Born to Die

Bejamin Percy & Jonboy Meyers “Teen Titans Volume 1: Damian Knows Best” (DC Comics, 2017)

Rumor has it that Grant Morrison’s plan all along was to kill off Damian as he left writing the Bat books. He was created to fulfill a certain function in Morrison’s stories, never to be an ongoing character.  DC editorial stepped in and stopped this from happening. 

Now given the mixed reactions to Grant Morrison, Damian Wayne, and DC editorial, any or all of this story could be apocryphal and meant to serve any one of a variety of purposes by the teller.  Still, the question remains, what do you do with a character that was born to die?

Here the idea is to plug Damian into the Teen Titans. It’s a ploy that has worked for a variety of Robins, so why not Damian?

With the “Classic” lineup (to my thinking, anyway) being used in the “Titans” book, “Teen Titans” is the more recent lineup (Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Kid Flash), with Damian filling the Robin role.

While there is a story of sorts here, it’s really about getting the team together, and introducing a nemesis for Damian, a cousin who stayed with the League of Assassins.  This is a VERY Damian centric story, and I have a say that I was surprised at how well I felt Percy wrote the character. And the introduction of him into a new setting gives him more of a reason to exist.

Meyers’ art is fun and fresh feeling. It must have been somewhat difficult to design, given the sheer amount of exposition necessary for this type of story, but somehow it never feels less than dynamic.

While working in an environment that is not my favorite by any stretch, I felt like this was a very enjoyable comic. Tonally it would work well for younger readers. It’s a good start to a promising series.

Thanks to Goodreads and DC Comics for a free copy to review.

Not Another Island!

Benjamin Percy, Otto Schmidt “Green Arrow, Volume 2: Island of Scars” (DC Comics, 2017)

GA Volume 1 did a decent enough job of clearing away the debris of Nu52 & setting up the new normal. But it wasn’t a home run, and there is plenty more work to do. 

This is really the chance for Percy to show what kind of stories he is interested in telling.

On the whole it works. The first section of the trade is devoted to Oliver’s sister. I’m not really sold on the character yet, but I appreciate the variety & the attempt to establish her as a solid supporting character.

It’s the third story arc in the book that really clicked for me. Oliver, Diana & Diggle are on a superfast train that runs under the sea. Of course some villain shenanigans start going down.  It’s a big crazy adrenaline ride & a ton of fun to boot.

It felt like the overall arc of the book is improving as it went on. It’s not yet up there with King’s Batman or Tomasi’s Superman, but absolutely you should be checking it out if you are into the character.

Thanks to Netgalley & DC Comics for a review copy.