Reasons why the Flash's New Creative Team Is Perfect for Me

cover to The Flash #30 by Brett Booth

It was announced a few days ago that there will be a new creative team for The Flash starting with April's #30. This is fantastic news for a few reasons.




Is that Wally West on the cover?

Wally West's Return/Debut

Wally West was the Flash for two decades in the post-Crisis DC Universe until Barry Allen came back in Final Crisis. Barry then took over the reigns as Flash through the end of the pre-New 52 Universe and then for the past almost three years in the New 52, Barry Allen has been the only Flash (with Jay Garrick and Bart Allen both popping up but rarely interacting with Barry, if at all). People have been wanting...neigh, begging...for Wally to make a return to comics. The Flash Annual #3 (set to release April 30th, 2014) will deliver just what the fans want: Wally West. Wally West has always been my Flash. He was the Flash in the Justice League tv show that introduced me to comics in general. And even though Barry Allen had returned by the time I started reading mainstream comics, Wally was always the one I connected most with.




cover to Green Lantern Corps #24, issue written by Robert Venditti and Van Jensen

Robert Venditti/Van Jensen

After Geoff Johns left Green Lantern with #20, everyone was wondering who would step up to fill his shoes and how well they would do. Robert Venditti is the one who replaced Johns on the flagship GL title, and Van Jensen and Venditti have been co-writing the formerly Peter J. Tomasi-written Green Lantern Corps book as well. In my own personal opinion, they have done a fantastic job on the books. They have brought new life to the books in a much-needed way. I hope this is something that continues into the Flash and I have no reason to see why it shouldn't.

Brett Booth
I've been following Brett Booth's work since Teen Titans #1 in the New 52. I've followed him through Teen Titans, Nightwing, and Batman/Superman. I'll certainly be following him onto The Flash. Booth has become one of my favorite artists in the New 52. I even got to have a couple interviews with him right here on the blog. He's an all-around nice guy, but he's also got some extreme talent. I can't wait to see his work on the Flash because not only does he bring his a-game to every book he's done, Wally West is one of his favorite characters...so I know he'll do his absolute best to make it look absolutely amazing.

Post-Forever Evil Shake Ups in the DC Universe

cover to Justice League United #0 by Mike McKone

There have been several important shake ups to the DC Universe announced over the past few days in anticipation of the April 2014 solicitations (which are set to drop on Tuesday). Most notably are the ones from yesterday and today, which revolve around the Justice League books. Yesterday it was announced that Justice League United #0 will be released (with the creative team of Jeff Lemire and Mike McKone) and that will be replacing Justice League of America. The roster has been revealed to be a combination of several corners of the DC Universe. Coming over from JLA we have Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, Green Arrow, and Hawkman (not pictured). Also joining the team will be Adam Strange and his wife, Animal Man, Supergirl and a new character of Cree background. The team will apparently be based in northern Ontario, where the first adventure takes place. The first two story arcs will be space-focused though as they will be going to Rann and then Thanagar. The cover to Justice League United #0 is shown above.



cover to Justice League #30 by Ivan Reis

But perhaps the biggest surprise to come out of the post-Forever Evil announcements is this: Justice League #30 will feature the start of a new Justice League roster...including Lex Luthor, Captain Cold, and Shazam. Noticeably missing from the cover are Superman and the Flash. All of the other League-members seem to be sticking around though. It is understandable that Superman and Flash would leave the League considering the inclusion of Lex Luthor and Captain Cold to the team. It seems that Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis will continue on as the creative team for Justice League in the post-Forever Evil world.



cover to Aquaman and the Others #1 by Ivan Reis

Originally seen in the second story arc of the Aquaman series, the Others were introduced as the team Aquaman was on before the Justice League. They've been seen a few different times since that story arc. But starting in April, DC will be giving them an ongoing series from the creative team of writer Dan Jurgens and artist Lan Medina. This will not affect the regular Aquaman ongoing series by Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier. When this was announced a few days ago, I expected it to mean that he was leaving the Justice League book to go back to his own series.



