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Teen Titans #72

Posted: Friday, June 26, 2009
By: Jason Cohen

Bryan Q. Miller, Sean McKeever
Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson (i), Rod Reis (c), Yildiray Cinar, Julio Ferreira (i)
DC Comics
Plot: The team goes out for a night on the town, except for Wonder Girl who is ambushed in Alcatraz by a new Fearsome Five. In the co-feature Ravager makes a run for it and ends up in the middle of nowhere.

Comments: Oh look, another coffin in a Teen Titans issue. It almost seems like they're aware of how ridiculous it's getting and decided to throw in another one just for fun. But who is this dead Titan? I guess we'll have to wait the three issue arc to find out.

It's good to see the team acting like teenagers, normal teenagers, going out to have fun and leaving their costumes behind, especially Jamie, who has lived in his suit for several issues. There's some much needed comedy and ease in this issue, which I think is a must for a title like this. With every issue I enjoy some of these characters more and more. I love Eddie's naiveté, Miss Martian's unending sweetness and Jamie's sense of ease. I think much can be done to work up Aquagirl and maybe even give Kid Eternity a purpose on the team, since nobody seems to like him.

As exited as I am to see a new Fearsome Five, it seems we do not reach that part yet. The worst part of it though is the misleading cover. There is no girl fight, Wonder Girl just gets stomped off camera and the team sees her on the ground. With Mammoth, Jinx, and Shimmer working for clients, a whole new level of possibilities are out there and I am excited to see the two new members.

Joe Bennett and company collectively deliver some very nice art. The colors perfectly match the settings in appropriate ways. The team is covered in a reddish glow from carnival lights, really creating a fun-filled mood, while Wonder Girl's night at Alcatraz is teeming with moonlit corridors and dark abysses. The figures are detailed and distinct. However, some of the faces look similar and I found it hard to distinguishing Traci 13 from Aquagirl. Also, if it wasn't for the caption at the end, I don't think I would have known who the Five's mysterious client was.

The Ravager co-feature still seems to have no direction. If it's 10 issue of Ravager running away, dealing with a drug problem and hating her father, no thank you. Someone (Wonder girl) just needs to tell Ravager to her face, "Hey you're our friend, stop misunderstanding everything we say." The art starts off pretty nice, good composition mixed with appropriately shadowed coloring. The ever so slight color change for the flashback really adds just enough to let us inside Ravagers mind. However, the art loses ground and ends in mediocrity.

This issue is more of a muc -needed low key story with beginnings of a new arc. In some ways it is a three-story book. While Miller's run will be short lived, maybe he can throw in something fun and interesting during his stay. If you like teenagers being teenagers, the Fearsome Five or Joe Bennett's art, stop on by. The Ravager co-feature is just a bonus (not much of a bonus so far, but a bonus none-the-less). You could pick this one up, but be careful because I smell the seeds of more teenage drama taking root.



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