Rating:  -
I followed the New Teen Titans only because I was a Batman fan, and therefore was interested in Robin leading the team. My first issue was the Annual #2. I only picked up the New Teen Titans during the run of the Judas Contract. This is a great introduction to the new team beginning with the 16 page "throwaway" story which was really quite good. You couldn't buy the individual issues, nor would you want to. This is a great buy for anyone who even is remotely interested in any one character, such as Robin. You will come to enjoy the others. You can't beat the storytelling team of Wolfman and Perez!
Rating: -
I have read my fair share of reviews for and against the Titans. And for lack of pushing an idea, I have had enough of what seems to be a 1 sided argument.
There is a theme building with each review here...and it's starting to sicken me. You can pretty much see what reviews are rated as helpful, and which have a poor rating. It's as simple as drawing a line between those who dislike the Teen Titans and those who do not. All too often any review that praises them, are rated high, and any that berates them is rated low. There are the prerequisite exceptions of course. But the majority sees all.
I was NEVER into the Titans (comic). I grew up in the late 70's and 80's. Right around the time that most call the Titans hit their stride. I never picked up one, I never thought I would like them. As a young kid, I was more interested in the bigger name heros. It's how I started as a collector. Over time, I had started to move all over the map with comics, yet in doing so I had forgotten about the Titans. Locked away in my mind, seemingly forever. Not ever knowing the excellent stories and artwork that came of them.
Then the cartoon hit the air. (Like some reviews here) At first I turned my nose...didn't care...after all it was the Titans. A Japanese style anime. But as a father, and those out there know well...when your child wants to watch something...sometime your just forced to watch.
Now I have seen what most Anime has to offer. And I DO like the style. I know for some it is a turn off. So naturally you are not going to like the series. But damning the series based on style...is not a reason. About the only thing I saw wrong with the cartoon...was that some of the 2/3-parters had weak endings (Trigon & Terra come to mind). Some of the recent episodes have also been very weak ("Titans, Go!" & "Revved Up" come to mind).
That said...with the Anime series coming to an end with 2-3 episodes to go. I see the real reason why I like the Titans so much. The cartoon series took an attitude against the Titans, and turned it inside out. I knew the cartoon wasn't going to be aimed at adults...(as it seemed that most reviewers here thought). It was obviously aimed at kids from the first word said. So keeping that in mind...this was the first taste of Titans I got.
What it did was peak my interest in the comic I shunned all those years ago. I am glad for that cartoon, for without it, I would STILL be shunning the comic for no reason what so ever.
I would suspect that those who are now shunning the cartoon, had higher expectations for a series, which gave NO indication that it was for adults. Primetime or not...it was on the Cartoon Network...and not on Adult Swim. It should have become pretty obvious at some point that this was geared towards children. And the "dumbing down" of Starfire, the "technicolored" Cyborg, the "corney" Beast Boy, the "annoying" Raven, and "uncharacteristic" Robin were all done, because children were the target. Not the adults who have been following the Titans so closely forever.
Do you honestly think writing and drawing Starfire the way she is suppossed to be...would be seen as a good thing for a children's cartoon?
There are reasons for everything. Expecting this cartoon, which has had a good run concidering that most cartoons (that do not involve a pokemon or card game) only last 2-3 seasons at best, to be anything more than a child's version of the comic says something about the viewer...not the series.
The comics have, and always will be, the staple and canon for the Titans being who they are. If you are a person who has enjoyed the comics...why bother berating a child's cartoon? My daughters have enjoyed the cartoon's 5 Season run. Even with the "Things Change" episode going to be the Series Finale, they love each and every second of it. One enjoys Starfire, the other enjoys Raven. And they both have never seen the comic.
If you are a person who enjoys the cartoon, I invite you to pick up the comics. I invite you to discover what the Titans are suppossed to be. What the other characters are suppossed to be. To enjoy the artwork. To enjoy the more involved story arcs.
The cartoon may have been a watered down version of the comics. Though it was never meant to emulate it whatsoever. It HAS served a purpose. A higher purpose. One more important for the comic series than ever before. Agree or not, Love it or hate it, the cartoon has introduced a new generation to the Teen Titans
And from the reactions of my daughters...it is for the better. For me the cartoon did nothing but reinforce the comic. It peaked an interest that wasn't there for decades. And that, for fans of the comic, is a very good thing.
Rating:  -
The Teen Titans of the current animated series are based on the NEW TEEN TITANS comic series of 20 years ago - loosely. Fans of the TV series won't recognize the voluptuous, hedonistic Starfire of THE NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES, VOLUME ONE; nor are they likely to recognize the Raven of the comics, who always seemed to be frantically dragging her teammates from one danger to another with precious little explanation. And how about Gizmo and Mammoth as ADULT villains?