cover to Secret Origins #1 by Lee Bermejo

DC hasn't had the best of luck with anthology books in the New 52. They tried at the beginning of the New 52 with DC Universe Presents...which starred characters like Black Lightning & Blue Devil and Deadman. But in April they're launching a new book called Secret Origins. The first issue will star Superman, Supergirl, and Nightwing's origins. The first issue will be written by Action Comics, Nightwing, and Supergirl scribes Greg Pak, Kyle Higgins, and Tony Bedard. There will be art from various artists. Here's the solicit for the book:

SECRET ORIGINS #1
Written by TONY BEDARD, KYLE HIGGINS and GREG PAK
Art by PAULO SIQUEIRA, WILL CONRAD and others
Cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 Variant cover by ANDY KUBERT
On sale APRIL 23 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
At last, the SECRET ORIGINS of the World’s Greatest Heroes in The New 52 can be revealed! This new series gets off to an awesome start with the origins of The Last Son of Krypton and Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, plus the first Robin, Dick Grayson.





cover to Teen Titans #30 by Kenneth Rocafort

Also, there has been at least one book announced as ending. Teen Titans will be ending with it's 30th issue, writer Scott Lobdell announced on ComicVine. This issue (and then the annual) will feature the final battle with N.O.W.H.E.R.E. to end Scott Lobdell's big overarching story arc. Noticeably missing from the cover are Solstice and Kid Flash, which leads to the question of whether they are staying in the future or not.

Also announced is Nightwing getting a new creative team in April. Writer Kyle Higgins took to Facebook to announce his departure from the series.



cover to the Flash #30 by Brett Booth

Another creative team shake up is that the Green Lantern Corps writing team of Van Jensen and Robert Venditti and artist Brett Booth will be the new creative team on the Flash starting with April's #30. Booth will do the Flash Annual #3 and then switch over to regular series artist. The book will focus on Barry taking back and helping rebuild Central and Keystone Cities as they were destroyed at the beginning of Forever Evil. Also, arguably more important than the new creative team and focus of the book, is the introduction of New 52 Wally West. He will be introduced in the Annual. It hasn't been said if he will become a regular cast member of the Flash book or if its just in the Annual. The cover to issue #30 of the Flash is shown above. The Annual's cover is shown below.




cover to the Flash Annual #3 by Brett Booth



Update: It appears that I forgot one! Sinestro is also getting an ongoing series starting in April! Writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dale Eaglesham are starting a new ongoing series starring everybody's favorite Yellow Lantern. The series is set to focus on Sinestro as he tries to take control of his self-named Corps. The book will also co-star Lyssa Drak. This is now the sixth book to be part of the Green Lantern family of titles, alongside Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Red Lanterns, and Larfleeze. Below is the cover for that.

cover to Sinestro #1 by Dale Eaglesham

 

Most Viewed: September 2012!

Alright well here we are on the first day of September with yet another "Most Viewed" post! This month was a relatively...lacking month, let's say. And that's my fault. I've had a lot going on. But hopefully starting this month, I can get the reviews and previews posts to be consistent again and maybe even throw in some opinion pieces as well. As for the most viewed for September? Well they're almost all "Teen Titans" related!

Most Viewed: The Preview for Teen Titans #0!
http://opinionsreviewsandpreviews.blogspot.com/2012/09/teen-titans-0-preview.html

Second Most Viewed: Previews for Flash Annual, Superman Annual, and Justice League #12!
http://opinionsreviewsandpreviews.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-flash-annual-superman-annual-and.html

Third Viewed: One of my interviews with Teen Titans' artist Brett Booth
http://opinionsreviewsandpreviews.blogspot.com/2012/05/brett-booth-interview.html

Fourth: My review of Teen Titans #10
http://opinionsreviewsandpreviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/teen-titans-10-review.html

Fifth: My first review with Brett Booth
http://opinionsreviewsandpreviews.blogspot.com/2012/02/exclusive-interview-with-teen-titans.html

Teen Titans #0 Preview!

Cover to Teen Titans #0 by Brett Booth

Teen Titans #10 Review!

