Comic book writer whose credits include the Eisner Award nominated Alison Dare, the YALSA listed Days Like This and Lola: A Ghost Story, as well as Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Love as a Foreign Language and Teen Titans Go, which garnered him a Shuster Award.
Read this to my daughter who is into Teen Titans Go! right now and I was very happy with this graphic novel. Unlike the prose chapter books that copy stories right form the show - this series has original stories and reminds me of a style in between the original New Teen Titans comic book of the 80's and the cartoon, the stories have a bit more substance than the cartoon but are still geared for a younger audience. First off - I loved the art - a nice fresh style that has a lot of energy in the drawings without sacrificing the storytelling. The stories were short and sweet and had some good humour in them. They developed the characters and had some clever twists - so I was impressed. I even liked the little riddles and knock knock jokes they threw into the margins. Overall a thumbs up for a young reader interested in the cartoon series.
My one complaint is the format - they shrunk this volume down to a smaller size BUT whoever edited this series sized it wrong so dialogue near the boarders was often cut off. Not good. Get the larger sized volume if you can.
The series seems to improve with each volume. The stories were better in this one and some new people were introduced that I don't recall from the cartoon. I liked Kwiz Kid and wouldn't mind seeing that Riddler Jr again.
The third digest-sized Teen Titans book includes more great Todd Nauck art!
”CdzܲԳٻǷɲ� has Terra showing up on the Titans. It’s about Slade messing with their minds because he has ‘planted a bomb�.
”Magic & Misdirection� starts by having the Amazing Mumbo repeat the old Bullwinkle & Rocky joke - “Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!�
It is a weird interactive story that has a connect-the-dots picture along with a maze.
They chase Mumbo around while he robs a bank, with his magic interfering with them.
”What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?� appears to be about guarding a potential werewolf.
I love the bit where it seems Raven is getting a date!
It also mention Sarah who Cyborg dates if I remember correctly.
”If You Can’t Beat ‘Em…� guest stars Speedy. It’s a decent story about fighting with Plasmus.
”Pop Quiz� invents a Riddler-like villain to challenge Robin. It also relies on Kitten being held hostage. Which I can’t imagine anyone remembering who isn’t a big fan of the show.
It’s a fairly fun romp with great art, and a new villain could be kick, though I doubt we’ll see him again.
All in all a fun little package of puffery. 3 stars.
All characters appear 'on model' with their television series counterparts and writer J. Torres brilliantly captures the dialogue and voice of both heroes and antagonists alike. In addition, the plots of each of the five tales in this volume are as interesting as any episode of the show.
I've pretty well mentioned what makes these fun reads for comic fans and kids alike, but one thing I've forgotten to mention on the first two volumes is the art. Even though it's simple and basic and resembles the show precisely, it does have a very vibrant and colorful look to it. Making it all that much easier to read.