Teen Titans, Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight by Scott Lobdell

Apr 12, 2013 Kyle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dcu

The dialogue and plot are very choppy and often they don't sync up well with the artwork. The story-arc seems promising and I like the direction the Titans are heading in.

It does do a good job with the characters. Each Titan's personality is clear as day and the group dynamic between these personalities is interesting. I like the new members of the team; I like the new costumes on Kid Flash, Red Robin, an Wonder Girl. Not sure how I feel about Danny the Street though....

If the story were told mo...more

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May 14, 2013 MissAnnThrope rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, graphic-novel, library-book

14 May 2013

After seeing the hilarious Scott Lobdell in a DC panel at WonderCon, I was so entertained by him that I had to get my hands on Teen Titans, Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight. Needless to say, his snarky humor does shine through in his writing. Although this is a fun read, it does fall short in some areas for me.

Given the "teen" in the title, I guess I should have expected it to read like young-adult, but I didn't expect it to feel so immature. I have read books in this genre that speak...more 14 May 2013

After seeing the hilarious Scott Lobdell in a DC panel at WonderCon, I was so entertained by him that I had to get my hands on Teen Titans, Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight. Needless to say, his snarky humor does shine through in his writing. Although this is a fun read, it does fall short in some areas for me.

Given the "teen" in the title, I guess I should have expected it to read like young-adult, but I didn't expect it to feel so immature. I have read books in this genre that speak to the young-adult audience without dumbing it down, so I know it's not the genre I have issue with. The dialogue lacks a smooth flow and the characters' banter sometimes makes your eyes roll. I needed to remind myself that these are kids after all, but after the umpteenth time of pissy Wonder Girl saying, "Don't call me Wonder Girl," you kind of want to throw the book across the room.

Initially, I did find most of the characters to be annoying except for Red Robin. The only time he bugged me was when he wouldn't let the sweater issue go. Kid Flash and Bunker have such over-the-top personalities that they take a little while to warm up to. By the end of the volume, I was digging on Bunker's infectious positivity and Kid Flash's exuberance. Not much detail is given on the background of most of the Titans, so I do hope the characterization will be a focal point in the next few volumes.

The storyline kept bringing to mind X-Men. A clandestine international organization, N.O.W.H.E.R.E., is out to kidnap the world's metahumans to subject them to experiments and to exploit their powers. Some of the metahumans abilities are similar to the X-Men's, but not so much that it feels like a rip-off.

The artwork is amazing and I especially enjoy Superboy's uniform and the way Wonder Girl's outfit sparkles like a fiery galaxy. Sometimes, Wonder Girl looks so buff that she could give Hulk a run for his money. Overall, the artwork really appeals me and has me curious to find more things by this artist.

There is great potential here for this to be a fun series. With further characterization and more structure to the plot, this would be amazing. I won't be running out to get the next volume, but I am curious to pick it up one day soon to see how this story continues.(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 Gavin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

Yet another new 52 revamp...I swear some of these characters were invented 10 minutes before due date...
For those of you who know much about the great Grant Morrison, the Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and Danny the Street are familiar; for those that don't go read his run on Doom Patrol. It's kinda fun to see them again in different versions. I actually felt like I was in on the secret for once.
Superboy/Red Robin/Wonder Girl and Kid Flash OK, the rest I was thinking WHAT? They're just plain dumb. The...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Sam Quixote rated it 1 of 5 stars

A shadowy government organisation called NOWHERE is collecting teenage metahumans for some undoubtedly diabolical scheme and even have the clone Superboy as their wrangler. Can Red Robin and co. escape their evil clutches?

Scott Lobdell writes a very 90s book for a 21st century audience. NOWHERE – what an awful name! I guarantee the acronym came first, the meaning second, and I couldn’t even begin to tell you what it stands for. It’s just an ominous-sounding name that’ll suit the bad guys.

Tim Dra...more A shadowy government organisation called NOWHERE is collecting teenage metahumans for some undoubtedly diabolical scheme and even have the clone Superboy as their wrangler. Can Red Robin and co. escape their evil clutches?

Scott Lobdell writes a very 90s book for a 21st century audience. NOWHERE – what an awful name! I guarantee the acronym came first, the meaning second, and I couldn’t even begin to tell you what it stands for. It’s just an ominous-sounding name that’ll suit the bad guys.

