Back Issue #122

featuring MARV WOLFMAN and GEORGE PÉREZ!

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NO. 122

OCTOBER 2020

NEW TEEN TITANS’ ™ 40 GREATEST MOMENTS

New Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics.

40TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

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PÉREZ TRIBUTES & ART GALLERY HERO HISTORIES OF STARFIRE, RAVEN & THE PROTECTOR NEW TEEN TITANS IN THE MEDIA & MORE!

All characters TM & © their respective owners.

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Volume 1, Number 122 October 2020 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich Fowlks

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COVER ARTIST George Pérez (unused New Teen Titans cover art, courtesy of Andy Mangels) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Spencer Beck Luigi Novi Glen Cadigan Bob Rozakis Brian Cassner Jim Starlin Jon B. Cooke John Trumbull DC Comics John Wells Shelton Drum Cliff Galbraith VERY SPECIAL Chris Giarrusso THANKS Grand Comics George Pérez Database Marv Wolfman Dan Greenfield Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Heritage Comics Auctions James Heath Lantz Ron Lim Paul Levitz Ed Lute Andy Mangels Brian Martin Robert Menzies Mike Negin

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OFF MY CHEST: Guest Editorial by Marv Wolfman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 FLASHBACK: The 40 Greatest Moments of the New Teen Titans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Titans Companion’s Glen Cadigan counts down the biggest NTT events of the past 40 years PRINCE STREET NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Cartoonist Karl Heitmueller, Jr.’s auditions for new Titans, circa 1979 FLASHBACK: Raven: Fighting Her Inner Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The terrifying tale of the New Teen Titans’ first supernatural member ART GALLERY: New Teen Titans by George Pérez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 FLASHBACK: Starfire: The NTTs’ Alien Warrior Princess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Koriand’r of Tamaran, a woman of two worlds BACKSTAGE PASS: Teen Titans in the Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Andy Mangels tunes into New Teen Titans toons, TV, and more ONE-HIT WONDERS: Who is the Protector? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 From a Robin stand-in to a bizarre footnote in DC Comics history PRO2PRO: George Pérez Farewell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 East Coast Comic Con’s star-studded tribute retirement panel celebrating the modern master PINUP: New Teen Titans #1 tribute by Chris Giarrusso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 The G-Man and Mini-Marvels artist’s homage to Pérez’s iconic first issue cover BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Reader reactions

BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $89 Economy US, $135 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by George Pérez. The New Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2020 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows except Prince Street News © 2020 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

TM & © DC Comics.

When I was a kid, there weren’t all that many superhero comics published. I read all the Superman and Batman family books, Wonder Woman and Blackhawk, too. But of course, those were the only hero-related comics that managed to survive the 1950s comics purge and industry collapse.

Eventually, DC comics resurrected (and often changed) the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and most of their other Golden Age heroes. At the same time, they also introduced kid sidekicks for many of their adult heroes. Batman always had Robin fighting at his side, but Aquaman suddenly teamed up with a young marv wolfman kid named Aqualad. The newly resurrected Flash now had adventures alongside Kid Flash. And though Wonder Woman wasn’t given a young partner, the writers told stories of her as a kid when he was Wonder Girl. They then promptly forgot she was a flashback character and treated her as her own entity, sort of Wonder Woman’s Robin.

At some point someone at DC must have realized that if their adult heroes teamed up to become the bestselling Justice League, perhaps their kid partners could also team up.

The Brave and the Bold was one of DC’s experimental titles, so in July of 1964 it must have seemed like the perfect venue in which to team Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. The book must have sold well because just a year later, in The Brave and the Bold #60, DC again teamed up their kid heroes, but this time also included Wonder Girl in the mix. But where the previous team-up book was simply named after the three male heroes, this time the team up got a name all its own: The Teen Titans.

Once again the book must have sold well, because it wasn’t long before the Teen Titans was given their own comic.

And the rest is history.

As I said before, I was an avid superhero fan and read everything that had superheroes in it. The Teen Titans should have been one of my favorite comics, but truth to tell, I bought the books only because I was buying everything else.

It’s not that the Titans was a bad book per se. It was magnificently illustrated, mostly by Nick Cardy, whose art was never less than absolutely wonderful.

I even enjoyed the stories. For a while at least, but truth to tell, the Titans was aimed at a very young audience and despite being well done, I was already getting too old to enjoy reading about kids. Reading about 12-year-olds when I was eight was great. Something to look forward to. But reading about 12-year-olds when I was 15 was no longer all that interesting to me.

The other problem was, the kids didn’t feel or act like any same-aged kids I knew. They spoke in a supposedly hip slang nobody I knew ever 2 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

by M a r v

Wolfman

used. Sorry, but “feeling groovy” and “hip” went out years before, if it was ever a thing in the first place.

The Teen Titans was aimed at a young audience, while across town, at Marvel, Spider-Man, their same-aged, big-time teenage character, was aimed at a much older and more discerning readership.

Somehow, I cared about what Spider-Man was doing and who he fought, and could not care nearly as much about the Titans.

Spider-Man’s world felt more real to me. He went to a high school I could relate to. He had problems I understood. His home life and school life were interesting to me. Unfortunately, the world of the Titans didn’t feel nearly as real.

Now, you might think I’m putting down the Titans and their stories, but I’m not. Teen Titans was aimed at a very young audience, and it successfully reached that audience.

But I was no longer very young. When I was between six and eight, I used to love reading Casper the Friendly Ghost and Baby Huey and the like, but like all kids, I grew up. I moved on from Casper to the world of Archie and Betty and Veronica. After a few years I left Riverdale behind and totally immersed myself in superheroes, which I’d been reading all along anyway. Nothing was wrong with Titans; they were great for the audience they were aimed at… the problem was, I was no longer a member of that audience.

I had already become a professional writer, working nearly a decade at Marvel, as writer, assistant editor, and finally editor-in-chief. After those years I decided to move on and in January of 1980, I returned to DC. I was looking for a book to write. I was given several titles but wanted something else.

For some reason, Teen Titans came to mind. Not the Titans I grew up with, but a book meant for the ’80s, not the ’60s.

