[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artists: Alison Borges & Blond
Summary
After the disbandment of the Teen Titans, Raven moves to San Francisco to live with her recently discovered aunt.
Positives
The cover by Alison Borges & Blond is beautiful. I love the portrait of Raven and her general design in the book. There are also nice touches of Raven holding a comic called “Sins of the Father” as well as all of the newspaper headlines that hint at the mystery of the issue. Additionally, I love Blond’s use of blue. It’s really effective.
The interior art by Borges and Blond is wonderful as well. Borges is the artist while Blond is the colorist. The characters are well defined and expressive especially Raven. And I am in love with Blond’s colors throughout whether it’s a San Francisco night or Hell.
It’s nice to see Marv Wolfman writing Raven again. There’s a sentimentality to that. He characterizes her well here, as expected. I like that there is no malice in Raven. She feels isolated and different, as do most outcasts, but it never turns to anger. She feels a lot of fear and anxiety and reacts to those emotions but I never feel like she gets whiny or unsympathetic. Her situation is understandable and she tries to make the most of it.
Negatives
I am kind of over the “superhero in high school” idea. It just seems weird to me that Raven would go to school especially since that story has been done before. It may have been more interesting to maybe see Raven go to college or get a job. I think the high school angle is somewhat played out. I would have preferred getting to know her family more in this issue.
This is very much a set up issue. There’s not a lot to go on story wise because it’s the start of a mystery. Once I have the full story, I think this will read better as an introduction. However, it’s a little dull by itself.
Verdict
This is an okay issue. I love the art and Raven is very well written, especially her narration. I normally hate narration but Wolfman makes it work. However, the high school aspect seems a little stock to me and there’s not a lot that allows this issue to stand on its own.
