target is . . Lex Luthor. And it looks like in issue #26 . . Arsenal will be joining the team. I think this is going to be an exciting series. I can't wait to see what happens.

Teen Titans #82 - DC

I was a little confused about what happened in this issue. I mean . . I know our team is in Dakota fighting Holocaust. And I know he's a real powerhouse now because the Bang made Holocaust an avatar of destruction . . a force of nature. But the only really power he's exerting here is in his fight against the Titans. I mean, before Static and the Titans came to town, Holocaust was in control because of a virus that he had manufactured and let loose. Since he possessed the only known vaccine . . he made money off of selling limited supplies to the doctors, hospitals or pharmacies. And since it was in limited supplies, those vaccinations made prime targets for criminals to high-jack. Sometimes, I'm sure, Holocaust's own men. And then he used that money to expand his already thriving empire in Dakota. So anyways, the Titans spend most of this issue trying to beat him down, but eventually they are successful. But where do you put a guy like this? The Titans answer? The Flash forms a gravity well and sends Holocaust to the center of the Earth. 'Since he's going to have to climb out by hand, it'll be quite a while before we hear from him again.' Ok. I have more than a few questions about that, but . . it's a comic book, so . . I'll let artistic license fly. I just say that the whole thing seemed more than a little . . contrived. So . . after Static says a few goodbyes, the team is off to San Francisco to get some medical attention for Raven and M'Gann. But the lackey of Holocaust's, whom they brought along for whatever reason . . he changes form and bust out of the Titans jet. And in the process he creates some kind of dimensional rift which he then takes the unconscious Raven in to. And all of that action happens on the final page of the story. And . . that's the part I'm confused about. I mean . . from reading the previews I know that the Titans are heading into Trigon's dimension, and this guy was probably one of his sons. But why did he go to the trouble of working with Holocaust, and providing him with this virus, just to get the Titans attention. I mean . . he probably could've done so without such an elaborate scheme. It all seemed a bit overplayed to me. I wasn't thrilled with the story this issue. It was written by Felicia D Henderson. Now the art on the other hand, by Jose Luis, was awesome. This guy is doing a great job and he seems to be getting better with every issue. On the plus side . . Connor, Bart and Vic are back. Now if we can just give them an adventure worthy of their talents. Also this issue . . we wrap up the Ravager story-line. This was by Sean McKeever and Yildiray Cinar. It was ok. A bit predictable, but . . it's always nice to see the Ravager in action. Yildiray also seems to be improving with every issue. I'm holding on as best I can, but . . these last few issues have really let me down. I just keep hoping for it to get better. And hoping . . and hoping . . and hoping . . . . .

Teen Titans #81 - DC

Well . . it looks like this team might be getting some of it's 'heavy' weight back. Unfortunately it's not until the end of this issue. So we have to wade through all of this story about Static and Dakota and Holocaust. It's really kind of a boring story. Static went to Dakota because he'd heard that there was some kind of flu outbreak there. The problem was . . whoever was supplying the antidote was trying to make money off of it. Long story short, there seems to be a complete breakdown of the infrastructure of Dakota. And it all seems to be orchestrated by Holocaust. Anyways, Static goes to Dakota alone. But it isn't long before the rest of the Titans feel guilty and try to join up with him. Of course by then, Holocaust already has him in his sights. At the end of last issue he also caught Wonder Girl, Bombshell and Aquagirl. But Gar, Raven, Megan and Jaime aren't about to give up on their friends. Eventually they find them, but . . Holocaust may be more than they can handle. However, it isn't long before some back-up arrives in the form of some friends that have decided to come out of retirement . . Cyborg, Superboy and Kid Flash. It looks like the teams finally going to be getting some of it's heavy-weights back on the roster. But first they have to wrap things up here in Dakota. Like I said, I thought this issue was kind of boring, but . . it looks like they're setting us up for a more interesting on next time. Felicia D Henderson writes it, with Joe Bennett doing the art. The Ravager back-up seems to be coming along ok also. It's by Sean McKeever and Yildiray Cinar. I'm not thrilled with the story, but . . Rose is a great character. Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad story. It just seems like it's been dragging on for way to long. I just hope that with some of it heavy-weights back this book will start picking up some steam. I love these characters, but the book just seems a little 'forced' right now. But I still have hope!

