DC COMICS
WRITER: Amy Wolfram
ARTISTS: Karl Kerschl, Serge Lapointe
COVER: Karl Kerschl

The newly-formed Teen Titans battle their possessed adult mentors.

This issue is largely a faithful re-telling of the origin of the Titans, as told in one issue, way back in the 1980s. The adult members of the Justice League were taken over by an evil entity and the kids had to get together to fight them. But this time, the focus of the story is the interaction of the Titans who act less mature and more clownish than they did in that original tale. This allows the creators to stretch the origin out over a six-issue miniseries. Talk about decompressed storytelling.

The Titans actually defeat the bad guy in this issue so the rest of the miniseries will apparently be devoted to Speedy and Wonder Girl on a date and Kid Flash trying to usurp Robin's position of leadership. Any superheroics in the stories will be incidental.

The art and the writing make the lead characters look and act like the pre-teen Titans. Their actions, features and bodies look awkward and immature. The boys bicker over leadership, Wonder Girl literally cries up a founatin after being rejected by her sister and when she looks to the guys for friendship, they fall over each other, trying to impress her. Yes, Wonder Girl is incredibly flat-chested, but the real change is in Aqualad who looks like a snaggley-toothed fish out of water with a lost, pitiful expression on his face all throughout.

The emphasis on teen drama may put off those who were were hoping to see a more conventional tale of heroes versus villains. But then the formula seems to work for the "Smallville" TV series. The gauzy, pastel-colored art also gives the stories a softer edge which might be more appropriate for stories dealing with 12 and 13 year-olds. Hey, at least this time, we know that none of these Titans are going to die horribly before the series ends.

This miniseries isn't for everybody, particularly those who have gotten used to the recent TEEN TITANS and TITANS titles but it has its charms and deserves three and a half stars.