Teen Titans

 This book wins. And it wins because Tim Drake is finally Tim Drake again. After Fabian Nicieza nearly ruined one of the great characters in comic books, controversial writer Scott Lobdell has brought Tim home to his true self, and let me safely say, welcome home Tim!

It's becoming even more clear that while this is a "team" book, it's Tim Drake's team. He's calling the shots, he's the main protagonist, his goals are at the book's core. Cassie and Bugg are just along for the ride so far, but I'm not complaining. Tim Drake carried a solo series for many years, and hes always sold well, so he deserves a book that's essentially a solo series for him, even if it's described as a "team" book.

The biggest relief for this book is that it's revealed that the entire Teen Titans history isn't destroyed. That was the biggest worry among many comic book fans, as statements have been made from editor Bobbie Chase and Scott Lobdell indicating that this is the first group to call themselves Teen Titans ever. In fact, this incarnation is only the first of this generation of Teen Titans. So Dick's, Starfire's, Beast Boy's, Donna Troy's, Raven's and Cyborg's history together is still intact for the most part.

But looking back to the actual story, it's Tim's return to altruism that shines the most. The Red Robin series was all about Tim being selfish and egotistical, at best about him fighting inner-demons and at worst him throwing a really big pity-party. This is about Tim focusing on helping others again. Tim's origins were based on him being unselfish, wanting to help Batman and Gotham with nothing in return. He became a crime-fighter not because of a family obligation, or vengeance, but for altruistic reasons. And his mission here is altruistic, exactly the type of mission Tim would take on. With Bruce and Damian patrolling Gotham, there's no reason for Tim to work there too. Plus all the public-works stuff Fabian had Tim working on as Tim Wayne was boring. That's more suited for Bruce anyways.

What I enjoyed: While I'd hate to lump all of Scott Lobdell's books together under one universal term, I'm going to do it anyways: fun. This book is a thrill ride, a roller-coaster from beginning to end.  He makes characters I care about, has a strength of revealing information on a need-to-know basis (which is hard to do when comic book fans feel they need to know everything about every character, especially after many changes have been made post-relaunch) and doesn't waste panels.

What I didn't: Because I'm enjoying this series, I'm also antsy to see all eight team members together as a team (yes, there will be eight), and as an impatient person, and comic book fan, I want to know how they all come together. But that's not his style, and it's a strength that he doesn't bog his books down with endless origin story, rushing through it so he can tell the stories of what happens after this team forms. Still doesn't mean I have to enjoy waiting for it all to happen though!

Conclusion: In all honesty, the best parts about the book aren't necessarily the story itself. It's what we learn about where this series is going and how it's going to evolve. While this story isn't groundbreaking, it's making me excited for how good this book can be when issue #5, or #11, or #17 rolls around. 8.1/10 (B-).

This book has fun action and butt-kicking by Tim, interesting character development between Tim and Cassie, and believable team-building.