Cover to Teen Titans #10 by Brett Booth

Teen Titans #10

Written by: Scott Lobdell

Art by: Brett Booth & Norm Rapmund

Summary

• The team wakes up on Mystery Island
• Bart saves the team from a dinosaur who is attacking them
• Cassie and Kon-El come out of their little underground hatch where they left off at the end of Superboy #10
• Cassie has a character change and actually smiles (!!!)
• Meanwhile, Tim gets pissy with the rest of the group and flies off to "do some recon"
• Bunker gets Tim to vent about how everything has just completely fallen apart
• Tim gets pissy and tells Miguel to just back off, but he refuses to do so and attempts to help in whatever way possible
• Cassie and Kon-El snatch Tim and Miguel into hugs
• Later, Cassie and Kon-El are seen sitting apart from the group discussing whether to tell the rest about where they are
• Tim tells Miguel that the Titans are done but Miguel won't have it
• Bart and Kiran are having a, erm, good time on their own
• Tim and Miguel are still going back and forth about whether or not the Titans should continue
• Kon-El asks if he could talk to Tim for a moment, so Miguel and Tim put their conversation on hold
• Danny the Street's bricks begin falling to the ground
• Danny tells the team that as his final act as a member of the team, he will return them to New York
• This final act kills Danny, by the way
• Meanwhile, Amanda Waller wishes she didn't have to get involved in the lives of young metahumans, but she has to

Thoughts

Maybe I just never noticed it before, but between Superboy and Teen Titans #10, I noticed that these teenagers don't really talk like teenagers. But beyond that, I don't have an issue with this series. I love the art (so glad Brett Booth is back) and I'm glad the team is finally connecting with one another. And I'm glad that Danny the Street is gone. Finally. But I feel like they took the easy way off of Mystery Island. And the Amanda Waller thing makes me wonder if maybe we'll eventually see a Suicide Squad/Teen Titans crossover? That'd be very interesting. 

The issue gets a solid 9/10. 

Bunker: "Honestly, none of us has time for crisis of leadership nonsense. You gathered us under your banner. You convinced us that together we could be stronger than we are alone. That means you don't have the luxury of falling apart or walking away when things go wrong. So buck up, Red Robin--or buck off."

The last panel of Danny the Street. Thank God.

Teen Titans #10 Preview!

Well, thanks to (Teen Titans artist) Brett Booth for directing my way to the preview of #10! So here are the actual images from the preview.

Most Viewed Posts in May 2012

It's that time of month again, folks! The time when we get to see which of my posts were the most-viewed over the last 31 days. Oh and one more thing, I know this is a rather small goal, but I managed to break 1,000 views this month for the first time ever. I really thank you all for reading this! I know that I'm probably not getting anywhere near what X-Man & JT are getting over at their blog, but then again they've been at this for longer. So thanks for those of you who have been reading from the beginning and welcome to any new readers! But anyway, back to business...
This month the most viewed post was my interview with Brett Booth from right after Teen Titans Annual was released. Click the link here!
The second-most viewed post, coming in a not-so-close second place is the review of the Teen Titans Annual. You can read that here!
The third-most viewed post, which came in just two views behind the review of the Annual issue, is my interview with Scott Lobdell, which came in the same day as my interview with Brett Booth! Check that out here!
The next most viewed was the preview for Superboy #9, which was part of "the Culling" crossover. You can read that, even though the issue is already out, here!
The fifth-most viewed came again from the Teen Titans Annual and was the preview of the issue. You can check out that right here!

The Runner-Ups:
This month's runner-ups come in the forms of the Green Lantern #9 preview, Batman #9 review, my thoughts on the teased "Trinity War" event, The Confirmed Cast of Earth-2, & the Earth-2 #1 Review! Those are all links so click 'em up and read 'em if you want!

In any case, I'll be back in the coming weeks with a few interesting announcements about the blog and we'll get some interesting changes around here. I hope you guys are as excited as I am for the comics coming out this month and in the coming months! In any event, I'll see you again in a month for the most-viewed of June 2012. 

Brett Booth Interview!

So with Teen Titans Annual #1 being released last week, I got to chat with "Teen Titans" artist Brett Booth about his thoughts on the Multiverse, Beast Boy's now-red fur, his work on the Annual issue and things to come in Teen Titans.


With Earth-2 & Worlds' Finest both starting last week...What are your thoughts on the Multiverse? 

Very cool! I really enjoyed both of them. I did a few designs for Earth 2 so I'm hoping I'll get a chance to draw something for it!

Might we ever see a Earth-2 (or another Earth)'s Teen Titans? I think that'd be very, very cool.

