Title | : | The New Teen Titans: Terra Incognito |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 1401209726 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9781401209728 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Paperback |
Number of Pages | : | 222 |
Publication | : | First published August 1, 1983 |
The New Teen Titans: Terra Incognito Reviews
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With this volume, it's easy to see why The New Teen Titans was DC's top book back in he day. A lot of things happen in this one. The Terminator makes an appearance, Terra joins the team and is shown to be a double agent behind the scenes. Adrian Chase nearly dies and becomes the Vigilante. The Brotherhood of Evil makes an appearance. Cheshire debuts. Kid Flash and Robin both contemplate quitting. Compared to today's comics, that's a hell of a lot of happenings in eight issues.
George Perez and Marv Wolfman show why their book was #1 in its day. Perez's art is detailed and nearly as good as it is today. Wolfman's writing is also good. You wonder why DC hasn't teamed the two on a book lately.
On a side note, the first issue contained within, New Teen Titans #26, is one of the first comics I remember buying with my hard earned allowance. -
This volume of the classic teen titans is a great read. In this particular volume, Terra joins the team. I had never read the classic team before, so I was quite surprised to see that Terra is basically a jerk. Reading her lines are a lot of fun. She particularly has a lot of bad things to say about poor Beast Boy. The art is crisp, and there are some really imaginative layouts as well. In particular, the pages where Raven is fighting Phobia in her mind are really beautiful.
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I love how the little seeds of deceit were woven all throughout this collection. Terra (aka Tara) comes charging into the lives of the Teen Titans within a brief story line that includes Brother Blood and the Brotherhood of Evil (not Mutants - Marvel copied DC). At first, she had no interest in being part of the team then all of a sudden she’s trying to prove herself and is desperate not to get kicked out. I didn’t remember Tara’s secret being revealed so early but it fits in with the series (serieses?) ‘multiple plots going on at the same time’ thing.
I enjoyed the flow of the stories and the illustrations however there were things that I didn’t like. For example, the relationship between Raven and Kid Flash. I understand that what happened to Wally was traumatic but to completely turn his back on the woman he said he loved seems weird to me. Of course it could’ve been the initial shock but then he keeps saying he ‘doesn’t care’ (although I think he still does). I can’t remember where this plot’s going but I'm intrigued.
Another thing that really annoyed me was Robin’s attitude. I’ve ranted a bit about this in my status updates so I won’t bore you too much with it but this cold and harsh persona Dick’s taken on has made him such a douche to his teammates (especially Starfire who is his girlfriend). I do know where this plot leads but I didn’t remember what a jerk Dick was before his big break from everything.
The last comic was Annual #2 and this included the first appearance of Lyla (aka Harbinger) and Cheshire! Neither character is their more famous versions (nor is The Monitor) but I’m excited to see how these characters progress. The story also introduces Adrian Chase’s alter-ego, The Vigilante. It never explained how Chase went from being in the hospital, having just survived a bomb explosion that killed his family to being well and strong enough to hunt and kill assassins.
There are so many plots weaving in and out, it’s a little hard to keep up with but it fills out the world well. It really seems like these characters have lives that are ever changing and moving forward. -
Read this review and more on my
blog.
The New Teen Titans collects issues #26, #28 – #34 and New Teen Titans Annual 2.
I feel like I read this at the wrong time of the year. I was reading this whilst I was waiting inline for 3 hours for the Rogue One midnight premiere and am now struggling to recall what happened as I am so pumped after seeing Rogue One (hint GO SEE ROGUE ONE!).
The storyline was an easy one to follow, but a tad too predictable for my liking. I don’t know whether it is just getting used to how comic book are being written or somehow I have become smart these plot twists seem very obvious to me.
The art style was very much what you would expect from the 1980’s. Bold colours, small outfits and easy to understand who was who. At times some of the artwork was surprisingly detailed and I missed out pieces of information so I had to go back and reread parts which I never enjoy.