Tim Drake/Red Robin gets a revamp with tech-y wings so he can literally fly but also makes him look like the Spiderman villain Vulture. Maybe most baffling of all are the characters of Kid Flash and Wonder Girl. Kid Flash has the word “Flash” in his name, his surname is Allen, he has the superpowers of the Flash – but he doesn’t know who he is or where he came from?! If the Justice League are as famous as Geoff Johns writes them as, wouldn’t anyone point him in the direction of Barry Allen, the Flash, and say “kid, look – ask that dude!”.

“Wonder Girl” has nothing to do with Wonder Woman. She’s literally just a girl who stole the magic bracelets and lariat, put them on, and became Wonder Girl (none of which we see of course despite this being the “first” volume). She’s not from Themyscira, she’s not an Amazon or descended from Gods, she’s just a chancer. Great origin. Oh and every time a character calls her Wonder Girl she answers “Don’t call me Wonder Girl!” because that never gets annoying to read.

I read the crappy first volume of Superboy so I know he’s a dick and that his story is as terrible as this. So that leaves the new characters who are all utterly awful. A Mexican kid with similar abilities to X-Men’s Armor, some kind of arachnid, and an ash cloud (oh yeah and someone who is literally a street!) round out what looks like the crappiest X-Men rip-off you’ve ever seen.

The “story” is that they’re forced to work together (despite hating one another) as they’re collectively being hunted by NOWHERE and Superboy for some reason. But they’re a terrible team! Not only are they defeated by Superboy single-handedly, but they also fight one another at the drop of a hat. A fight almost breaks out when Kid Flash borrows one of Red Robin’s sweaters to wear when his costume is destroyed! Tim – your adopted dad is a billionaire, you can spare a sweater! Wonder Girl (“Don’t call me Wonder Girl!”) will fight anyone, anywhere, for no reason. Her character is the shortest fuse in history with no personality.

There were a couple of little moments in the book I thought were nice touches – Kid Flash appears and tries to put out a fire, inadvertently causing more damage because of his inexperience. The scene shows that despite possessing superpowers, they don’t instantly make him a superhero. But in other scenes when Ash Cloud Girl saves Kid Flash, she literally cuts a Navy Air Carrier in two causing who-knows-how-many hundreds (thousands?) of millions of dollars in damages. I read scenes like that realising where Garth Ennis got his inspiration for certain episodes in “The Boys” and found myself hoping Butcher and Frenchie would step in and sort them out.

I would’ve given this book an average 3 stars except, rather rudely, it kept going. Just when I’d had enough, another issue appeared. Then another. It wouldn’t end! So it got worse and worse, with one crossover happening midway through the book until it ends on ANOTHER crossover!

This is a god-awful, 90s throwback of a superhero comic with nothing to commend it except some decent art. Scott Lobdell might’ve been a big deal in comics 20 years ago but today his stuff is awkwardly anachronistic and dull. I’ve never read a Teen Titans book before so congrats DC, your New 52 re-launch worked with getting people who hadn’t read the series before to pick it up, but after reading this half-assed attempt I’m in no hurry to read another TT book – if ever. Terrible story, even worse characters, this book is garbage.

Garbage!(less)

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Jan 20, 2013 Shannon Appelcline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, comics-dc

This book actually starts off quite well with some really nice dynamics between “Red Robin” and Wonder Girl. There’s also a nicely developing mystery surrounding Bart. However, from there the book rapidly goes downhill.

The worst problem is that Lobdell just shouldn’t be allowed to create new characters, as he still seems stuck in a very boring ‘90s aesthetic where characters should be dark and gritty and look cool and don’t actually need any characterization. Thus we have lovestruck dark-cloud g...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Beckiezra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-manga

Hrm, I don't know what to think. I'm only really familiar with Teen Titans from the cartoons or older graphic novels I read and the cast of characters is entirely different. This book occasionally made me want to know more about them but mostly it left me feeling vaguely annoyed. Were these new characters for the new 52 stuff or were they long time teen heroes I just never heard of because they weren't in cartoons?

I kind of liked Tim (just for being a bat I'd give him a chance though I've never...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another of The New 52 titles I decided to sample. Some of the series are "soft" reboots, where little has changed. Some are closer to full reboots of a series such as this one. Some things have remained from the last version of the series. Superboy is still a clone, and Tim Drake is the brains of the outfit.

