I'm a big Teen Titans fan, although I became a bigger one when I made two trips to the library and picked up two different comics. One was a collection of several Teen Titan issues from the 1980s, called New Teen Titans. Another was a Teen Titans Go collection that was released about three years ago.
The television show is awesome in that it can have ridiculous nerd villains like Control Freak and Armageddon terrors like Trigon (who turned the world to stone and the skies red), as well as equally ridiculous and suspenseful episodes. Instead of being a direct adaptation like Watchmen, it takes the source material (NTT) and sculpts it into something different.
Take the episode "Deep Six," where the Titans team up with Aqualad to defeat Trident, who has stolen toxic waste. Now compare it to an issue of NTT where the Titans have found Trident's body and want to find out who killed him. Here are two pages from that issue:
The differences are obvious. For example, the classic Titans have secret identities, Kid Flash and Donna Troy, and multiple subplots. But we still have teenage bantering, good-natured humor, and action.
Then we have TTG, which shows the animated Titans world in comic form. I've only read three issues, but the comic is entertaining, consistent, and fun to read. Since "Deep Six" features Aqualad, why not show pages from an issue with him?
One reviewer has pointed out that these plots are mainly derived from the show, but these are only the early issues. The comic continued for two years after the show ended; TTG got the boot last year, I believe.
The sad thing is that only hardcore fans will remember this show while the critics ignore it, especially as we move into the age of computer animation. Remember the Titans, people. Watch their show!
0 Comments