‘Teen Titans’ #2

Variant cover art for ‘Teen Titans’ #2 by Cameron Stewart & Nathan Fairbairn

• Written by Will Pfeifer
• Art by Kenneth Rocafort
• Colours by Dan Drown
• Letters by John J. Hill
• Variant cover by Cameron Stewart & Nathan Fairbairn

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Following up from a very solid issue #1 (reviewed here!) Pfeifer and Rocafort are back with a second issue which continues to push the concept of heroes in a social media world whilst upping the stakes for the titular heroes.

As I picked up on a scene which I felt was unnecessary at the end of issue #1 pushing the LGBT aspect of the title a little too obviously in the faces of the reader it would be impossible not to pick up on the opening scene of this issue which deals with the fallout from that scene. Bunker is still not happy about the experience and he’s not letting it go and unfortunately the whole thing has gone viral.

Around 3 pages of the issue are dedicated to that very scene and the effect that it has had on Bunker and it still feels a little unnecessary. Yes his character is LGBT but we really don’t need it rammed in our faces, it’s still way too overstated and does not feel organic to the story itself. That being said we are getting to see some character development for Bunker who is a character I was unfamiliar with before picking up New 52 issues of ‘Teen Titans‘. I’m by no means discrediting this show because other titles have shied away from LGBT issues in the past so props to DC Comics for taking the challenge.

Moving on this issue has several different story threads which push the story on from where we left off in issue #1. Firstly we deal with S.T.A.R. Labs who are uncertain why they are the target for terrorist attacks after another New York facility is attacked. This time it’s just Bunker and Beast Boy who are on hand to save the day whilst Red Robin interrogates one of the terrorists from the bus attack from his hospital bed.

Wonder Girl is oddly absent from this issue although her presence is still felt thanks to the team of copycats that she has inspired. Raven makes a brief appearance but is not part of the action.

The terrorist story and its ties to S.T.A.R. Labs are the biggest development for ‘Teen Titans‘ so far, one of the big reasons why I stopped reading the previous volume of the title was that it lacked the kind of direction that has been injected in to this new version. There’s a much more tangible universe for the characters to inhabit this time around and that shade abundantly clear here from the opening pages right down to the ending.

the isolation of the characters in the previous volume was also an issue for me and that feeds in nicely to the social media aspect of the 204 volume. The opening panel straight away has citizens of New York chirping (uh hu!) about the bus incident from the previous issue. There’s also news coverage on the events of the previous issue which however obvious still help to illustrate the impact the heroes are having. Add to this Beast Boy’s appearance as ‘crabby cat’ in a viral video, the vigilante gang inspired by Wonder Girl and the band inspired by Raven and you really get the sense that the world is reacting to the presence of the heroes and it all adds to the atmosphere and believability of the story.

My only complaint here would be that the villains are a little underdeveloped but as this issue #2 I feel that any complaints wouldn’t really be justified. That being said as we have now established the lead roles in this 2014 volume now it is time to start moving the focus much more on to the development of the villains and their ultimate goal as whilst they are present from the beginning their goals remain unclear and should that continue then interest by readers will begin to wain.

If you’re looking for an alternative to the various ‘Justice League‘ titles which is a little more fun then ‘Teen Titans’ should definitely be on your reading list.

3 stars