October 26, 2009 - Blackest Night: Titans #3 Written by: JT Krul Art by: Ed Benes Price: $2.99 Release Date: October 28, 2009
With their backs against the walls of a battered Titans Tower, the few remaining Titans face their dead former teammates who have now become Black Lanterns!
Meanwhile, one Titan discovers a secret weapon... but at what price? Don't miss this finale from writer J.T. Krul (JSA CLASSIFIED, Fathom) and superstar artist Ed Benes (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA)!
Teen Titans #76 Written by Felicia D. Henderson; co-feature written by Sean McKeever; Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; co-feature art by Yildiray Cinar and Júlio Ferreira; Cover by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson
Guest-starring Beast Boy and Raven! With the Teen Titans unraveling at the seams, two former members must return to Titans Tower to help Wonder Girl right the sinking ship! If only it were that easy…And in the Ravager second feature, Rose uncovers a horrific black market. And she deals with it the only way she knows how: with blood.
You've stated that Superboy will be more involved in the current Superman main story line soon. But when the Legion takes over Adventure Comics where will we be able to follow his adventures in Smallville?
DiDio: There's one very logical place that Superboy will be appearing on a consistent basis. And then from there, as the Superman storyline heats up during the course of the year, you'll start to see him popping up in more and more of the Superman titles.
Nrama: Well, I suspect you kind of answered the next part of his question, but Mbeck continues... Will he rejoin the Titans or at least be reunited with Tim, Bart, and Cassie?
Hmm, I had forgotten I had this one! My friend Marcus got it for my earlier this year at a Dallas con. Ravager by Nick Derington. It's spectacular. Interestingly enough, Nick drew Rose with Asian features without knowing her history. Many people forget Rose is part Cambodian, on her mother's side.
Last week, I went to the Wizard World Big Apple Comic Con. It was a fairly lackluster affair. A sort of soggy sequel to the real New York Comic-Con (which Wizard intends to compete with next year... yeah, good luck with that!) I did get some nice sketches, tho.
Miss Martian by Gregg Schigiel. This one is fun. Next up is Aquagirl by Jamie Fay. This one looks great in color, Jamie keeps getting better and better each time I see him at these cons.
Next up is Starfire by Khary Randolph. I love Khary's style. He did the character designs for WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, btw. Good stuff, huh? Next is Raven by Joe Quinones. I have no idea how to say his name, so I called him "Joe Quixiote", while my friend Jeff called him "Joe Quesadilla." I felt better when I asked him how you pronounce it, and he said he thought even HE pronounced it wrong!
Anyway, I like the way this turned out. Thanks for fetching it, Jeff!
Next up is Zatara by Andy MacDonald. Andy does great commissions. And whenever there's an interesting visual power, Andy knocks it out of the park. I love this one!
Doom Patrol (ongoing) #2 September 2009 22,001 -6,266
Vigilante (ongoing) (cancelled) #10 September 2009 7,856 -531
Graphic Novels: Titans: Lockdown September 2009 1,722
Analysis: Blackest Night: Titans -- First off, I must mention that Blackest Night: Titans #1 had a significant number of re-orders in September; 6,554 units, to be exact. Thus, Blackest Night: Titans #1 sales figures now look like this:
#1 August 2009 71,321 N/A (August Numbers - 64,767; September Numbers - 6,554)
So for those of you who are looking at the post for August figures above in comparison, that's the reason behind the discrepancy. It still hasn't passed Titans #1 as the best selling Titans title of the last two years, but its getting close. And Blackest Night: Titans #2 did almost as well as the first issue's initial numbers; clearly, BN:T has been the best thing to happen Teen Titans-wise in a very, very long time. And what's more, author JT Krul has received almost universal praise for the series. With those number and those reviews, I think DC would have a hard time justifying not handing the him a Titans title. Good chance we may yet see more re-orders for both issues in next month's numbers.
