McKeever Talks Titans at Multiverso DC

The great Multiverso DC contacted Sean McKeever to talk about Teen Titans. By Tarcísio Aquino and Ian Huxtable

MDC: How far in advance do you plot what's going to happen?

SM: I started behind schedule on TT so I've been working hard to get up to speed. Now that I'm at a good spot, schedule wise, I've had more time to look ahead. We have the series roughed out through 2008, and then we know a couple things we're doing for 2009.

MDC: About the Terror Titans mini – what's the basic premise? Will they be villainous, as we've seen so far or more anti-heroic/opportunistic?

SM: The Terror Titans are most definitely the bad guys. These kids are truly messed up and just the types for Clock King to manipulate. I can't say too much about the premise at this point without spoiling the current arc in Teen Titans, but I can say the Terror Titans will be dealing with the Dark Side Club, and that they'll have a new legacy villain. New to their team but not new to the DCU.

Joe Bennett says he wants "lots of blood" so I can't let him down!

Read the full inrerview here!

Titans DVDs and more at Gift Shop

Just a reminder that titanstower.com has created its own astore. If you like the site, please support it by buying amazon products through the links on this page! There's lots of exciting Titans products coming, and you can get them at discount prices!

Teen Titans - The Complete Fifth Season: All 13 episodes from the globe-trotting fifth season!

DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures (2008): Includes the original 1967 Teen Titans Cartoons: The Monster Machine (1967)The Space Beast Round-Up (1967)Operation: Rescue (1967)

Titans Companion 2 (Paperback): Featuring interviews with Geoff Johns, Mike McKone, Peter David, Phil Jimenez, and others, it also contains an in-depth section on the top-rated Cartoon Network series!

New Teen Titans Archives Vol. 4: Collects: NEW TEEN TITANS #21-27 and NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1

Please take a moment to order through the links below!

Reviewing TITANS

This was more a review for TITANS #2, but it applies equally to issues #1 and #2.

This is not very good. Just not very good at all. It's not a blight on society, but it's not a very good comic, either.

I think the thing that's most troubling is the overall tone of the comic. Trigon's evil has returned, which should seem urgent and dire. Instead, everyone is taking turns making snarky comments. Umm, your best friends LIVES are in danger! Some of them may be dead! There's this glib attitude that doesn't feel right, given the situation. Winick should re-read the "Terror of Trigon" arc... or, heck, even watch the fourth season of the animated series. When Trigon is around, it should feel like it may very well be the end of the world.

Argent barely escapes a violent torture, and the Titans seem too distracted to explain to her what is happening. Shouldn't they ALL be worried about their friends? Shouldn't Argent be worried about her teammates? Shouldn't Argent be COMPLETELY freaked and scared? Remember how shaken the New Teen Titans were when confronted by Trigon's evil?

I know some people liked how the JLA is rescuing the other Titans, but I think things like that make it seem all too easy. This is the Titans book, and it should be their mission. When you have the JLA and JSA backing you up, the main threat just seems less dire. It works better when you get a line like "The JLA and JSA are both on missions".

This should be a Titans case, where they are desperately trying to reach each member. Also, they should be recruiting rescued members to help in the Trigon battle. There's no plan or strategy here. There's no momentum to the plotting. There's no pacing. It's just the Titans standing around, panel after panel, spouting lame sit-com dialogue from the 90s.

Trigon's return should be a really big deal with a dark, gloomy air of dread looming. Instead, it's like the Titans are confronting Godiva or something.

Spilling out of that, the humor is too snarky and sarcastic. Gar is one to make silly, dumb jokes to lighten the tension. Here, he makes a borderline-cruel joke about Cyborg. It just seems out of character. When Terra insinuated that Starfire was dumb, Donna was very quick to put her in her place, "We joke with each other, but not like that." Where's THAT Donna?