The rather chaotic beginnings of the group are in this volume, though the series' chief epics- the Terra series, and the final showdown with Trigon- are not in this volume. (The team's first encounter with Trigon is here, though.) As with the animated series, it took the comics a lot of storytelling to build the personalities and dynamics of the group; the first few issues of the comics, reprinted here, just scratched the surface.
Rating:  -
The New Teen Titans is perhaps one of DC's more obscure hit series. Everyone knows about Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman. But who can you find off of the street that knows about Starfire? Or Cyborg? Or Raven? Despite this, the comic has spawned a hit television series simply titled "Teen Titans", leading many fans, myself included, to check out the original comics the show is based upon.
First things first: if you've watched the cartoon series, don't expect these comics to be remotely similar to the style used in the show. In fact, don't expect anything to be very similar. The characters are different, their personalities different, and the storylines are different.
New Teen Titans is the story of a group of older teenage superheroes brought together to combat an impending threat on Earth. You have Robin, the charismatic and intelligent leader; Kid Flash, the speedster that really doesn't want to be a superhero; Raven, a mysterious mystic with a shady past but pure motivations; Starfire, the warlike alien powerhouse; Wonder Girl, the level-headed and powerful Amazon warrior; Cyborg, a half-machine athlete; and Changeling, the wise-cracking and unsure young shapeshifter. They come together with a common goal in mind, but each one carries his or her own baggage into the fight. While they are at first awkward and unfriendly toward each other, by the end of the book, they are finally much like a family.
The characterization is both the strongest and the weakest point of this book. As Marv Wolfman admits in the introduction, he didn't really grasp the different characters until the eighth issue at the end of this book. Some of the characters work to begin with, others don't. Wonder Girl and Robin seem to be the easiest to relate to from the get-go, perhaps because they get the least exposure throughout the storylines. They have the common teenager growing into an adult feel that some of the other character lack. Raven is a character that begins rather lackluster, but becomes a rather likeable character toward the end of the book, which is sort of sad considering she is the Titan that is dwelled on the most in these early issues. She is a sympathetic character, but a lot of her likeability is marred by just how little you know about her and what she is before the fifth and sixth issues. She seems distant, even to the reader. At the bottom of the heap is Changeling, a character that is so corny that it is almost intolerable. The problem is that at times the characters feel like they have been locked into being archetypical personalities without any real development. Luckily, this trend is broken with the eighth issue.
Which leads into one issue with this comic: it didn't really age as well as some of the other comics from this era. The dialogue is typical 80s stuff, and I found myself cringing at times because of just how unnatural and corny it sounds now. The pop culture references used frequently by Changeling and Cyborg suffer the most, and I can't help but shake my head every time Changeling compares Cyborg to C-3PO and Cyborg calls a bunch of kids "Imperial Stormtroopers." Even characters like the sinister Deathstroke suffer from the curse of 80s lingo.
The storylines are solid, but nothing really special. Notable storylines include the first encounter with Deathstroke the Terminator, perhaps the Titans' greatest and most enduring enemy, and the immensely powerful Trigon the Terrible. However, both storylines featuring these two villains are mere precursors to their real parts in the tale, The Judas Contract (widely regarded as the high point of the series) and The Terror of Trigon. The storyline involving Deathstroke is particularly weak, but the story with Trigon is quite enjoyable at times.
One thing that really bothers me about this series as a whole is how the concept that the New Teen Titans aren't just a "junior Justice League" seems to be shoved down your throat at times. This concept is reinforced when the Titans actually fight the Justice League of America in one of the comic's more ridiculous moments. It just seems silly and doesn't make sense in the context of the universe the Titans are a part of.
Ultimately, though, The New Teen Titans is an enjoyable comic, but not without its fair share of flaws. Of course, these are merely the early issues of the series and should be taken with a grain of salt. While other comic writers and artists such as Frank Miller and Alan Moore tried to revolutionize comics during the 80s, Marv Wolfman and George Perez strived to create simply a good superhero comic. And to an extent, they succeeded.
Rating: -
This is an excellent collection of D.C.'s relaunch of the Teen Titans in the early 80's. Marv Wolfman and George Perez brought comics to a totally different level with this series. The books focused not only on the action necessary for comics (fun battles, great villians - - - especially the introduction of the Terminator in issue #2), but also explored the characters in detail - - - why were they doing this, what problems they faced, who was attracted to who, etc. The artwork is fantastic - - - George Perez is a master and draws every issue but one in this collection. The writing is also very good and for the time was exceptional. A little wordy compared to today's comic but still nothing to complain about. If you are looking to get into the D.C. archives series, this is a great place to start.
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