Titans #23 - DC

As much emotion as there was in that last issue of Green Arrow . . so to is this issue filled with the regret and love of Roy's original team-mates . . the Teen Titans. Dick, Wally and Donna spend this issue trying to figure out what they can do for Roy now, but . . they're also thinking about the past. When they were a group, as the original Teen Titans, they didn't always agree on things. And more often than not, Roy was the voice that rang out against the rest of the team. I think a lot of the problem came because Donna was the only girl on the team. I'm not saying it was her fault, but . . this was a group of teen-aged boys, and one hot chick. You know there was jealousy and competition between them. There had to be. And they each had their own separate personalities that she was attracted to. Dick was the rock-solid one. The one that you could always count on. Wally was much like his namesake . . Speedy. He was aloof, flighty and easily distracted. And Roy . . Roy was the bad-boy. And for some reason . . the girls always go for the bad-boys. Personally . . I think it's because when they do show those rare moments of emotion and feeling, that it's so opposite of how they usually act that the girls are completely thrown out of balance. Anyways, at the time, Dick and Wally didn't really let Roy get away with anything. They didn't give him an inch, and they called him out on every mistake he made. Which, right now . . they're feeling guilty as hell about. They've already lost Garth . . they don't want to lose another friend. In the end though, they make the right decision. They decide that all they can do right now is to be there for him. They need to help him get past his physical injuries, and they have to be there to help him deal with the loss of Lian . . which he doesn't even know about, yet. That's going to be an emotional conversation. Eddie Berganza wrote this issue, and I thought he did a great job. Scott clark and Ardian Syaf do the art. I thought it was one of the best issues of this title in quite a while. You almost get the feeling that this is the end of the series, but . . apparently they're just taking a little hiatus. Issue #24 is listed as a June release. The new creative team will be Eric Wallace and Fabrizio Fiorentino. It'll follow a special called Titans: Villains for Hire, and will feature the return of Deathstroke. I'm sure the couple of months in between will be used for Roy's character to work through everything and decide on his future. Hopefully he'll be a part of this team. I really do love these characters . . through thick and thin.

Teen Titans #80 - DC

To be perfectly honest . . I wasn't very thrilled with this issue. Maybe it was the whole thing with the Milestone characters . . I don't know, but . . everything just seemed kind of forced. Static has gone back to Dakota because of the flu outbreak . . basically. I mean, he knows there's more to it than just that. There's the whole thing with the hording of the vaccinations, and there's a lot of panic in the streets over all of this, but . . basically it's flu outbreak. So Holocaust realizes that Static is in town and wants to try to convince him to get in league with him. Probably because he's not thrilled about the alternative. It wouldn't be good for business for Static to be running around wreaking havoc. But everything about his 'sell' is just lame. At one point Holocaust is talking about all or the money that he's personally sunk into the neighborhoods. He says that he'll be 100% legit inside of 2 years. And that part of the problem is that he's having trouble with some of the other gangs and crime organizations don't really want the peace. So . . there's a couple of things wrong there. First . . if it's going to take him 2 years to become legit . . then no matter how he spins it, he's not legit now. Secondly, even if he's trying to help the community . . he's still fighting with the other gangs. Which is what he's always done. So . . nothing has really changed. It all just seemed like to much of a hard sell. I don't know why Holocaust is trying so hard. Yes it's Static, but . . it's one person. I don't know that 1 person could make that much of an impact. Plus . . I don't know why Static is even bothering to listen. He knows Holocaust's history. Anybody can 'talk the talk', but can he 'walk the walk'? The other thing that I couldn't buy was that the Teen Titans came to help Static out. But . . they wander around Dakota for 2 days and haven't seen or heard a trace of him. I mean . . they're the Teen Titans. Somebody is going to notice. But then when Static finally refuses Holocaust's offer . . he tells him that he doesn't buy his story . . Holocaust attacks, and all of the sudden the Titans are right on top of him. I wasn't overly thrilled with the dialogue either. Anyways, I've been trying to stick with these guys through thick and thin. I like this group. And now . . now they seem to be getting their team back together. Garfield and Raven have arrived. And then they come in to a story like this. I'm sorry . . I just couldn't get in to it. Even the art was off. There were some panels that looked really . . goofy. I don't know. That's the best way I can describe it. Hopefully this will clear itself up a little bit next issue. Or at least wrap up the story so that we can move on to something else. This issue . . I was not a fan. Sorry. Felicia D Henderson wrote it, with Joe Bennett and Eduardo Pansica on the pencils. All I can say is . . better luck next time.