I loved the Dick Grayson character, and Wonder Girl—in fact, I had written her origin story when I was at DC 11 years earlier. I also named her Donna Troy. For the most part I liked Kid Flash, but then loved writing him when the idea of making him a very reluctant hero came to mind. He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted out of life. Just like most people.

And I loved the idea of adding in Beast Boy (renamed Changeling) as a bit of comedy relief.

It was important to us that we fill out the rest of the team with brand-new characters that would resonate in 1980 but could never have been considered when the Titans was first conceived.

If you’re paying attention, I said above that it was important to “us.”

Here’s where the “us” comes in. DC was interested in Titans, but we needed an artist. I had worked with George Pérez when we were both at Marvel and thought he’d be perfect for the book. Fortunately, George said yes.

It turned out that George and I were on absolutely the same wavelength when it came to the characters and the book. Both of us wanted to make this book different from the original Titans. We weren’t interested in doing a book for young kids. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—it just wasn’t what we were interested in doing.

The readership in 1980 was much older than in the ’60s. And we wanted to create character related stories that we’d enjoy reading. Now, today, as adults, not then, when we were kids.

We broke several unstated rules. In issue #8, less than a year after we introduced the book, we did a story with absolutely no action. It was just about a day in their lives. The characters didn’t fight anyone. They were just people facing the non-superhero part of their life.

George and I introduced family members for most of the gang. Like real people they had parents and even grandparents. They also had jobs outside of being a Titan. They had full lives beyond wearing their spandex suits.

Donna Troy got married to, gasp, a mortal. An ordinary person. And their marriage was not interrupted, not even for a panel, by the expected villain attack.

Our goal was to produce emotional stories and based on all the fans who come up to our table at comic cons, we succeeded. By producing a comic we’d enjoy we created a comic others loved, too. And there is nothing at all better than that.

The Titans began as a book for kids. Today you can watch two different Titans cartoon shows. One for the youngest kids and the other for a slightly older crew. The Titans comic is for even older readers, and their live-action streaming TV show is aimed directly for adults.

Our goal to have Titans read by all ages has come to pass. Today, everyone, no matter how old, can read or watch the Titans characters George and I created all those years ago.

We could not be happier.

January 22, 2020

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

by G

Titans Together Reprisal of New Teen Titans #1’s cover produced by George Pérez for the bookstore edition of the 2005 Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

When editor Michael Eury suggested a “40 Greatest Moments” list as a way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The New Teen Titans, tumblers immediately started to turn in my mind. Certain moments stood out more than others, and I knew right away what number one would be.

What makes a moment great? In my opinion, three things: significance (as determined by longterm consequences), stakes (the higher the stakes, the more important the moment), and how the story was told. From my perspective, these are the moments that left the greatest impact, impact

len Cadigan

being measured on both an objective scale (births, deaths, members joining, members leaving) and a subjective one (emotional consequences).

Throughout its run, The New Teen Titans was successful not only for its plots but also its characterization, so while character moments may not have changed the world, they changed the character’s world, and that counts.

Which moments rocked the Titans’ universe?

Which ones made readers’ jaws drop? Which ones are remembered the most, and which are the ones you’ll never forget? Let’s find out!

4 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Generation Gap From No. 39: The JLA and Titans—together!

By Wolfman and Kane, from Action Comics #546 (Aug. 1983). Original art courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

40. Dear Mom and Dad (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #20, June 1982) There was no one thing that made The New Teen Titans a success, but one of the things that did was its focus on characterization.

Marv Wolfman and George Pérez learned early on that readers responded to the characters as if they were real people, so they showed their audience more than what the Titans did when they were wearing tights.

“Dear Mom and Dad” is a letter written by Wally West to his parents about a recent case as Kid Flash. Nobody died, nobody got a new costume, and nobody joined the team. Still, that was kind of the point. In its approach and execution, it was one of the comics that changed what super-hero comics could be.

39. Titans in Action (Action Comics #546, Aug. 1983) As part of Superman’s 45th anniversary in 1983, both Lex Luthor and Brainiac received upgrades in Action Comics #544 (June). In an attempt to kill Superman, the new Brainiac built an alien army that attacked Earth in Action Comics #546. Things looked so bad that Superman decided he needed help, so he asked the Justice League and the New Teen Titans for a hand. Together they repelled the alien horde, and saving the Earth always qualifies as a big deal. Written by Marv Wolfman with art by Gil Kane, the issue is an opportunity to see the New Teen Titans as drawn by a Silver Age legend.

38. In the Year 5708 (World’s Finest Comics #300, Feb. 1984) The Titans guest-star in a story where the stakes are as high as it gets: a cosmic threat to the Earth is causing earthquakes and time warps, and if something isn’t done about it, the planet will be destroyed. Things are so bad that Superman has to call in the JLA, and the Outsiders are enlisted while Batman is falling through time.

As far as the Titans go, Titans Island is subjected to a time warp and the team finds itself in the year 5708, where Earth is under attack by the Citadel. What makes the chapter so special is that while it’s only four pages long, it’s never been reprinted anywhere. It’s by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez (who also inked it), and it takes place right after Dick Grayson quit being Robin, so it’s criminally overlooked.

37. Wedding of Nightwing and Starfire (The New Titans #100, Aug. 1993) Superhero weddings are a comic-book tradition, and after more than a decade of their on-again, off-again relationship, Dick Grayson and Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran appeared ready to tie the knot in a holographic, cardstock-covered 100th anniversary issue.

It didn’t happen, of course—Dark Raven saw to that. And so ended a Titans era, in more ways than one.

36. Changing of the Guard (The New Titans #114 and 0, Sept. and Oct. 1994) Timed to coincide with DC’s Zero Hour event in 1994, the Titans received a complete roster shake-up. Gone was Nightwing as leader, and in his place was Arsenal, who led a lineup that included Impulse, Damage, Supergirl, the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern, and Mirage and Terra from Team Titans.

Within a year, the book was cancelled, not due to the change as much as the change failed to prevent it.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

35. Total Chaos (The New Titans #90–92, Deathstroke #14–16, Team Titans #1–3, Sept.– Nov. 1994) Straight out of Armageddon 2001, a new team of Titans traveled back in time to kill Donna Troy before she could give birth to the evil Lord Chaos. Preceded by the debut of the Team Titans months earlier, “Total Chaos” crossed over between three titles—The New Titans, Deathstroke the Terminator, and the newly launched Team Titans—and was an early-’90s attempt to make the Titans relevant again.