If you enjoy the Teen Titans TV show then seeing them in a comic is sure to make your day. -
I bought this over the weekend. Beast Boy is always looking for love in the wrong places! 😁WHY???
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5 stars.
Not for the long storylines, the spot on characterisations, the action or the great artwork, but because how understated everything is, something rare in superhero comics -
DC’s reprint project collecting the classic Marv Wolfman/George Pérez New Teen Titans run hits a crucial phase with Volume 5.
The first two years of The New Teen Titans had been excellent. But as the series worked its way through its third year, it began to achieve critical mass. Key to this period was the emergence of Terra, the troubled young powerhouse who joined the team while keeping a lot of secrets. Against this backdrop, the Titans found themselves in the crossfire of a war between two of their enemies, Brother Blood and the Brotherhood of Evil. They also dealt with a return from the Terminator, the mystery of costumed villain Trident and the debut of Thunder and Lightning, siblings from Vietnam with a mysterious American father and hard-to-control powers.
While the superhero action was first rate, Wolfman and Pérez made these stories truly memorable with their deft handling of the complex interpersonal dynamics. The Terra saga was one of the duo’s best plots. The killer twist included in this arc really grabbed fans’ attention and set the stage for the book’s most famous arc.
Lots of other elements in this stretch became crucial for the DC Universe. Both Kid Flash and Robin went through major identity crises. The issues developed here would soon lead Dick Grayson to give up being Robin and adopt his long-running Nightwing persona. And longer term, the work that Wolfman and Pérez did with Wally West put him on the path to become the new Flash a few years down the road. Wolfman and Pérez provided fans with a tease of their landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths series with early appearances by the Monitor and Harbinger, though their true nature wasn’t even hinted at here. And this arc midwifed the creation of the new Vigilante, who would become one of DC’s more controversial characters of the mid-80s.
Old friends like Speedy and Aqualad turned up in guest roles. Kid Flash’s ex-girlfriend Frances Kane took a big step toward the mental instability that would one day turn her into the villain Magenta. And Cheshire, who would grow into a key part of the DCU within a few years’ time, made her memorable debut in the Vigilante story. Wolfman and Pérez also teased their end game for Raven, one of their most fascinating creations.
The creators’ willingness to portray the ups and downs of being a part of the team infused the stories with relatability. The Titans were close friends, but they got on each other’s nerves. The romantic connections had significant ups and downs. And despite being a superhero saga, real world issues like drugs, organized crime and terrorism wove into the plots with finesse. It was state of the art ‘80s comic book storytelling that still holds up quite well.
On the visual side, Pérez, working primarily with inker Romeo Tanghal, made the art as dynamic and compelling as the written component. While many issues deployed a more traditional approach, dividing most pages into grids broken up by the occasional dramatic splash page, Pérez infused a lot of energy and drama into those panels. His design work has always been one of the artist’s hallmarks and that’s on full display here. The characters are sharp and interesting without being overly fussy and the backgrounds they inhabit are detailed without being overstuffed. When Pérez let his imagination loose, though, it was truly impressive. A sequence detailing Raven’s desperate hallucination was innovative and unnerving (in the best way). And even when using the grid approach, Pérez found ways to put a twist on it, with repeating motifs or unique panel arrangements, that gave the action a propulsive quality. It was bright, clean work that injected enough shadow and invention to keep the book at the forefront of its peers.
The entire New Teen Titans reprint series is worth picking up. But Volume 5 is where Wolfman and Pérez’s larger plans for the series really started to come into focus, with impacts that are still felt three decades later. -
Another stellar volume of The New Teen Titans that shows the comic at its best.The comic's strong mythology is on clear view here as we start off with a war between Brother Blood and the Brotherhood of Evil. Both groups are entirely intriguing, and almost as well detailed as the Titans themselves, thanks to Wolfman's great character work.
Meanwhile, Wolfman is still busy introducing new elements of the Titans' mythology. Thunder and Lightning get just a single issue, albeit with the promise of more. Meanwhile we finally get to see the intro of Vigilante. His origin is honestly not that different from the Punisher's, but we get to see it live on-screen (and in the future he'll be a much more tortured and interesting character than Frank ever was).
