Teen Titans #22 Review and **SPOILERS**

Writer: Adam Glass
Artist: Bernard Chang
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Letters: Deron Bennett
Cover: Nick Derington
Variant Cover: Alex Garner
Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea
Editor: Alex Antone
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: September 19, 2018

I was going to leave this "above the break" bit blank... sort of as a moment of silence for our fallen friend, Roundhouse.  I decided instead, to give him a bit of a eulogy.  

Roundhouse... what could be said about Roundhouse?  He was blue... and he bounced.  He has a... I promised myself I wouldn't cry... he had a pretty popular ViewTube Channel.

That's about all we know, right?  Okay, I guess that'll do.

Anyhoo... Abyssinia, ya blue bastid!

Loss is an interesting thing.  It's something we all experience at some point or another... in that way it's more or less universal... it's in our reactions to loss where we differ.  What we see in this issue of Teen Titans is the various ways in which our young heroes process and deal with the loss of their teammate, Roundhouse.

One of the things I railed on during the previous run on this title was how the team came across as hopelessly non-committal.  Members would join, quit, threaten to join, threaten to quit, be kicked off, be forced on... we never really had a solid foundation from which we could actually "meet" the characters, in as far as meeting them as members of this team/family.

It's here, after an event... arguably among the more traumatic events for the Titans in quite some time (of course, that's discounting that The New-52! happened to them), and rather than pulling apart... we are able to get an impression on just how they've been affected.  I mean, they're not necessarily "pulling together" either, however, whether or not they are going to remain "a team" is never really in question.

What happened to Roundhouse last issue... well, I liked it... but I can see why the members of the Titans might feel differently.  They were caught between a rock and a hard place, and had to make a snap-decision in order to save a whole heap'a people.  When something like that occurs, it's only natural to try and assign blame.  Sometimes it's internal... other times, it's whoever has the misfortune of wandering into your line of sight.  There's a fair bit of "lashing out" throughout this issue, however, none of it feels petulant.  It all serves the story, and underscores that this "trauma" will inform the way this team grows as a unit.

Robin, as Team Leader feels he's responsible for what went down.  He should have known that Roundhouse wasn't ready.  Crush is purposely aloof... after all, she's the one who "fastball special"ed the poor goof outta the atmosphere.  Emiko doesn't really dwell, instead remains focused on training exercises to sharpen the team, and perhaps avoid any future loss.

There is more to this issue than mourning, however.  We get a pretty great scene in which the Titans take on Golden Glider and a partner-in-crime.  There are hints at a Titan-ic romance... and it's probably not the one you're thinking of.  It certainly isn't the one I was thinking of.  Subplots continue to bubble, and new wrinkles are added to the team's "purpose".  There's also that last page... which I won't spoil.

It's all very compelling... and I can't begin to describe how happy I am to be excited about a book bearing the name Teen Titans again!  Bernard Chang's art is as good as ever, and I also oughta tip my hat to the colorist, Marcelo Maiolo... everything looks great!

Bits and Pieces:

Teen Titans fans rejoice... it's finally safe to come home!

8.5/10