Teen Titans Go! #2 – Matthew Cody, Writer; Erich Owen, Artist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Based on the first issue, I was expecting a bit more of a serialized story as the Teen Titans tried to get their comic rebooted by taking out the competition. But last issue’s cliffhanger seems to have just been a one-off gag, and we’re on to a completely different story – a mystery – with a new creative team. Cyborg has gone missing, and Robin is on the case. The tin titan went missing after movie night the previous night, as everyone was trying to stay awake through Raven’s choice of “Rashomon”, and his tech seemed to be behaving oddly. So channeling his best hard-boiled detective, Robin interrogates each member of the team in term, getting different stories that seem a lot like…you guessed it, Rashomon, with a dose of added absurdity. And much like the first issue, it plays with format and visual sense in a way that takes advantage of the comic format.
While there isn’t quite the twisting of the art style last issue that Dario Brizuela pulled off, this issue does do some interesting things with style and palette. The flashback segments have a slight noir vibe, and the same scene can come off very differently depending on who’s telling it. Starfire’s retelling is bright, cheery, and cartoonish, with villains Atrocitus and Dex-Starr showing up but not bringing much menace to the picture. Beast Boy’s retelling takes a very strange turn early on, with a funny reveal. And Raven’s seems normal and reveals the truth – with a great punchline that adds a dose of absurdity to the whole thing. I get that the characters in this cartoon aren’t really for everyone, and they’re too much for me sometimes too, but this comic is taking the bones of the show and doing something surprisingly funny and entertaining with it that could only be done in comics.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
