Written by Judd Winick
Art by Joe Benitez; Victor Llamas; Sandra Hope; Derek Fridolfs; Joe Weems; Edgar Delgado; & Comicraft
Cover Art by Joe Benitez; Victor Llamas; & Edgar Delgado
SUMMARY:
Entitled “Family Affair, Part 2,” DC Comics released this issue for August 2008. A vengeful Trigon is fatally striking out at the Teen Titans, both present and past. Upon Raven briefly describing her gypsy mother’s seduction/recruitment into Trigon’s satanic cult, Beast Boy smugly teases her. Through intel supplied by Cyborg, the Titans probe the whereabouts of three of Trigon’s rumored other mortal brides. Dividing into three duos, the team finds that all three women are recently dead, with too few details left behind.
In an inexplicably snarky mood, Wally West’s Flash taunts Donna Troy that she doesn’t have family to worry about (like he now does), which sets off a furious Donna. Within a murdered woman’s home no less, Nightwing & Starfire surrender to mutual lust by engaging in implied sexual intercourse amongst its boxed-up belongings. Losing self-control, Raven verbally erupts at one potential witness, which forces Beast Boy and then Red Arrow to intervene.
Upon regrouping, the Titans ponder their inappropriate behavior, not to mention various shades of embarrassment. The creepy truth comes in the form of Raven’s three half-brothers.
REVIEW:
In the first few pages, there’s an excellent facial close-up of Raven’s mother and then one of Raven herself. Beyond that, including tawdry (and impossibly thin) profile close-ups of Starfire & Donna Troy, the talented art squad mostly exacerbates the sleazy script that writer Judd Winick is peddling. Though the Titans’ awful behavior is conveniently explained away by the secret villains exuding ‘envy,’ ‘lust,’ and ‘rage,’ Issue # 3’s storytelling is an excuse for some DC trash posing as a story.
Suffice to say, this creative team falls far short of the industry-leading magic that Marv Wolfman & George Pérez produced with these same characters approximately forty years ago.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
DC’s Mike Siglain hypes the Batman: Gotham After Midnight series in the “DC Nation” column. Thumbnail cover reveals are for Booster Gold # 10; Wonder Woman # 21; and Titans # 4. DC goofs by including this issue’s own cover.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3 Stars