Team Titans was launched complete with four double-sized #1s, each of which told the origin of a different character in the first half, with the same group adventure in the second. It would last until it was cancelled as part of Zero Hour’s clearing of the Titans’ deck.

34. Titans and Outsiders Team Up (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #37 and Batman and the Outsiders #5, Dec. 1983) With both Batman and Robin being at the helms of their respective teams, it was inevitable that the two squads would meet and their leaders would clash. Wrapped in covers that had to be placed side-by-side to see the full picture, the Titans/Outsiders team-up wasn’t just a story that the readers wanted to see, it was an acknowledgement by Batman that his protege had grown up and was a man in his own right. It was the beginning of the two coming back together as a family, and a redefinition of their relationship as adults.

33. Titans vs. JLA (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #4, Feb. 1981) Generations clashed when the Titans took on their senior counterparts in the JLA. Thematically, it was a generation gap story that showed the Titans weren’t kids anymore, nor were they taking orders from their mentors. What it also revealed was the ability of the new team to go toe-to-toe with the JLA, and win.

32. The B-Team (The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #20, May 1986) With the Titans roster in shambles and members of the team scattered not just on Earth, but in the stars, Wonder Girl was forced to put together a B-Team that consisted of reserve members. But the new squad doesn’t have the chemistry of the old, and things don’t go according to plan.

This story is noteworthy for the addition to the Titans roster of the new Robin, Jason Todd, who would stick around for a year (our time, not theirs).

When Titans Clash… (…Sorry, we couldn’t resist.) From No. 35: It’s “Total Chaos” on this stupendous splash by Tom Grummett and Al Vey from Marv Wolfman’s New Titans #90 (Sept. 1992). Original art courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

31. Games (2011)

When George Pérez returned to the Titans in 1988, the original intention was for him to collaborate with Marv Wolfman on a Titans graphic novel. Instead, for commercial reasons, that project was shunted over into the Titans comic itself as the five-part “Who is Wonder Girl?” storyline.

But the idea for a Titans graphic novel wouldn’t die, and so Games was born. Or stillborn, as it took over 20 years to complete. Pérez came down with artist’s block, so it was shelved.

After false hope in 2005, it was finally completed, then published in 2011.

Games reads like a really good lost Annual from the late ’80s. Or a double Annual, as it runs 120 pages long. As the swan song of the Wolfman/Pérez Titans team, it is a worthy addition to their canon.

6 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

30. Titans vs. Titans (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #11–12, Sept.– Oct. 1981) When the male Titans are off looking for the missing Robotman, the girl Titans return to Paradise Island to try and save Changeling’s life after an attack by Deathstroke. While there they get into a conflict with the original Titans of Myth in a storyline that had real-world repercussions for Perez, in that it would later play a role in his decision to draw Wonder Woman.

29. The Life (and Death) of Kole (The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #9–11, June–Aug. 1985, Crisis on Infinite Earths #12, Mar. 1986)

As part of DC’s 50th Anniversary series Crisis on Infinite Earths, various writers were asked for characters that could be sacrificed to make the story count. Since Marv Wolfman was the writer of both Titans and Crisis, he couldn’t exclude himself. Kole was created to be the Titans’ casualty.

Since she was a doomed character, not much was done with Kole, but there were some very nice moments between her and the other new Titan, Jericho. And that José Luis García-López artwork!

28. Titans Together—Again (The New Teen Titans #130, Feb. 1996) After over 15 years and more than 200 comics, Marv Wolfman decided it was time to leave the Titans behind. Before he moved on, he managed to bring (almost all) the original members back together in one last story to say his goodbye. Even George Pérez returned to do the cover, an homage to NTT vol. 1 #1, and wrote “For ol’ time’s sake,” by his signature.

27. The Order Changeth (The New Titans #85–86, Apr.–May 1992) Pantha, Phantasm, Red Star, and Baby Wildebeest join the Titans as “Titans Hunt” comes to an end. A shot in the arm to the series when it really needed it, “Titans Hunt” introduced new characters, reintroduced old ones, and saw others leave via injury or death. When the dust settled, the Titans were an all-new, all-different team.

26. The Great Outdoors (Tales of the New Teen Titans #1–4, June–Sept. 1982) In 1981, the NTT was so hot that DC wanted to do more with it. The answer was to give it a spinoff miniseries in which the origins of the new characters (plus Changeling, the former Beast Boy) were told during a camping trip where the characters bonded not as teammates, but as friends. That was the difference between the Titans and the JLA: one was a family, whereas the other consisted of friends from work. It was so memorable that there was a flashback to it in Titans #25 (Mar. 2001) by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, no less, their first Titans story since the aborted Games graphic novel over ten years before.

25. Runaways (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #26–27, Dec. 1982– Jan. 1983) Social issues in comic books have long been a part of their DNA, and the Wolfman/Pérez team added to that tradition with a pair of issues about kids on the streets that didn’t feature supervillains, just showed it like it is.

Given the age of their readers, it was more than just a story, it was something they could relate to. Media attention followed and it was part of a moment when people started to realize that comics were growing up.

24. Just Say No (Keebler Company Presents DC Comics’ The New Teen Titans, 1983) In the ’80s, US First Lady Nancy Reagan’s anti-drug campaign found its way into comic books. Based on their bestselling status (as well as their ages), the New Teen Titans were the obvious choice to get that message across.

There were three comics released as part of the campaign, the first drawn by George Pérez himself. However, for licensing reasons, Robin had to be replaced by the Protector because the comic was sponsored by Keebler, and Batman and Robin were under license to Nabisco. [Editor’s note: For more info, see the Protector article later in this issue.]

23. His Name is… Blood! (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #21–22, July–Aug. 1982) As part of the “new” in New Teen Titans, the Wolfman/Pérez team also added new villains to the mix, and right near the top of that list has to be Brother Blood. The head of an international cult with tendrils in politics and the media, Blood was a formidable opponent who the Titans couldn’t just punch to defeat.

