Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Oh Yeah, That Forum: The Titans Sell me on the Disco Era Teen Titans

I've been a semi-regular at Legion World for five and a half years. In that time many of you have come to know my tastes in superhero comics pretty well.

I'm very intrigued by the enthusiasm of Lash and others for the Disco Era Teen Titans, but before I make the investment, I want to be sure it would be to my satisfaction. Therefore, I thought I'd list both the reasons why I'm intrigued, and the reasons why I hesitate to take the plunge...

Encouraging: Multi-racial team with lots of female members in generally light-hearted adventures. Sounds like a 70s version of the original Outsiders, a team I love.

Discouraging: The back issues are expensive and the artists are C-listers at best. Too much frivolity can sometimes get on my nerves.

So I ask Lash and other fans of this era:

Do you think I'd like it enough to spend money on it?

Although you've been open about your tastes, I'd never presume to know what appeals to another fan. (I don't know what appeals to ME most of the time. )

However, my memories of that era a bit more vivid than those of the late '60s/early '70s Titans. This could be because I was still very young at the time (about 12 when the series resumed) and bought the issues off the stands instead of looking for back issues. I remember the wait between issues and consequent suspense. I remember thrilling as the TT fought actual super-villains such as Dr. Light and Two-Face (a perennial Bat-favorite) instead of solving mysteries featuring one-shot characters as they did earlier. I loved the new team members such as Joker's Daughter/Harlequin and Bumblebee. Yet the old team members were not neglected, save for

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Aqualad, who spent several issues comatose in a aquarium and being watered by his teammates, only to resign upon awakening. (This was just before the series was canceled again, so his resignation was pretty much for nothing.)</span></span>

I never thought of this series as the "disco" Titans, even though that was the era in which it was published and it reflected the trends of the time, as comics always do. To me, it was more of the continuing "Marvelization" of DC, with ongoing subplots, unexpected changes, and interpersonal drama, all welcome changes from the staid earlier story lines.

Is this era indispensable to your Titans collection? Probably not. Is it worth a look-see to gauge its entertainment value? Definitely.

Hope this helps.

It definitely does help. Subplots, actual super-villains...definitely enticing. Thanks, HWW.

And...

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">I don't mind if Aqualad is neglected. I never liked him until the mid-90s when first Peter David and then Phil Jimenez made him cool.</span></span>

Wow.. this is a toughie... I understand these back issues are rather expensive nowadays.

I'm concerned that the frivolity will get on your nerves. I can say for certain: Bob Rozakis did not write the stories to be frivolous at all, he wrote them to be entertaining which I very much find them to be, even against foes such as Flamesplasher and the Rocket-Rollers. These foes are NOT written to be silly or humorous.

The art in 44 and 45 is best, and then, yes, it takes a more middling turn in 46. Improves again in 49 (Coletta inks actually improved it).

50-52 I would proclaim as must-haves for any TITANS lover-- the historic Titans East/Titans West team-up. Yes it is drawn by Don Heck, but I don't think I would have anyone redraw this story... it shines in my mind very brightly as it is.

The final issue (53) featured a different artist with a more modern (for that era) style.

I am sure really concerned about the expense of these issues.

I am posting lots of samples from this era on my Facebook wall today, though, and even got a comment from Mr. Rozakis himself.

Personally, my pre-teen comic experience would have been a lot less fun without Mr. Rozakis and his Titans, Freedom Fighters and Secret Society of Super-Villains.

Thank you, Lash and Eryk.

From your description, Lash, it sounds like Rozakis was kind of like Mike W. Barr, where fun is foremost but there's substance below the surface. Barr's Masters of Disaster were one of my favorite super-villain teams, especially the dysfunctional sisterhood of New Wave and Windfall. If Rozakis' villains are cut from similar cloth, there should be no problem.

I think what I'll probably do is focus my search on #50-53 and if I find them at reasonable prices, I'll see where I go from there.

And Lash, I'll be sure to have a look at your Facebook wall later tonight.

Thanks again, all you guys.

Now that you mention it, Barr's OUTSIDERS draws a bit of a parallel, with foes such as The Nuclear Family and Duke of Oil. It sure does.

It also makes me regret selling off those issues years ago without re-reading them first. I probably would have kept them.

The "middling turn" in art I mention above apparently belongs to issue 47, after re-reading EDE's review.

Coletta's inks carry 48-49 pretty well.

Yeah. I think the first 24 or so issues of BATO are pure gold. Halo's haircut was the shark jump for me, but just about any issue before that...priceless.

Thank heaven most of those issues were reprinted in the one volume of Showcase Presents BATO.

I just thought of another possible parallel for the Rozakis Titans -- Peter David's Young Justice? I love the great majority of that run.

YJ was blessed with FANTASTIC art, and I love that whole run. Nauck would have rocked OUT on Groovy 70s TT!

One of the things I always liked about 70s TT is that so many of the characters were regular types who relied on gadgets and skills to get by, and not super-powers.

Robin, Mal, Duela, Speedy, Karen, Bette, Gnarrk and Golden Eagle all kinda fall into this category.

