Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Tom Grummett (p), Kevin Conrad (i)
Publisher: D.C. Comics
The Plot:
As another weekend arrives we see the Titans begin to gather once again, and while Robin is beginning to express real doubts about keeping his heroic escapades a secret from his father, we see the rest of the team are occupied with a rampaging Mammoth, and his diminutive accomplice Gizmo. After they take down these two villains the team settles in for a history lesson of Raven, whose recent return the Titans are planning to investigate.
The Good:
Geoff Johns does a fair enough job of detailing the rather storied history of Raven, and for the most part he managed to streamline what had been a contradictory bit of writing by Marv Wolfman into a tight little back-story where all the key elements are touched upon, and readers are nicely set up for the character's impending return. In fact much like his efforts over in the "Hawkman" monthly Geoff Johns manages to tidy up a mess that had turned a once engaging character into a headache inducing mess. In fact while Raven was one of my personal favorites in the early issues of the series, I gradually became disinterested in the character when Marv Wolfman decided to explore the character's history, as in my mind the character was never better than in those first couple years of the Wolfman/Pérez run, when she was a cold, mysterious creature that left one with the very real sense that there was something very evil lurking beneath the surface. Much like Marvel's Wolverine, Raven was a better character when her past wasn't spelled out, and I hope that when Geoff Johns brings her back into the DCU he leaves the explanation for her return largely unexplained, as this would nicely restore the element of uncertainty that had been striped away. I also enjoyed the return of a couple members of the Fearsome Five, as I have a soft spot for Doctor Light's old team, and I'd love to see it brought back together, with a couple new players to fill in the gaps that have been left by the deaths of Shimmer and Psimon.
Tom Grummett as this book's regular guest artist is the next best thing to having him as its monthly artist, and the one-two punch of Mike McKone and Tom Grummett gives this title one of the most impressive art teams currently working on the DC side of the fence. There's a wonderful level of detail on the page, as this issue's big action sequence looks great, with the combination of teamwork as the Titans take down Mammoth being the highlight of the issue. In fact while I'm quickly becoming disillusioned with her lasso, I have to say the panel where Mammoth is given a good jolt does a wonderful job selling the idea that this is a painful attack. The art also does a nice job during the flashback material as Raven history is laid out, as the action shots of the Titans and their various encounters with Trigon doing a nice job of reflecting the different eras, though I do have to say Wally abandoned the Kid Flash costume long before Robin adopted his Nightwing identity, so he really shouldn't have been wearing it during that second encounter with Trigon.
The Bad:
You know I'm going to get rather tired of Wonder Girl's new lasso if Geoff Johns continues to use it as the big attack that leads to the final defeat of whatever villain our heroes happen to be fighting, as in the short time she's been using it, it's been key in the defeats of two of the more powerful members of the Titans rogues gallery. In fact if nothing else I'd like to see some type of limitation placed on the lasso, as it's a little too good at bringing entertaining battles to a dead stop. There's also a curious moment in this issue where we see Beast Boy is able to make Gizmo believe that he's able to not only mimic the form of the animals, but also the toxins they produce. Now it's a fun scene that nicely plays off the idea that Gizmo is a genius when it comes to mechanical devices, but a bit slow at every other aspect of the world around him, but there really should've been a follow up scene where Beast Boy indicates that he was pulling a fast one, as the way the scene is now it clearly leaves new readers with the idea that he has this ability. The issue also offers up the idea that San Francisco has decided to reopen Alcatraz as a prison for super-powered inmates, and I have to say this sounds like a incredibly stupid idea, if there's one constant when it comes to prisons for super villains, it's that they are never able to keep the villains inside them. I mean it's like placing the firework store next to the gas station and hoping for the best.
Trigon, The Red Faced Reindeer:
Bringing Raven back to the DCU is a bit of a tricky proposition as I expect I'm not the only Titans fan who soured on the character when Marv Wolfman turned her into an evil villain. If nothing else I was simply glad to see the character blasted into comic limbo, as I found her to be a dreadfully dull villain, but she had gone to far over the line to be brought back on as a teammate. Still, bringing her back after spending the better part of the past decade as a disembodied spirit did help to make me forget the final couple years of the New Titans series, and Geoff Johns does a pretty fair job of laying out the character's back story so that even the new readers have a pretty good idea of what to expect when the character returns to these pages. In fact he manages to set up a nice little mystery that I for one hope isn't resolved as frankly Raven works far better when there's an element of uncertainty about her. This issue also offers up a nice nod of the head toward another part of the Titans' rogues gallery, as a couple members of the Fearsome Five are on hand to provide an entertaining slugfest.
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