Sorry for another newbie question from me. Looking at the summaries of some issues from the 1984 line and comparing to the 1980 line, looks like a lot of it is a redo from? I want to understand if the 1984 line, as a whole, is a redo and starting again from the beginning? Like as if the 1980 series didn’t even happen? OR… does 1984 start where the 1980 line eventually ends?
Trying to learn all this so I can manage to read things in the proper order and is a bit overwhelming. Haha
Thanks again
I’m not read either. But normally all the years means is that the previous series ended and took a break and then it was relaunched.
Typically when it is relaunched it’s a pretty fresh start and you don’t need to know much of what came before.
Ahaa! Thank you for the reply! So this is true for all comics then? Not just Teen Titans?
Yes, what @DJ said is true for all comics. When it has a different year, it’s a completely different version.
Thanks again. So when theres a different year it’s starting their story all over again? So for 1984, you can assume as of 1980 never happened?
It doesn’t always start the story over. I meant volume and not version.
The 1984 series was printed on better paper and came with a higher price as opposed to the 1980 title that was cheaper and available on news stands (if they still carried comics books by that time). I assume DC wanted to take advantage of the Titans popularity. When they launched the 1984 series, the 1980 series was renamed Tales of the Teen Titans and eventually became a reprint title with no original content.
In terms of continuity and storyline, the 1984 series initially picked up immediately from the 1980 title. Perhaps some of the confusion in online summaries has to do with the changes to DC after the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths. Before Crisis, Titans had addressed the complicated history of Donna Troy; post-Crisis, they had to do it all over again.
In the mid-80s, DC tried a “hardcover/softcover” experiment with three of its best-selling comics: New Teen Titans, Legion of Super-Heroes and Batman and the Outsiders. Basically, each series was upgraded to a higher quality book (a “hardcover” version)… and after one year, the “hardcover” stories were reprinted in the original newsstand comic (the “softcover” version).
The “hardcover” versions were printed on better paper (called Baxter paper; it was a heavier paper stock and whiter) and sold only through comic shops (rather than newsstands, like the original series). These series are sometimes referred to as the Baxter books.
After the Baxter books launched, the “softcover” newsstand titles received new names: “New Teen Titans” became “Tale of the Teen Titans,” “Legion of Super-Heroes” became “Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes” and “Batman and the Outsiders” became “Adventures of the Outsiders.” For one year, the newsstand titles still featured new stories… so, for 12 months, each team actually had two comics that featured new content.
DC keep the newsstand titles alive because the company didn’t want to alienate those fans who didn’t have access to comic shops and/or did not want to pay for the premium higher priced Baxter books. This was during the early days of the direct market, when comic shops were not as common as they are now. “Tales/TT” and “Tales/LSH” both continued as reprint books for several years. However, “Adventures/Outsiders” only lasted a couple of months once the reprints started.
I just started reading “The New Teen Titans (1984) Terror of Trigon,” this arc kicks-arse!