Wolfman's also not afraid to offer up off-kilter stories. "Who Killed Trident?" may have been the best because of its unusual en media res beginning and its unusual solution.
And finally we have Terra, who joins the Titan's early in the volume and plays the spoiled brat throughout. Despite that, her interactions with Gar and Victor are priceless. So it's all the more shocking when we learn her true motives, and it's especially shocking that it's here, so far before the Judas Contract. Things are looking dark for the Titans, and this period of greatness will only continue. -
In the fifth volume of “The New Teen Titans”: The Brotherhood of Evil is back!; Tara Markov a.k.a. Terra joins the Titans as the newest teen superhero, despite her bad attitude; Wally (Kid Flash) gets a glimpse of Raven’s really dark side and is scared shitless; Robin is taking his vigilantism a bit too far; Deathstroke the Terminator has a really big secret that may mean the end of the Titans!
Another good run of issues from Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Romeo Tanghal. While the writing is sharp, at times Wolfman’s storylines border on teen soap opera. Too much melodrama: especially with Robin’s poutiness and brooding. I’m kind of getting tired of it, although I’m well aware that big changes are afoot for the team... -
This volume heralds the New Teen Titans into their finest era.
Marv Wolfman and
George Pérez are at their greatest. Great story, excellent characterization, gorgeous art. DC Comics really can’t get much better than this one. -
MAN do the Teen Titans bicker among themselves a lot. Almost as if they are a bunch of teenagers living together without a parental figure. Lots of fun in an early 80s sort of way.
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Volume 5 of The New Teen Titans collects Issues #28 - #34 and Annual #2. The stories are by Marv Wolfman with art by George Perez and Romeo Tanghal.
In this volume we see another chapter in the Titans battle against Brother Blood, the introduction of a new Titan and the introduction of Vigilante.
Alongside the various heroic deeds, readers are treated to the various subplots about each Titan's lives. Normally that would be interesting but the character development on Robin and Kid Flash bordered on annoying and made both characters a drag on the proceedings. Robin is dealing with all his various responsibilities and pushing the others away, while Kid Flash is a bundle of doubt as he struggles with choosing the life of a superhero vs. a regular citizen and later with changed feelings towards Raven. It felt too one note on both fronts.
Meanwhile, Wonder Girl has a big question to answer while Starfire and Raven struggle with life on Earth as they try to understand the endless permutations of social customs.
The strange thing for me in terms of the stories was Issue #32's "Thunder and Lightning". The story ends in such a fashion that you expect it to pick back up in the next issue. However, it is seemingly never mentioned again in this volume. The plot just gets forgotten.
There are appearances by Deathstroke, Aqualad and others. There's a huge revelation for one character and Cyborg's hopes regarding Sarah Simms take an unexpected turn. Honestly, that's probably the most interesting of the varied subplots going on in this collection.
Overall, it is an enjoyable read but some of the character development was left a bit wanting. I did notice that there wasn't an introductory essay for this collection. I'm not sure if that means anything but the absence was noteworthy. -
Did I mention the 80's last time? Hooo-Boy the 80's! The creative team was taking on thorny real world issues of runaways, drug use, and the effects of lead toxicity NYC 1980's and the cultural white-flight zeitgest in ways that they may not have known they were doing then, but like the 87th precinct stories they are providing a snapshot of the city as it was then.
NTT was so much more grounded in NYC than its counterpart X-Men stores were, taking advantage of the living breathing milieu right outside the office. This sometimes made it feel like someone had dropped the Cloak and Dagger mini-series into your X-Men stack, but it works well here to introduce the 1980's Vigilante as DC's answer to the Punisher. Still, you have to read these remembering they are history. -
Oh my God what an amazing read. Terra and Vigilante??? All the increasing tension??? Oooh I’m so hyped to continue.