For better or worse Cassie Sandsmark is now a tomb raider, instead of student who followed her mother to digs. Bunker is so out of the closet Gay he might offend Gays, but he comes off as th...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Daryl rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've been a Teen Titans fan for over 40 years. It was one of the first books I "collected" (that is, I looked for it every month on the newsstand) when I started back in '69. So I've been through the Titans in their many, many incarnations, both good and bad. The most recent Teen Titans book was a lot of fun, utilizing both traditional characters and new characters (long a Titans hallmark). The new 52 version is, in a word, blah. Tim Drake, as the former Robin, now Red Robin, is the center of th...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Derrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-comics, 2012read, dc, comics-new52, library-books

This one wasn't even on my radar last fall when I started buying DC New 52 issues online. But I saw the library had a copy, and so I gave it a try. Lots of fun! The story is a little bit fluffy, and the conflict between the characters can be forced at times. The art's variable, but I suppose it fits the tone of the book. I think the series has potential. I am definitely on board for at least another trade, thanks to the prominent role of Red Robin. (I really like when Tim acts like "Batman, Jr"...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Jacob rated it 2 of 5 stars

Public library copy. I was not impressed with the direction of this re imagined "New 52" Teen Titans. In fact, much of the plot involving Superboy was quite similar to season one of the Young Justice Cartoon Network show. I was not a fan of the art or the choices made with their respective new costumes. I didn't understand Wonder Girl's narrow minded feminist attitude in the book. If she doesn't want men staring at her body then perhaps she might wear something more, I don't know, modest, and ge...more

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May 14, 2012 Vanessa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: superhero, dc, modern-age

The first thing that someone needs to know about the Teen Titans in the New 52 is that they are actually fun. I ended up reading this series only because it was the only book that Tim Drake was appearing in, and I was expecting the usual misery. I was very pleasantly surprised.

As expected, Lobdell put together a very good team. Tim Drake is one of my favorites, and I have no complaints about how he has been written so far. Superboy is one of the characters that I normally have no interest in, bu...more The first thing that someone needs to know about the Teen Titans in the New 52 is that they are actually fun. I ended up reading this series only because it was the only book that Tim Drake was appearing in, and I was expecting the usual misery. I was very pleasantly surprised.

As expected, Lobdell put together a very good team. Tim Drake is one of my favorites, and I have no complaints about how he has been written so far. Superboy is one of the characters that I normally have no interest in, but he is so good here that I actually started reading his solo series, which connects closely to this one and shares a writer. Kid Flash is sometimes a little annoying, but that's to be expected when he is used for a joke a hundred times in each issue, even if most of them work. The Cassie seems like she'll be pretty different from the old Cassie, and I am excited about learning more about her. She's tough and mysterious, which is always a good thing. They are already setting up a love triangle between the three characters--shocking, I know, which I am not dreading as much as I thought I would.

The new characters are also great, and I am actually a little more interested in them. They all add some much needed diversity to the DC teen team. He's already shown a lot of personality. Also, I love his civilian clothes. Though Solstice made some appearances, no longer in continuity, in the earlier issues of Teen Titans, she is pretty different here. The personality seems to essentially the same, which is good, especially since her personality is upbeat and positive. I am also interested in seeing more of Skitter. She adds a nice bit of cynicism to the team.

The characters themselves are the best part of the series. The plot is good, but I like the scenes when the characters are just talking to each other the most. I really enjoy seeing any combination of team members interact.

As far as the art is concerned, it is fine. I generally really like the character designs. While Bunker's clothes are the best, I generally like taking a look at what everyone is wearing. There is usually something interesting happening in the background. There are sometimes some flaws and way too many computer effects for my taste, but it isn't anything that I found too distracting.(less)

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Sep 18, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, first-reads

It has been a few years since I have collected comics so I frequently check the DC comics giveaways here on goodreads. I was ecstatic to win this and get a glimpse into what is going on in the DC Universe.