I don't know. What I've read makes me think Earth 2 will not have the same heroes. So if there is a younger team I think it would be Infinity Inc. Which were the TT of Earth 2 originally. As for a crossover... I have NO idea. Would be cool, but I think we'll have to wait and see what James has planned for Earth 2 first:) As for another Earth... no idea.

What, if any, titles would you want to read out of a "Third Wave" of New 52 books? 

Lets see... a New Wonder Woman book that shows what happened between JL6 and WW1. Booster Gold, Ted Kord, Wally West Flash book (longshot I know!) Kid Flash, Red Robin, Maybe another youth team book. I've read the Bleeding Cool Robin's book idea... that might be cool. An Earth 2 Hawkgirl and Flash book:)

Switching over to the Annual...I have to say, there are so many beautiful panels and pages in that issue that I can't even count. I've never seen so many amazing pieces of art in one place. I want to save up money for when the Annual's pages go on sale! But anyway, how much time did it take you to draw the issue? 

I have some up already but some are just pencils, a few pages were done on blue line to get it done on time. Took me 6 weeks to do that... I'm still recovering!

Also, how long did it take you to get down the designs for Tyroc, Dawnstar, and the rest of the Legion Lost-ers, let alone the new characters we see around? 

I did designs for Leash and Omen a month or so before for TT8. All the ravagers were done by Ian, so really I just did the 'reverse tron' ones. And I just went straight into them designed them on the page.

I think we all deserve an explanation as to why it is that Beast Boy is red. Do you happen to know any of the thought-process behind it? 

All the animal stuff in the DCnU is tied to the Red, so it would be strange make a guy who turns into animals green... the plant force thingy. Plus I'm sorry green is just not that cool for animals... they look like jell-o;P

So the Beast Boy stuff is tied into the events happening in Animal Man and Swamp Thing?

I wouldn't say tied as much as reflecting. Red=animals. Green=plants. Strange to have a green kid turning into animals;) They might have some plan for it but I don't know what it is:)

And, as you could see by my conversation with you and Scott on Twitter, I must know what happened to Artemis! I thought she was dead, but Scott is being so mysterious and I just can't wait to find out more!

She had that hypertaxis virus and was 'killed'. Whether she's dead dead I don't know. I did do a design for her though!

Is the Culling storyline JUST about the individual event inside of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. that is named the Culling, or is it going to be the entire story of when the Titans and the Legion are inside and how they take down Harvest (if they do)? I've been kind of curious about that. 

The Culling is like Easter or Arbor day in the colony, it happens ever so often. Will it happen again as an event? No idea. 

When I asked about the Culling, I was asking more of whether the current story/crossover that is happening would be the entirety of just one Culling and the story itself will end when the Culling ends, potentially leaving the team inside of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s clutches still...or if it was just the name of the crossover and didn't indicate that the whole crossover is for the..."holiday", let's say, known as "the Culling." I know that's long-winded and confusing, but yeah.

The Culling is an event that happens at the Colony I can't tell you if the story wraps up at the official end of the Culling 'holiday' as that would give away the end! 

Fair enough! Obviously, the team is keeping the Tron-looking outfits for at least one month after the crossover, since we see Bart & Solstice wearing them on the cover of [Teen Titans] #10, and Superboy and Wonder Girl wearing them on the cover of Superboy #10. Is it just through issue #10, or are they going to be around for some period of time?

Just through issue 10, they get rid of them (Solstice and Cassie have other options so they aren't wearing them in 10.) I'm even trying to change SB's. I'm Troned out;)

And for my last question, can sum up some hints of things to come in Teen Titans in 5 or 6 words?? 

Cassie gets pissed! There, I did it in 3;)

Teen Titans Annual #1 Review!

Teen Titans Annual #1 (The Culling, Part 1)

Story by: Scott Lobdell & Tom DeFalco

Pencils by: Brett Booth

Going into this, I expect it to go something along the lines of any crossover between super-teams who don’t know each other yet: Initial fighting, then teaming up to take down the big baddie. But nonetheless…Brett Booth’s art will make this worth it.

