DCU Comic Book Reviews

TEEN TITANS #61

The Red And The Blue

September 2008

Written by Sean McKeever

Pencils by Eddy Barrows

Inks by Ruy Jose

Cover by Eddy Barrows and Julio Ferreira

Synopsis

Now...Blue Beetle and Kid Devil are fighting Shockwave, but are not doing well.  Yesterday, Kid Devil asks Robin for advice on how to catch to criminals.  Today, Kid Devil tries to use that advice to capture Shockwave, but is having no luck.  Until the news reports Shockwave’s latest attack in New Mexico.  However, Blue Beetle is dealing with the situation when Kid Devil arrives.  Kid Devil tries to help out, but the two end up arguing with each other and allow Shockwave to get away.  Afterwards, Blue Beetle learns that Shockwave is targeting buildings at one time owned by Kord Industries.  That leaves two possible places Shockwave will go next.  Kid Devil goes to Utah and Blue Beetle to Colorado.  Shockwave attacks Colorado.  Kid Devil teleports there to help out and together they are able to defeat Shockwave.  Later, Robin announces the newest Teen Titan:  Red Devil!

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

If there is one thing this issue proves is that McKeever works better when he is left to his own devices and isn’t forced to work within the confines of the DC universe.  His attempt at writing Johns’ Titans Tomorrow storyline was flat and uninspired and while the Clock King story was fairly good, his attempt to integrate the Dark Side Club into the story create a haphazard and seemingly rushed ending.  However, some of the individual stories he has produced for this book (such as the beginning to the Clock King story) were much better and showed that McKeever can handles these characters.  This issue is a good example of this.  It is a simple one-and-done story of the friendship between team members and on that level it works very well as the heroes fight with each other but eventually learn to work together.  I can’t say it is the greatest story in the world, but it is good enough and does what it needs to do in the end.  What I think helps the issue from simply being a mediocre forgettable story is that McKeever has not forgotten the threads to the Titans Tomorrow storyline.  It always seemed like there was going to be more with that story and McKeever seems to be slowly laying the framework for whenever the editors decide to pull the trigger.  Hopefully whenever that happens, McKeever will have a grasp of what he wants and won’t be hampered by whatever big event is going on in the DC universe.