Then there's the continuity flubs. Shouldn't the Titans be shocked that Trigon is alive at all? They saw him atomized before their eyes. Heck, the Teen Titans battled his reanimated skeletal remains not too long ago. Why is Bumblebee full size? Why does Trigon sound nothing like Trigon? Why does he have more children when it was a huge plot point that Raven was his only living heir?

To summarize: The thread-bare plot was a dull "Everyone is being hunted" affair. The return of Trigon is being treated as a big "whatever." The Titans are all talking like Chandler Bing. This storyline is a big miss. So far, the series rates about C-.

DC needs to step it up, because the Titans deserve a lot better.

Mark Sable Shares Thoughts on DC Boards

Cyborg writer Mark Sable has posted on the DCComics.com forums. Here's what he had to say:

"Hey everyone. Thanks for the comments, both good and bad. I'm glad a lot of you liked it and I understand why some didn't.

In terms of it being "a history lesson", I felt like I didn't have a choice. 90% of fans don't know Cyborg's origin, which is a) incredibly complex and b) which, as teentitan2002 points out, will tie heavily into the rest of the issues.

I would have liked to have had a shorter version of Vic's origin. But trust me, paring it down to part of one issue was hard enough. In the original, Marv and George had many more pages to work with, and more importantly, more panels. I mean, Perez could do 9-12 panel pages, and few artists (or readers) want that any more. Everything is 4-5 page panels these days. And it's not just Vic's origin from Tales of The New Teen Titans...I take him through the present, and believe me there was a lot I left out.

It's a hard balancing act. I didn't want to alienate long time fans, but the reality is that most readers are only vaguely familiar with who Vic is and wouldn't be able to follow it without some kind of recap. In the long run, the only thing that will keep the character alive is new blood.

At the same time, I feel like if you're a long time fan you are going to be happy with where we go after this. I didn't show Sarah, Ron and Sarah for no reason. (or the Titans, Silas Stone talking to _____, or DeShaun...).

Speaking of DeShaun and the whole stood up for the wedding thing.... Sorry if it's not clear, but basically, in the beginning it looked like DeShaun was standing Sarah up, because he was late. Tending to...well, I can't say. At the end, he gets there, but Vic has gone, and Sarah has gone after him. You can assume that either the wedding is close to the lab or that any amount of time has passed between the panel between Sarah leaving the wedding and what happens to her in the ruins of S.T.A.R. Labs.

I also want to say for the record how happy I am with the art. It's the first time I saw it in full color, and I think everyone involved really kicked ass.

Oh, and whoever mentioned Wolfman and Perez getting a created by credit, nothing would make me happier. It's not my call.

I hope you guys keep reading because the story only gets better. Big reveal at the end of 2."

I enjoyed #1. I thought it had a good blend of "recap" and set-up. The art was a little confusing toward the end (what just did happen those last 2 pages?), but good show overall.

Torres and Nauck Interviewed at World's Finest

Both J Torres and Todd Nauck have been interviewed at the great World's Finest site. They talk about their work on Teen Titans Go! and a bunch of other stuff. Chcek it out!

J. on future plans for TTGO!: " I certainly wanted Starfire to find Wildfire. The story I had in mind for that involved the Titans heading off into space again. As for Slade's family, I had rough ideas for more Ravager, possibly meeting Jericho, but nothing concrete for Slade's re-appearance. We were planning to bring him back at some point, maybe #60, but we obviously didn't get that far. Maybe if we ever got to do an annual or special, it would make perfect sense to go big and use someone like Slade or maybe Brother Blood."

J. Torres interview

Todd on the end of TTGO!: " I loved drawing these stories. J. Torres really had a great handle on writing them. I loved it when we could introduce other Titans from the cartoon like Speedy, Kid Flash, Mas y Menos, Bumblebee, etc. Two stories that really stick out in my memory was when we had the 5 Titans switch powers/costumes and the race around the world between Kid Flash and Mas y Menos."

