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."

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