Titans Together / Return of the Book Club \ Titans: Titans Together 1-4

Welcome back to the “Titans Together” Reading Club. It has been a LONG MINUTE since we had a club reading activity. We are starting with an easy read this month to get back into the swing of things. This will be going from 2022-06-07T04:00:00Z2022-06-30T04:00:00Z so feel free to join in at any time. The next reading will start at the beginning of July and will continue every month for a monthly reading.

For this month we will be reading “Titans: Titans Together” since it literally has the name of the club right in the title!!! There are four issues that are roughly 17 pages a piece.

You can find the book on DC Universe Infinite right HERE: Titans: Titans Together

Discussion:

  1. How do you feel about the inclusion of Red Hood on the Titans team in this book series?
  2. Which story from the 4 books was your favorite and why?
  3. What was your general opinion about the format of these particular stories?

(A SPECIFIC QUESTION FOR EACH ISSUE FOLLOWS THE SUMMARY ARROW HERE, SO DON’T READ UNTIL FINISHED)

Summary
  1. In issue 1, how did you feel about what Beast Boy had to give into to help save the day? What else did you think about this first issue?
  2. In issue 2, we see Ravager as part of the story. How do you feel about Rose Wilson as a character? How did you feel about this particular issue?
  3. In issue 3, how did you feel about the reason for the adventure between Beast Boy and Raven? How did you feel about this particular issue and the fact it was split into more than one story?
  4. In issue 4, how did the narrative make you feel? Did you enjoy the Donna moment at the end where she is very clear with Nightwing? What did you enjoy or dislike about this particular issue?
  1. What else do you want to say about these 4 issues? Feel free to comment on anything about these issues that you desire, such as characters, art style, storylines, etc, but if you are spoiling a moment remember to blur it or put in a summary area. We want everyone else to get to enjoy these issues as well.

I hope some of you will join in to this reading club. I will be posting my own responses around the 15th of the month. I have already read the issues, but want to give everyone else the chance to read them and comment first. Looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks about it.

Remember we are also doing a weekly WAL of the live action TITANS: HERE

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Happy to see Titans Together is back up and running! :superman_hv_4:

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I was hoping this club would come back.:grinning:

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It is good to be back. I am trying to do this thing now called getting things done in advance for the club lol it makes a big difference. :slight_smile:

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I was hoping so as well. Mainly cause it means that I have better work/life balance haha. Also because I love the Titans.

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Ah yes, the “plan ahead” theory.

I’ve subscribed to that one for years and I always get my money out of it. Its a good one, for sure.

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  1. I have loved the Titans since the Wolfman and Perez series back in the 80s. Although I do miss Cyborg, Red Hood seems to work well with the team.
  2. I think I liked the last story the most, because it showed the team doing something to help regular people instead of just fighting a villain.
  3. The format seems more geared toward new comics readers, and there is nothing wrong with that.
  4. I’m sure it was hard and scary for Gar to give into the bestial mind of the creature he became, but he listened to Raven, and Dick’s deduction was proven correct. It was an interesting twist that Starfire recognized their opponent.
  5. This was a much simpler depiction of Rose than I have read in other stories. It was nice to see her choose to do the right thing at the end.
  6. I liked Raven deciding to confront the cult. If only it were so easy to free people from one. She and Garth had fun interactions in their joint adventure, and Jason’s reaction to them at the end was funny.
  7. I felt for the plight of the girl and her mother. I thought the Donna moment at the end showed her compassion, although I don’t believe Dick would really have pursued them.
  8. Since I started with the 80s Titans, it always feels strange for Garth to be Beast Boy instead of Changeling. On the other hand, Donna was wearing a black costume reminiscent of her Troia identity, but she was going by Wonder Girl. I thought the art was good, and I enjoyed these stories.
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  1. How do you feel about the inclusion of Red Hood on the Titans team in this book series?

It makes sense, if only because these issues were likely meant to entice people who have watched the Titans original series. It’s also not the first time that Jason has been part of a group of Titans, as he showed up as part of the New Teen Titans shortly before his death. For anyone curious, the Renegade Robin club covered that story a while back:

As for the character himself – I think he works well enough as sort of the wild card. I really enjoyed the dynamic he had with Dick and how they were able to get under each other’s skins.

  1. Which story from the 4 books was your favorite and why?

That’s a good question, as while I don’t know if I’d say any of the issues are instant classics, most of them were pretty solid. I think I’d go with issue #2, since that had more hallmarks of Titans adventures with the inclusion of Brother Blood, Deathstroke and Ravager.

  1. What was your general opinion about the format of these particular stories?

I dig it – as I recall, these were stories that were going to be in the Walmart 100 Page Giants that DC did some years back, so they were written with basic enough that new readers familiar with the characters in other mediums can get into it, but with enough history that one could move onto the regular Titans books with relative ease.

Then when the Walmart comics folded, these were repurposed as digital comics during the early days of Covid when print comics were put on hold. These stories and in other titles were good at keeping people reading at a time when it was desperately needed.

  1. In issue 1, how did you feel about what Beast Boy had to give into to help save the day? What else did you think about this first issue?

It was nice to see – it’s somewhat rare to see Beast Boy be the one who saves the day, as he’s usually just a bit player who has some fun action moments and comedy relief. Other than that, I also really loved the dynamic that Dick and Jason had, some hilarious banter.

  1. In issue 2, we see Ravager as part of the story. How do you feel about Rose Wilson as a character? How did you feel about this particular issue?

