Comic Book Review: Teen Titans #56

The Revolution found the last issue of the Teen Titans to be rather pedestrian. However, for the most part, McKeever has done a solid job on this title. I expect McKeever to crank it back up with Teen Titans #56. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Sean McKeever
Pencils: Eddy Barrows
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti & Julio Ferreira

Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with the Titans brawling against Shockwave. Kid Devil screws up and Shockwave is able to escape. On the ride back to the Titans Tower, Robin bitches out Kid Devil for not following their plan. The Titans arrive at the Tower. Wonder Girl and Robin head off for the week. Robin tells Kid Devil to not burn down the Tower until next weekend.

Miss Martian also leaves since she has decided to only stay at the Tower during the weekends. Ravager decides to head out because the Tower is boring. Ravager wishes that the Blue Beetle would come by more often. Wendy and Marvin are too busy working to hand out with Kid Devil.

We see Kid Devil snap that he has no friends and that he is all alone at the Tower. Kid Devil contacts Zatara and complains how boring the Tower is during the week and that it hasn’t been fun being a Titan anymore. Kid Devil says that he wishes he was back in Hollywood working as a gopher.

Zatara reminds Kid Devil that Kid Devil is a servant of Neron and that kiddie time is over. That Kid Devil needs to grow up. Kid Devil counters with the fact that he felt he should enjoy life and his friends for the limited amount of time that he has left before he has to go serve Neron. Kid Devil laments that he is constantly screwing up and that he has no friends. Zatara then hastily says that he must go because his stage show is about to begin and he has to please his adoring sycophants who come to see him.

Kid Devil gets a bright idea. We cut to a ferry boat full of Teen Titans fans from a message forum arriving at the Titans Tower. Kid Devil welcomes them all to Titans Island and tells them to get this party started. We shift to all the teenagers messing around in the rec room with Kid Devil totally bored. Some of the teenagers ask where the other Titans are. They then ask where is the booze. They all wonder what kind of party this is.

One of the teenagers, Terry, introduces himself to Kid Devil. Turns out Terry also worked in Hollywood as a gopher. Terry’s dad was a producer. Kid Devil and Terry immediately hit it off and start talking about film crew stuff.

We cut to some of the teenagers in the main control room of the Tower. They crank call Batman. They then mistakenly hit an alarm button on the control panel. A couple of the other teenagers decide to go on a panty raid for Wonder Girl’s underwear.

Kid Devil hears the alarm and rushes to the control room. Robin is on the video screen and is pissed off. Robin says that first he got a call from the Batman and then the alarms stated going off. Robin says that he has a life of his own and can’t babysit Kid Devil. Robin asks if Kid Devil is having a party at the Tower. Just then one of the teenagers runs into the control room with Wonder Girl’s panties on his head. Robin gets even angrier.

We cut to Wonder Girl bitching out Kid Devil for letting the teenagers violate her privacy. We see Blue Beetle “Bwa-ha-ha-ing” Kid Devil. Wendy and Marvin are mad that communications console got broken during the party. Ravager wonders why Kid Devil threw a party the first time that Ravager leaves the island. Robin tells Kid Devil that if he ever pulls a stupid stunt like that again that he will be kicked off the team.

Kid Devil calls Zatara to talk to him, but is informed that by Zatara’s assistant that Zatara is performing one of his shows and can’t talk right now. Kid Devil tries to contact Miss Martian but gets no response.

We see Kid Devil moping into town by himself. He sits down in a diner by himself and has some coffee. Terry suddenly appears on the scene and sits down next to Kid Devil. Terry says that Kid Devil must have gotten in trouble about the party. Terry says that maybe Kid Devil’s teammates would be cooler with him if they knew about Kid Devil’s deal with Neron. Terry tells Kid Devil that he shouldn’t have private conversations on the roof of the Tower where people can eavesdrop.

Terry takes off his jacket and reveals his costume. Terry says that Kid Devil can call him Dreadbolt. Dreadbolt says his costume is like his Dad’s costume. The one his dad wore when he punks Kid Devil’s idol Blue Devil.

Kid Devil attacks Dreadbolt and the two begin brawling. Dreadbolt says that it doesn’t have to be this way. That Kid Devil can leave the Titans and join the Terror Titans. Suddenly, we see the rest of the Terror Titans appear on the scene. The leader is Clock King. The rest of the team consists of Copperhead, Disruptor and a female version of the classic Legion of Super Heroes villain and Fatal Five member, the Persuader.

Kid Devil refuses to join them and attacks the Terror Titans. The Terror Titans gang up on Kid Devil and kick his ass. Clock King then comments “That’s one Teen Titan down. Now on to the rest of them…” End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Teen Titans #56 was a fun issue. McKeever serves up a story that is a blast to read. What was really appreciated was the fact that Teen Titans #56 was a well paced issue that didn’t drag or wander about with no purpose. This is also a nicely plotted issue as McKeever lays the foundation for what appears to be an exciting story arc involving the Terror Titans. McKeever certainly displays the ability get a new story arc up and moving without any unnecessary delay or time wasting tactics.

McKeever gives us an enjoyable character study of Kid Devil in this issue. I felt terrible for Eddie. He just gets dumped on by everyone. The reader gets a nice sense of the loneliness that has enveloped Kid Devil. Eddie reaches out to each of his teammates only to get rebuffed again and again. McKeever really manages to tap into those awkward teen-age years where it is so easy to feel like you are totally alone in the world.

However, despite being dumped on, yelled at and viewed as a total loser by his teammates, Kid Devil still refuses to turn traitor on the Titans at the end of this issue. If anything, Kid Devil sees the opportunity to take down the Terror Titans as an opportunity to prove himself to his teammates. Usually, characters in Kid Devil’s position end up flipping sides. I’m glad McKeever eschewed that path with Eddie. It was great that Kid Devil flashed his heart of a true hero as he fearlessly attacked enemies who have superior numbers.

I like the twist that Dreadbolt and his fellow Terror Titans know about Kid Devil’s secret deal with Neron. I’m sure that this means that the villains are going to end up revealing this secret at some point during their conflict with the Titans. And it certainly should be interesting to see how the Titans react to Kid Devil’s secret.

It was nice seeing Zatara in this issue. I know he isn’t that popular of a character, but I really dig his pompous character. He is a jerk and an egomaniac and I find that a refreshing change of pace from the personalities of the rest of the Titans. I certainly wouldn’t mind Zatara getting more panel in Teen Titans.

McKeever does a good job balancing the depressing story of Kid Devil with some much needed humor. The party at the Titans Tower was fucking hilarious! I loved seeing the teen-agers punking Batman. That was classic. And then we see another teenager running around the Tower with Wonder Girl’s panties on his head. Fantastic. That is something I have never expected to see when reading a Teen Titans comic book.

McKeever ends Teen Titans #56 with a nice hook ending. We have the appearance of the new Clock King and his Terror Titans. I’m interested in learning more about this new group of villains. Of course, being a huge Legion of Super Heroes fan, the Terror Titans who interests me the most is this new Persuader. The Persuader is a bad-assed member of the Fatal Five who are a classic team of villains that the Legion has locked horns with numerous times. I’m curious to learn about this Persuader’s connection to the original Persuader of Legion lore.

Eddy Barrows cranks out some fantastic looking artwork in this issue. I have always enjoyed Barrows’ style of art and he crafts a fine looking issue.

The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.

Overall: Teen Titans #56 was such a fun read. McKeever delivers a wonderfully balanced issue that gives the reader a proper blend of drama, humor and action. I would certainly recommend giving Teen Titans a try. This title is a faster read than many other plodding titles on the market and simply offers up good quality fun.