Written by: Ben Percy
Art by: Jonboy Meyers
Publisher: DC Comics
If the point of Rebirth issues are to get readers familiar with the characters that will make up the series and what they’re all about, then Teen Titans Rebirth #1 accomplishes this goal effectively. And while it’s by no means a show stopper of an issue, writer Benjamin Percy and artist Jonboy Meyers manage to lay some solid groundwork for the series.
I’ve had my qualms with many of the Rebirth issues, as most lean too heavily on exposition and fail to really show the potential of the characters and the series. Teen Titans Rebirth has a lot of exposition, but it’s handled rather well, focusing on each member of the team one at a time and giving the reader a quick slice of what the character is all about. There is alot of inner monologue in this book and some of it comes off as a little clunky, but it is balanced well by actual character dialogue and more importantly character action.
My biggest problem with this issue is that it only scratches the surface of its potential and it doesn’t delve deeply into any sort of character or threat. The moments we get with the titans are great, but the book does suffer from being mostly setup for next issue. What is in this issue is good and it hints at a promising series full of interesting and engaging characters.
It’s also refreshing to see such a culturally and racially diverse titans cast headlining their own book, and even though the introduction of each character is short, there is a real sense of a variety of personalities among the team members. In fact, all of the team members are interesting in their own way, and the “leader” of the team’s standing with the team by the end of this issue promises to create some tension in the coming issues.
Jonboy Meyer’s art fits the teen tone of this book rather well as his pencils are very much in your face, due to the pointed way he draws his characters and the world they inhabit. There are a few moments in this issue in which character’s faces look unnatural, and a little too vainy, but for the most part, Meyer’s energetic art is solid.
Teen Titans Rebirth #1 serves as a good introduction to the new titans team, but like many rebirth issues is a little lacking on the substance side.
