BONUS REVIEW: Teen Titans Go!: Roll With It

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Robin convinces the rest of the Teen Titans to play his favorite role playing game, Basements & Basilisks. Yes, they need a tutorial on the rules and some LARP practice, but they are 100% in it to win it.

But in typical fashion, Robin goes to extremes. He takes everything seriously and makes the game impossibly hard. His friends threaten to quit if Robin doesn’t find them a different game master. For the sake of the game, he agrees. He asks his crush, Becky, to help them.

But “Becky” isn’t who anyone thinks she is. And she has her own special game planned for the Teen Titans.

Review


I was eager to read this one because of the D&D-like game play but I forgot to remind myself that Teen Titans Go is often more over-the-top than I enjoy. It took some time to get into this one. Robin is controlling – as usual. And just as he made the game less fun for the Titans, he made it less fun to read about. But once the external villain was revealed, I enjoyed this a lot more.

Raven continues to be my favorite of the Titans, but the ensemble was in good form, too. Cyborg’s issues with the villain were a fun wrinkle to their adventure.

This is a long, meaty campaign for the Titans. Fans will enjoy spending this time with the characters.

Rating: ♥♥♥½ – Good+

REVIEW: Teen Titans Vol 1: Damian Knows Best by Benjamin Percy

Summary


Damian Wayne. Son of Batman. Grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul. Heir to the League of Assassins – until he chose his father’s path instead.

Batman. Absentee father. Damian spends his 13th birthday with his butler. His grandfather sends him a gift that he has been marked for death. Great birthday.

Starfire. Raven. Kid Flash. Beast Boy. All with powers that could make them heroes, but flawed and trapped by their own pasts. Together, as a team, they could be so much more than they have been alone. But trust is hard to come by. And it’s hard to build trust while a team of assassins is trying to kill you.

A ragtag set of heroes will find out if they have any hope of becoming a team.

Review


I really enjoyed this! I’m not much of a DC Comics person, but our family loves the Young Justice series that was on TV several years ago. And I like the idea of the characters on Teen Titans Go, but the stupidity of the show makes me want to beat my head against a wall. But this storyline was smart and enjoyable. I really enjoyed the characterization in this graphic novel. I felt like I had enough information about each character to enjoy the story and not feel like I was “behind” already. I’d like more backstory, but I’m also fascinated by how this group might band together to eventually become a team. And there is plenty of conflict potential still there for future stories.

The art is beautiful. I’m extremely picky about the art styles I enjoy. I’ll give up on a good story if the art doesn’t work for me or becomes a distraction. This art is terrific and really worked for telling this story well. I would definitely read more in this series. Volume 2 should release in March. (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