DC COMICS
WRITER: Marv Wolfman
ARTISTS/COVER: Damion Scott, Robert Campanella

Now in her own "emo" series! Teenaged Raven faces the wrath of high school.

This is a very different Raven from those we have seen before. She is not the weepy, hesitant woman seen in her earlier appearances in the TEEN TITANS book but neither is she the sarcastic, smart-alecky girl from the "Teen Titans" cartoon. Her creator, Marv Wolfman, is taking her to new territory, depicting her as more self-assured but still unfamiliar with the world as she enters high school for the first time.

DC Comics openly calls this an "emo" series right on the cover, a term which may limit its appeal somewhat. (Isn't the term "emo" being used more as an insult nowadays?) The first issue deals mostly with the confusion that Raven feels as she enters high school, which is compounded by her struggle to control her emotion-manipulating powers while keeping the emotions of her schoolmates from overwhelming her.

There is some threat from an emotion-manipulating artifact and a precognitive vision of an impending murder to take place on the school grounds but Raven herself is not in peril in this issue, except perhaps from her own powers. She never even dons her costume in this issue, which may disappoint those readers who wanted to see some actual super-heroics.

The art is the most radical element of this book. It is a strange combination of Japanese manga, 1960s psychedelia and kiddie comic-strip with oversized hands, unnaturally fluid figures and bright, bizarre colours. This makes it harder to follow the story and this is sure to put off a lot of people. Still, once you do get used to the art, it adds a unique look to the book, one not seen on any other title. It also mirrors the shifting internal turmoil that Raven is going through. It isn't bad but the art just attracts too much attention to itself and diverts attention from the story-- much like the scenes where Raven inexplicably dresses in full-scale jail-bait gear.

This gets a tentative three stars out of five.