Todd Nauck interview

Teen Titans #59 Sneak Peek

It's a big Thursday coming up! Final Crisis #1 and Teen Titans #59. Check out the sneak peeks here.


TEEN TITANS #59
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by Eddy Barrows & Ruy Jose
Cover by Barrows & Julio Ferreira
It's Teen Titan versus Teen Titan when Clock King's plan reaches its final, twisted stage. With teammates missing or presumed dead, can Robin and Wonder Girl put the pieces together before Clock King's Terror Titans finish them off?
On sale May 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Multiverso DC interviews J.Torres

Currently J.Torres is one of the names more known of the DC’s fans. The writer contributed for books like Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Batman Strikes, The Legion of Super in the 31st Century and Teen Titans Go. His more recent work was Wonder Girl’s mini and his next project calls Family Project.

In this interview, J. talks about Wonder Girl and some other upcoming projects. Enjoy!

Titans In August

Full solicts here

TEEN TITANS #62
Written by Sean McKeever
Art and cover by Eddy Barrows & Ruy José
Guest-starring Cyborg! When villains attack, it's up to two remarkable teens to pick up the pieces so the Teen Titans don't have to. This issue: a heartwarming look at Titans Tower through the eyes of its least-known inhabitants: Wendy, Marvin ... and Wonderdog?!
On sale August 27 •32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

TITANS #5
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Rodney Buchemi
Cover by Ian Churchill
In the stand-alone story “Date Night,” four Titans face the fact that love is a battlefield. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure is making his way to Titans Tower. Who is this ominous stranger " and how does he or she know the Titans?
On sale August 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

DC SPECIAL: CYBORG #4
Written by Mark Sable
Art by Carlos Magno & Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Brian Denham
The mysterious Mr. Orr has transformed one of Cyborg's friends into a killing machine! But is Vic's friend the only victim?
Orr has cloned two of the world's deadliest super-villains to prevent Cyborg and The Titans from finding out.
On sale August 20 • 4 of 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

BATGIRL #2
Written by Adam Beechen
Art by Jim Calafiore & Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Andy Clarke
Batgirl’s path of vengeance violently crosses that of another young woman raised by David Cain. When a surprising link is found between Cain and Batgirl’s other target, Deathstroke the Terminator, will the two missions become one? Also, a member of the Bat-Family discovers just what Batgirl is up to. Will her cover be blown?
On sale August 20 • 2 of 6, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

NIGHTWING #147
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Don Kramer & Sandu Florea
Cover by Rags Morales
A “Batman: R.I.P.” tie-in! Two-Face hits New York City " but when he takes a bite out of the Big Apple, he finds it rotten to the core. He’ll make Nightwing and all of New York pay for their crimes…unless Nightwing can save one of Harvey Dent’s old flames from an assassin’s bullet!
On sale August 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 U

ROBIN #177
Written by Chuck Dixon Cover by Freddie E. Williams II
Art by Rick Leonardi & Lorenzo Ruggiero
Facing some of the toughest criminals and monsters known to man is nothing compared to dealing with your on again/off again, back-from-the-dead girlfriend’s enraged deadbeat dad! A not-so-happy reunion puts Robin between Spoiler and Cluemaster and this time, he’s not so easy to get rid of.
On sale August 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

THE FLASH #243
Written by Tom Peyer
Art and cover by Freddie E. Williams II
The conclusion of “Fast Money”! The Flash returns to Keystone, making some bold moves to get his life and reputation back on track " with some serious consequences for his family!
On sale August 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

BLUE BEETLE #30
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art and cover by Rafael Albuquerque
“Boundaries” continues as Blue Beetle investigates the mystery of the superpowered men who tried to cross the border illegally. But La Dama and the Posse refuse to help him out, thanks to their own secret agendas.
On sale August 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