Worshipped by his followers, he plagued the Titans many times before

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 7

Controversial Kids (left) From No. 29: Kole vs. Wonder Girl, from New Teen Titans vol. 2 #9 (June 1985). By Wolfman, José Luis García-López, and Romeo Tanghal. (right) From No. 20: The largely unloved Danny Chase joins the TTs! TM & © DC Comics.

he was eventually beaten, but not before their leader suffered torture (and later, mind control) at his hands.

In many ways, the Blood storyline was ahead of its time with religious fervor, fake news, and politicians in the pocket of those with an agenda and enough money to make it happen. Or maybe things have always been that way, and always will.

lives of the characters, and that was a hallmark of the series for years to come.

The chapter that is best remembered to this day is the one where a brooding Cyborg meets a young boy with a prosthetic arm, which then inspires him to become a mentor to children with physical disabilities. Not every story that has long-term consequences is about saving the world.

22. Titans in Space (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #23–25, The New Teen Titans Annual vol. 1 #1, Sept.–Nov. 1982) This time, it’s personal. Starfire’s sister Blackfire comes to Earth to capture her sibling, so the Titans head off into outer space with the Omega Men to defeat the bad guys and rescue their teammate. Not only does the storyline increase the scope of their adventures, but it starts the tradition of wrapping up the year’s major storyline in a double-sized Annual. And the Omega Men got their own comic out of it, where a character called Lobo made his first appearance.

20. Danny Chase Joins the Titans (The New Teen Titans Annual vol. 2 #3, 1987) Arguably, no character provoked a greater response from Titans fans than Danny Chase, and almost all of it was bad. He was seen as a brat, an interloper, and an unwanted addition to the team who lacked a superhero name and identity. However, he later became a new character called Phantasm in the vein of the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger, when he bonded with the Souls of Azarath. Like him or hate him, he definitely had an impact on the team.

21. A Day in the Life (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #8, June 1981) Appearing a year before “Dear Mom and Dad,” “A Day in the Life” was the first time Wolfman and Pérez devoted an entire issue to the private lives of the Titans. Each vignette shows us what team members are doing on their day off, and the positive reaction to it helped shape the direction of the series.

Equal attention was given to the personal 8 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

19. Who is the Vigilante? (The New Teen Titans Annual vol. 1 #2, 1983) During the third year of The New Teen Titans, readers saw a lot of District Attorney Adrian Chase. Year Three featured many street-level stories (runaways, drug abuse), and Chase’s interaction with the Titans made him a significant supporting cast member.

So when his home was bombed and his family killed by the mob, he did what anybody in his situation would do: he got even.

He became not just a vigilante, but The Vigilante. Titans had a tradition at that time of building up a significant storyline for a resolution in that year’s Annual, and Chase was revealed as the Vigilante in The New Teen Titans Annual vol. 1 #2.

18. Starfire Gets Married (The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #17, Feb. 1986) From almost the very beginning of the series, Dick and Kory were an item. When she was called upon to marry a man she didn’t love for the good of her planet, she agreed. Call it duty, call it politics, call it whatever you will, but the end result was the same: Nightwing and Starfire split up, and their romance was finished—for a while.

17. Shades of Gray (Tales of the Teen Titans #55, July 1985) Following the events of “The Judas Contract,” Garfield Logan wanted blood. He wanted Deathstroke to die for what he did to Terra, but instead the two foes resolved their differences over a talk in a diner. For eschewing the traditional hero-versus-villain dynamic, it’s a story that ranks as one of Marv Wolfman’s favorites.

14. Speedy is a Baby Daddy (The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #20, May 1986) The Titan with the most problems in his personal life had to be Roy (Speedy) Harper. A recovering drug addict, Speedy then joined the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigations) as an undercover agent and fell in love with the assassin Cheshire, with whom he fathered a child. To make things more complicated, in the pages of Deathstroke she would later detonate a nuclear bomb, thus destroying the capital city of Qurac, murdering millions of people. That obliterated any possibility of redemption or reconciliation, and so their romance was doomed.

Love Stinks Speedy vs. his one-time lover, Cheshire, in the cliffhanger ending of New Teen Titans vol. 2 #20 (May 1986).

By Wolfman, Eduardo Barreto, and Romeo Tanghal.

TM & © DC Comics.

16. Donna Troy Gets Married (Tales of the Teen Titans #50, Feb. 1985) During the year when the Titans was published twice a month (as the direct sales’ New Teen Titans and newsstand’s Tales of the Teen Titans), most of the significant changes happened over in the direct sales book. But one event that was reserved for the 50th anniversary issue of Tales of the Teen Titans was the wedding of Donna Troy to Terry Long. Unlike other superhero weddings, no one crashed the ceremony and no one wore costumes. It was another story that highlighted the personal lives of the characters in a series where what happened to them when they were off duty was just as important as saving the world. It was also the last issue drawn by George Pérez during his first Titans run, which says something about how important the story was to him.

15. Speedy Becomes Arsenal (The New Titans #99, July 1993) After Robin became Nightwing and Kid Flash graduated into Flash, the clock was ticking for the other original Teen Titans to become adult superheroes. Eventually, it was Speedy’s turn, and now he did more than just shoot arrows.

Rechristened as the master marksman Arsenal, in short order he would also be the Titans’ leader.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 9

13. The Fall of Jericho (The New Titans #83, Feb. 1992) When Deathstroke’s other son joined the Titans during “The Judas Contract,” Jericho became an immediate fan-favorite. When it came time to shake things up during “Titans Hunt,” his status as a non-original member was a liability.

While the Titans had seen Raven go bad before, she was redeemed due to her founding member status. Jericho wasn’t as fortunate; he filled the need for a new traitor on the team, one whose betrayal would have an emotional impact, but who wasn’t an original NTT. As shocking as the revelation was that he was a traitor, the ante was upped when he was killed by his own father. The possibility that he would regain his sanity and be redeemed was thus erased. All bets were off with “Titans Hunt,” and the impression that no one was safe, and things would never be the same again, was accomplished with the death of Jericho.

12. X-Titans (Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, 1982) TM & © DC Comics and Marvel.

It was a natural combination: the bestselling Marvel comic and the bestselling DC comic, together for fans of both. Deathstroke and Darkseid were the DC villains; Dark Phoenix represented Marvel. Written by X-Men author Chris Claremont and illustrated by Walter Simonson, the 1982 crossover was the first of the intercompany comics to not be tabloid-sized, and the DC-produced sequel—with villains Brother Blood and the Hellfire Club—only got as far as the planning stages due to friction between the two publishers over the aborted, original JLA/Avengers.