Titans #22 - DC

Well . . it looks like the Titans are down to just Vic and Kory. Now that Gar and Raven have taken off for San Francisco. Donna has decided to pursue her own life . . again. As has Wally. Although Wally's is a bit more complicated. He's just got so much going on. Even for the fastest man alive, his plate is well past being full. Dick is now under another cowl, and Roy . . well, Roy still hasn't recovered from what's happened to him during Cry for Justice. Prometheus has effectively taken everything away from Roy. It may be a while before he feels the 'team-spirit' again. So Vic and Kory are alone when Phobia attacks. I'm not even sure why she attacks. But we do get a little bit of her background in the process. However, it's not long before Kory and Vic recover and they return the favor. They end up on the West coast celebrating Heroes Day with the rest of the Titans. But Kory is still thinking about taking off to space. Right now, Donna appears to be the only thing holding her back. Which leaves Vic. Will he be able to rebuild the Titans? Does he even want to? Is there any future here at all? Well . . there's only 2 issues listed in the previews . . #23 and #24. So, after that . . I don't know. #24 isn't listed as the final issue, so . . I guess we'll have to wait and see what the future holds. This issue was brought to us by JT Krul and Angel Unzueta. I know it's depressing, but . . I thought it was a good issue. It appears that we're in the final stages of the Titan's deconstruction. So . . there's no place to go but up from here. Right?

Teen Titans #79 - DC

This issue is all about Virgil . . obviously, from the cover. He has to go back to Dakota because there's a virus going around town. That's normal this time of year. However, there's a couple of things fishy about this outbreak. First of all there's limited vaccinations available. Again, not something to be overly concerned about. But, there only seems to be one pharmaceutical company that can even get their hands on it . . Hollander Enterprises. The vaccinations they do get they offer to the kids first, and then there's a lottery for the adults. Except some of the criminals aren't waiting for their chances at the draw. They're trying to make their own opportunities. Which is turning this town into the wild-wild-west. All of this is fueling Virgil's guilt over having been away for so long. He feels like he's let his city, his neighbors, his friends & family all down. He jumps to the conclusion that Hollander is making both the virus and the vaccine. So he goes to confront them. There he runs in to Holocaust, Pyre . . who used to be with Blood Syndicate. While all of this is going on, Cassie goes to have a little heart-to-heart with Vic. I know this is silly, but it kind of reminded me of a scene from the Godfather. Like Vic was the don of the family. Anyways, she works out some of her personal issues and takes control of the team . . finally. And they decide to go give Virgil a hand . . whether he's asked for it or not. Felicia D Henderson writes this story. I thought she did a decent job. Like I said, it's more a story about Static than necessarily the Titans. Although they'll be joining the picture next issue. Joe Bennett did the art. I thought it looked great. In the back-up, Ravager finds that she's still being manipulated by Will. The recent events that she thought took place yesterday, actually happened weeks ago. In the meantime, he's been administering a drug to her to try to make her his slave . . his one man army. But now he's had weeks to get away from here. This story is by Sean McKeever and Yildiray Cinar. Overall, I thought it was a good book. The story was a little predictable, but . . most of the Titans are together. At least there's a team to work with.