DC UNIVERSE: LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT #1
Written by Brad Meltzer
Art and covers by Adam Kubert & John Dell
New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer (IDENTITY CRISIS, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA) makes his return to the DC Universe " and superstar artist Adam Kubert (ACTION COMICS) is riding shotgun!
The final battle is quickly approaching. How do the heroes of the DCU prepare for the end? Whom do they approach and say goodbye to before they make the ultimate sacrifice? Featuring the entire DC Universe, Meltzer takes us deep into the hearts and psyches of our heroes. It's the day before you die. What would you do?
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by Adam Kubert that will ship in approximately 50/50 ratio. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale August 27 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US

FINAL CRISIS: ROGUES’ REVENGE #2
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Scott Kolins
Life was easier when the Rogues had Barry Allen for a foe " or at least it was a bit more fun. Now, hunted by Libra and the Secret Society for refusing to worship the impending evil that is prophesized to claim Earth, Cold and his crew find themselves attacked on several fronts . . . and that doesn’t sit well with the Rogues. Plus, a bizarre twist for Inertia!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by Scott Kolins that will ship in approximately 50/50 ratio. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale August 20 • 2 of 3, 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by George Pérez & Scott Koblish
Covers by George Pérez
From the moment Kal-El landed on earth until the end of time, the Time Trapper has sought to erase Superman’s impact on the universe. But the Legion of Super-Heroes have always been there to stop him. This time, though, even the Legion won’t be enough. The Time Trapper has found the ultimate weapon to carry out his plan " a twisted mirror image of the boy of steel from a parallel Earth long dead: Superboy-Prime! Who will answer the Legion’s call for help? Find out here as the Crisis of the 31st century begins!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by George Pérez that will ship in approximately 50/50 ratio. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale August 20 • 1 of 5 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

TINY TITANS #7
Written by Art Baltazar & Franco
Art and cover by Art Baltazar
Get ready for a Tiny Titans trip to space! Join the gang as they journey through the galaxy to help Starfire clean her room. And find out what happens at your local Bird Scouts meeting. Plus, Supergirl stops by to save the day!
On sale August 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.25 US

THE NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES VOL. 4 HC
Written by Marv Wolfman
Art and cover by George Pérez & Romeo Tanghal
The 1980s adventures continue in this final Archive edition, collecting NEW TEEN TITANS #21-27 and NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1! Don’t miss the Titans’ struggle against the hordes of Brother Blood, Starfire’s confrontation with her evil sister and more! Retailers: Please see this month’s Order Form for a special Archives ordering incentive.
Advance-solicited; on sale October 29 • 224 pg, FC, $49.99 US

THE NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES VOLS. 1-3 HC
Written by Marv Wolfman Covers by George Pérez and others
Art by George Pérez, Romeo Tanghal and others
Reoffered to coincide with THE NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES VOL. 4! Vol. 1 collects from DC COMICS PRESENTS #26 and NEW TEEN TITANS #1-8; Vol. 2 collects from BEST OF DC #18 and NEW TEEN TITANS #9-16; Vol. 3 collects NEW TEEN TITANS #17-20 and TALES OF THE NEW TEEN TITANS #1-4.
Retailers: Please see this month’s Order Form for a special Archives ordering incentive.

BLUE BEETLE VOL. 4: ENDGAME TP
Written by John Rogers, Justin Peniston and Jai Nitz
Art by Rafael Albuquerque, Andy Kuhn, Mike Norton and Trevor Scott
Cover by Albuquerque
Featuring a story that ties into “The Sinestro Corps War,” this volume collects BLUE BEETLE #20-26. This title also includes the special Spanish language story, along with the script translated into English.
Advance-solicited; on sale September 24 • 176 pg, FC, $14.99 US

New Doom Patrol Series?

Rumor column Lying In the Gutters Reports: "ITEM! I hear Keith Giffen and Matt Clark are on a new Doom Patrol. Third time lucky in reigniting this book? That's a damnfine team to bet on..."

Sigh, I was hoping Matthew Clark and Art Thibert might become the art team on TITANS. But hey, it's justa rumor....