Summary

The issue opens with Red Robin being held at spearpoint by Artemis (as in, the archer chick, not the Amazonian chick) with Thunder and Lightning standing nearby. Tim immediately joins up with them and they head off, while explaining what “the Culling” is. Then a guy named Fist Point steps out and tries to take a toll from the group of teenagers. We see Lightning and Thunder’s powers and quickly take FP down. They meet up with the rest of the Titans, where Solstice is trying to convince Superboy to join them. Then we cut to the Legion Lost-ers inside an arena-place trying to get free. We find that even the teleporting character, Gates, can escape. They realize that they could be back in their time, but quickly disregard the idea. Next we see Harvest send Leash into the arena to bring the Titans and a few select others into the arena for the Culling. Skitter is the only one who doesn’t get pulled in, but we see another person who speaks like she does(!!!) tell her to come with him(?) . The Titans immediately see the Legion there and, of course, immediately attack. As they would in any crossover, both side thinks that the other is the evil villain. We see Bunker’s powers expand some and have some interesting match-ups that I would love to see more of in an AvX: VS fashion. Superboy vs. Wildfire? Red Robin vs. Tyroc? Wonder Girl vs. Timber Wolf? Harvest then tells Leash to begin the Culling, at which point he goes in and grabs a bunch of the other characters we kind of met but who weren’t pulled into the arena earlier, like Beast Boy, Artemis, and Terra. Then they all get dropped into the arena like crazies and the two teams have to team-up to save lives. Then the first blood is spilled when FP “kills” Artemis. (More on why I say it like “killed” later) The teams have some newfound energy and take down the rest of the teenagers without any more casualties. We then see Harvest laughing (???) at the fact that the teams are teaming up, saying that he knew this would happen, so he sends in the Ravagers and all of his lackeys to take down the two teams, effectively ending this annual issue.

Thoughts

So, first things first, this story is very interesting. I have come to realize that the storyline isn’t necessarily ending the whole N.O.W.H.E.R.E. storyline for good, but is more what happens during the Culling. Also, Brett Booth’s artwork is consistently amazing, especially the beautiful splash-pages on which the two teams fight side-by-side. I know that X-Man doesn’t like this storyline, but I really love it. Sure, this whole storyline has dragged on for a while, but it’s a lot better than some of the other New 52 storylines going on. Plus, Batman’s story has been going on for just as long and will continue for longer, so don’t complain. Just saying! I can’t wait for Superboy #9, and hopefully the next 3 parts can continually be as good as the first part. About the thing with Artemis: I asked Scott Lobdell on Twitter how he could kill her so easily and he hinted that she would be returning, but then to one-up that, when I jokingly stated a headline about her return, he asked how she could return if she “never left.” So there will seemingly be more things coming for Artemis is coming stories, so don’t get outraged over her “death” too quickly. Anyway, solid story, perfect art, can’t wait for part 2. This issue easily gets a 10/10.

Artemis: “Move—Blink, even—And I’ll slice your jugular.”

Red Robin: “Actually my carotid artery is about two inches higher. But you’ve made your point.”

Teen Titans Annual #1 Preview!

Teen Titans #8 Review!

Teen Titans #8
Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Ig Guara & JP Mayer

Summary
The issue opens with Red Robin being turned into, well...a bird. Apparently, the Titans launched an assault on N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s (that is a lot to type...) base on the North Pole and the team has seemingly been captured and is being tortured by Omen. It turns out that, at least one of, Harvest's (the big bad guy running N.O.W.H.E.R.E.) powers is to be able to turn the teenaged metahumans against one another. Wonder Girl is trying to free Red Robin, while Solstice and Bunker take some time to relax and think things through. Omen decides to stop transforming Red Robin into a bird and even reverts him back to human form for some reason. Then after Omen rants to Tim for a little, she sends him off to Harvest. Since I'm feeling lazy, the rest of the Titans get taken down one by one. The main interesting thing that we find out in the issue is that Wonder Girl's powers aren't actually her's, it's her armor and such that give her the metahuman abilities and also that she saved the life of "someone close to" her by getting the armor. Aaaaanyway, we also find out (as Brett Booth said the last time I talked to him which you can read here and I'll be talking to him again after the last issue of the Culling crossover is released next month) that Bart can survive without the suit on for limited periods of time and that somehow the fact that he is having weird memories and the injuries he got from fighting Superboy are related. Interesting. At the end of the issue, the entire team is in their New 52-Superboy-esque outfits (also: Superboy was missing entirely from this issue. Just saying) get taken by a guy named Leash(???) who looks exactly like Bunker(!?) but it isn't him. Same color scheme, though. And he's got the little hat thing, too. Weird... Anyway, he ties the team up and they teleport away to wherever Harvest wants them to be. And to cap off the issue, Omen simply states "Hail Harvest."
Thoughts
This issue was really good...for a filler issue. It certainly set up well for the crossover that starts in a week(!!!). I liked it, it set up some interesting stuff that I would like to find out answers for if not in the Culling story, then in the months following soon after. I have a feeling some of the questions about Wonder Girl and Kid Flash's back stories will be answered soon enough. Which is very good. My only gripe with the issue (which will be the same for next month) is the fact that Brett Booth's art isn't here. Not that Guara's art is bad, which is definitely isn't bad at all, it's just that Booth is one of my favorite artists and I think he works really well on Teen Titans. Can't wait til next week for Teen Titans Annual! This issue gets a 9/10!