Titans #21 - DC

We see a majority of the Titans this issue, but . . they aren't back together. They get together to fight some Dark Nemesis chumps . . even Wally comes running. But they're really just looking for an excuse. The Dark Nemesis goon were just minor leaguers. As soon as the fight is over, Wally and Donna take off. Wally wants to be there for Barry . . he feels like he's missed so much. And Donna is concerned about Roy. Remember . . he got his arm cut off in Cry for Justice. Raven and Gar have taken off for California, and the Teen Titans. And Kory? Kory has been offered membership in the JLA, from Vixen. So basically . . Vic is alone in holding down the fort. However, when Kory goes to Gotham to talk to Dick about her opportunity, and decision, he reminds her 'If you do decide to join the JLA, we'll still be a family. The Titans are always together . . when it really matters.' Which really helps her to make the final jump. Now all she has to do is go back and talk to Vic about it. Vic's problem is that when he tried to put together a team on his own . . Titans West . . his new recruits were all hurt, or killed. He'll never forgive himself for that. So, when trying to put together a new team . . he wants experience over raw power. There's plenty of new faces out there that he could choose from. But he's afraid to go down that road again. Which, at the end of the issue when Phobia shows up, she uses against him. And then she turns the table on Kory. She finally knows what Kory's darkest fear is . . she's afraid to be alone. One thing the Titans have never been short on is character development. JT Krul seems to be doing a great job of keeping that going. He really brings out a lot of emotions in these characters. Angel Unzueta and Chris Batista do the art. It looks ok, but Angel's solo work looks alot better . . like that on the cover. Anyways, it looks like things are really going to hit bottom for the Titans next issue. But . . it appears that in March, with their Annual and Titans #24 things will finally start to turn around. There may be a bright future for this team yet. Once they get past all of this . . crap.

Teen Titans #78 - DC

This issue of the Teen Titans didn't even really feature any of them. Unless of course you still consider Rose a Titan. I don't know. Some people do . . some people don't. I guess . . I do. Anyways, this issue revolves around Slade's family . . Rose, Joey and even Grant. They come together out of necessity and end of revealing and evolving much of their dysfunctional relationship. Grant, now a Black Lantern, ends up bringing them all together. We learn a lot about Joey. And in covering each other's back . . as well as dealing with all the verbal assaults that are thrown their way, Rose and Joey really come back together. But the biggest 'reveal' of this whole issue was when Slade was talking about how he had sent his children out into the world. He trained them the best he could, but he knew that they would never be safe if they stayed with him. They'd always be a target for those coming after him. That's why, in his mind, he deduced that the Titans would be the best place for them to gather team-mates and friends that would get their back. Plus . . it would be a sense of family for them. Something that he would never be able to provide. But that . . that we all knew. That's been gone over numerous times. The 'reveal' I think comes in the realization by Slade . . that was the best plan for them. However . . things change. With this new threat on the horizon, he now thinks that their best bet would be to stick together. I don't think he has any illusions of a family, but . . he thinks they would make an unstoppable team. Joey decides that he agrees. But Rose? Rose has also realized something. 'My mother is still alive. Think about it, Slade. All these corpses that came after us were people from our past. People who could push our buttons . . get a rise out of us. Wade, Wintergreen, Grant. Even Adeline. So, why didn't my mom show up? Where was her undead corpse? I'm going to find the only person smart enough to keep as far away from him as possible. And I swear to god, Slade, if you ever go looking for Lillian, or try to contact her, or even Google her name, I promise . . I will kill you.' Whether she's right or not, in the end Slade let's her go. 'It's given her hope. That's more than most of us have.' Over the last few issues, JT Krul has shown that he really has a good handle on these characters. Unfortunately it doesn't look like he'll be staying on this book. Felicia D Henderson comes on board as the writer next issue. She'll be here, at least, for the next story arc. However, it does look like JT will be on the Titans book for a little while. Joe Bennett provided some great art for this issue. And it looks like he'll be the artist in residence for the foreseeable future. I know this book has it's ups and downs, but I still love it.

Titans #20 - DC

This issue finally puts Donna in the position where she's at least starting to think about creating a life of her own . . at last. She's been so preoccupied with the Titans . . her team-mates, her friends, her family . . that she's really ended up living her life around them. When she does get a chance to do something, she worries about who she's letting down by not being there for them. So she decides to take a chance. She gets a call from someone asking for Donna Prince, her short-lived civilian identity, offering her a photography job. Anyways, long story short . . the job is in Miami Florida and it ends up being a set-up by the Fearsome Five . . the new Fearsome Five. By the way, this story takes place before Blackest Night. Anyways, apparently someone has hired Shimmer, and her gang, to take out the Titans. So she figured she'd separate them and get them one at a time. Unfortunately . . she decided to start with Donna. Donna makes pretty short work of them and has them all hauled off to Belle Reve. But in the process of all this she meets someone . . Tom. He's also working the party and they have a few conversations during the course of it all. When it's all over and she realizes that he's made the connection between Donna, in the red dress, and Wonder Girl . . and he still wants to talk to her, she decides that maybe it's time that she indulged a bit and got to know someone outside of the Titans. And with that . . she's decided to buy a condo on the beaches of Miami. I liked this issue. It was a nice change of pace from all the doom and gloom of the Blackest Night and all of it's cross-overs. Mike Johnson writes it, and Sergio Arino does the art. The whole book had a really 'lite' kind of laid-back feel to it. Yeah Donna got in a fight with the Fearsome Five, but . . they weren't really fighting about anything earth-shattering. At least that they know of. And we got to focus on Donna for an issue. In my book . . the hottest Teen Titan. Although, I'm sure she's not a 'Teen' any more. Overall, it was an enjoyable issue.

