posted
As excited as I am about seeing Mal and Karen (and apparently Duela too, MLLASH) brought back I can't help but be reminded of how we all clamoured for the return of Lilith over on DC's Titans boards a while ago. And how excited we all were when they finally did bring her back!
... and then look what happened!
We all need to join up at Geoff John's site and tell him not to kill off any more old Titans!
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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-------------------- Some people are like slinkys: not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you knock them down a flight of stairs
From: Penthouse atop Levitz Hall, LMBP Plaza, Embassy Row, Legion World | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
OH MY!!! I've never seen that image before! THANKS, Cru!
(see, now PEREZ I really love-- he fought to have Duela included in some fashion back in NTT 50 (Donna's wedding).
He was DA MAN then and he's DA MAN now!!!
It may sound nuts, but JLA/TITANS scribes Devin Grayson and Phil Jiminez won a major fan in me when they included Duela in that miniseries.
Last we saw of her, Johns was using her as a villainess. Hopefully he's thought better of it and got the gal a little medication before he uses her (fingers crossed!) in TEEN TITANS!
MAN, how I love TEEN TITANS # 44-53 (the 70s revival featuring the characters pictured above).
posted
Bleagh, I don't like it at all. First of all, I hate the look. Mike McKone may have improved a lot since "World Without Grownups", but I still dislike the way he draws the teens. Also, I dislike the new designs for the YJ, which I think are three steps down from the way they looked in Young Justice.
As for the writing, I don't like it either. Geoff's handling of teens was so-so in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.S, and, if anything, is worse here. Also, he seems a bit retcon happy (Superboy's Origin, Cyborg's powers, Impulse's "you're the girl that made me notice girls") and a bit too willing to set the characters back development-wise, in order to build them up the way he wants. Also, neither the characters or the overall feel is fun, IMO, something very important to me in teen books.
From: San Juan, Puerto Rico | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Star Boy: Ummm... Is that a black Guardian I see up there?
That's Mal Duncan, who joined the team in their late 60s/early 70s original run during the brief period they ditched their costumes and did super-heroics in street clothes.
He was brought back in issue 44 (first issue of the mid-70s revival) but wasn't deemed worthy by Dr. Light to kidnap when he kidnapped Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.
So Mal donned that exoskeleton and costume of the Guardian on display in Titans HQ and proceeded to track Dr. Light down and give him the what-for.
Unfortunately, that guise only lasted 1 issue. The next issue, Mal was back in his street clothes.
Soon after, he won a magical horn after beating the Angel of Death in a wrestling match (I'm not making this up!) and donned the unfortunate guise of The Hornblower.
MAN, those were the days. The Titans were HQ'ed in a DISCO, man! Good times...!
posted
It's been a while since I reread those issues... I'm thinking Mal may have later ditched the Hornblower guise after losing the Gabriel Horn and returned to the guise of The Guardian for the final few issues.
posted
Of course, I think the original origin of the Hornblower was retconned in the late 80s/early 90s. I'm thinking that Gabriel's Horn was now a device that was created, either by Mal or Karen or in a lab somewhere. I think the whole Angel of Death Smackdown origin is gone.
This would be the same time that Golden Eagle was tranformed into a surfer dude, who lacked direction and employability, and that Bat-Girl became the bitchy, airheaded Flamebird.
Not a good time for Titans, IMHO.
-------------------- Some people are like slinkys: not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you knock them down a flight of stairs
From: Penthouse atop Levitz Hall, LMBP Plaza, Embassy Row, Legion World | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I think my main problem with this version of the Titans is that, like the Jurgens era, this just doesn't feel like the Titans to me. It feels like Young Justice... with guest stars.
To me, this is the Titans:
And this is the Titans:
It's not about having A Robin, or A Wonder Girl or A Kid Flash. To me, the Titans are Donna Troy... and Dick Grayson. More than anything else, those two are the heart and soul of the Titans, and no line up has ever felt right without them.
The Titans stopped being DC's "teen team" a long time ago. To me, they became a Justice League of Their Own. Young Justice became the new teen book, and that's how I wish things had stayed.
But then, I've always been a little stuck in the past
-------------------- Some people are like slinkys: not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you knock them down a flight of stairs
From: Penthouse atop Levitz Hall, LMBP Plaza, Embassy Row, Legion World | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Spellbinder - I totally agree with you and I know how you feel!
When this series was announced I was dreading it.
When I saw that it was going to focus on the YJ characters I was furious. "THEY ARE NOT TITANS!" I fumed. I was sure that this was the end for the Titans as I knew it, that the rich 40-plus years of Titans history would be forgotten and I would be reading a Young Justice book with a Titans logo on the cover. And, with the exception of a handful (none of whom are in the new series), the Young Justice characters are characters that I have never been interested in - despite (or probably because of) all of DC's attempts to push their 'kewlness' in my face!