I don't know much that has gone on in the past three years but I know there was a big even that changed everything and DC is rebooting all of there characters in the new 52. I was pleased to see something stayed the same. Before I gave up comics I was reading the series Red Robin and I was ver...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Justyn Rampa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: batman, graphic-novels, mavericks

I LOVE TEEN TITANS!!! (but let me explain how I got here)

So...when the New 52 first launched I decided which titles I wanted to read and started by buying the first issue of several titles (and reading reviews of other ones that I was mildly interested in reading). Time went by (September will be the one year anniversary) and I whittled my list down to four comics (Batman, Justice League, Aquaman, and Flash). However, then Scott Snyder's "Night of Owls" Even happened and it forced me to read (ac...more I LOVE TEEN TITANS!!! (but let me explain how I got here)

So...when the New 52 first launched I decided which titles I wanted to read and started by buying the first issue of several titles (and reading reviews of other ones that I was mildly interested in reading). Time went by (September will be the one year anniversary) and I whittled my list down to four comics (Batman, Justice League, Aquaman, and Flash). However, then Scott Snyder's "Night of Owls" Even happened and it forced me to read (actually, I chose willingly) all the titles involved in Night of Owls, including "Red Hood and the Outlaws".

Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) I found myself quite taken with Scott Lobdell's take on Jason Todd (one of my favorite characters!) I went back and bought the previous issue of Red Hood and loved it just as much! So then I went back and bought the entire run (which meant I had to go to two comic book stores because mine was missing a couple of issues). I read the entire run and fell in love with this somewhat controversial series (because of Starfire but that is really just kind of BS). So taken with Scott Lobdell was I that I considered picked up another one of his "team" titles...Teen Titans.

I am always a fan of reading about a former Robin, and Tim Drake is poised to be the leader of the Teen Titans, so what the heck!? Well, I bought that first issue and LOVED IT! Then I went back and bought the entire run (I thought!) and powered through and LOVED THE CRAP OUT OF IT!

Scott Lobdell knows how to write a team book and even though I've never been a huge Teen Titans fan (although I did watch the animated Teen Titans for a minute), I found myself completely loving the dynamics of Scott Lobdell's Teen Titans. This is a huge deal for DC because I have never really felt that DC has handled team books that well. Marvel has consistently had the edge on them in that regard, but Scott Lobdell is changing all that for me.

Teen Titans Volume 1 focuses on the formation of the team at the hands of Tim Drake who is basically trying to protect teen metahumans from a covert shadowy organization known as N.O.W.H.E.R.E.. Watching the team come together is fun and Scott Lobdell manages to write each of the characters in their own distinct voice. He also strives to establish diversity by writing three of the seven members of the team as characters other than whitey mcwhitersons. Skitter is African American, Solstice is Native American, and Bunker is Mexican...and also gay! What is also nice is that Scott Lobdell writes those characters well and with respect. None of them seem contrived at all. On top of all of this, Scott Lobdell manages to write a really AWESOME and ENGAGING story that involves twists and turns and lots of humor and some FANTASTIC art at the hands of Brett Booth!

The first seven issues were all in preparation for an event referred to as "The Culling". Unfortunately, I didn't realize it was a cross-over event and now must pick up the corresponding issues to read! However, I will definitely be picking up the volume of Teen Titans once it is released! This is great fun and I would definitely recommend this to anyone!(less)

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Sep 23, 2012 Jake rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc-comics

I'd actually give it 3.5 stars, but I can't. Goodreads should get on that.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty good. There were some moments where it felt like it jumped from one thing to another improperly, but that's not too big of a problem.

I think I'm in the minority when I say that I actually really like Tim Drake's New 52 costume. Especially since the wings are retractable. I don't think I've had any prior exposure to Brett Booth's art, and I really like it.

I don't know how long this first stor...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Jeffrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, library-copy, new-52, super-hero

This first volume left me feeling very pleased and very upset. Pleased because it was actually very well written, and brought back some of the joy I had as a kid when reading super hero books. That enjoyment in simple heroics doesn't happen much these days as more and more books become darker and foreboding, with stories full of dread and revenge and less and less in the way of heroics. This book pulled out the heroics, mixed in some interesting complexity, and in the end left me hanging on the...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was... a comic book. A fairly good example of one, I suppose (or, at least, character development, and no plot holes big enough to drive a truck through). Cliff-hanger ending.