Teen Titans #77 - DC

This issue wasn't at all what I expected. I guess the cover threw me off. This issue is entirely about the ghosts of Slade Wilson . . Deathstroke the Terminator. If you don't know everything about this character already, you will by the time you get done reading this one. We start out with Wintergreen's download . . that's the informational stage that the Black Rings go through before the bring the corpses back to life . . or a semblance of it. Wintergreen was Slade's confidant, best friend and colleague. But in the end . . Slade chopped his head off. Or rather Joey did, when he possessed his father. Anyways, it's a big family reunion. Slade is looking through Wintergreen's journals at one of his safe houses . . he's destroying them all. He's trying to start over. Anyways, Rose shows up. She wants to kill him for everything that he's put her through over the years. But before she gets the chance . . Grant, and Slade's brother, Wade show up. Grant almost takes out Slade, but then Rose jumps in. I don't think she was necessarily trying to save him. I just think she wanted him for herself. And it's not bad enough that these 2 psychotics are brought back, but then Wintergreen and Adeline show up. On the final page we get the real surprise of the book. As Rose is trying to burn up Grant in the fireplace, who should show up but . . Joey. I guess he's alive after all. So now I'm wondering how much of this has been the work of the Black Lanterns, and how much was Joey's creation. He's warped enough to jump in on this band-wagon just for the revenge factor. And that's what a family reunion at the Wilson household looks like. I really liked the story that JT Krul gave us here. Like I said, if you weren't familiar with Slade's character, his history and family . . you should be by the end of this issue. And Joe Bennett did a great job with the art. My only complaint? We didn't see a single Titan. Well . . Rose. But I'm not actually sure that she's a Titan anymore. I'd ask Cassie, but . . she's nowhere to be found. Next issue will probably be pretty much the same. I hope we get some Titans in there though.

Titans #19 - DC

This issue focus' on Roy and Lian. They've recently moved to Star City. Roy wanted a more normal life for his daughter, but . . since he's so close to Ollie, Dinah and Mia . . I don't see that happening anytime soon. Apparently he thought that just by changing thier location, living in a house instead of an apartment in the 'big city', that things would automatically become better for Lian . . more normal. But, he's spending just as much, if not more time being Red Arrow here. So he still ends up blowing off time that he could be spending with her. I know his 'job' is important, and good for the welfare of the people of Star City, but . . what about the welfare of Lian? And, we're already seeing cracks in the Norman Rockwell type picture that he's trying to create. First there's the condescending judgement of Lian's teachers. They aren't happy when Roy brings her to school on his motor-cycle, or when he leaves her waiting on the steps after school. Also when Mia shows up in roller-blades to pick her up . . lets just say they aren't happy, and very judgemental. The problem is, Lady Vic shows up in town to take out an informant that's going to testify. Roy can't stop until he gets her, which takes all day. But honestly . . she's not the problem either. There's always going to be a Lady Vic, or somebody else. Unfortunately, I think this is going to come down to Roy choosing what's more important to him . . being a father, or being Red Arrow. As long as he tries to do both, one of them is going to be neglected. I liked this story, but I think we're just seeing the beginning of Roy's troubles. If he stays on this course, he's turning into the absentee father that Ollie always was for him. Sooner or later . . he's going to see that. I really liked this issue. I hate to see Roy struggle with this, but . . it's inevitable. And I think JT Krul and Angel Unzueta did a great job of portraying this opening salvo of the next chapter in Roy's life. Where will he go from here?