And speaking of next week, I'm getting Teen Titans Annual #1 (with Brett's art! YAY!) and Earth-Two #1 which I have literally been waiting MONTHS for! Oh and Justice League International #9 and Red Lanterns #9 will both be coming out. But they aren't as cool as EARTH TWO AND TEEN TITANS ANNUAL WILL BE!!! See you all in less than a week!!

                                          Lol. Get it? Because his name is Red Robin, he's turning into a bird? ... Me neither.

Most Viewed Posts in March 2012

1. Exclusive Interview with Teen Titans artist, Brett Booth!
2. Earth-2 & Worlds' Finest Solicits
3. Red Lanterns #7 Preview
4. Action Comics #7 Preview
5. Justice League International #7 Review

Teen Titans #6 Review

Teen Titans #6-Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund
Here's a series that seems to be getting better and better with every issue. I am beginning to regret getting a Red Lanterns (or Justice League for that matter) subscription over this. Oh well, I thought it was better at the time. This issue starts out good and just gets better and better as the story progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed this issue, although I didn't quite get how the suit is the thing that is keeping Bart alive. I mean I could see if Virgil Hawkins (YES, THAT IT STATIC FOR THOSE OF YOU WONDERING) whipped up some kind of device that he could always have or some kind of chip or something, but I mean that would really suck ass having to wear your super-suit 24/7. Bart and Solstice now have something in common! Anyway, this issue was certainly a good filler issue and we got to see Static (one of my secret favorite characters)! My only complaint...well, not really a complaint...more of a question...would be why doesn't/hasn't Tim figured out that Virgil is Static? I mean wouldn't he want to recruit him for the Titans? (I sure as hell wish he would!) I mean Tim is, as I like to say, a "Mini-Bruce" so I'm just kind of confused about that. It's not a big issue, but whatever. I'm glad we got to see Cassie (Wonder Girl) and Miguel (Bunker) have a little character-bonding while Bart and Solstice hint at a future relationship (and figuring out Bart's origin) and we also got to see who I can only assume is Chameleon Girl posing as a detective asking about why Bart is in the 21st Century (and plus we got to see Bart in a snazzy BLUE outfit, assumptively from whatever time Bart's new origin makes him from). This issue had good character-bonding, an interesting new villain (named Grymm), and so yeah this issue easily gets a 10/10.

Kid Flash: "That's the thing, Kiran. I don't know. About my powers. How they work. How I got them. I don't even know who I am. I can usually pretend it doesn't bother me. Keep running. Keep joking. But now...I've stopped. And all those questions keep running around inside my head."
Solstice: "It will be okay, Bart. Get through this and we'll find those answers together. Promise."
Me: "Awwww!"

Yet ANOTHER Interview with TEEN TITANS artist, Brett Booth!

So a few weeks ago, you posted a picture of Wonder Woman on your blog. Is this a sign that Diana (and maybe some more Leaguers?) will be guest-starring in TT at some point?

Nope, just me blowing off some steam. In the TT annual, the Titans and the Legion all have 'Tron' suits. Which sort of makes doing lighting and rendering... difficult. Originally I was going to draw Power Girl in her new duds. But that wasn't working for me so I decided to do Diana instead:) I'd love to have her in TT for a bit but right now there are no plans.