Teen Titans -- Actually managed to get a 2.5k increase. Several factors probably contributed to that - landmark issue number, first issue of new writer, indications in solicits that old characters would return. What's more, there's some good indications that - for at least the next few months - those numbers are not likely to go down significantly. Upcoming we have a two issue Blackest Night crossover, and that is being followed by a long-anticipated foray in Milestone Comics territory with Static. Thus, I suspect Teen Titans will stay mostly at an even keel for the foreseeable future. It is now quite possible that the worst is now behind us.
Titans -- Back to its normal sales slide, although this one was smaller than average. Didn't get below the 30k mark like I expected, but it seems unlikely to escape it next month. With this title still doing nothing but one-shot filler stories and its "new improved direction" still months away, I'm expecting the slide to continue for the next few months. Only time will tell if Deathstroke Titans will save the book.
Tiny Titans -- Basically broke even.
Booster Gold -- Another smallish drop, most likely due to NTT nostalgia.
Doom Patrol -- Yikes. Not liking that drop. But the new series is proving to be somewhat controversial for old fans of the DP, so perhaps it was to be expected.
Vigilante -- Sadly, its about to be put out of its misery.
Graphic Novels Since its rather pointless to do a month-by-month analysis of TPB releases, here instead are what the totals have been like for new Titans TPB/HC released this year. Same format as above, except no issue numbers and no +/- change:
Titans: Old Friends (HC) January 2009 1,853
Tiny Titans Vol. 1: Welcome to the Treehouse February 2009 2,603
Teen Titans Spotlight: Cyborg March 2009 1,144
Tiny Titans Vol. 2: Adventures in Awesomeness May 2009 2,056
Terror Titans July 2009 1,862
Teen Titans: Changing of the Guard August 2009 1,975
Titans: Lockdown September 2009 1,722
All sales are about average for TPB releases. Keep in mind, however, that these figures are ONLY for those copies sold through the Diamond distribution chain; they DO NOT include sales to, say, bookstories like Barnes & Noble and Borders. Those stores get their copies directly from the publisher (via Random House) in the normal book sales distribution chain.
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Overall Analysis: Definite signs that the Titans franchise has mostly bottomed out. Titans remains the stinker, but the flagship title looks on the verge of turning things around - or at the very least, settling itself into a range. We probably won't know for certain until early next year, but I would say that there are reasons to be cautiously (very cautiously) optimistic.
TEEN TITANS #79 Written by Felicia D. Henderson; co-feature written by Sean McKeever Art by Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson; co-feature art by Yildiray Cinar & Júlio Ferreira Cover by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson Now that he’s had time to acclimate to normal life since the TERROR TITANS miniseries, Static makes the choice to go home and tell his family that he’s alive. And he’s bringing his Teen Titans teammates with him. Let’s hope they can survive the rough streets of Dakota! Plus: Ravager...slave girl! On sale January 27 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US TITANS #21 Written by J.T. Krul Art by Angel Unzueta & Wayne Faucher Cover by Angel Unzueta In part 1 of the 2-part "Fractured," with Dick back in Gotham City and Gar and Raven returning to the West Coast, the Titans find themselves in crisis. As the team continues to fall apart, the remaining members struggle to put the pieces back together. But the future of the Titans might be out of their control altogether. On sale January 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
TINY TITANS #24 Written by Art Baltazar & Franco Art and cover by Art Baltazar The Tiny Titans get tinier than they've ever been when a mishap in the Treehouse makes them all Atom-sized! Even the most familiar things become strange and new when you're suddenly very bitty – will the Teeny Weeny Titans ever be just Tiny again? Don't miss the all-small issue! On sale January 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.50 US
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #41 Written by James Robinson Art and covers by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter Be here for the start of a new Justice League era! The JLA have been getting a pounding in the last couple of months, but NO MORE! The team regroups with a new roster that will transcend time and space! Make way for the World’s Greatest Heroes – Batman, Green Lantern, the Atom, Green Arrow, Donna Troy, the Guardian, Cyborg, Mon-El, Starfire, Dr. Light and, yes, Congorilla! This issue features two covers by Mark Bagley which are seperately orderable. Cover A features Green Lantern and Green Arrow; Cover B features Batman and Mon-El. The cover images will be revealed online before the issue’s Final Order Cutoff date. On sale January 20 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
ADVENTURE COMICS #6 Written by Geoff Johns Art and covers by Francis Manapul Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul say goodbye (for now) to Superboy with a spectacular 30-page issue! Ever since Superboy returned from the grave, he has been obsessed with Lex Luthor, believing that there must be some good in the master villain somewhere. So for Luthor, it’s time to put up or shut up. With Superman off planet, it’s time to do some good for the planet earth. Superboy is willing to do what it takes to make Lex’s dreams come true, but what Superboy will discover is that one man’s dreams, are another man’s nightmares. Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul and renamed and renumbered ADVENTURE COMICS #509). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information. On sale January 13 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Comic Book Legends Revealed 10/16/2009: Mal Duncan
This week's Comic Book Legends Revealed has a discussion on Mal, Teen Titans, & 1970s interracial politics.... complete with some page scans.