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Another strong showing of the premier DC “teen” team with astoundingly gorgeous art by George Perez. Raven gets more screentime as she has trouble containing Trigon within her soul-self, and there’s a few emotional beats where it seems like Trigon is going to break free leading to a tumultuous ride for the characters and the reader. The build up is excellent, and it shows not only how strong Raven is emotionally, but also what an issue this could become (and we can’t wait to see it come to fruition!)
Dick and Wally get a lot of nice screentime as they examine their place on the team. This is old hat for Wally, but thankfully the drama with Raven sours his feelings for her and does something a lot more interesting with their relationship than anything previously established. Ironically, this is the closest I’ve felt that Raven truly cares for Wally, and it’s only when he’s being a total (justifiable) ass to her.
Donna and Terry Long continue to make me unhappy as a unit. I have zero investment in the relationship, and the series seems pretty uninterested in giving them any depth together. The author avatar arguments feel pretty valid. Terry isn’t the worst character ever, and while it’s easy to understand what he might see in Donna (who is amazing and we stan) it’s a lot more questionable as to what Donna sees in him. If we spent a little more time developing this relationship I’d have more of an opinion outside of “ugh, get off page Terry. No one invited you.” Not feeling Donna’s “dilemma” over whether to marry Terry or not either. Girl, the audience doesn’t want that. You can literally do better.
Victor’s relationship with Sarah Simms gets a new kink thrown into it, as is often the case for these two, but like the previous issues, I’m more engaged with them as a pairing and the melodrama of their interpersonal lives is interesting and fitting. Vic jumps to conclusions and his self-loathing is a major character beat for the whole series. The way it manifests is feasible and understandable.
The biggest crux of the story focuses on the introduction of Terra. Well, she was introduced at the end of the previous volume, but here she’s formally inducted into the Titans. Terra presents herself as a traumatized teenager with emotional baggage the size of Terry Long’s narrative irrelevancy. She’s mean and immature and clearly hurt, and though she focuses a lot of her aggression on Gar, he’s also the titan she’s the most taken with. Terra is frustrating, but interesting. Anyone who’s familiar with the Titans knows what her deal is, but the book really takes its time getting there which is great from a progression standpoint. Terra is the odd person out in her team, and she’s got a number of red flags which the other characters thankfully address. Having character be braindead is lazy writing, and here Terra’s narrative’s lack of cohesion clearly doesn’t sit well with a good half the group. But Terra’s violent response to her trauma makes it a topic none are willing to push on too strongly, which is a relatable and emotional response that I totally got.
A lot of what happens in this volume feels like set-up for a number of bigger picture storylines to come to fruition: Raven and Trigon, Terra’s betrayal, the relationships between Dick/Kory, Victor/Sarah and Donna/Terry (ugh), Deathstroke’s eventual return… I could see this being a point of contention for some readers, but the individual adventures are solid and make the sense of escalation hold more weight.
Slade also appears in a tight speedo and the man is ridiculously hot. FOUR STARS! (Sorry, not sorry.) -
This TPB collects New Teen Titans #28-34 and New Teen Titans Annual #2. I read these comics as they came out, eagerly dashing to the drugstore spinner rack each month to try and snag a copy of my then second-favorite book (behind Legion of Super-Heroes). These stories introduce Terra and Vigilante, show growing dissatisfaction on the team (especially Kid Flash and Robin), continue Raven's struggles against the demon inside her, feature the Brotherhood of Evil, Brother Blood, and Deathstroke the Terminator, and so much more. Of course, it's all wonderfully drawn by George Perez. I'm ready for the next volume, which just happened to come out this week.
