Written by Felicia D. Henderson
Main Feature Art by José Luís; Mariah Benes; Marcelo Maiolo;
& Travis Lanham
Back-Up Feature Written by Rex Ogle
Back-Up Feature Art by Ted Naifeh; Jose Villarrubia; & Sal Cipriano
Cover Art by Joe Bennett; Jack Jadson; & Rod Reis
SUMMARY:
Released by DC Comics for July 2010, this issue is entitled “A Rift in the Haystack.” The team roll call includes: Wonder Girl; Superboy; Kid Flash; Beast Boy; Static Shock; Aquagirl; Bombshell; Miss Martian; Blue Beetle; Raven; & Cyborg.
After Raven’s abduction into The Wyld, the team scrambles to find a way of retrieving her. Married Cadmus scientists, Drs. Vincent and Rochelle Barnes, uses their technical know-how to conduct the search. The team’s downtime goes in different directions.
Wonder Girl’s leadership duties is complicated by her cooling romance with Superboy (including a possible triangle with Aquagirl). Bombshell is suspicious of a hospitalized Miss Martian’s potentially compromised telepathy. Blue Beetle leaves the team to spend with his mother. Wonder Girl opts to divide the team for their imminent underwater mission to reach The Wyld’s dimension.
The Demons Three’s nine-page back-up feature is entitled “Coven of Three: Dark Harvest, Chapter 1.” Scheming to escape Hell and go back to Earth, the immortal Demons Three (Abnegazar, Ghast, & Rath) viciously kill one of Satanus’ young daughters to access her mystical blood. Targeting magical teenagers Traci Thirteen, Black Alice, and Zachary Zatara, the nefarious trio intends to acquire their vulnerable young souls via deception.
REVIEW:
Once again, a Teen Titans squad must seek out a missing Raven. Aside from this concept becoming a franchise cliché, writer Felicia Henderson still distributes the necessary screen time among eleven Titans. Her plotting is clearly much more designed for loyal fans vs. accommodating casual readers, who wouldn’t know, off-hand, i.e — Who exactly is this new Aquagirl? Or when did Static Shock join the team?
As a result, this issue’s over-abundance of Titans doesn’t necessarily make for a more enjoyable adventure. Still, Henderson’s storytelling is enhanced by the art squad’s first-class visuals. Their artwork helps makes up for the less-than-engaging storyline.
Re: the back-up tale, some terrific art outweighs an underwhelming plot (i.e. the icky nature of the demonic child’s abduction and murder). At least, the intriguing presence of Traci Thirteen, Zachary Zatara, and Black Alice suggests this Demons Three tale might improve in later installments. Teen Titans # 8, overall, is okay for ages 12 and up, but even plenty of great artwork doesn’t necessarily make it a keeper.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Blogger Alex Segura’s “DC Nation” column plugs a wave of upcoming DC ‘special’ variant covers. There’s a five-page, black-and-white (no dialogue) preview of the upcoming Batman: Odyssey mini-series.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