COMIC LEGEND: Dick Giordano had a page of Teen Titans colored blue to help sort of "sneak" the first interracial embrace in mainstream comics through.
STATUS: True
and
Mal is offered a spot on the Titans, but he feels unworthy at the moment (I guess because of his lack of powers?), so he takes off on a secret mission, but first, he says goodbye to Lilith (the telepathic Titan, who was also a recent addition to the team at the time).
In the scene, Mal and Lilith embrace, and I guess it is sort of kind of meant to be Lilith kissing Mal on the cheek.
Whatever the case, Giordano was told by editorial to nix the scene, but instead, Giordano had the whole page colored blue...
Q: What’s the scoop on the Titans led by Deathstroke, and what about The Joker realizing there’s a new Batman? A: Tomasi answered quickly, “Joker’s shining up a crowbar for Damian,” with Sattler chiming in that it wasn’t an 800 number to call, but instead a texting poll like voting on American Idol. In seriousness, Sattler said that the Joker issue is “not what you expect”, and that the Deathstroke story is part of something bigger, that will include other DC books besides Titans.
A fan brings Sattler some ketchup flavored potato chips, referencing a DC Nation article that was in the back of the DC books a while back, which prompts Sattler to tell a funny story about DC executive editor Dan Didio texting Sattler from Toronto asking why fans kept bringing him a bunch of oddly flavored potato chips.
and, This was mentioned in the Live Q & A coverage that was on Newsarama's coverage of the Baltimore Comic con
A: Static will be around in Teen Titans for sure, no matter who the creative team (still in flux) will be.
Still in flux? thought that Felicia Henderson was the regular writer on the title and that the creative was pretty stable for now. Is there going to be another creative team shake up on the title?
Two conventions, a retailer summit and a possible bout of Kryptonite poisoning may have delayed us, but we're back with GEOFF JOHNS PRIME, CBR's bi-monthly visit with superstar writer Geoff Johns.
First off, I guess the big news since the last time we chatted is that, after only six issues, you and Francis Manapul are leaving "Adventure Comics" and outgoing DC Comics Publisher Paul Levitz is taking over the book. Michael, Eric, Matthew E, Christian and Dennis want to know what this means for Superboy?
I just finished #6, so I've finished the story Francis and I were working on. Superboy is one of my favorite characters. I'm not really the one to tell you what is next for Superboy, but I know he features prominently in the Superman universe from here on out, and the Teen Titans, as well, for starters.
As far as the Legion goes, I'm beyond excited for Paul Levitz to return to "Adventure Comics" and the Legion of Super-Heroes.
and
He also wanted to thank-you for giving Duela Dent more 'screentime' when you were on "Teen Titans" than she had in the last 20 years.
I had plans for Joker's daughter. Since "Teen Titans" #1, [editor] Eddie Berganza and I also talked about Joker's Daughter, but we never really got to play those plans out.
and
Dan wants to know when we'll see Wally's new costume.
