{"id":19534,"date":"2019-01-12T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-12T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=19534"},"modified":"2019-01-11T17:13:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T17:13:16","slug":"teen-titans-the-silver-age-volume-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2019\/01\/12\/teen-titans-the-silver-age-volume-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen Titans: The Silver Age Volume Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Bob Haney<\/strong>, Len Wein<\/strong>, Marv Wolfman<\/strong>, Nick Cardy<\/strong>, Irv Novick<\/strong>, Bill Draut<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Wally Wood<\/strong>, Neal Adams <\/strong>& various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-8517-3 (TPB)<\/p>\n

The concept of kid hero teams was already ancient when the 1960s Batman <\/strong>TV show finally prompted DC to trust their big heroes’ assorted sidekicks with their own regular comic. The outcome was a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as they were to stamping out insidious evil.<\/p>\n

The biggest difference between the creation of the Teen Titans<\/strong> and wartime groups such as The Young Allies<\/strong>, Newsboy Legion<\/strong> and Boy Commandos<\/strong> or even 1950s holdovers like The Little Wise Guys<\/strong> or Boys Ranch<\/strong> was quite simply the burgeoning phenomena of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Teenager\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a discrete social and commercial force.<\/p>\n

These were kids who could – and should – be allowed to do things themselves without constant adult help or supervision\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

This quirkily eclectic trade paperback and eBook compilation re-presents the rapidly-evolving and ending swinging Sixties exploits from Teen Titans<\/strong> #12-24 plus a guest-shot from The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> #83 collectively spanning November\/December 1967 to November\/December 1967 1969.<\/p>\n

With Bob Haney still scripting and the accent still heavily on fun, the action resumes here with twin contemporary hot-topics the Space-Race and Disc Jockeys informing whacky sci fi thriller ‘Large Trouble in Space-Ville!’<\/em> Illustrated by Irv Novick & Nick Cardy, the gang thwart aliens stealing Earth’s monuments after which Cardy flies solo for TT<\/strong> #13, producing a seasonal comics masterpiece with ‘The TT’s Swingin’ Christmas Carol!’<\/em>, a stylish retelling that’s one of the most reprinted Titans tales ever.<\/p>\n

At this time Cardy’s art really opened up as he grasped the experimental flavour of the times. The cover of #14, as well as the interior illustration for the grim psycho-thriller ‘Requiem for a Titan’<\/em>, are unforgettable. The tale introduces the team’s first serious returning villain (Mad Mod <\/em>does not count!): the Gargoyle<\/em> is mesmerising and memorable, and although Cardy only inked Lee Elias’s pencils for #15’s eccentric tryst with the Hippie counter-culture, ‘Captain Rumble Blasts the Scene!’<\/em> is a genuinely unique crime-thriller from a time when nobody over age 25 understood what the youth of the world was doing\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Teen Titans<\/strong> #16 returned to more solid ground with superb, scene-setting thriller ‘The Dimensional Caper!’<\/em> as rapacious sinister aliens infiltrate a rural high-school (and how many times have you seen that plot used since this 1968 epic?).<\/p>\n

Cardy’s art reached dizzying heights of innovation both here and in the next issue’s waggish jaunt to London ‘Holy Thimbles, It’s the Mad Mod!’<\/em> (alternatively and uninspiringly retitled ‘The Return of the Mad Mod’<\/em> here). The frantic criminal chase through Cool Britannia which unfolds even includes a command performance from Her Majesty, the Queen!<\/p>\n

Next up is a fannish landmark – and hint of things to come – as novice writers Len Wein & Marv Wolfman got their big break with a tale introducing Russian superhero Starfire<\/em> (latterly redubbed Red Star<\/em>) which set them firmly on a path of teen super-team writing. ‘Eye of the Beholder’<\/em> is a cool cat burglar\/super heist yarn set in trendy Stockholm, drawn with superb understatement by Bill Draut, and acting a perfect indicator of the changes in style and attitude that would become part of the Teen Titans and the comics industry itself in later decades…<\/p>\n