Part of why it got a 4 instead of a 3 is that I very much liked that there were several female characters, and not one of them looked like a stick figure smuggling melons. (No rape backstories, either) In fact, 2 of them were not really in any reasonable sense "sexy" (a spider-woman and a woman surrounded by a black clou...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wasn't really all that impressed. I'm a long time Teen Titans fan, so I had certain expectations going in and they weren't met. I don't like any of them except for Red Robin and Wonder Girl. The first story arc would be better if it wasn't some lame super (not so secret) criminal organization with an idiotic name....N.O.W.H.E.R.E?? that was behind teenage meta abductions. The dialogue seemed too campy at times and too forced.

One saving grace is the art of the book. It was decent enough in some...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Lenka rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books

It started alright. Then it got bad. And then it got really bad.

This is how adults think regular teens behave not how they actually do. While Lobdell's RHatO is a not-team that works well as a team, Teen Titans is a team that is more of not-team. The characters don't work well together because they are all too cool for that. None of them are actually likeable, not even my favourite sweetheart Tim who for some reason is total twat.
Reading this book while being fan of these characters is just frus...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Craig Andrews rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc-comics

This is one of my favourite books in the New 52. It's a 60-70% new team with some of the old stalwarts too. They've kept Tim Drake's background and change into Red Robin as cannon (although with a needed age change) and the darker Red Robin works well in the context of a slightly uncontrollable team of heroes (who even refuse to call themselves a team). There are some great moments where Tim's level of manipulation and preparation really shine through. This storyline is woven into that of the ne...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Daniel Butcher rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: new-52

Did not expect to like this. Not really been a fan of the Teen Titans or Tim Drake in the past. But this book is really fun and full of action.

Tim Drake - To me Drake has always been a lesser Robin. He lacks the strength of Dick and is the kid who came off as useless in Knightfall. This Drake is decisive, smart, and a leader. And he clearly is part of the Bat family in temper. Though I am really glad Bruce Wayne does not visit. I really want him to have a romantic relationship with Not Wonder Gi...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Xavier Guillaume rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teen Titans fans, Young Avengers fans

Shelves: lgbt-themed, graphic-novel

Teen Titans are back in this DC Reboot. Instead of the old cast we have some new heroes in town: Red Robin, Wonder Girl (who hates being called by that name), Skitter, Kid Flash, Bunker, Solstice, Danny the Street, and Superboy. There are plenty of characters, but it never gets confusing. The novel does a good job highlighting each of the characters' backgrounds and stories, without revealing too much information. The book reminds me of the TV series Heroes, but focusing on teenagers. These meta...more Teen Titans are back in this DC Reboot. Instead of the old cast we have some new heroes in town: Red Robin, Wonder Girl (who hates being called by that name), Skitter, Kid Flash, Bunker, Solstice, Danny the Street, and Superboy. There are plenty of characters, but it never gets confusing. The novel does a good job highlighting each of the characters' backgrounds and stories, without revealing too much information. The book reminds me of the TV series Heroes, but focusing on teenagers. These meta-humans are still trying to learn how to control their powers, and their fighting techniques could use some fine-tuning. What they lack in discipline, they make up for in passion and drive to do everything they can to stop N.O.W.H.E.R.E., a secret organization bent on capturing every teenaged metahuman in the world and force them to work for the organization, and for whatever dark purposes they have in store.

What's interesting is Superboy is working for N.O.W.H.E.R.E. so the Teen Titans get to battle Superboy, which is kind of a fun issue. What else is interesting is Red Robin is not actually a metahuman, and is just a smart, acrobatic teenager who believes in justice and stopping the enslavement of these teens.

Bunker is a fun character. He is a spunky gay guy from Mexico and has a very optimistic and fun-loving perspective on life. He immediately connects and bonds with two of the females on the team Solstice and Skitter. Solstice is an enigmatic black stormy shadowy character, without a real form. She's probably my favorite character so far because she seems to always do what's right no matter the obstacles. Skitter is a strange character in the novel. She has no control over her body in her insect-like form, and she acts like a kind of pet that has a vague interest in helping the team. During the daytime she is a normal-looking girl, but when she sleeps she turns into a mindless animal. I actually don't care for Skitter at all because she doesn't talk or seem to add anything to the team. Perhaps this will change in future issues.

Wonder Girl is alright, but she can be cocky and whiny. It's such a shame because DC's previous Wonder Girl (pre-New 52) was a lot less annoying. Hopefully, she'll grow out of this phase and become more mature later in the comics.

