[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Sholly Fisch (Story 1 & 2)
Artists: Lea Hernandez (Story 1), Marcelo DiChiara (Story 2)
Colors: Lea Hernandez (Story 1), Franco Riesco (Story 2)
Summary
In “Oil’s Well”, Colossal Boy, a Jewish hero from the 31st Century, attempts to travel back in time 3,000 years to witness the origins of Chanukah, but mistakenly ends up in our time. When the Titans try to tell him he’s in the wrong time, he doesn’t believe them, so the Titans must reenact the Revolt of the Maccabees against the Greeks.
In “Claus of the Batman”, the Teen Titans believe they have discovered a deep, dark secret about Batman — that he is in fact Santa Claus!
Positives
As with all of the issues I have reviewed up to this point, I love how it reads like an episode of the show. The dialogue fits these characters perfectly, and if you’ve ever watched the show, it’s nice to be able to read each characters’ lines in their respective voices. It truly adds to the fun of these issues.
Of the two stories, my favorite was “Claus of the Batman”. Seeing the team infiltrate the Batcave in order to deduce whether or not Batman was also Santa Claus was great. Finding a white beard amongst his wigs and calling his batmobiles “sleighs” was fun, but the best was explaining why he would tell people his headquarters were in the North Pole if he was operating out of the Batcave in Gotham City. Sending people to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude in order to annoy him is absolutely something the TTG version of Batman would do. And we even got a classic Batman/Commissioner Gordon giggle scene — something fans of the show are definitely familiar with.
I also enjoyed how in the Chanukah story, the H.I.V.E. Five were incorporated in the fake battle against the Greeks. I love seeing these characters when they pop up, as they add something special to the series.
Negatives
The first story seemed a bit off to me. I felt almost uncomfortable, wondering what Jewish people would think of this story. Maybe it’s an unwarranted concern, but it was still there. I enjoyed the story overall, but couldn’t shake that odd feeling. Thankfully that was the first story, and the second one helped wash away that feeling.
Verdict
Every time I get the chance to review one of these issues, I always get excited. I just wish it came out monthly, instead of every other month. I am one of the rare adults that actually likes the Teen Titans Go! TV series, and this comic series is just as fun to read. So, if you are a fan of the show, I would definitely recommend picking up this series.