Also speaking of things you posted on your blog...when you posted about how "creative differences" happened on G.I. Combat for your cover art, and you said something about "enough dinosaurs" showing up in TT soon. And the cover to TT #9 showed Solstice and Kid Flash alongside some dinosaurs. This a sign of just some crazy time-traveling tale, or are we actually gonna see some of your amazing dinosaurs?

I won't compromise on the dinosaurs. Accurate anatomy or I won't draw them. But to get to the meat (hehe!), there are dinosaurs in TT 10, all kinds of them:) It's sort of a one off issue, to give the team a chance to rest before we start up with more craziness! It should be a great character issue along with some cool dinosaur shots!

Is there any chance of us seeing Miss Martian in the series?

Both Scott and I are trying, but she's sort of in the same boat as Wally or Donna... we do have some ideas, hopefully one will sneak through! Funnily enough I just did a new design for her last night. Now's the tough part, getting it approved!

I went back and re-read all of my issues of TT so far and in the first issue Tim mentioned something about this being a new incarnation of the Teen Titans. I was curious if that was something that was meant to be there or are we supposed to be implying that there are former Titan teams out there?

I think this is still an 'up in the air' thing. We were told there were Titans before or at least groups of teen or 'sidekicks'. We know Kory, Dick and a few others used to hang out together. So I'm not really sure if it was anything more than people hanging out and fighting crime together. You'd have to ask Dan for a definitive answer and good luck with that! LOL!


Also in the first issue, we saw many characters in the background on the pages where we first meet Tim, like Miss Martian, Static, and (what seemed to be) Raven. Any chance of the line-up swapping out, or just purely adding in some characters like that?

As I said, we're trying to use more of the old Titans, but we are trying to keep the team number down to 6 for awhile. It's hard to give everyone something to do every issue, you always have a few that are just standing around for most of the issue. We're actually splitting the team up for a bit to cover more ground and give backstory to Cassie. Scott has some cool guest stars we're trying to get... As for swapping out... I think we've only just started with this group, to toss some before they have a chance to be flushed out seems like a bad idea. Who do you toss? Who gets to be brought in?

Static will not be in TT, because DC doesn't own him it makes using him difficult, Raven is going to be appearing in another book... We will see a few familiar names and faces but they won't be joining... at least not this team (Omen, KoffKoff);)

Thanks, Brett. You can check out my other interview with Brett here.

TEEN TITANS ANNUAL, TEEN TITANS, SUPERBOY, LEGION LOST and THE RAVAGERS Solicits

Here's the solicit:
TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL and TOM DeFALCO
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale MAY 2 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” begins here!
• It’s the TEEN TITANS vs. THE LEGION LOST one mile beneath the Antarctic in the chamber of horrors known as the Crucible!
• Continued in this month’s SUPERBOY #9, LEGION LOST #9 and TEEN TITANS #9!

Here's the solicit:
SUPERBOY #9
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by R.B. SILVA and ROB LEAN
Cover by IAN CHURCHILL
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” continues here from this month’s TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1 and leading into LEGION LOST #9!
• SUPERBOY vs. ROSE WILSON – round two!
• The shocking debut of the all-new WARBLADE!

Here's the solicit:
LEGION LOST #9
Written by TOM DeFALCO
Art and cover by PETE WOODS
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” continues from this month’s SUPERBOY #9!
• Even the combined powers of LEGION LOST and the TEEN TITANS won’t be enough to stop DARK HARVEST and his minions from committing mass murder!
• Continues in this month’s TEEN TITANS #9.

Here's the solicit:
TEEN TITANS #9
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by IG GUARA and J.P. MAYER
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:25 B&W Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale MAY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “THE CULLING” finale!
• THE TEEN TITANS and THE LEGION LOST duke it out with N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and the madman known as Harvest to stop the slaughter of
innocent children.
• This issue leads directly into this month’s RAVAGERS #1!
• Continued from TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1 SUPERBOY #9 and LEGION LOST #9!

Here's the solicit:
THE RAVAGERS #1
Written by HOWARD MACKIE
Art and cover by IAN CHURCHILL
1:25 Variant cover by TK TK
On sale MAY 30 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• First issue of a new series spinning directly out of “THE CULLING!”
• FAIRCHILD, brother and sister THUNDER and LIGHTNING, the monstrous RIDGE, BEAST BOY and TERRA are being pursued by ROSE WILSON and WARBLADE, who want them dead at any cost!
• No one’s survival is certain each month in THE RAVAGERS!