But fortunately, Geoff Johns has surprised me. This book has so far been extraordinarily rich in Titans history. With Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire in starring roles, the return of Raven imminent, the appearance of old foes like Deathstroke, Brother Blood, Mammoth and Gizmo, developing storylines for Jericho and Rose Wilson, mentionings of Shimmer, Arella, Trigon and Wintergreen, and (most importantly to me) a few pages spotlighting all the much-missed deceased members, there has been a ton of Titans stuff to keep this long-time fan happy!
And it made me realise something - this is a hell of a lot more recognition than the pre-Wolfman/Perez years got when they restarted the title. With the exception of brief appearances by Speedy and Aqualad you would never have know that there had even been 53 issues of a Titans title before that one! Not that I'm complaining - I still consider Wolfman/Perez's run on this book to be the best its ever been - but I'm just putting things in perspective.
Having said all that, this series is not without some serious flaws! Who exactly are these people I'm reading about? Johns' characterizations for nearly every single character is completely 'off'. Its as if he just thought up some personality 'types' he wanted for the team and then forced everyone to comform to them, no matter what growth or development they've been given elsewhere. "Cyborg's finally healed and a human? Screw that, I want an angsty robot on the team again! Superboy has matured and grown over the years? Too bad, I need a cocky, arrogant jock in this comic! Wonder Girl's gotten over her insecurity and power-issues? Not any more!..." It is really frustrating reading.
But for now I'm going to hope that this is just Johns settling into the characters. After all this is the first time he's written many of them, right? Hopefully with time he'll be able to capture their 'voices' better.
In the meantime I'm going to continue to enjoy what is unquestionably a much better comic than the previous Titans series was, and look forward to seeing the return of Mal and Karen... and hopefully even Lilith, Dick and Donna one day too!
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
P.S. Mal's ret-conned identity was 'The Herald'. Quite a cool name, and *much* better than Hornblower but the Mal I prefer is always going to be the one who ran around in that orange/brown jump-suit outfit as drawn by the supreme Nick Cardy. That look was tough and practical and totally suited him. Mal is a cool character just by being himself. He doesn't need a costume or identity and I hope when Geoff brings him back he realises that.
Speaking of Mal's costumes - does anyone remember that fan-created costume he wore for about 2 pages back in the 70s? shudder Hideous! ... (But gloriously camp at the same time!)
[ March 30, 2004, 04:31 PM: Message edited by: Blacula ]
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
Heh...to me the Titans are the costumeless 60s period with Lilith, Mal and Gnaark. Probably because it was a couple of decades before I read any other Titans series.
So I guess I'm more accepting of this (and the Jurgens title) as a Titans series than most since its doubtful I'll ever see "my" Titans again.
Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Star Boy: Ummm... Is that a black Guardian I see up there?
That's Mal Duncan, who joined the team in their late 60s/early 70s original run during the brief period they ditched their costumes and did super-heroics in street clothes.
He was brought back in issue 44 (first issue of the mid-70s revival) but wasn't deemed worthy by Dr. Light to kidnap when he kidnapped Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.
So Mal donned that exoskeleton and costume of the Guardian on display in Titans HQ and proceeded to track Dr. Light down and give him the what-for.
Unfortunately, that guise only lasted 1 issue. The next issue, Mal was back in his street clothes.
Soon after, he won a magical horn after beating the Angel of Death in a wrestling match (I'm not making this up!) and donned the unfortunate guise of The Hornblower.
MAN, those were the days. The Titans were HQ'ed in a DISCO, man! Good times...!
posted
I've enjoyed most of the Wolfman-Perez Titans through back issues, and have grown to appreciate the freshness that they brought to comics. But I was mostly interested in the new Titans - Raven, Changeling (a grown man should NOT be going around calling himself Beast Boy!), Cyborg, and Starfire. Those were the ones I want to see more of. I always felt that Dick and Donna were constantly "stealing the show". I felt the same about Superboy in the Legion as well.
So I have some interest in this new series. I want to see that generation of Titans take center stage and NOT just serve as a supporting cast to Young Justice. I don't mind the young kids as long as they learn their place in the pecking order (something they haven't done yet). I'm holding out that Johns will still deliver a good New Titans style comic.
Actually, I'll be happy if Johns just writes good stories. And with all of these opinions on what everyone wants from a Titans book, there's no way he could please everyone unless he just writes good tales. He's fully capable of doing it (see Hawman, JSA, and Flash) but it's been almost a year now, and I still haven't quite been impressed. I'm still buying so things aren't completely bad, but every month seems like a wait-and-see.
posted
Wha wha WHA?? future era grown up versions of OUR current era Teen Titans confronting their younger teen selves after the forthcoming Legion special is done?
AA
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From: New Krypton! | Registered: Jul 2004
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