What readers received was a blockbuster summer event that, if it had to be the last Marvel/DC team-up for a generation, went out on a high note.

11. Who is Wonder Girl? (The New Titans #50–56, Dec. 1988– June 1989)

The Fall of Jericho The Titans and Deathstroke, in the clutches of a traitor.

Original art to page 19 of New Titans #83, illo’ed by Tom Grummett and Al Vey. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

When George Pérez left The New Teen Titans vol. 2 in 1984 to draw Crisis on Infinite Earths, a lot of fans expected him to return once Crisis was over. Instead, there were other assignments, including a very successful run on Wonder Woman as both writer and illustrator that rebooted the character entirely.

The problem was that it negated Wonder Girl’s connection to Wonder Woman. So just like when she joined the Titans in the ’60s, Wonder Girl was now a character that, by all accounts, shouldn’t exist.

Something had to be done about that.

When Pérez did return to co-plot and illustrate the story in 1988, it was intended to be a graphic novel, not a second tour of duty.

Then someone thought that if George Pérez was drawing the Titans, he should actually be drawing the New Titans, and that graphic novel turned into the five-part storyline, “Who is Wonder Girl?” It not only heralded his return to the series, but it also addressed the issues inherent in Donna Troy’s origin due to his Wonder Woman reboot.

Basically, he broke it, so he had to fix it.

While the reunion of Wolfman and Pérez didn’t last as long as fans had hoped, they did reintroduce the character as Troia in a coda to the storyline, complete with a new costume. And Pérez did stick around for a while, as co-plotter and layout artist.

10. Terra Joins the Titans (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #30, Apr. 1983) Terra began as a character in a subplot in TNTT vol. 1 #26 where Changeling stopped her from destroying the Statue of Liberty. He later caught her after she robbed a bank (NTT vol. 1 #28), then brought her back to Titans Tower where she revealed she was being forced to break the law by terrorists that had kidnapped her parents.

It was a lie. Once the bad guys were dispatched, she joined the team in NTT vol. 1 #30, and it would be a few issues before it was revealed that all was not what it seemed. Terra was the first new member to join the New Teen Titans, and the comparisons between her and Kitty Pryde over in X-Men were as intentional as they were misleading.

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It’s a Wonderful Life Donna Troy reflects on her early TT experiences in Chapter One of New Titans #50’s landmark “Who is Wonder Girl?” By Wolfman, Pérez, and Bob McLeod.

Original art courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

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9. Avenging the Doom Patrol (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #13–16, Nov. 1981–Jan. 1982) When the original Doom Patrol was killed in the final issue of their own comic in 1968, almost a decade passed before the new Doom Patrol was launched in the pages of Showcase. But bringing their killers to justice was not achieved until the Titans did it in NTT vol. 1 #16, over 13 years after the original hard-luck heroes perished.

Notable for Marv Wolfman’s favorite Titans cover (#13, with Robotman hanging as a warning for others), if the average reader didn’t know who the Doom Patrol were before they read the storyline, they did after. The three-part adventure was a major catalyst for the later return of The Doom Patrol to DC’s lineup.

8. Introducing Deathstroke, the Terminator (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #2, Dec. 1980)

5. Finale (Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3, 1984) From the moment it was revealed that Terra was a traitor, fans were rooting for her to reform and stay with the team. But Marv Wolfman and George Pérez had other plans, and they stuck with them.

Her death was the culmination of a storyline whose seeds were laid over a year before with her introduction. Or it could be considered to have roots at the very beginning of the series, when the fugitive Starfire crashed into Grant Wilson’s apartment and ignited his hatred of the Titans. Once he became the Ravager and accepted a contract from H.I.V.E. to eliminate them, wheels were set in motion that cumulated in a double-sized Annual where Terra’s story came to an end. The fourth, and concluding part of “The Judas Contract,” stands as the payoff for a master class in storytelling.

Throughout the entirety of Marv Wolfman’s run as writer, no antagonist would cross paths with the Titans as much as Slade Wilson. Initially, he turned down a contract from H.I.V.E. to eliminate the team, then assumed the one left open when his son, Ravager, died. It was personal for Slade, and each side would leave its mark on the other during their many clashes, with death and betrayal among the longterm consequences of their battles.

7. Titans Together! (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #1, Nov. 1980)

Its cover has been paid homage many times, and unlike the Teen Titans revival of the ’70s, when the Titans were brought back in 1980, it was with a brand-new #1 (after a free preview in DC Comics Presents, of course!). The message was clear: new title, new series, new team.

As far as origins go, the story served the purpose of bringing the members of the team together.

Starfire escapes to Earth, where she is chased by Gordanians. The Titans, who are assembled by Raven, fight the aliens and rescue the alien princess.

The issue ends with Raven’s explanation that the team was gathered to fight an even greater menace, one that she doesn’t name. That would be her father, Trigon, during his first attempt to enslave the Earth.

6. Terra Revealed as Traitor (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #34, Aug. 1983) There are few moments in comics that were a greater surprise than the revelation that Terra had been working for Deathstroke all along. It changed the direction of the series, and it was a ride that wouldn’t end until the conclusion of “The Judas Contract” a year later. It even eclipsed the issue’s actual ending, where Adrian Chase’s apartment was blown up by the mob, setting in motion his creation as the Vigilante.

The Bad Seed Terra, the double-crosser, from New Teen Titans vol. 1 #34 (Aug. 1983). By Wolfman, Pérez, and Tanghal.

TM & © DC Comics.

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4. Nightwing and Jericho Become Titans (Tales of the Teen Titans #44, July 1984) After escaping Deathstroke as part of his contract on the Titans, Dick Grayson joined forces with the mercenary’s son, Jericho, to free his teammates in his new identity of Nightwing.

Long anticipated since he’d hung up his cape as Robin, the assumption of a new identity for the former sidekick was a moment that transcended the Titans series.

And Jericho became the first legitimate new member of the team since its inception, as Terra was an infiltrator with no intentions of sticking around.