Serge LaPointe On Teen Titans First Year

The Pulse reports: The Teen Titans have been getting the Year One treatment in an imaginative limited series courtesy of writer Amy Wolfram and artists Karl Kerschl and Serge LaPointe. LaPointe said inking this project is a "labor of love." But how do you go from loving something to bringing it to life in sequential art? LaPointe told us how he landed this gig and got to know these terrific teens.

THE PULSE: How did you get the opportunity to work on Teen Titans: Year One?

LaPOINTE: Well, I first collaborated with Karl and Steph on Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #3, and we loved the synergy it created so we wanted to bring it up a notch on Teen Titans. I'm inking it, but since we are all involved on every level, sharing a studio and talking about every pages together, we consider it a 3 man art job. With Steph gone, we're trying to get the same team work going with John, but since he's not sharing the studio with us, it's not exactly the same. But we're still going back and forth amongst the 3 of us to keep the same level of excitment and energy to it.

THE PULSE: What do you think of the Teen Titans at this point in time? Is this a group you knew a lot about or one you had to get acquainted with after landing this assignment?

LaPOINTE: I mostly know the Titans through the recent TV show that I watch with my nephew and my girlfriend. I love the fact that we're doing the early version of the team, and how we're allowed to go crazy with it. I know our portrayal of Aqualad doesn't make hardcore fans of the Titans all that happy, but kids love it, and it's an easily accessible title to all ages. It can easily be your first Titans adventure and you won't get lost and bothered by all the back story.

Read the full interview here!

Judd Winick Takes On Titans

The Pulse reports:

Winick is a big fan of the Wolfman/Perez incarnation of the group. He grew up reading these adventures like a lot of us and the stories are still very fresh in his mind. He remembers the quite moments that made this more than a group of characters in costumes, just meeting to go bash the latest bad guys. One of the most memorable moments for Winick was in the pages of New Teen Titans # 39, a story entitled "Crossroads," where Dick Grayson and Wally West gave up their costumed identities of Robin and Kid Flash.

"I really dug the issue where Dick and Wally quit, but they didn't actually quit, which was interesting," Winick said. "Their costumes were empty on the cover, with gloves and belts hanging from the logo, and they were talking away. I thought, 'Dick's not going to be Robin?!' This was before we had comic book press like THE PULSE. There was nothing to check or go into to hear rumors. It didn't exist. You had to stick on the story. Here he was giving up being Robin, but saying, 'I'm not leaving you. I just can't be Robin anymore.' I was really struck by that. He's giving up this persona that meant so much, but I was so hopeful realizing he would become another hero. How exciting was that?! It was such a bittersweet moment. You knew he was coming back as another hero, but you didn't see it coming at all. You didn't think about it. Then, sure enough, he did. Dick gave up being Robin for all the most human reasons and he had such a really hard time doing it. I liked how he asked Kory to help him take off his tunic. It clicked in my brain that it was so hard for him to do, because he would never put this costume on again. He meant it. That was rough, but it was so interesting."

Winick continued, "Right there for me is the epitome of the Wolfman/Perez run. Again, it's not like a fisticuffs thing -- it was just a character giving up a costume. He will still lead the team. He will still be a hero. But he gave up a costume and it was so moving. They created these characters set in bedrock both on a visual and written page. Perez, unlike anyone has ever been able to do since, created characters that were so visually specific that you could always tell who was who. At Donna Troy's Wedding [New Teen Titans # 50], when Wally was standing next to Dick, you knew who each was -- they weren't Ken dolls with interchangeable hair. With these terrific characterizations, I think it's why we all come back to this group. The musical chairs of creation have finally stopped where I get to sit down and write the Titans."

Read the whole article here.

Mark Sable On Cyborg in May

Cyborg writer Mark Sable chatted with The Pulse about his upcoming mini-series:

THE PULSE: With this Cyborg series, is it going to be showing his past and present?

SABLE: Yes and yes. And also his future.

