Teen Titans #17
"It Ain't Easy Being Green, Part 1"
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Penciller: Scot Eaton
Inker: Wayne Faucher
Colorist: Jim Charalampidis
Letterer: Corey Breen
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: February 28, 2018
Here we are about to read Teen Titans... and I'm practically giddy!
Let's not get it twisted, I'm not really looking forward to a Beast Boy-centric Titans romp... but, I'm so happy not to see the words "Milk Wars" atop a book I'm reviewing I can hardly contain myself!
Remember that "Super Sons of Tomorrow" crossover from a couple months back? Well, it looks like after a month away, we're finally going to address the fallout... and it's, well... Titan's Tower-West is still a wreck! If the art's to be believed, it's still smoldering too! Shouldn't somebody do something about that?!
Well, the trauma of the event has led to a feeling of melancholy... especially in our resident pain-in-the-ass, Beast Boy. He decides this is all too much to take, and decides to go off in search of some "alone" time. Funny, he seemed perfectly okay last issue... okay, okay... we'll play along.
Gar heads off and finds comfort in the arms of a fan... one with ties to a tight-knit group of child-- err, okay, it's totally a cult. Kind of a "lost boys", complete with a weird boat-in-a-treehouse they call Nevrland (sorry spellcheck, that's how they spell it!). Anyhoo, they're all big fans of Gar's online hijinks... and I gotta say, this whole "internet sensation" gimmick isn't actually grinding my gears here.
At the same time, the remaining Titans are called into action when a nerdy kid hijacks a school bus and drives it off the Golden Gate Bridge. This all converges at the end with the introduction of a Pan-themed injectable panacea.
Overall, this isn't a half-bad issue. I initially feared that my taking to this issue was more a result of my having just read the end of the four-color grift called Milk Wars, however, even after giving this a reread... I didn't hate it!
Scot Eaton's art is a welcome addition giving the team a more classic "superhero" look. At the end of the day, however, we're SEVENTEEN issues in (eighteen if we count Teen Titans: Rebirth... nineteen if we count the Annual... all told $69.81 off-the-shelf)... and we're still dealing with a team in upheaval.
Nothing feels "set" yet... every story is predicated on a member joining... or leaving, and at four-bucks a pop... that's just not gonna cut it. Understand when I say, the Teen Titans hold a very special place in my heart... and are among the handful of my "can't quit you" books... but we're at a point where we're going to have to restructure... or cut bait!
Bits and Pieces:
More team-building turmoil (what else is new) and a nagging feeling as though we're circling the drain. That said, while keeping with the Titans "formula" this was a far more enjoyable issue than I'd expected. Sadly, that's damning with faint praise.
7/10
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