Written by: Will Pfeifer
Art by: Kenneth Rocafort
Publisher: DC
There’s a stark contrast between the first issue of Teen Titans’ relaunch and this issue. Not in terms of quality, really, but in terms of the pace and subject matter of the issue. The first issue was an exhilarating, quickly paced action sequence, that reintroduced readers to this iteration of the Teen Titans. As a debut issue, it was great. It grabbed the attention of readers, and instantaneously redefined the Teen Titans in The New 52. The slate was wiped clean, and the characters were back to being awesome again. In this issue, that doesn’t change. What does change, however, is that this issue reels back the pace exponentially, and instead focuses in on each of the characters (barring Wonder Girl, though she does indirectly play a role) when they aren’t being superheroes.
In some respects, this is really where we get to see exactly what Will Pfeifer’s interpretations of the characters are. There’s a lot more characterization here than there was in the first issue, and for people who haven’t been reading Teen Titans for two or three years (most people), that will help a lot. We see Bunker and Beast Boy (who I guess are room mates) just living their lives, which is great. The two have a very interesting dynamic, with Bunker being a very, very serious character, contrasting perfectly with Beast Boy’s carefree, optimistic attitude. The dialogue between the two characters is one of the best parts of the book, and I definitely hope that that’s something we get to see more of as this run on the series progresses.
While these two definitely share some of the best scenes (and the only action scene), we do check in with both Red Robin and Raven as well. Red Robin seems to have taken on an advisory role in the team, doing all the detective and strategy work, while letting the powerhouses actually take out threats. We saw that in the last issue, but it resulted in Red Robin feeling underused. In this issue, we actually get to see him in his element: doing detective work. Tim Drake has been a character that’s been notably absent form The New 52, outside of Teen Titans, and so fans of the character will no doubt appreciate Pfeifer’s writing of the character. The two pages with Raven are great too. She isn’t a major part of this issue, but we see the start of what could turn into a great character journey for her, as she attempts to discover who she is.
What it comes down to, really, is that Will Pfeifer nails the characters, and Kenneth Rocafort’s art is gorgeous. If you’ve wanted a quality Teen Titans fix, you’ll get it here. It isn’t the best Teen Titans work I’ve ever read, but it’s far from the worst. The plot is still confusing, even though it gains some momentum here. The reveal at the end is awesome, but really, it’s hard to piece together exactly what’s going on, and the plot just isn’t all that interesting.Plus, there are some throwaway, cliched scenes with a new character who will no doubt end up becoming a member of the Teen Titans. But the scenes with the main cast? Great. And for now, that’s enough to keep this book afloat.