Danny the Street is a completely ridiculous idea, and I have no idea why they included this character in the story. He is a metahuman teen also, but he is a street. Yes, he looks like a street, that the characters can walk on and enter a house to find a safe-haven. Also the door in this house can lead them anywhere, so the team was able to walk through and end up in the N.O.W.H.E.R.E base in Antarctica (they previously were in New York, NY). It's so silly. Why did they put this character in the story? It makes hardly any sense.

The most annoying character of this book is Kid Flash. He can never stop talking, which is a quality I find annoying in people. He's a million words a minute, which makes sense because he runs really fast, so his mind must have to accelerate fast too. Kid Flash is cocky to the extreme and is probably the number one reason I'm only giving Teen Titans 3 stars. There are too many spunky talkative energetic teenagers. Where are the quiet, loner teenagers that are often found in X-Men? More than likely I'll have to pass on the future books for now, but I may pick up the future books if I find out the characters go through some maturation.

All in all, Teen Titans is a fun little story. I would recommend it to teenagers especially, but it's much too silly and light-humored for me to like in particular. It's a lot of flashy fluff, so much so that the story lacks real substance. If you're a fan of Heroes or Teenaged superheroes, I'd say give Teen Titans a try. If you're new to comics, however, I would recommend something more sophisticated, like Batman or Wonder Woman. (less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Laurel rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc-comics

This comic was so badly written it was painful to read. Characters I used to know like Red Robin were so flat I never cared about him nor any of the other characters. I never felt any sense of 'doom' regarding the 'evil' organization they're fighting. The most interesting part of the book involved a fight with Superboy that lasted a single issue. The art wasn't as good as it could have been. It was very flat with confusing action scenes. The 'new' characters were poorly written and badly designe...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Timothy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-reviewed-in-2012

I already reviewed the first volume of the rebooted Justice League comics in DC's “New 52”. Now I'm going to give some thoughts on the first adventures post-reboot of DC's other major super-hero team, the younger heroes and sidekicks in the Teen Titans.

In Teen Titans, Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight, the titular team doesn't really begin to coalesce until about halfway through the story. Currently, Tim Drake, known as Red Robin and the one-time partner of Batman, is investigating several disappe...more I already reviewed the first volume of the rebooted Justice League comics in DC's “New 52”. Now I'm going to give some thoughts on the first adventures post-reboot of DC's other major super-hero team, the younger heroes and sidekicks in the Teen Titans.

In Teen Titans, Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight, the titular team doesn't really begin to coalesce until about halfway through the story. Currently, Tim Drake, known as Red Robin and the one-time partner of Batman, is investigating several disappearances world-wide of various meta-humans. To break it down, a “meta-human” is the DC Comics version of the mutants in the Marvel Comics universe. Only, instead of necessarily gaining their powers due to birth (though sometimes the children of metas gain their powers genetically) the reason that the meta-humans gain powers is because something in their DNA is “unlocked” by the pressure they are put under in some situations (usually of a dangerous and/or medical nature), and this causes their greater potential to be unleashed.

Of course, not all people have this special genetic possibility, and that is why meta-humans are so rare. Some folks, however, still become heroes, such as Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, so on. Red Robin is the same, and has taken it upon himself in Batman's absence to fight for and rescue the meta-humans kidnapped by a shadowy organization (called N. O. W. H. E. R. E.) with ties that may or may not be to the government.

Little by little, Tim makes progress saving these young people, and they form around him into a team that (if they can manage to work together) can present a pretty significant challenge to the group trying to capture or kill them. Only a few things are against them: their inexperience with their powers and fighting in general, and their unwillingness to accept orders and work as a team.

I really, really liked the comic. Granted that it wasn't perfect. The angst on the part of Wonder Girl (who insists not to be called that) was a tad grating, but that was a minor part of the story. The funny part was that the kids were less obnoxious than the adults that they will likely meet up with eventually. You see, in this iteration, none of them except Tim has been a sidekick or a hero yet at all. Their disagreements and friction as a developing team was much more believable than that of the Justice League when it first formed. The Titans' problems were fueled by stress and not some of the characters being jerk-asses, as was the problem with a few of the Justice League heroes.

One of the best parts for me was seeing how Tim Drake, the only non-super powered character modeled true heroism for the others by his actions of fighting for the metas, even though it puts him in unnecessary danger he could easily avoid. He also essentially “guilted” the other heroes into helping him save Superboy, who, after turning against his masters at N. O. W. H. E. R. E., is being slowly tortured to death. At the same time, he can be ruthless and coldly pragmatic, like his mentor and foster-father, Bruce Wayne/Batman.