And I remember at the time enjoying Cissie's non-powered role in YJ very much and thinking it reminded me of Groovy 70s TT. So yes, I think you are right there as well.

One of my biggest problems with the current run of Titans was the way it handled Kid Devil shortly after he lost his powers and the non-powered Wendy and Marvin. I was too glad to drop that title!!

Nauck was awesome. He and Amanda Conner are my Top Two "cartoony" artists.

The only real problems I had with YJ were that some of the early issues were a bit lightweight (it definitely turned a corner when Cissie confronted her counselor's killer and subsequently abandoned her costume and arrows) and I didn't like some of the developments that PAD brought it towards the end (Anita's parents reborn as babies, Tim with a second alter ego, and the whole reality-show thing.)

STILL searching for the final two issues of YJ. Heavy sigh.

Goodness, I hope Teeds chimes in. I'd love to know better what she thinks of this Titans era.

If I'm not mistaken, her experience with this era is pretty much from the boards only. This may have changed in the past few years, but just wanted to warn you in case.

Thanks for the warning, Lash. It does sound to me like the kind of thing she'd enjoy, though.

I always thought so too.

Wow. Tough question. How much are these issues going for?

I can say these issues are among my most prized possessions. I was also 12 years old when I bought them off the rack. They were great fun. Rozakis really was writing for 12 year old boys at the time, and he hit his mark. Can I really recommend them to you all these later? There's just no way they will have the same magic for you.

For the hardcore Teen Titans historian, the introductions of Duela and the Titans West should be of interest. To get the full impact of the Joker's Daughter introduction, you would also need to pick up the Rozakis scripted Batman Family issues that first featured her.

According to my review thread above, I paid $11.50 and $4.50 for the two issues I bought, but I have no idea if that's typical.

Ultimately, I fear that I agree with this statement.

Thanks, Jerry.

There's a lot of stuff from before my time that I really like -- Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart's respective Avengers runs, Jim Shooter's first Legion of Super-Heroes run, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four...

And as I said before, I think I'll focus on #50-52, since they're so integral to the Titans mythos and there's so many female characters: Donna, Duela, Karen, Lilith, Bette...

Your reasoning for picking #50 to #52 makes sense. In terms of art, those issues are my least favorites. I never was a fan of Don Heck's style.

One of the best in terms of art and story, for me, is issue #45. Irv Novick's work is stylish and moody. This is the story where Mal receives the mystical Gabriel's horn. With time, this development has has come to be viewed as kind of silly. This is due, in part, to the garish Hornblower costume that was introduced later. The garish costume is thankfully absent from the early stories. The bad guy is realistic with a compelling motivation.

I know some of these have appeared in part in some of LASH's posts. Maybe elsewhere, too. No harm in posting them again, though, right? In case anyone wants to check them out... five "disco era" Titans links, courtesy of Scans Daily.

Highlights of Donna and Lilith as buddies

Donna before she got the red unitard, and some other stuff

Titans plus guest appearances

Spotlight on Speedy and Aqualad

Spotlight on Mal and Duela Dent

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

While at the CBS yesterday, I flipped through the TEEN TITANS 70s revival back issues... SHOCK.

The lowest priced one was the Fiddler issue ($4) and all the other were like $11, $14 and the most expensive-- $18!

CRAPballs. I should have bought the Fiddler issue even though I already have it in pretty nice condition.

It was interesting to note that the latter issues from the original TT run (late 30s-43) all averaged $3-$4 despite being much older.

I don't have any of the issues where they're operating out of a disco. Some of the later ones, yes. I'm more fond than I really need to be re: 46. (The Woodworkers! The Flyers!) It's not great, it's not awesomely bad, but it is entertaining. Go figure.

PS: I recall laughing at Ester for shelling out the bucks for 45. I had just found a pretty good copy in a 50 cent box.

I gotta check the basement boxes at my parents now...I got several of these there. Got them all through the quarter boxes...

So...I never got around to buying back issues of #50-52. Part of it was that I just couldn't bring myself to shell out big bucks for stories with pencils by Don Heck and inks by a journeyman artist.

Another part of it was that I've come to realize in the fairly recent past that, really, most mainstream superhero comics from the later part of the 20th Century are a bit of a "you-had-to-have-been-there" thing. Just as I don't expect everybody to be able to appreciate Armageddon 2001 (my gateway into the DCU) or a considerable chunk of Marvel's early 90s superhero offerings, nor did He Who, Jerry, or our dear departed Lash expect me to be able to appreciate the Bob Rozakis Teen Titans. That's just the way that it is.

HOWEVER...I have had my very first couple of Titans fanfic projects, both taking place on Earths from my 7 Worlds of Wonder orrery (HI, THOTH ) simmering on the back-burner for quite some time. Hopefully, by the 2nd week of March, one of them will come to fruition, and here's a taster:

Wonder Girl! Lilith! Bumblebee! Bat-Girl! Duela!

Robin! Kid Flash! Mal! Aqualad! Speedy!

AND...



Stay tuned.