"Flash: Rebirth" #5. And it's very much a Flash costume. It's tweaked, but it's certainly not crazy. It's not blue and white. It's Flash. We never wanted to completely change it. We just wanted to accentuate what makes Wally's costume, Wally's costume. It will feel very familiar.
I had the pleasure of meeting J. T. Krul at the Baltimore Con. Since Sean McKeever's departure from TEEN TITANS, his Titans-related work has been the bright spot in the Titans-verse. And I told him so.
J. T. thanked me for titanstower.com, citing it as a go-to place when he has to research characters, and dig into back issues for reference. It was nice to hear that J. T. takes such care in researching the characters' histories - and it shows! He really wanted the Tempest-issue of TITANS to put a spotlight on the character. And he did!
J. T. did mention that his two-part Blackest Night TEEN TITANS issues were very focused on Rose and Slade, and the rest of the team doesn't even appear. So despite that dead Titans homage cover to NEW TEEN TITANS #1, don't expect to see those dead characters in that story.
There's also more creepiness in store for BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #3, since J. T. views the whole mini-series as a horror story. And more things with Donna's baby that are "just wrong."
Here's hoping to see more from J. T. in the Titans' future!
CBR reports: A packed panel room welcomed the DC Nation panel Saturday afternoon at Baltimore Comic-Con. Hosted by DC Comics Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler, the panel consisted of Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne, J.T. Krul ("Blackest Night: Titans"), Jamal Igle ("Supergirl"), Peter Tomasi ("Blackest Night: Batman"), and "JSA versus Kobra" editor Rachel Gluckstern.
The panel then shifted over to J.T. Krul, who was clearly excited about the upcoming "Blackest Night: Titans" variant cover by Titans legend and BCC guest of honor George Perez. "You couldn't ask for anything better," he said. "The variant covers are great because we wanted to do a horror tone with Ed Benes's main covers." Krul said the Perez variant is "the screensaver now on my desktop. It's reached that special place and it'll probably be there for a while."
"We have stuff coming out from J.T. after Blackest Night that I can't tell you about," said Sattler. "It's really messed up. He's such a nice guy and we're having him write the most messed up book ever."
CBR reports: Among the first events to pull people out from lines in Artist Alley was the Spotlight on George Perez panel, highlighting the legendary artist and Guest of Honor's 35 years in the comics industry.
Perez began with some news for Titans aficionados. Though he said he is turning down more work than he can possibly accept right now, Perez's parter-in-crime Marv Wolfman apparently found the plot to a Titans graphic novel entitled "Games" that was lost long ago. The book will be out by October of 2010 and will run 120 pages.
"It cannot come out later than 2010 if we want the anniversary to mean a damn thing," Perez said, after explaining that the release of "Games" would mark the 30th year since his and Wolfman's "New Teen Titans" began.
The first five pages had already been drawn and inked by Perez, while the next 25 were inked years ago by Al Vey. Perez also related that DC would be resurrecting the comic book dimensions from when the book was initially drawn and plotted to print "Games." As Perez begins to draw the final 90 pages over the next year, Mike Perkins ("Captain America") will ink his pages. Perkins is now Marvel-exclusive but had a waiver in his contract that would allow him to help Perez finish this Titans graphic novel.
"Anyone who saw Mike ink me at CrossGen knows what a good match we make," Perez said.
and
When asked if he'd be interested in writing again, Perez stated simply, "I don't think I ever want to write again." He expounded on that by saying that writing in comics nowadays takes a special kind of intestinal fortitude with the universes being so integrated and crossovers being such popular fare. Perez also explained that he was offered a position as the writer of "Teen Titans," but would have had certain story mandates he needed to follow and that didn't interest him. He explained it was the company's right to ask for these things with their characters, but if that is the case. he'd rather just draw.
"I'd rather leave it to guys with a lot stronger guts and a lot less fragile ego than I have," he said.
So this is the last piece I have to share from Baltimore. And, it's also my favorite from the show. As Titans fans may remember,Barry Kitson was the artist on TITANS from #38 to the series final issue, #50. It's too bad, because Kitson had a lot of ideas for the book, including bringing back some great former Titans like Lilith and Bumblebee.