The other characters were interesting, but really the only other character who had a real focus was Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark. She went from a worried, troubled girl, to one touched by Red Robin's sacrifices enough to join up with him. The other characters just didn't receive much emphasis. Hopefully this will be remedied in future volumes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book much more than the first collected adventure of the Justice League in the “New 52”, which was suitable, but nowhere near as high in quality as this first story of the Teen Titans. If only it didn't end on a cliff-hanger... ;)(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Bane of Kings rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc, graphic-novels, superheroes, dc-new-52

“An entertaining, action packed introduction to New 52′s Teen Titans. It’s Our Right to Fight is a graphic novel that is flawed, but very fun.” ~The Founding Fields

It’s Our Right To Fight was the first trade paperback volume that I picked up in print of DC’s New 52 series, and my first non-Batman or Watchmen related DC Graphic Novel that I’ve in my rather short history of reading comics. Well, you could argue that Teen Titans is Batman related, mainly due to the inclusion of Tim Drake, aka Red R...more “An entertaining, action packed introduction to New 52′s Teen Titans. It’s Our Right to Fight is a graphic novel that is flawed, but very fun.” ~The Founding Fields

It’s Our Right To Fight was the first trade paperback volume that I picked up in print of DC’s New 52 series, and my first non-Batman or Watchmen related DC Graphic Novel that I’ve in my rather short history of reading comics. Well, you could argue that Teen Titans is Batman related, mainly due to the inclusion of Tim Drake, aka Red Robin – but I like to think that it can stand firmly on its own, even if this volume borrows characters from not only Gotham City, but also Superman’s cast, including Superboy.

I’d read the first issue of It’s Our Right To Fight on Comixology but I decided to give the whole collection a try and I wasn’t disappointed. The art is awesome and the story it tells is enjoyable, but nothing’s a perfect read.

"As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics – The New 52 event of September 2011, writer Scott Lobdell (X-Men, The Age of Apocalypse) and artist Brett Booth (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA) deliver a fresh new take on DC Comics’ teen heroes, the Teen Titans.Tim Drake, Batman’s former sidekick, is back in action when an international organization called Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E. seeks to capture, kill or co-opt super-powered teenagers. As Red Robin, he’s going to have to team up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl, the hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash and few more all-new teen super-heroes to stand any chance at all against N.O.W.H.E.R.E. But as Superboy meets them for the first time, the Titans have to wonder, is he a friend – or foe?"

It’s Our Right To Fight is essentially the Justice League compromised of teenagers with superpowers (with the exception of Tim Drake, who has none), and I picked up this collection in order to see how Lobdell would handle these characters past the first issue. As it turns out, pretty well. Red Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Superboy, Bunker and others all get starring roles here, and I really enjoyed the way in which Red Robin gathered them all together as a team. The artwork is clean and more similar to the light tones of Marvel than the gritty atmospheric Gotham City which is where the bulk of my DC Comics reading takes place, but I was quite happy to give Teen Titans a try anyway. There isn’t any blatantly obvious plotholes here, and although the dialogue was a little forced at times and I didn’t really like the name NOWHERE (but hey, you’ve got to call your super-secret organization something, right?), but despite its flaws, this was an enjoyable read.

Read the Rest of the Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/12/.... (less)

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Nov 24, 2012 Abhinav rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, dc-black-canary, science-fiction, urban-action, urban-sf, superheroes, dc-red-robin, dc-wonder-girl, dc-superboy

You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/11/...

My only previous experience with Teen Titans is with the cartoon series from a few years back. I saw the whole show from its pilot to the last episode, but I never grew to like it. The anime approach to the animation is what did it in for me. The stories, episode to episode, were decent enough but the anime style always ruined the feel for me. These days I even wonder why I subjected myself to that s...more You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/11/...

My only previous experience with Teen Titans is with the cartoon series from a few years back. I saw the whole show from its pilot to the last episode, but I never grew to like it. The anime approach to the animation is what did it in for me. The stories, episode to episode, were decent enough but the anime style always ruined the feel for me. These days I even wonder why I subjected myself to that show. Fortunately, Scott Lobdell’s New 52 reboot of the Teen Titans does not suffer from the same unfortunate design. I picked up Teen Titans because I wanted something to read that was not a “family” title, like the various Bat-family ones, or the Superman related ones, or the Justice League/Green Lantern variants. I wanted something different, and teenaged superheroes sounded like a good place to start.