She’s cool – I’ve read her in other books, like Christopher Priest’s Deathstroke and more recently in Joshua Williamson’s Robin, and she can definitely spice up a book. I did think it was kind of odd that the cover teases a romantic connection between Rose and Jason, and while there is a connection in the story, it’s hardly that serious or explicit other than her suggesting he visit the private island she’s buying with her ill-gotten goods.

  1. In issue 3, how did you feel about the reason for the adventure between Beast Boy and Raven? How did you feel about this particular issue and the fact it was split into more than one story?

That was an…interesting story for Raven and Beast Boy, like I don’t get why those two were the ones that went in for that. You would think with Luthor being the one in charge that Superman or someone in that family would be a more prime candidate. I will say I think the second story with Raven dealing with the cult was much better.

  1. In issue 4, how did the narrative make you feel? Did you enjoy the Donna moment at the end where she is very clear with Nightwing? What did you enjoy or dislike about this particular issue?

It was interesting – I liked that it tried to be more introspective and play around a bit with the superhero metanarrative, address that often the criminals in our society are desperate people who feel crime is their only resort, but I don’t know how well it worked in this instance, since the woman in HIVE’s situation wasn’t really addressed clearly. I guess maybe they’re both illegal and that’s why the daughter was listed as homeless? I dunno, trying to figure that out kind of took me out of the story.

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  1. It felt natural for this because like others have said, it feels like it is supposed to lean more into the Titans television series. Though in comics, it always feels weird to have him on a Titans team because I don’t consider him one. That is just a mentality that I have to work on getting over though because there are numerous characters that have been on the various iterations of the Titans that barely show up.

  2. Due to the field of work that I do, it was definitely the HIPPA named one. I work with this every single day and have to respect it. As a result, I laughed at this as it hit home. As a comic book though, it was issue 4 though. It also though hit my work self a bit, as a I believe that everyone can be better.

  3. The general format was very quick and easy to read. I don’t feel like you had to know a lot about any of the characters to read these. They were easily accessible.

  4. Sometimes we have to give into our primal self to get where we are going. Sometimes we have to come to terms with that baseline to move forward as well, so I enjoyed that aspect of this story. Out of all of them though, this was probably my least favorite because to me it was the least memorable to me. Though it was interesting to have Beast Boy be a bigger hero in the story, since he is the comedic foil so often.

  5. Teen Titans written I believe by Geoff Johns was one of my first real interactions with Teen Titans and it had Ravager in it. I quickly fell in love with the conflicted nature of the character. I enjoy characters that have layers to them and always felt that she does. I could see that here as well. I think it was a strong addition, since the Titans often interact with Brother Blood. It helped bridge a gap for newbies.

  6. I thought it was hilarious because I do not instantly think of Raven when I think of someone wanting to protect medical information. It made for a good story though between Beast Boy and Raven though that showed their connection to each other. The ending was the one moment where I was glad Red Hood was on the team because his saying felt organic. I liked the format of double stories for this largely because it was easier to read and be able to get through because you could stop and then come back later if you wanted.

  7. I want to believe that all people can be better, so the narrative felt important. Even people who link up with bad guys are not always bad people. We need to remember this, but we also need to figure out if they are able to be rehabilitated. If there is a way for them to be a more productive member of the larger society. I love Donna Troy, so her being a BOSS at the end made my heart happy, which is why I had to include the question for others to answer. There are moments where I think Nightwing would have continued to go after the mom, but I also want to think that he has more heart then that. Overall, I thought this was a strong addition to the series.

  8. No other thoughts on this one, since I will be responding to others on the forum.

Responding to @scoop001:

I agree that Red Hood worked well and I also miss Cyborg. He seemed a better fit with the Titans.

See there are moments where I think Nightwing would have pursued them, mainly because of his “Bat” training. It was why I was glad there was that balance character in Donna and it is how I remember her as a character, very compassionate. She always struck me as the mother hen of the group.

You mention 80s Titans a few times, which I have never had the opportunity to read. I am going to have to add that to the reading list. What are some classic stories that you believe have to be read (Outside of the obvious “The Judas Contract”)?

Responding to @Jay_Kay:

This was something I felt very strongly about when I read it. He is so often written as a comedic element and because of this, he often is never the one that saves the day. There were a lot of elements of the overall story that I was meh on, but that aspect I thought was perfection. It had to be believable that he would be able to save the day, which may have been a challenge for the writer given what has came before.

I kept looking for this in the book, but was like ??? WHERE IS IT??? Cause you are right, it isn’t there. It is more like a hey lets talk and flirt maybe a little bit, but nothing that is like the cover. I wasn’t disappointed necessarily, but just felt like it was inaccurate.

From the story, I instantly got that they were illegal and had been homeless. The mother felt desperation. I think this though came to me easier because of working in social worker. I can see how that it may not have been as clear in the overall narrative structure though because it was hyper focused on getting to a particular place in such a few short pages. It really heavily relied on reading between the lines on some things and I think that sometimes that can be bad in a comic book where a message is trying to be conveyed. Don’t assume your reader is stupid, but come on be very clear what is occurring.

Thank you for reading @Jay_Kay and @scoop001!

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Thanks for responding @CassTheStreet! As far as the 80s Titans go, I would have to research to find the exact issues, but the I believe the first 5 issues of The New Titans when they switch to the Baxter paper format have a good Trigon story. Also, the best single issue I have ever read is “Who is Donna Troy?” in number 38 of The New Teen Titans.

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