I almost wanted Barry to draw Lilith, since I really appreciated the fact that he got rid of the Omen robes, and made Lilith her cool hippie-chick self. But then I thought Donna would be more visual.
Barry was doing some phenomenal pieces at the show.. penciled, inked and watercolored. If you were patient and waited your turn, Barry would oblige with a full piece (I wish I had links to them all... some amazing stuff). And here's the kicker: He was doing them free of charge.
So I present Troia by Barry Kitson. Really amazing, huh?
So me and 3 of my friends (Eric, Jeff and Tom) were all waiting to see if we'd win the Hero Initiative raffle to see who would get the chance at a Perez commission. There was only 10 to be had. As luck would have it, we all won. Fab Four, indeed. :)
I already have so much from George. The fab five. All his Titans. Ravager. Nightwing. What to get? It was a toss-up between Danny Chase (who he drew during his second run on the book) and Donna Troy (since he inked Jose Garcia Lopez in RETURN OF DONNA TROY, plus did the Secret Files page of Donna's current look, as designed by Phil Jimenez). Sorry, Danny. :)
So, funny story, this. I already have a Superboy Karl Kesel that I love to death. Check it out here. I already have a Hawk & Dove by Kesel as well. So I thought, what to do? Then I remembered when Karl returned to SUPERBOY with #50, the kid of steel later got a new costume with SUPERBOY #75 or so, when he lost his powers or somesuch. It was a black t-shirt with the "S" symbol. And I thought "perfect! that's what I'll get from Karl!"
So I told him, I wanted black t-shirt Superboy, but from your SUPERBOY run. Well, I think he misunderstood. And Karl drew me the "current era" Superboy. It came out great and I love it.... so maybe next time I'll bring reference from his SUPERBOY run! :)
I came across a table in artist alley that read: "Atom-Bomb Bikini: The Lurid Art of Robert Ullman." I was stopped in my tracks by Robert's fun and sexy little drawings. It's sort of Bruce Timm meets Dan DeCarlo. And how can that be bad? Robert was a super nice guy, and I wanted him to draw something fun that fit his style. I thought... how about "go-go era" Lilith and Wonder Girl? I love this piece. :) Check out more of Robert's art at http://rkullman.blogspot.com/
I've gotten tons of pieces from Andy MacDonald (NYC MECH). Tons of awesome pieces. And once again, Andy does not disappoint... cuz here's another! Love the whole design of this, as well as Andy's strong attention to detail.
Rebecca Issacs (DV8) was doing these amazing sketches for $5 each. I requested a Raven, and she drew this great piece. I love the expression (or lack thereof) on Raven's face. Surprisingly, Rebecca was unfamiliar with the character. You wouldn't know it by looking at this!
Non-Titans related, but I had to share. I FINALLY got my Buffy piece from Georges Jeanty (BUFFY SEASON 8). I wanted the three original Scoobies. And wow, did he deliver! Love this one.
Paul Azaceta (GROUNDED, DAREDEVIL) drew an amazing Nightwing for me at the New York Comic-Con this past year. His style is moody and dark, so I asked for Pantha and Baby Wildebeest, and I think Paul did a super job capturing these darker Titans characters.
Franco from TINY TITANS was doing sketches for a buck per character. You can't beat that! I really wanted a little gag piece from him, so I asked for Beast Boy and Terra - and Franco delivered this awesome sketch. Poor Beast Boy, huh?
The first sketch of the con was from Dean Trippe. I really liked his style, and he's a big Superboy and Robin fan, so I had him draw a Teen Titans style "World's Finest" pic. Nice stuff! You can see more at his website, http://www.deantrippe.com too.
Just got back from the Baltimore Comic-Con. It was a last minute trip, since a friend of mine had a few friends cancel out on him. I'd always heard good things about this show, and the rumors are true! It's a great show that's very comic book focused - which seems to be a rarity these days.