3. Robin and Kid Flash Quit (The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #39, Feb. 1984)

Trigon Triumphant Marv and George, firing on all cylinders, in this explosive spread from New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1 (Aug. 1984).

From his debut in 1940, Batman TM & © DC Comics. and Robin were a team. But then Dick Grayson grew up— gradually—and the Boy Wonder became the Teen Wonder, then he became a college dropout who split with his mentor. The time had come to pass the mantle on to another, and for Dick Grayson to find his own identity as an adult.

Likewise, Wally West decided to call it a day as Kid Flash. His wanted a normal life, so he returned to school while his childhood friend explored the next stage of his life as just Dick Grayson. What the future held for both was uncertain at the time, and the decision to not have the former Robin immediately assume a new costumed identity was a bold choice.

2. Who is Donna Troy?

(The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #38, Jan. 1984) When Marv Wolfman first wrote The Teen Titans back in the late ’60s, the issue of Wonder Girl’s existence was one of the first topics he tackled. He was the one who gave her the origin that she was an orphan baby found in a burning building by Wonder Woman, who then brought her to Paradise Island, where she gained superpowers.

Over 15 years later, Wolfman—along with George Pérez, whose cinematic opening sequence immediately alerted readers that they were in for something special—finished what he started with a heart-touching story that solved the mystery of Donna Troy’s identity. Its emotional impact cannot be discounted. It is, perhaps, the best single-issue representation of the entire Wolfman/Pérez Titans run. In a series known for its characterization, the mystery of “Who is Donna Troy?”—and how her childhood friend, Robin, solved it—was so good when it came out that it caught people off guard by how good it was. And that was with an audience already accustomed to excellence.

1. The Terror of Trigon (The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1–5, Aug. 1984–Feb. 1985)

The first time Trigon attempted to enslave the Earth, he was defeated by the New Teen Titans. The second time, the Earth wasn’t as lucky.

Chosen as the storyline to launch the new direct sales edition of The New Teen Titans, the return of Trigon was as earthshaking as it was well executed. The Titans had to free a planet from an interdimensional tyrant who had transformed it with his very evil. At the same time, they had to battle evil versions of themselves. On one front, the Earth was at stake. On another, their very souls.

Even the Justice League was down and out, so the fate of the Earth fell to the Titans. As Nightwing put it, “We’re mankind’s last hope…

There’s nobody but us now. No cavalry coming over the nearest hill.

We’re it, Lilith. And we’ve got to do something!”

On an artistic level, the book never looked better. George Pérez inked his own pencils for the first two issues, and his hand-colored covers grabbed the reader’s attention. It was to be his last Titans storyline until he briefly returned to the series almost four years later, effectively making “The Terror of Trigon” the conclusion of the Wolfman/Pérez run that began in 1980, a little over four years before. Concurrent with its publication were new issues of Tales of the Teen Titans, with pencils by Pérez, but chronologically those issues took place before The New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1–5, so “The Terror of Trigon” was it.

GLEN CADIGAN is the author/editor of The Titans Companion and its sequel, The Titans Companion 2. To produce both books he read over 1,500 Titans-related comics, including spinoffs, solo series, and adjacent titles. Unlike the Flaming Carrot, he did not lose his mind. He has a website at www.glencadigan.com.

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by E

d Lute

During the Golden Age, Silver Age, and most of the Bronze Age of Comics, if you asked someone who their favorite dark-clad DC superhero was, the response would overwhelmingly be Batman. This changed for some beginning in 1980. While most responses are always going to be the Caped Crusader, a new contender for favorite dark-clad DC superhero hit the comic scene 40 years ago when the mysterious and enigmatic Raven made her debut along with the rest of the New Teen Titans.

Most typical comic-book superheroes were heroic characters that fought on the side of light and didn’t have mysteries surrounding their origins or their motives.

This wasn’t the case with the shadowy Raven.

Initially, Raven was an enigma to readers. However, as readers learned more about her and the horrors that she had to face, they grew to love this complex character.

But just what did she have to face, and what kept her at a distance from her team members?

BACK ISSUE examines Raven’s creation, how she helped to form the New Teen Titans, why she almost wasn’t on the team, why she is such a morally complex character, and how her presence in the New Teen Titans opened up the series to darker stories.

DC COMICS PRESENTS RAVEN

By the late 1960s, Marvel Comics had taken over the spot as the number-one comic-book company in the world, sales-wise and creativity-wise. DC Comics, home to the original comic-book superhero Superman, needed to do something to help DC regain the top spot. Although it would take many years for the publisher to regain market dominance, there was one comic book that helped to spark their sales and creativity again: The New Teen Titans.

Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez along with some assistance from editor Len Wein (1948– 2017), the series which premiered 40 years ago became more than just a hit comic book, it became an iconic one.

Teen Titans had been a sturdy series for DC Comics during the Silver Age, partially due to Robin’s inclusion and popularity due to the TV-inspired Batmania, By the Bronze Age, however, the series had seen sales decline until it was ultimately cancelled in late 1972. A 1976 Teen Titans revival only lasted seven issues before the book was cancelled again.

So when Wein, Wolfman, and Pérez wanted to reboot it, they were met with resistance from then-DC Comics Publisher Jeanette Kahn. According to then-DC Comics Manager of Business Affairs Paul Levitz, “Jenette was initially reluctant to revive the Titans because the previous incarnation had been commercially and creatively weak, in her opinion. But she became enthusiastic as Marv, George, and Len (as editor) talked her through their ideas.” After hearing the creators’ ideas for the New Teen Titans series, Kahn became excited for the new series and gave it the green light.

When the team premiered in 1980, their first appearance wasn’t in the first issue of The New Teen

Who’s That Girl?

The enigmatic Raven reveals herself in the New Teen Titans preview in DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980), by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, and Dick Giordano.

TM & © DC Comics.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 17

Dream Girl Robin is rudely awakened by nightmares—and Raven!—in The New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980).

TM & © DC Comics.

