Teen Titans rise again but not it’s a whole new team in a new world.
DC Comics announced Teen Titans: Earth One by superstar creative team Jeff Lemire (Green Arrow, Justice League United, Futures End) and Terry and Rachel Dodson. This is the latest volume of the Earth One graphic novels following Superman and Batman.
“Victor Stone, Tara Markov, Joey Wilson, and Gar Logan never felt like normal kids… but they had no idea how right they were. Their seemingly idyllic Oregon upbringing hides a secret—one that will bring killers, shamans, and extraterrestrials down on their heads, and force them into an alliance that could shake the planet to its foundations!”
Jeff Lemire explains how this graphic novel is influenced by the classic Teen Titans by legendary Marv Wolfman and George Perez in a Comic Book Resources exclusive:
“I’ve always said that those two guys and that book, in particular, was my introduction to comics. Marv Wolfman and George Pérez were the first creators whose work I followed avidly. “The New Teen Titans” from the ’80s was like my Bible as a kid. I read every issue over and over and over again. It’s really what got me into comics, and DC Comics, specifically. So for me, to get to take those characters and concepts and put a modern spin on them and try to recapture the feeling that I had while reading those books, without just redoing those stories, is something really challenging. It somewhat intimidating, but also clearly a dream come true for me since I was eight years old and wanting to tell stories with those characters.”
To be honest, that was one of the hardest things to decide when I got the gig, for a couple of reasons. There have been different iterations over the years. There is the sidekick version with Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Robin and Aqualad. And there’s the Wolfman/Pérez version, with unique characters like Starfire and Cyborg. These books have no continuity, so they’re not linked to the other “Earth One” books. They’re not linked to “Superman: Earth One” or “Batman: Earth One” yet. Without a Batman or a Wonder Woman, there can’t really be a Robin or a Wonder Girl, yet. I couldn’t really use those characters unless I introduced the adult versions of those characters.
Every generation has a favorite Titans lineup. Lemire explains how he chose his roster and who propels the adventure forward:
“What I really decided to do was take unique characters that would be free of all that, so I embraced the Wolfman/Pérez era I loved so much — the roster is Cyborg, Changeling, Starfire, Raven and Jericho.
From the outside looking in, Cyborg is probably the most recognizable character on the team. I’ve always been fascinated by the character. He just seemed like such a tragic character, and you know I love tragedy. [Laughs] He’s a kid that’s been overtaken by a machine — that’s just such a great emotional hook. I knew that I could really work with that. In a lot of ways, he was an easy character to write because I knew his story and his drive. Some of the other characters were a bit more difficult to figure out, what motivated them and what their arc was going to be but Cyborg was pretty clear cut and I think I have done it in a way that is true to who he always was but it’s a new take on the man-machine thing too. And I hope, a little bit unexpected.
Changeling or Beast Boy — or whichever name he was given at the time — was always a great entry point for readers as a kid because he always seemed the youngest. And in a lot of ways, he was the most relatable. I’ve really gone with that here. He’s a bit younger than the other characters in the book, a bit more immature. That’s where he starts — he ends up somewhere else, but I don’t want to spoil anything.
I will not discuss Starfire, because there is a lot of mystery all around her and I can’t say anything without spoiling a whole bunch of the book. I will have to leave that one open for now.
I always loved Raven. In a lot of ways, she was my favorite character in the Wolfman/Pérez stuff. She’s a tragic story. She’s the daughter of a demon and she’s being pulled to the dark side, constantly. I didn’t go that route with her in my version. It’s a really fresh take on Raven, actually. It’s very different than the DCU version. But I still love the character.
Raven and Starfire are really key to the plot of the first volume. I can’t talk too much without spilling stuff, but, like Starfire, there is a lot of mystery surrounding Raven that will all be revealed as the story evolves.” he tells CBR.
Lemire says to expect Jericho and Slade Wilson but he’s very different from his DC New 52 counterpart.
Teen Titans: Earth One arrives November 19th.
By Editor