Teen Titans #76 - DC

I have to say . . and I hate to say it . . I wasn't overly thrilled with this issue. Last issue the Titans were attacked by something that looked like the Hyper-griffin that the Human Flame released from STAR Labs. But, if it was that same beast, I guess we'll never know. It was never really explained where it came from or it's purpose. All we know, or find out from this issue is that it's taken, or eaten, a few of M'gann's brain cells. And it appears to have been after Raven. The Titans fight it, or it's minions with everything they have, but they don't seem to be making much headway. However, Garth heads back into the tower when he thinks that the injured Raven may be in trouble. It turns out the fight outside was just a diversion so that they could get what they wanted inside . . Raven. Or more specifically, her soul-self. Garth takes on the beast, but really it's just a stalling tactic. It isn't until M'gann regains consciousness, and then uses her powers to awaken Raven that the tide of the battle is turned. Once awake her soul-self strikes out and hurts the beast forcing it to retreat to wherever it is that it calls home. And then it's gone. So most of the issue was spent in battle, but we don't really know who with or why. The only positive thing to come out of this issue is that the team address' Garth's attempt at obtaining the leadership position. It's explained to him in no uncertain terms that this team already has a leader . . Cassie. The issue ends with him and Cassie screaming at each other. However . . this conversation won't be continued until issue #79. Apparently the next 2 issue are going to be part of the Blackest Night. This story was written by Felicia D Henderson, with Yildiray Cinar on pencils. In the back-up story, Rose figures out that Will is actually Will Roades, ex-MI6. He was a double agent for England and Russia. Apparently now . . he's playing for himself. The story ends with him, having drugged Rose, beating the crap out of her because her response time is drastically reduced. But he doesn't want to kill her. He wants to turn her. I wonder how he's going to do that. This part is by Sean McKeever, with Yildiray again doing pencils. It was an ok book. But it was basically filler until the Blackest Night story jumps in next issue. And it showed. There were only a few panels of actual important content this issue. A whole lot of fluff.

Blackest Night Titans #3 - DC

Now we move on to the final issue of the Blackest Night Titans series. Man that went fast. The one thing I noticed throughout these series is that each of them gave the heroes a tool to fight back the Black Lanterns. We already know . . or at least it's been heavily hinted at, that they need to bring all the spectrum's together in order to defeat the Black Lanterns. Eventually, someone is going to be wearing all the rings. Or some sort of variation of that tactic. In Batman, we found out that when Dick froze he and Damian, that the Black Lanterns couldn't find them. Apparently they don't see things normally . . mass, motion, depth, color. It seems that the only thing they can see is the color of the emotions flowing through the person. But obviously when confronted by something as wicked as this, nobody is going to have the peace of mind to remain calm enough to shadow themselves from the Black Lanterns radar. At least not for long. Anyways, in Superman we found out that the Psycho Pirate's mask can sever the connection between host and ring. But . . the mask was destroyed. Can they do something with the pieces? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Then in this series we find out that Dove is apparently their antithesis. They can't touch her. To do so means they sever their connection. So now they want to get her to the front lines. But the Titans also have another problem. When Donna was fighting Terry and their child, the child bit her. The power of the Black Lanterns is trying hard to influence her. Luckily, she knows that. And she's trying hard not to let it gain any hold. But . . she's also realistic. She tells Dove she wants to keep her by her side. 'If I turn . . if I become like them, I want you right there at my side . . so you can end it.' On the final page we see that Donna's already viewing the world much in the same way the Black Lanterns do. When she looks at her friends she sees the various colors of their emotions. All except Dove that is. With her . . she looks like a pillar of salt. While unconscious, there was a nice little interaction between Dove and Don Hall. Obviously the next 3 mini-series . . Flash, Wonder Woman and the JSA are going to be giving the heroes a few more tools to use against their adversaries. The interesting part, I think, will be seeing how all of these tools come together, and how they're used against the Black Lanterns. JT Krul really did an excellent job with this mini-series. I like the way his story came together, and how he handled all of these characters. Also Ed Benes' art was simply fantastic. I've missed him on JLA, but . . I'm glad that he's still around. I wonder what his next project will be. Anyways, we're half way through Blackest Night. What do you think will happen next?