Reading Teen Titans: Titans East

Hot on the heels of volume 6, here is its direct sequel

Teen Titans vol. 7: Titans East

by Geoff "Isn't he writing Blackest Night?" Johns, Tony "Oh yeah, he did Battle for the Cowl" Daniel, and fill-in artists

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: So, like the Avengers, the Teen Titans of San Francisco have finally decided to branch out! . . . Oh wait, no, that's incorrect. Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke AKA The Terminator starts his own brand of Teen Titans in Manhattan, in order to get back at the Teen Titans.

Bad story ideas ensue.

WHAT I LIKED: If there's anything Geoff Johns does well, it's continuity bookkeeping. He rewrote Hal Jordan's history with an eye for bringing him back to life; he rewrote his fair share of Superman tidbits in Action Comics, and he does a little fleshing out of Kid Devil's history here in volume 7. It's good comics that really makes a character deeper.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

That is supposed to be the face of a man who is getting his arm ripped off. Hmmm how painful can it be!

The art isn't too bad, though. It's just that it's inconsistent. Tony Daniel seems like he can't do more than 3 issues in a row before getting winded. Kinda like me and jogging, except Tony's actually getting paid.

But seriously, Batgirl does Deathstroke the Terminator's dirty work, because he injects her with shots that are never explained. They only say that these are the same injections that he used on his own daughter, Ravager.

That is a ridiculous, uninspired idea, and I expected better from you Geoff Johns. Also boring is Deathstroke the Terminator's motivation throughout the story. Horrible.

EXTRAS?: Cover gallery at the end. This isn't a monumental trade, so it doesn't get anything else. I am a little disappointed that the price point is now $14.99. Teen Titans managed to hold out for so long at $9.99, using pulp-y material for the sheets. Now they're using the modern material.