The first arc of the series deals with Red Robin, Tim Drake, putting together a team of superheroes of a like age to him because many such have been going missing lately, either killed off by government agents or just going off to work with them. His primary interest is not in saving the world, as is the case with the Justice League, but more to protect those like him. After a lot of hassle he puts together a team of some really dysfunctional heroes like Wonder Girl, Solstice, Kid Flash, Bunker, Skitter, who provide a really varied roster for the team, in terms of both superpowers and character backgrounds. For instance, Bunker, who can create forcefields, is a Mexican kid named Miguel Barragan who is also gay. Skitter is an African-American girl and she has insectoid superpowers, although I don’t care much for her moniker Bugg which I thought was a bit childish and in somewhat bad taste. Solstice is, if I’m correct, an Indian girl. Lobdell has taken some bold chances with this series and I think that these decisions do bear out successfully in giving the team a more comprehensive global identity than what I’m usually used to seeing in comics. On that front alone, this is a great series.

Superboy, as an agent of N.O.W.H.E.R.E, the organisation that is going around to build a team of teenaged superheroes that it controls for its own benefits, makes a superpowered entrance that is very memorable. He goes up against each of the Teen Titans and he proves why his name is Superboy, one of the reasons for that of course. With him in the picture, and with Lobdell’s focus on bringing all these disparate identities together to form a cohesive team that works together, I think Teen Titans is off to a great start.

Brett Booth (pencils), Norm Rapund (inks) and Andrew Dalhouse (colours) provide the core art for the series. By and large, I like the artwork, although it isn’t all that memorable, but all the same, it is better than the art I’ve seen in some of the other New 52 releases, such as The Flash and The Savage Hawkman and Superman. Some of the panels are really weird, especially ones that feature Wonder Girl and the character faces sometimes change from issue to issue. The inconsistency is sometimes frustrating, but not much more than that. The script often is the main thing I look for and the script for this series has so far been very promising, with a fair amount of ups and downs.

Rating: 8/10(less)

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Sep 29, 2012 Sesana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, superhumans

The three stars is largely for something that Lobdell has no control over, the continuity issues. I'm starting to hate this New 52 thing. Why? Because the Bat family books and characters did not reboot with everybody else, as far as I can tell. Which means that we have Red Robin (Tim Drake) both forming Teen Titans for the very first time, while also having been a member of Teen Titans for years, with Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Superman, who he is both meeting for the first time and has been fr...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Jessie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-compilations

It's probably unfair of me to give this 3 stars and other titles 2. It's not a fantastic story. However, I want to love it so I'm forgiving. Some of the characters are great--Red Robin and Wonder Girl in particular. Some of the others are just so-so. And then there's Kid Flash who should be interesting but is just annoying. The story is a little hit or miss so far, but the team is still coming together and I'll hold out hope that things will improve.

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Apr 17, 2013 Alex Sarll rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another beneficiary of what increasingly feels like a misguided pledge I made to read any Volume 1s of DC's New 52 relaunch which turned up in the library. Various much-loved (if not by me) young characters have their histories erased, in the cause of giving them an accessible new start...whose snark and over-detailed art make it feel like an underwhelming comic from the early, none-more-nineties days of Wildstorm.

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Feb 03, 2013 Samuel Kings rated it 4 of 5 stars

Despite what some people have claimed Teen Titans (vol 4)vol: 1 is good and i really enjoyed reading this book. If you have read previous titles of Teen Titans this may not seem as good as them but you need to remind yourself that this is the only the beginning and it will improve over time with the introduction of new characters and future story's. So i have to say give this a chance, you may be surprised.

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Sep 11, 2012 Steven rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

Frankly, one of the lesser corners by far of the nu52 iteration of the DCU, looking and reading like an escapee from the nadir of the 1990s, with a confusing narrative that isn't helped in the least by uncertain continuity elements (Tim Drake's history is confused from day one), a murky overarching villain in N.O.W.H.E.R.E., and what amounts to a tandem book in the new Superboy series.

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Teen Titans, Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight (Teen Titans Vol. IV #1)

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