Maintaining the experiments with youthful authorial voices, the entertainment continues with a beautifully realised comedy-thriller as boy Bowman Speedy<\/em> joins the team full-time. ‘Teen Titans: Stepping Stones for a Giant Killer!’<\/em> (#19, January\/February 1969) is by Mike Friedrich, with stunning art from Gil Kane & Wally Wood, and pits the team against youthful criminal mastermind Punch<\/em> who plans to kill the Justice League of America<\/em> and thinks a trial run against the junior division a smart idea\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

TT<\/strong> #20 took that long-running plot-thread of extra-dimensional invaders and gave it a counterculture twist in ‘Titans Fit the Battle of Jericho’<\/em>: a spectacular rollercoaster romp deftly blending teen revolt, organised crime, anti-capitalist activism, bug-eyed monsters and cunning extraterrestrial conquerors written by Neal Adams, pencilled by him and Sal Amendola and inked by brush-maestro Nick Cardy – one of the all-out prettiest illustration jobs of that decade.<\/p>\n

Team-up vehicle The<\/strong> Brave and the Bold<\/strong> # 83 (April-May 1969) then took a radical turn as in ‘Punish Not my Evil Son!’<\/em>, the Teen Titans (sans Aqualad<\/em>, who was dropped to appear more prominently in Aquaman<\/strong> and because there just ain’t that much sub-sea malfeasance) try to save Bruce Wayne<\/em>‘s latest foster-son from his own inner demons in a tense thriller about trust and betrayal by Haney & Adams.<\/p>\n

Symbolic super-teens Hawk and Dove<\/strong> briefly join the proceedings for #21’s ‘Citadel of Fear’<\/em> (Adams & Cardy), chasing smugglers, finding aliens and ramping up the surly teen rebellion quotient whilst moving the invaders story-arc towards a stunning conclusion. ‘Halfway to Holocaust’<\/em> is only half of #22; the abduction of Kid Flash<\/em> and Robin<\/strong> leading to a cross-planar climax as Wonder Girl<\/em>, Speedy<\/em> and a radical new ally quash the invasion forever, but still leave enough room for a long overdue makeover in ‘The Origin of Wonder Girl’<\/em> by Wolfman, Kane & Cardy.<\/p>\n

For years the series – and DC in general – had fudged the fact that the younger Amazon Princess was not actually human, a sidekick, or even a person, but rather an incarnation of the adult Wonder Woman<\/strong> as a child. As continuity backwriting strengthened its stranglehold on the industry, it was felt that the team-tottie needed a fuller background and this moving tale reveals that she is in fact a human foundling rescued by Wonder Woman<\/strong> and raised on Paradise Island where their super-science gave her all the powers of a true Amazon.<\/p>\n

They even found her a name – Donna Troy<\/em> – and an apartment, complete with hot roommate. All Donna has to do is sew herself a glitzy new costume\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Now thoroughly grounded in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153reality\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, the team jet south in #23’s fast-paced yarn ‘The Rock ‘n’ Roll Rogue’<\/em> (by Haney, Kane & Cardy), seeking to rescue musical rebel Sammy Soul<\/em> from his grasping family and subsequently, his missing dad from Amazonian headhunters.<\/p>\n

This volume, and an era of relative innocence, ends with ‘Skis of Death!’<\/em> by the same creative team which sees the adventurous quartet vacationing in the mountains and uncovering a scam to defraud Native Americans of their lands.<\/p>\n

It’s a terrific old-style tale but with the next issue (and collected volume) the most radical change in DC’s cautious publishing history made Teen Titans a comic which had thrown out the rulebook\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Although perhaps somewhat dated in delivery, these tales were a liberating experience for kids when first released and remain a highly entertaining experience even now. They truly betokened a new empathy with independent youth and tried to address problems that were more relevant to and generated by that specific audience. That they are so captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful.
\n\u00c2\u00a9 1967, 1968, 1969, 2018 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bob Haney, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Nick Cardy, Irv Novick, Bill Draut, Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Neal Adams & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-8517-3 (TPB) The concept of kid hero teams was already ancient when the 1960s Batman TV show finally prompted DC to trust their big heroes’ assorted sidekicks with their own regular … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Teen Titans: The Silver Age Volume Two”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[76,127,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dc-superhero","category-nostalgia","category-teen-titans"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-554","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19534\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}