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Thursday, February 07, 2008

Teen Titans Year One: Haven't I seen this before?

I'm enjoying the Teen Titans: Year One miniseries, although I find some elements a little distracting. Yes, Aqualad's back story had him afraid of fish, but it wasn't this over the top, plus he never looked like a zombie. And Kid Flash's constant connection to the Internet (jarring, I guess, because I think of him as a character from the 60s) and general impatience make him resemble Impulse more than the young Wally West.

Regardless, it's a fun story so far. I liked the fact that the latest issue (#2) had an actual note from the editor referencing a comic book from way back in the day. And it's just fun reading about these characters again, even if it isn't in exactly the way I remember them.

But the pieces I've read about the comic itself make it come off like a new story about the team's history, not a retread of an old comic.


Am I the only one connecting this storyline to the old Teen Titans #53 that came out back in 1978? It's been a long time since I read the issue--probably at least 20 or 25 years (damn, I'm feeling old again). And I know I've got it in a long box in the garage somewhere, but darned if I could lay hands on it without a major effort. But isn't this the same story so far? With the JLA mentors turned evil and the kids forced to stop them? I even remember them talking about contacting Superman and then being afraid that he'd turned evil, too (as reflected in a conversation in issue #2 of the current series).

I'm trying to remember how the whole thing turned out. Is this six-issue miniseries going to parallel the done-in-one story from 1978 via decompression? Or is there more going on. Have others pointed out the connection between the two stories and I've just missed it?

I don't mind at all if it's an homage to the old story--I'm just curious, that's all.

If anyone knows, drop me a line.

EDIT: Follow-up: I found a little more background on the old comic here.

2 comments:

Tim Knight said...

I just assumed it was a modern retelling of the original story (I recognised it as well... and now feel very old). Of course, if this is now canon surely it plays merry heck with continuity, time lines etc... but who cares if it's a good story, right?

Rob Rogers said...

Yeah, it's a good story. I think that the retelling of the story probably wasn't a big mystery--it was just something I missed seeing anyone talk about.

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