Review: Teen Titans #19

by Steve J. Ray
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[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artists: Scot Eaton & Wayne Faucher

 

Summary

“IT AIN’T EASY BEING GREEN” Finale. After breaking off on his own, Beast Boy has joined up with a tech start-up led by a hacker named Joran. Whilst her motives seemed altruistic, her true goals were anything but. We left issue #18 with Joran taking over Garfield’s mind, his shape-changing abilities, and siccing him on his Teen Titans team-mates in full-on Beast Mode!

Positives

Action! This issue is pure adrenalin, as the four pages shown here clearly demonstrate. When Beast Boy cuts loose, Robin, Goliath, Starfire, Aqualad and Raven have their work cut out. Writer Benjamin Percy clearly shows that, without his normal code in place, Garfield Logan’s abilities are truly awesome. Robin’s leadership and arrogance are very well handled, as are the relationships and dynamics between the rest of the Teen Titans.

Handling a group of characters, getting them to all act as individuals, remain true to their own characters, and juggle their interpersonal relationships is hard to write, but Mr. Percy knows these heroes intimately, and handles them well.

Scot Eaton and Wayne Faucher are comics veterans with over twenty years experience… and it shows. Here’s an art team that can manage all the action the writer throws at them, but who can also portray emotion, quiet moments, and giant furry Bat-Dragons. Nice job!

Both story and art are of an extremely high calibre this month.

Negatives

There are moments of this three part story that felt a little rushed. I honestly believe that this tale warranted being fleshed out for at least another couple of issues. What I will say is that Benjamin Percy did well, considering the change of direction that is happening across the entire DC Comics range, in the wake of Dark Knights: Metal.

Verdict

This issue, and this era of the Teen Titans series, closes with a glimpse of the future, and leads into the upcoming cosmic super series Justice League: No Justice. After this comics event the Teen Titans, The League, and the entire DC Universe will be changed forever. With this in mind, I can forgive the way that this final arc has been handled.

Benjamin Percy and the gang have done well to fit at least six issues’ worth of material into just three comics.

 

Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment

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