Titans but as a special 16-page preview included in It was during the Titans’ special 16-page preview in the Superman team-up title DC Comics Presents (DCCP) DCCP, where they defeated terrorists who were inside of #26 (Oct. 1980). This was the first time that DC Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Comics had produced a special preview and Laboratories that readers were first introduced added it to a comic, but it wouldn’t be to Raven. In the story, Robin, the Teen Wonder the last. According to Levitz, “I don’t was called in to S.T.A.R. Labs, a construct of Len Wein’s during his days of writing remember how we came up with the preview idea, but it was a good tool.

Superman in the early 1970s, but during Used it a number of times in those the incident he kept having visions of days.” The 16-page preview initiative fighting alongside a new incarnation of proved so successful that it was used his former superhero group, the Teen many more times to various degrees Titans. This incarnation of the team of success throughout the 1980s, not only included Teen Titans mainstays launching such new concepts as All-Star Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and former Doom Squadron and Amethyst, Princess of Patrol member and honorary Titan Gemworld. (After first premiering in Beast Boy (now called the Changeling), the 16-page preview format, New Teen but also new team members Cyborg, paul levitz Starfire, and… Raven.

Titans would get the chance to pass © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

Readers were left wondering who along the favor along to other new series when the title featured special previews including these new characters were, especially the enigmatic Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in New Teen Raven. Was she hero, villain, or something else entirely?

Titans #16, Feb. 1982, and Night Force in issue #21, While fans wouldn’t have to wait long to find out more July 1982.) about Raven with the first issue of the regular series hitting newsstands the next month, as they read further they would be faced with more questions than answers about this shadowy new character.

In New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980), readers learned that Robin’s visions about a new incarnation of the Teen Titans were dreams brought on by Raven to prepare him for her arrival. Raven told Robin that she needed his help as well as the help of the other New Teen Titans.

The rest of this issue dealt with bringing together the superheroic teens. But why did Raven need to unite them? Her reason for needing the heroes wouldn’t be revealed during this issue, but soon thereafter.

Raven brought the New Teen Titans together for her own purposes, but without her needing the teens’ special abilities, the new team might never have been formed. However, even though she was instrumental in the formation of the New Teen Titans, originally Raven wasn’t even supposed to be on the team!

THE TITAN WHO ALMOST WASN’T

Initially, when Marv Wolfman was developing the new series, he hadn’t included Raven or a supernatural-type character on the team. It wasn’t until editor Len Wein suggested (insisted, actually) that he include a supernatural character on the team that Wolfman relented.

In TwoMorrows’ The Titans Companion by Glen Cadigan, Wein discussed why he wanted a paranormal character on the team. “The biggest contribution I probably made out of general back and forth between two creative guys is the existence of the character who became Raven, who was also [the character] who motivated the entire book. Marv didn’t want to do a supernaturally orientated character. I think you need one; you need somebody who fills that need. He very reluctantly came up with Raven, I guess with George, and they came back and later said, ‘You know, you were absolutely right. That’s the thing that made the made the book work.’ I thanked him for that.”

In BACK ISSUE #33, Wolfman confirmed Wein’s account and discussed the inspirations for Raven: “Long before I presented the Titans concept to DC, I had worked out all the characters in detail and the approach I had wanted to take and Len [Wein] pretty much agreed with it. [However], he felt DC needed a Doctor Strange character—a sorcerer who cast bolts, etc.—and wanted me to do one in the Titans. I refused because I didn’t want that kind of magical character in the book as I was going for a very different feel. Also, I already had Starfire, 18 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

who cast bolts, and Cyborg, who fired sonic waves, Raven are created in two waves. I had to present my and didn’t want anyone else whose powers shot out of ideas for Titans before George [Pérez] agreed to do the their fingers in that fashion. book, so I came up with all of Raven’s powers and “Instead of doing what he asked for, I combined two background. Then once George signed on, his designs characters I had previously created: an empath that was further developed her.” in [Marvel Comics’] Werewolf by Night (Topaz—I think After creating the new characters for the series, was her name—had the ability to feel what others felt) Wolfman needed an artist to bring his ideas to life. with a character I had created as a teen called Gabriel Enter artist extraordinaire George Pérez. Pérez, who and later on changed the name to Janus. That announced his retirement from comics on January character was the son of the devil, Asmodeus, 19th, 2019 [see the Pérez Tribute elsewhere who would come to Earth to fight his father. in this issue], would put the finishing touches I also used some of that concept in Tomb on the series when he was brought on as artist. He designed the looks of the of Dracula in a similarly named Janus, but that character, though the son new characters and helped to give life of Dracula, was actually an angel sent to Wolfman’s ideas. to fight his father. Since the Titans In The Titans Companion, Pérez was about parents vs. their children, stated, “In the case of the three new I combined those ideas, then came up characters, I was following the character with Azarath as an in-between viewconcepts that Marv and Len had come point. Raven’s inner self was the darkness up with. Taking a cue that Raven was of [demonic supervillain] Trigon, and very mysterious à la Phantom I felt that had to be tempered with Stranger, I took that as a starting george pérez the pacifistic cult of Azar, so Raven point, and using the shadow face would be caught between two worlds, where half her face is always in shadow © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. creating an eternal conflict. Raven’s despite the lighting was a shtick that peaceful upbringing was always at war with the darkness I obviously got from Phantom Stranger, who also inside her and would make for endless storylines. had hat same deal. He had the long, billowing cape, So instead of doing a sorcerer with mystical powers, as did she, and in her case since her name was Raven, I presented Raven and Len accepted her without problem.” I decided to create a silhouette for her that would However, that wasn’t all to Raven’s creation. Marv look like a bird. The hood was designed so that in Wolfman elaborates to BACK ISSUE, “Characters like profile it would end up looking like a bird’s head,

Mind Games (left) Raven and Arella, on an innovatively laid-out page from NTT #4 (Feb. 1981), by Wolfman, Pérez, and Romeo Tanghal. (right) Raven creates disturbing visions of the Justice League of America in New Teen Titans #4.

Original art page courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 19

Who’s Your Daddy?

Raven cringes before her father, the terrifying Trigon, in NTT #5 (Mar. 1981). Guest-penciled by Curt Swan.

TM & © DC Comics.

so that when her [soul] self came out, since that was done in full black, it looked like a gigantic black raven. Her name and the Phantom Stranger touchstone were key to how I designed her.”

