The demon king Rankor has been hunting down and capturing the Teen Titans. With their strength draining, it's up to Kid Flash to save Wonder Girl and Ravager before the demon king steals their powers for his own nefarious purposes.
JT Krul and Nicola Scott's TEEN TITANS #95 is on sale now.
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Whenever I tell anyone that I am a comic book writer, I always get the same response:
"That's amazing. How do you do it? How do you draw all those pictures?"
That's how I know I'm talking to someone who probably hasn't ever picked up a comic book. You can spot the writers just as easily because they'll quickly go from plot points to the craft of writing comics. One that's come up quite a bit is: How do I approach writing a solo book like Green Arrow, as opposed to a team book like Teen Titans?
Let's put aside the tonal differences, which are plain to see - Green Arrow is a much darker book than Teen Titans - and focus on the structural differences. With a solo book, the overall focus is naturally the one character. That's not to say Green Arrow exists in a vacuum (although one might argue the isolating nature of the forest in Star City is a bit of a vacuum…but I digress). For the most part, the story unfolds primarily through Green Arrow - as he experiences it. Obviously, he interacts with various people, be they allies or enemies or both, during his stories - but I am placing an emphasis on his viewpoint - filtering most of what we see through him.
Look at Green Arrow #2 - This issue highlights that personal perspective throughout. The book opens with an image of the strange new character called Galahad, wandering through the forest, but the narration is Ollie - talking about the hazy nature of the forest. Having this figure pop up in the forest is a true mystery, but the key may boil down to how his presence affects Green Arrow. Later, as Green Arrow and Green Lantern fight the Royal Guard Soldiers in the forest, we hear Ollie's commentary about the fight and about Green Lantern. And although it's a team effort, the focus is clearly on Green Arrow's actions (and not merely because Green Lantern's ring is made powerless inside the forest.
For me, another aspect of a solo book showcased in Issue #2 is the importance in keeping your hero highly visible within the story. Green Arrow is only absent from four pages in the entire issue: those opening two pages with Galahad I mentioned (but since we are hearing Ollie's words that doesn't really count); the one page scene with the Queen as she watches her goons heading off to hunt after the Emerald Archer; and finally the one page where Green Lantern gets his juice back and neutralizes the helicopters circling above the forest. Beyond that, it's all Green Arrow all the time. Surely, the time comes to highlight other aspects, but it's important to be mindful that a big part of a solo book is seeing how our protagonist reacts and responds to events around him - sometimes even outshining the events themselves.
Case in point - Moving forward in Green Arrow as the epic conclusion to Brightest Day approaches, more visitors will be finding there way to the forest - but the focus will remain on Green Arrow. How the events of Brightest Day will affect him and how he will react to them.
On the flip side, in a team book such as Teen Titans, the focus exists on a giant wheel, constantly spinning - constantly shifting from one character to the next. The amount of narration and head time is reduced because a team book unearths more about character through interpersonal relationships, as each titan shifts from central role to supporting role and back again.
I'll use Ravager as an example because in some ways her personality is similar to Green Arrow. In Issue #88, I use narration a bit - delving into her feelings about her father and the possibility that her mother (long thought dead) might still be alive. It's a very private matter - not something Ravager would easily share with even those closest to her (hence the narration).
But in terms of her character and the dynamic with the team, it comes out in direct conversation - such as the exchange between Ravager and Wonder Girl in the aftermath of the battle with the Feral Boys.
With that short exchange, we can tell that Ravager doesn't really like following anyone's orders and thinks Wonder Girl is too timid. Wonder Girl may have a problem with bloodshed, but Ravager doesn't. For her, the ends justify the means - "We won."
But this scene isn't really about Ravager, as much as it's about Wonder Girl - which carries over into Wonder Girl's discussion with Beast Boy. Ravager may be involved in the topic, but the focus in on Wonder Girl and her view of what the team needs to be. Even the fact that she is having the conversation with Beast Boy is important, given their recent clashing over the role of leader.
Obviously with Robin coming on board, he'll take a bit of the focus as the new kid on the block, but he'll quickly have some competition in that department. The second main arc will bring the newest titan - Solstice - into the fold, thus giving her a chance to shine (yes, the reference to her powers is blatant). And much of her story with Teen Titans will be how certain members react to her - particularly Beast Boy and Raven (again - interpersonal relationships).
