Slugfest Special - Teen Titans #30Posted: Monday, December 19, 2005 “Lost and Found”
 Kevin T. Brown  Brother Blood is back. Again. But he's not the only one… So is Captain Carrot (and his Amazing Zoo Crew!) as well as multiple Titans of old! Okay, so now you're confused. Seriously, just read on, it'll make sense. Geoff Johns, along with Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew creator Scott Shaw!, does what appears to be the impossible; he brings back Captain Carrot. Though not quite in the fashion one might think: Johns brings him back a la Watchmen in the form of a comic within a comic. (And remember that Watchmen reference, it's important.) Johns finally is able to do his “Whatever Happened to Captain Carrot?” storyline that was intended as an April Fool's joke, albeit in a far different way. I have to give Johns credit; he definitely knows how to pull the reader into a story. The first page of a Teen Titans book shows us the aforementioned Zoo Crew investigating the death of one of their own. A turn of the page shows us what exactly is going on, and also shows us that this is not going to be your typical story. How Johns is able to interweave the Carrot storyline and the Titans storyline is not quite pure genius, it has been done before after all, but it's a hell of an homage to Watchmen..., up to and including the Watchmen-like “style” of the Carrot book that is being read within the Titans story. As for the Titans story, as was mentioned above, Brother Blood is back, and this time he's brought a few friends along with him. I won't reveal too much who he's brought with, but quite a number of old-time New Teen Titans fans will be happy to a point. I will say though, I'm not all that enamored with the new Vampiric turn of the Blood character, but so far it does suit the story and it's a minor annoyance to me. Again, without revealing too much, the current Titans prior to battling Blood offers some intriguing sub-plots that I'm looking forward to seeing play out, especially between Raven and Beast Boy. I like how Johns touches upon Wonder Girl's feelings concerning Wonder Woman's killing Max Lord and how she reacts. I surprisingly liked his handling of Speedy, who I personally do not like as a character. Kid Flash's over enthusiasm and his literal running his words together as he comes to get Speedy offered a small chuckle. As for Tony Daniel's artwork, I like it. I like it a LOT. When Mike McKone decided to leave for other opportunities, I, like many others, were quite upset/bummed by it. However, having Daniels as the new, regular artist is just what this title needs. I like what he brings to the table. The book needs a stable artist who can make it his own. Daniels is well on his way. I find myself even now in going back to re-read certain pages because of how he draws it out. That double-page spread at the end is one I would love to have hanging on my wall some day! Finally, about the Captain Carrot story: What can I say? It's fun stuff. And having Scott Shaw! drawing it makes it the perfect comeback, for both he and the good Captain. Let's just hope DC finds a way to make this comeback something of a more permanent nature. Chubax Chuidian What Happens: Brother Blood comes back to bite the Titans (literally!... well, at least Raven). Blood arrives pissed as the hell he came from, and he announces that he’s going to build his own Titans and disappears to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Gar and Raven re-group in a morgue where they share a sweet kiss. There’s just something about a green freak smooching with a girl spawned by an evil entity that touches one in the heart. At school Cassie starts to feel the effects of Wonder Woman’s show down with Max Lord, and flies off in anger before being called by the Titans. Kid Flash then picks up Speedy before heading towards Gar and Raven. They take a short cut while discussing what to do before going all-out against the winged monster who returned with Blood from the dimension he was stuck in. In the end, Brother Blood shows up with his own Titans... My Impressions: First off, props to the creative team for coming out with a good issue following last month’s Red Hood one-shot. After the Rob Liefeld disaster (which I still can’t force myself to read), I was starting to get scared that one of my favorite titles was in a slump that it might not get out of. Happily, us Titan fans are looking for good times ahead. This issue was really fun. A nice combination of good pacing by Johns and great action drawn by Daniel. The scene with Gar and Raven was nicely done, though I’m sure everyone was expecting it to happen. I’m happy to see Speedy back as I feel that she can really add a new facet to the group, as it's obvious that she’s still not at home with the Titans. As much as I love Tim as a character, I was a little happy that he wasn’t here not because he will degrade the story, but it gives Gar and Raven the chance to lead the team and have some time to shine. I would have given this 5 Bullets if not for Conner still moping around like a sick puppy. Nothing against Johns, I’m sure that he’s holding Conner back because he has some role in the continuing Infinite Crisis, but indecisive characters who let their fear control them annoy me. When Mike Mckone left the Teen Titans to draw Fantastic Four, I was scared that DC wouldn’t be able to find a suitable replacement. Now, I don’t know if Daniel is getting the permanent gig, but if he does, I’ll be happy. Daniel’s first few issues were still a little weird, but he’s getting the flow of the characters, and he’s starting to come out with really good art. Actually, I think that I would have warmed up a lot sooner to Daniel’s art if he didn’t have the task of following up Mckone, who really did an amazing job. Also, I would be evil if I didn’t give props to Jeromy Cox who colored the issue. The colors just came out really vivid and blended with each other perfectly. My Word: Really fun issue! Nothing too deep (yet) story wise but still a quality book. They could have come up with a better tagline than “Back With A Vengeance” though. But aside from that, you should have this on your shelves.  Shaun Manning All the hand-wringing and teeth-clenching of Identity Crisis seems a bit absurd when applied to the world of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew. So when sidekick Little Cheese gets himself murdered, the comic-within-a-comic starring the rabbit hero takes a turn for the darkly ironic. In the "real world" of Teen Titans #30, meanwhile, Blue Devil’s former sidekick laments his own heroic failures. What are the actual Titans up to? Like any large group of teens, they’re busy skipping school to battle Brother Blood and deceased former teammate Omen. With the doors to the land of death blown wide open, it should come as no surprise when a cadre of undead minions arrives to make things worse... but the lineup may raise a few eyebrows. The return of Captain Carrot? In the middle of the all-important, universe-spanning epic of Infinite Crisis? Captain. Freaking. Carrot? This ought to be very, very interesting. Yankee Poodle’s line “I escaped the pound to prove my innocence” is justification enough for the episode, but it seems rather... out of place. For this reason, it’s got to be monumentally important. Right? On a (possibly, though unlikely) related note: the doors to death are open, eh? And they have been since the return of Superman? This little plot thread is splendid bit of intrigue, and while its effects are cropping up in other titles it seems only the Titans are giving the problem itself any attention. Good. It’s nice to see one team, tackling one problem. Let Donna Troy take care of her business with every other hero in the DC Universe—the Teen Titans have got the death thing under control. Plus: Beast Boy and Raven make out! Think of the implications! Tony Daniels on art has a good feel for these characters, and everything from the action scenes to classroom sessions looks great. There is little that one could call stylized in Daniels’s art, but it is representative of the best in the superhero genre—bright and crisp and intense. Scott Shaw!'s portions, the Captain Carrot interludes, are most certainly stylized, and represent the best in... ah... the funny animal genre. After slogging through a few dreary issues, Teen Titans has regained its stride, returning to the storytelling that made the title great when it premiered. Geoff Johns gives us stunning characterization, snappy banter, a nasty and powerful villain, and... the unexpected return of classic concepts. Captain Carrot isn’t the only long-absent hero to grace this issue; the last page is a shocker. |
