Last issue was great in my opinion. It was fun, exciting, and fairly cohesive. What we have in this second issue is an attempt to build on the previous one with moderate success. Rocafort isn’t given the material to shine like the action scenes in #1, but it looks great nonetheless.
I don’t want to start off with the flaws, but this issue begins with what Teen Titans is calling “Chirper”, which is Twitter for the DC Universe. I don’t like it. Any of it. We’re treated to different users “chirping” about news going on in the city. We’re shown a man watching a video on his phone via social media. The “grumpy cat” viral video is referenced. A girl is posting pictures on Chirper of an attack. Even the Teen Titans are alerted to a disturbance downtown via a video on a phone. I don’t want to be a stick in the mud about the integration of something we all use every day, but it feels incredibly forced. I have just two more words that aren’t necessarily bad, but I think you understand the root of what I’m getting at: selfie covers.
Other than that seemingly unnecessary imposition of Chirper and all that jazz, the issue works fairly well. We see Bunker addressing his seriousness in contrast to Beast Boy’s fun-loving spirit. They take center stage for the most part out of all the Titans. Bunker really proves to be a hero. Pfeifer is really playing up this social image thing, particularly with him, as his actions were discussed in light of how they would appear to the world a few times. It seems as if this is a set up for the city to question the Titans in the future, forcing them to prove themselves to the world. If that’s what’s up, let’s do it, but I’m not digging this tactic.
Tim makes an appearance that is basically unnecessary and only serves just to say “hey, don’t forget Tim’s in the Teen Titans!” I would have liked to see him in that leadership role we saw last time. Unfortunately, we only get four panels with Red Robin.
Wonder Girl…makes an appearance? Not really. A gang that takes on the persona of Wonder Girl shows up to defend a young lady. I’m not sure what direction this will take, but I’ll be curious what goes on with the real Wonder Girl. Here again all that image stuff is alluded to, and I couldn’t care less about that aspect, but I do hope to see more from the real Cassie.
The villain from last issue again terrorizes the city and it’s up to (part of) the Teen Titans to stop her. It feels like a more-than-classic plot, too. The fire is burning. If it reaches this certain floor (the bad guys started the fire a few stories too low), the city will blow. So these Titans must stop the fire as well as the one who started the fire. Why wouldn’t the villain a) just set fire to that specific floor, or b)
This issue does a decent job of working from that good last issue. Pfeifer is building a villain base, adding some personality to characters, putting our heroes in danger, and posing large threats. I’ll give it two more issues (we can’t count September’s Futures End thing) to really decide if I like it. For now, I’m content just re-learning some of the characters and buying into all the things Pfeifer wants us too.
Recommended if:
- You’re a fan of Bunker.
- You always wanted to read about other people posting on social media sites.
- You enjoyed last issue and you want to give this series the old college try.
Overall:
It has its flaws, some of which are purely subjective. For the most part we are treated to a deeper understanding of a few characters and I enjoyed that. This feels like a proactive set-up for future issues. If you love the Teen Titans and enjoy the artwork of Kenneth Rocafort, then I doubt you will close this comic with a frown.
SCORE: 6/10