Exclusive Interview with Teen Titans artist, Brett Booth!

As I said earlier today, I just had an interview with one of my favorite comic book artists of all time. That artist happens to be the current TEEN TITANS artist, Brett Booth! (but you probably knew that from reading the title. Haha.)

Me: Whats it been like working with Scott?

Brett Booth: In a word, interesting. I never know what to expect from him. Seriously he had one idea that was so out there, so crazy I thought it might work! Bob Harris thought otherwise but I have a feeling Scott might sneak it in there.

And he gives me som cool visuals to draw, that's a big plus:)

Me: Who is your favorite artist (besides yourself, obviously ;D)?

BB: Tough one, I don't really have a single favorite but a group of favorites. Let's see, Jim Lee, Art Adams, George Perez, Kevin Maguire, Mark Silvestri, John Byrne, Walt Simonson, David Mazzucchelli and I'm gonna toss in Greg Capullo cause his Batman is friggen awesome!

Me: How did you getting involved in the series come about?

BB: Well I was told about a week after I started JLA 55 that they were canceling the series so they could bring it back with Geoff Johns. Eddie Berganza had been trying to get me to go exclusive for a bit and when we started to get the paperwork going he asked me to take over Teen Titans with Scott. I'd worked with Scott a few times in the past and it was a hoot, so I agreed. And because the Speedforce book I was trying to get one was dead:(

Me: Who is your favorite character to draw on Teen Titans? Why?

BB: Bart, cause he's fast! For some reason I love drawing the speedsters. It's a challenge to make them look like they are really moving!

Me: Who is the hardest to draw? Why?

BB: Skitter!!!!! Cause of the extra arms and legs. She's not in the book as much and I don't have her outfit completely memorized yet.

Me: If you could add any characters to the line-up, who would it/they be?

BB: Hmmmmm, Aqualad or Static. I like them both and would love a chance to draw them!

When you say Aqualad, do you mean the Aqualad we first met in Brightest Day?

BB: Yep!

Me: As for the upcoming crossover with Superboy and Legion Lost, has it been a challenge drawing all of the new characters that aren't consistently in TT? Like the Ravagers, the Legion, etc.?

BB: It's a royal pain, cause the LL have all new costumes for this, as do the Teen Titans. So basically everything except Superboy is different. I have to keep looking at reference for every character because nothing is sticking with so many of them. Add to that the new bad guys, the Ravagers and Colony people… it's a tough one.

Me: Out of all of the characters out there in the DC Universe, who is your favorite? (this could also include characters like Donna Troy and Wally West who aren't necessarily being seen currently, but have existed in the past)

BB: Of course its Wally, but then I'd have to say Ted Kord after that.

Me: If DC came to you later today and said "So we have an idea for a new series starring Wally West. We want you on art.", would you accept? Why or why not?

BB: Yes. Because it's Wally and he's what got me to read DC comics. There are very few characters that I would really love to draw, I mean REALLY love to draw. Others might be fun but the few times I'd drawn Wally have been so fricken enjoyable! Maybe I'm just at a spot that I feel more comfortable about the work I produce but when I draw Wally it just feels right. Bart's kind of the same, but I think that's because he lets me goof off a bit. Which is always fun;P

Thanks a lot, Brett! It means a lot! Kay, guys. Well there you have it. And, just saying, Wally needs to come back sometime soon.

Exclusive Interview with One of My Favorite Artists!

I happen to have an interview set-up with one of my new favorite artists. I am looking forward to this. It'll be great! See you soon, kids!

Previews for 11/23/2011 DC Comics

So to go with my Aquaman #3 preview from a few days back, I got previews of Green Lantern: New Guardians and Teen Titans #3 to get you all excited for tomorrow's releases!

Green Lantern: New Guardians #3-Tony Bedard & Tyler Kirkham

Whats happening to Kyle? Will Salaak stop being so stuck up? Will the Guardians get their asses handed to them by Kyle and the New Guardians? (who knows, no, and HELL YEAH! are the answers to those questions, more than likely) Cannot wait! Keep tuned in over the next week or so to read the reviews of this, Aquaman, and Teen Titans #3!

Teen Titans #3-Scott Lobdell & Brett Booth