Looking back at what I've written, it sounds as though the differences are monumental - seismic shifts when writing - but really they are shades of gray. It all boils down to wrapping your heads around the characters, place an obstacle in their way (the bigger and the badder the better), and see how it all unfolds - see how the drama reveal their character. And I can promise you the obstacles to come are going to be just that - BIGGER and BADDER!
j.t. krul
The best thing about the co-features that's we've been doing is that we get to give characters and creators a chance to shine that schedules and availability might otherwise prevent. As the excellent Ravager feature in Teen Titans started to wind down, the need to find a new one with an entirely new voice arose. Fortunately, my esteemed colleague Rex Ogle had one in development, and it was an instant get. Take three magical teens of the DC Universe and throw them against each other, add demonic meddling and conflicting motivations, and you have a recipe for a story that is both high adventure and deep personal struggles. All we needed was an artist, and I knew just the one. Ted Naifeh (COURTNEY CRUMRIN, DEATH JR.) and I have been taking for a while now about doing a project together, and it was my pleasure to bring him aboard for something that so clearly played to all of his strengths.
But enough of my yapping. Let's see what the talented team of Ogle and Naifeh have to say!
Rachel Gluckstern: Rex, what was your inspiration for Coven? And why did you pick these characters in particular to work with?
Rex Ogle: Inspiration came easy with Coven. I’ve always been drawn to stories of fantasy and magic. Magic touches on the most important, and darkest, things underlying our world. Plus, I love DCU’s heroes and villains in all their forms, but what I noticed missing was a group of darker teenagers. The JSA kids and the Teen Titans always have this happy, positive outlook‹and of course they do, they have each other! But what about kids who have these amazing powers, and have to deal with their hardships alone?
As for Coven’s cast, I love Traci 13 and Black Alice. Each is so intensely unique and powerful, and hello, witches! Both ladies and Zach Zatara have all this potential for great stories, but they’ve taken a backseat because I think it’s hard to write about magic. You want to say, “Aww, man, look, she’s a witch, so she can do anything,” but what I want to do is teach these kids about what it means to play with the fabric of the universe. When it comes to magic, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
RG: Ted, what attracted you to the project?
Ted Naifeh: I've always had an interest in the occult side of the superhero world, ever since I started reading Swamp Thing back in the eighties. Gosh, that's ancient history now. But it opened a world of pulpy dark magic that I wanted to see more of.
The other thing I like about these characters is that they're not costumed heroes in the traditional sense. I find that costumes can sometimes be a drag. To start with, what girl would wear the same exact look day in day out for years on end? That's what I love about Black Alice. Her look changes from scene to scene. Endless possibilities. Zach wears a tux, and Traci just wears street clothes. In short, they wear outfits rather than costumes, which offer more variety.
RG: What do you hope the readers take away from it?
TN: I'm always drawn to stories that speak to the isolation of adolescence. As Rex commented, the Titans have each other. These characters are utterly alone, a feeling I suspect comics readers can relate to. The Titans shows us where we want to be. I think The Coven speaks more to where we are. I hope readers can take away the understanding that they're not alone in being alone. For what it's worth.
RG: And Rex, how about you? What do you hope readers take away from the Coven?
RO: First and foremost, I want them to enjoy the story. The best way to do that is to touch on something all of us understand: the unfairness of life. We’ve all had those moments where we feel alone and wish we could change something in our lives. But what I want Traci and Alice and Zach to realize, and maybe our readers, is that the universe deals us a hand, and we have to play it. Wishing things were different never helped anybody. Even witches apparently.
The Coven starts running in Teen Titans #83, and it's going to be an excellent read. Be there!
One of the best parts of working on The Source is getting a chance to see stuff in progress, or getting bits of info about the creative process. With that in mind, we talked TEEN TITANS Editor Brian Cunningham into giving us a look-see at what goes into creating the RAVAGER co-feature, which will kick off with TEEN TITANS #72(in stores on 6/24, natch), from writer Sean McKeever and artist Yildiray Cinar. Take it away, Brian:
"Yildiray’s such a strong storyteller that I wanted to share some of the various stages of his art.
First, he sends along rough page layouts for approval. The layout above is page 1 of the RAVAGER co-feature. Sometimes, either writer Sean McKeever, assistant editor Rex Ogle or myself will notice something amiss that affects the story and request a tweak. Yildiray is wonderful to work with, in that respect — he takes the storytelling very seriously.
This is the pencil art stage. Yildiray really thrives when it comes to adding shadows.
And then Júlio Ferreira worked his magic ink brush on the pages to great effect. Júlio really nails all the wonderful textures in Yildiray’s work.
You’ll notice in this layout for a flashback scene that Yildiray mistakenly gave Deathstroke a full goatee...
...but he gave Slade his shave in the pencil stage.
And Júlio meticulously inks it all in, adding subtle details and textures. I can’t tell you how much of a hoot it is to see pages come in from these guys every step of the way!"
We already broke the news about the new co-features hitting in select DC ongoing titles starting in June. We've also talked a bit about some of the creators working on the titles. But we've shown very little in terms of art. Until now.
Here's a first look at artist Yildiray Cinar's rendition of everyone's favorite Deathstroke offspring, RAVAGER, which will be featured in TEEN TITANS #72, hitting in June, with words from former TEEN TITANS writer Sean McKeever. Don't let your jaw hit the floor too hard.
