Books

The Teen Titans Archives Vol. 1

By Leroy Douresseau
December 13, 2003 - 09:15

I don't know if THE TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES, VOL. 1, a collection of Silver Age Teen Titans comic books, will bring in new readers to comics, but I know a lot of Silver Age and Titans fans are happy. In the end, that's the most important thing. Once again, the DC editors and production people responsible for creating these wonder archive editions have made a whole bunch of buyers really believe that paying $49.95 for a reprint book is a better choice than spending $3 on some current crappy comic.

TTTA collects the early appearances of the original Teen Titans in such mid-60's magazines as THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #54 and #60, SHOWCASE #59, and TEEN TITANS #1-5. The stories are surprisingly entertaining, in a quaint sort of way. I can't see many of today's coarsened youth falling for the tale of the Titans versus the Separated Man.

Bob Haney, the writer of all the stories in this volume, was a skillful storyteller. He was quite imaginative and wrote satisfying, well-structured, single-issue stories. He certainly deserves credit for making good use of Aqualad, and he wasn't shy of letting Wonder Girl flex her muscles, which was unusual for a teen female comic book character even in the 1960's.

This volume also has some of the best art you'll ever find in a DC Archive Edition. Not only are the reproduction work and coloring excellent, but the artists, Bruno Premiani and Nick Cardy, were some of the most talented illustrators of that time. Premiani (best known for his Silver Age DOOM PATROL comics) was a master draftsman. Cardy, who did the vast majority of the art collected here, had a smooth easy drawing style that subtly emphasized detail with lush, rich brushwork. It's fascinating and quite appealing to the eye - one of many reasons to buy this book.
GRADE A-

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12