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This version of the Titans is growing on me to the point that I miss their dynamics in modern comics. I loved Titans 1999 and 2016 (until Heroes in Crisis) so that is saying a lot. Dick and Donna have such a genuine, believable friendship. Dick is obviously spiralling after Bruce takes in Jason Todd (who is ginger in this volume!), but he refuses to talk about it with anyone. Donna is a supportive friend and tries to get him to open up but eventually allows him to decide when he's ready to do that for himself. There's the perfect balance of love and irritation between the two and I love it. This is also the start of Dick and Kori getting together, and honestly I still am not a fan of this ship. They're both fantastic characters individually (and hot as heck) but their values oppose each other way too often. Dick is introspective and keeps things to himself, Kori lives through emotion. Dick absolutely refuses to kill in any situation, Kori was raised as a warrior and sees it as acceptable collateral. Aside from Robin and Starfire in the Teen Titans animate show, I just don't see the chemistry between them. Lastly this is the main introduction to Terra! I actually read The Judas Contract before trying the series so it's been interesting watching Terra build her rep within the Titans, knowing what is to come. I believe I may have said it was done poorly in my review of TJC because I didn't realize there was so much more to her arc than that one volume. I still think the animated show did that arc best, but this is obviously the original and was well done. Like I've said in every other issue I've grown to love how flawed these characters are. Wally let's his fear of Raven stop him from being a good teammate/friend, Garfield's infatuation with women stops him from critically analyzing Terra and Dick's secrecy kinda of makes him act like a jerk towards the people who are trying to help him. The characters are all very three dimensional (though sometimes less likable) and its just great storytelling.
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This comic was all about the Teen Titans, working together and solving crimes and mysteries. However, Robin, their leader, was cold, distant and working on something himself. There are many adventures squeezed into this comic, all of them interesting and exciting. All I can say is that the story gets better in the next comic (The Judas Contract - which I had read before this one). It was interesting to see the first appearance of a character that I have only seen in an animated tv series but it was also so cool to see the differences and similarities. Overall, I enjoyed this comic and the story line and am interested to read more adventures with the (New) Teen Titans!
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Ok, this was a great volume, as the series always delivers, but i believe it was the worst of them.
Tara joins the team, is annoying as ever and we learn about her plans with the team (yeah, you know what i'm talking about). We see some about Brother Blood and his cult and a Brotherhood of Evil with terrible characters.
And in the end, a annual where we meet The Vigilante, a Marv Wolfman's creation that i just love it. I mean, Dick's decisions on this was are terrible, we really don't understand what his doing over here, but how it ends it's really good. -
Terra joins and all hell breaks loose with Brother Blood, the Brotherhood of Evil, introducing Cheshire, and THE VIGILANTE! But where's the foreward from MARV WOLFMAN? publisherfail!
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It was ok, but there were a lot of one shot issues, a lot of narration where it was not needed, like really you have a picture of the T Jet flying, you don't need to tell me "The t Jet screams across the sky headed to Zandia"... Plus, there was a lot of skipping around- "Meanwhile here, back at the tower, a few hours later" it got annoying. The friendships are becoming a bit strained, adding a lot of angst. Make that too much... I do like seeing Cyborg deal with his issues, that was a high point. It seams like these friendships are falling apart fast- They keep saying they care, but then they don't ask questions to help. Sure at first they do, but then it stops. This is not really unnatural, I mean how many times are you going to ask someone what's wrong when they won't answer you?
Wally and Raven pissed me off a bit, as did Dick and Kory. I can kinda understand Wally and Raven, I mean she did almost kill him and he did feel all that evil, but he turns into a total jerk, turns his back on her, and then says he still loves her... Um ok, that evil was not her, and he knew that but still turned on her and ok you want to hate her, or be afraid of her because of it, that's your prerogative, don't then turn back around and say you love her. Dick was a dick to Kory despite his loving her or so he says. He won't talk to her about anything, and who does he go and hug and talk to? Donna. Ok, maybe Donna knows him better but he could talk to Kory, she would understand. And to not even hug Kory after the battle but go to Donna, completely ignoring her, what the hell dude. Solidifies my opinion that all the Robins are dicks, with the exception of Jason, and maybe Damien. Need to read more with him to fully decide, but back to the review!
The addition of Speedy was pretty good, as was seeing Aqualad for like 2 panels. The Terra arc is starting now, so the next volume should be a bit better.