Got some great sketches. Caught up with George Perez, Mike McKone and Jay Faerber. Met J.T. Krul and Barry Kitson for the first time. And had fun hanging out and drinking with my con buds in downtime Baltimore.
So... I talked to George Perez about the upcoming GAMES Titans Graphic novel. He said it's his next project, but there's no plans to give it a "framing sequence" or anything like that. I also mentioned to George that Sarah Simms had appeared again recently, which renders a plot point in GAMES moot now anyway. George described it as a "time capsule" project - so don't expect to fit it into continuity.
I also got a sketch from George -- which I will post shortly! :)
If you’ve been reading BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS (and there’s no reason to miss it, I say), then you know the once dearly-departed Terra plays a big role. So, it makes perfect sense to bring aboard writer/artist George Pérez to put pencil to paper for the cover to the mini’s final issue. Doubly cool? The artistic master plays homage to his own work, namely, the cover to NEW TEEN TITANS #30. But enough bluster. We caught up with BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS editor Brian Cunningham to get more details on the cover, plus the cover itself (and its inspiration) below. Take it away, Brian:
“Who better to homage the cover to NEW TEEN TITANS (vol. 1) #30 than its original artist George Pérez? He even did a baby Black Lantern Wildebeest on the logo! And Hi-Fi Design knocked the coloring out of the park. You might see Pérez and Hi-Fi team up again on another Titans project in 2010. Stay tuned!”
“Actually, I never thought of Deathstroke as a villain or bad guy.” Wolfman says in justification of this decision. “I thought of him as someone who was put into a bad situation and couldn’t find a way out so he kept getting deeper and deeper into the hole he was digging around himself.
"I think one of the best Deathstroke stories was one I did in Titans called ‘Shades of Gray’ where he and Changeling go to a diner and just talk. I think that showed who Deathstroke was. I’m not comfortable with him being a mega-villain. As for how he acted after Terra—well, he was in the early process of redeeming himself.I think of Terra as the manipulator, not Deathstroke. She was his means of getting out of the HIVE quagmire he was in. He was her means at getting revenge against the world.”
Interesting, huh?
I really miss the conflicted, complicated Slade Wilson of the 80s and 90s. Before DC decided to turn him into an uber-villain.
It's a shame a lot of writers cite the Wolfman/Perez NEW TEEN TITANS as a major influence, yet ignore some of the rich characterization of that run.
On the Milestone characters, you all have to excuse me because I did make an omission at one point when I spoke about the Milestone characters. We do have a two-part Prestige series coming out called Milestone Forever, which wraps up and involves a lot of storylines that existed from the original stories involving those characters. And that's in production right now, and we'll hope to have it out pretty soon.
Also, Static will be front and center in Teen Titans, in a story arc that moves into Dakota. So we're excited about that as well.
Amy Wolfram has informed the Tower that there's a couple of Titans-related stories coming up: "The DCU Halloween Special will be in stores October 21st. I wrote two spooktacular one-page trick-or-treating stories, one featuring Beast Boy, and in the other I finally got to use Rose Wilson/Ravager!"
CBR reports: "This Saturday at the inaugural Long Beach Comic Con, a crowd of hardcore DC Comics fans packed themselves in a room to ask questions of the company’s best and brightest. Among the panel were Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne, Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee."
"There were few new announcements, though lots of fan interaction. Among those new tidbits revealed by the panel, Geoff Johns announced that Wally West will be getting a new costume, designed by the inimitable Ethan Van Sciver. “The Flash” will also be a 30 page book featuring a Barry Allen lead story by Johns and Francis Manapul, with a co-feature by Johns and Scott Kollins on Wally West."
Miss Martian by Gregg Schigiel. This one is fun.
Next up is Starfire by Khary Randolph. I love Khary's style. He did the character designs for WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, btw. Good stuff, huh?
Next is Raven by Joe Quinones. I have no idea how to say his name, so I called him "Joe Quixiote", while my friend Jeff called him "Joe Quesadilla." I felt better when I asked him how you pronounce it, and he said he thought even HE pronounced it wrong!