THE PULSE: You said it would feature a few groups of Titans in these pages, which heroes are set to make an appearance?

SABLE: Both groups of current Titans, the current incarnation of The New Teen Titans (Now the Titans led by Nightwing) and the actual Teen Titans (led by Robin). The lineups may differ slightly as they’ve changed and may change again since Ken Lashley and I finished working on those issues.

THE PULSE: Who are some of the villains that Cyborg and the Titans go up against?

SABLE: I feel like I’ve already given away too much. I’ll say this, though: There’s a group of familiar villains that are put together to stop Vic, let’s call them the Cyborg Revenge Squad. There’s the non-meta big bad, someone we’ve seen before, who put them together. And there’s a new group of are-they-or-aren’t-they-villains I created especially for this series called “The Phantom Limbs”.

Read the full article here.

NYCC 2008: Teen Titans Year One Team

Part of the TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE team attended New York ComicCon: Writer Amy Wolfram and Inker Serge LaPointe (pictured above, with a home-made Terra doll - a gift to Amy from a fan!). Unfortunately, Artist Karl Kerschl was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. At their DC booth signing, it was interesting to see the reactions to TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE. Some fans were brand-new to Titans through the mini, while others checked it out due to the cartoon, while others were hard-core Titans fans. Everyone seems to really like the series!

Amy was curious to see what fans will think of issue #4, out in stores just recently. It's the first issue that isn't an adaption to a previous Titans story. And issue #5 takes a fresh look at the Wonder Girl/Speedy relationship. (Can't wait for that one!) Issue #6 provides a nice bookend to the origin story in #1-3.

The mini has been a tremendous amount of fun - visually and story-wise. I've been really enjoying it and I'm hoping there may be a TEEN TITANS: YEAR TWO on the horizon with the same creative team!

NYCC 2008: Sean McKeever's Terror Titans

Newsarama reports: At one of the DC panels last weekend at New York Comic Con, Dan Didio introduced Sean McKeever not only as the writer of the ongoing Teen Titans series, but also as the writer of Terror Titans. It turns out that Terror Titans is the name of a six-issue mini-series that begins in September with McKeever writing and Joe Bennett on art.

And what we found out in this edition of our Floorbuzz is that this mini-series will touch upon that Dark Side Club everyone's talking about -- the one that's supposed to be connected to events in Final Crisis -- and we'll see a new, well-known teen member of the Terror Titans emerge as the story takes shape.

NRAMA: Can you tell us the premise of the story at all?

SM: It spins out of the current Teen Titans arc, and it kind of spins out of Final Crisis as well. So there's not a lot I can give away at this point, except it does have to do with the Dark Side Club that we've seen in the Seven Soldiers Mr. Miracle mini-series and that we will see in this current arc in Teen Titans, and also in Birds of Prey and in a couple other places in the DC Universe.

I don't want to say too much about what the Dark Side Club is. I'll let people find that out for themselves. But the Clock King has a relationship with the Dark Side Club that we follow up on in the Terror Titans mini-series. And the Terror Titans gain a new member. And it's somebody everybody knows. And it's all about what Clock King wants to use the Dark Side Club for, and how he wants to make his team a stronger team.

Read the full story here.

NYCC 2008: Sean McKeever

I chatted with current TEEN TITANS writer Sean McKeever at the DC Booth. I told Sean how much I've been enjoying the "Terror Titans" arc in TEEN TITANS. Sean said he liked digging deeper into the characters of Ravager, Kid Devil and Miss Martian. He liked the Miss Martian issue so much, he would consider spinning her off into her own mini or even (gasp) ongoing series! He said there's going to be some other familiar faces popping up in TEEN TITANS, so keep an eye out, Titans fans!

Sean also said he's having a good time writing Titans, and he hopes to be on the title for a good, long time. Here's hoping! Sean was signing with TEEN TITANS artist Eddy Barrows, so I snagged a photo of the Titans team!