What is up with everyone wanting to leave? Wally is so worried about what to do, I feel like that is blown out of proportion. Donna I feel like is more realistic, she wants to know her parents before she gets married, makes sense, but her wanting to leave because she is getting married does not make much sense. Terry knows about her secret life and obviously has no problem with it so she could easily stay. Dick is just a big ball of angst who is too macho and so much above all the others that he can't share it. Gar has started to obsess with his past, which he had put behind him quite well for a while there. Kory has become obsessed with Dick. The only two who feel like the same characters are Vic and Raven. Vic has his moments, but he always has because something always reminds him he has his cybernetic body right when he thinks he's ok with it. He does not overly brood on it for the most part. Raven is that same, but she can be really annoying after a while. It seams like all her dialogue is "I am an empathy and take others emotions but they are all denied me. I can not condone violence. I must control Trigon. Their emotions hurt." It's all pretty much recycled.
I did not hate it, but I could see others despising it for those things. I have a soft spot for this particular version of Teen Titans because the cartoon adaptation is what got me into comics in the first place, so I always wanted to read this to see their roots. -
Another solid few issues of the new teen titans. Really this volume was used to solidly Terra’s role in prep for Judas contract. Which I am excited for but there are CERTAIN PARTS from deathstroke that I am not excited for. But hey he is going by terminator at this point so maybe deathstroke can’t be blamed, but I still have another volume until then.
Brotherhood of evil quite stood out during this volume. For being quite a group of nobody’s, they really know how to get raven in rampage mode
And we got to see Donna and Marv Wolfman’s self insert character get engaged. Which if you can look past that and his past marital issues, it’s kinda sweet. And it gives that grounding aspect a lot of titans either search for or debate having in the first place, that ties them to the people they defend.
But I have to admit quite some filler issues, but fun issues nonetheless. The who killed trident cover had me the most interested but even though it followed an unusual story structure, was also the most predictable outcome.
But ultimately want to talk about that annual issue. Basically the entire run we had robin, who is finally with starfire, hit a burnt out angst. And the annual brings all of that all to a head. I have to say I admire the love that starfire has in her heart for being able to stay with him for this long. And of course this was also the big intro for vigilante. I haven’t done a ton of research on this, but I find it interesting that the first issue of the standalone vigilante series and this annual came out on the same day. So I assume this assisted with his introduction. I also found it hilarious how bland the hit men hired to kill the titans were in this issue. They basically all had their weapon as their name (except Cheshire, who I do actually like), which just makes them so easily killable by vigilante.
I can only hope that after this entire altercation with Adrian Chase, that Robin FINALLY TAKES A BREAK. -
The stories were fine, but I found that Marv Wolfman's attempts at "witty banter" got on my nerves. Maybe his dialogue seemed hip at the time, but I have this feeling even 13 year old me would have rolled his eyes. These issues originally came out in1982-83, but they retain a definite feeling of the cheesy Disco 1970's to me. Compared to something like the X-men comics of the same time, they're not quite so firmly in the 80's milieu.
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In this volume, the Teen Titans face such threats as Brother Blood, Deathstroke, the Brotherhood of Evil, and Vigilante, but the real danger to the team comes from within. Wolfman makes sure each member has a personal demon to face (in some cases quite literally), and Perez displays solid sequentials throughout. It’s all set up, though many storylines that begin here will be resolved in later volumes in epic fashion.
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Teenagers are insufferable at times....
Dick was being a dick, I understand somewhat why he was being the way he was but ignoring Kory?! 😡💢
Wally I had a harder time forgiving he was such a bumhole. 💢💢
Terra is annoying but at least she is creative with her insults beyond "jerk" (reading this series has made me exhausted of that word)
Even though things did get annoying the actual plot was intriguing and so the book was worth reading. -
The Terra arc officially begins as she makes her way into the team and is a complete snot towards everyone, Kid Flash is a wishy washy jerk to Raven, Donna gets engaged, and trouble with romance begins. The arc is paying itself off with Slade being the head of all this with all the steps being made since book one. This did drag a bit, it’s set up for future books makes me happy.