Pérez wanted all the character designs to stand out from the others. He had specific reasons for the costume that he gave to Raven. In The Titans Companion Pérez recalled, “I also designed her specifically so she wouldn’t be an action character. She would be a character who was more contemplative, which is why I gave her a full slit skirt and regular pumps, so that she didn’t look like a girl who was dressed practically for action. Raven’s costume, actually, was rather simple, but there’s still the fact that the cape and her skirt would provide me with different visual flourishes that I could do when I had the wind pick it up.”

SUPERHEROINE EMPOWERMENT

When Wolfman created the team, he wanted it to stand out from other superhero teams in many ways, but especially regarding the women on its roster. One aspect that he wanted to address was the ratio of women to men. Usually there are more men than women on a super-team, such as the Justice League of America or the original iteration of the Teen Titans. In fact, the original Teen Titans were a boys-only club when they made their debut in The Brave and the Bold #54 (June–July 1964), which featured Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad teaming up. It wasn’t until The Brave and the Bold #60 (June–July 1965) that Wonder Girl joined the team and they first took the name of “Teen Titans.” While there were still more males on the team than females, it wasn’t as big a difference as with other teams, with the New Teen Titans’ four men-to-three women ratio.

Wolfman also wanted the women in the group to be among the more powerful on the team. He recalls to BACK ISSUE, “I not only wanted multiple women in the group, but I made them the most powerful characters. Wonder Girl, Starfire, and Raven are easily the most powerful members of the group. DC had no problem and the fans seemed to love them.” Having Raven as one of the more powerful members of the team helped to make her stand out from other superheroes because at the time she was created, superheroines were usually depicted as the weaker members of the team. Wolfman was successful not only in integrating more female characters onto the team, but also in changing how fans saw female superheroes, not as damsels in distress but as superheroes in their own right and ones who could handle themselves.

DAUGHTER OF THE DEMON

With the series underway, several members of the group expressed concerns regarding Raven and her motives, but it wasn’t long before this dark-clad figure revealed why she need to form the New Teen Titans. In New Teen Titans #3 (Jan. 1981), Raven divulged that she needed the Titans to help her fight the other dimensional demon Trigon the Terrible from taking over the Earth.

Issue #4 (Feb. 1981) presented readers with further information about Raven, but also with a conundrum because it revealed that before helping to bring the teen heroes together, Raven attempted to gain help from the Justice League of America but was denied their help due to the JLA’s Zatanna’s detection of an evil inside of the young woman. Why did Raven not tell her teammates about contacting the Justice League before forming the New Teen Titans, and how does she have an evil inside of her?

In the next issue, Raven revealed that not only does she want to save Earth from Trigon the Terrible but that she is Trigon’s daughter. It was Trigon’s evil that Zatanna detected inside of Raven—it wasn’t Raven herself, but the evil that is her father.

Trigon’s powers prevented Raven from previously revealing the whole story to the rest of the Titans.

Trigon was a demon from another dimension. He not only wanted to rule his own dimension, but also Earth as well.

He ruled through fear, and even killed a young girl who referred to him as a monster in issue #6 (Apr. 1981). He was pure evil.

It was this evil that made up half of Raven’s DNA. Trigon wasn’t just demonic in his actions but also in his appearance. George Pérez, in The Titans Companion, described the creation of Trigon: “Trigon is Hot Stuff on steroids. I didn’t know he was going to be colored red until the comic came out, so I said, ‘My God, now with the loincloth, he does look like Hot Stuff from the Harvey comics, with extra eyes and obviously big and bad.’ Basically, he was just the Devil incarnate. He was a real fun character to design because he was just pure evil. Taking the riff from the Emperor’s New Clothes, and then having Trigon actually kill the child was something that just said, ‘Oh, yes, this is one fella who’s really, really bad.’”

Raven and the rest of the Teen Titans were able to defeat Trigon with the help of Raven’s mother Arella, who sacrificed herself to keep Trigon imprisoned so that he couldn’t attack Earth again.

This storyline provided readers with Raven’s origin and tragic relationship with her father.

Even though Raven’s teammates didn’t fully trust her, they still came to her rescue when she needed them. This was to their benefit as well because it was during the battle against Trigon that the team started to learn how to fight together instead of as individuals.

The Trigon storyline was one of the biggest and most important of the New Teen Titans, so you would have thought it would have had more buildup. Why was the story arc place so early in the series? “Since my theme for Titans was ‘family in turmoil,’ I thought ultimate good

20 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

vs. ultimate evil would be a great starting place,” Wolfman tells BACK ISSUE. Although Raven’s origin appeared very early in the series, it wasn’t supposed to. Wolfman recalls, “We hadn’t planned to reveal her origin so early.”

Raven’s relationship to her demonic father sets her apart from her teammates both literally and figuratively.

While most of the other members of the New Teen Titans were humans with exceptional powers and abilities, Raven was half-demon. She was not like the other Titans.

Raven resonated with many readers because many teenagers feel that their parents are overbearing, so they could see similarities between Raven’s situation and their own. While all the Titans felt alienated from others as a result of their powers and responsibilities, Raven has always been the most alienated. Even the alien Starfire is more accepted by society than Raven. This helped readers to empathize with her. Many teenagers and adults could see themselves in her, thus providing a connection with the readership.

As the series progressed, Pérez began to take a more active role in plotting the stories. He soon gained a co-plotter acknowledgement in the credits, so he was as much responsible for Raven’s development as a character as was Wolfman.

Although the Wolfman/Pérez duo was working at DC Comics at the time, they used the “Marvel Method” for the series. Wolfman tells BACK ISSUE, “Our working relationship evolved as we worked. In the very beginning I’d work up the whole story then George would not only draw it he’d add in tons of great ideas. Later on, I’d come in with the basic idea for the story then we’d develop it together. George is not only a great artist, he’s a great storyteller and understands the characters as well as I did. This became a true partnership where it becomes impossible to say who came up with this idea or that idea. We were in it together.”

decisions again if needed. Raven was a complex character with whom readers could empathize because life isn’t black and white, right or wrong; there are many gray areas, and Raven always seemed to work there.

But from where did she get her moral complexity?

While Raven’s origin had been shown before, a more detailed look at her upbringing was just around the corner, and it provided readers with deeper understanding of this multifaceted character.

THE TALE OF RAVEN

In 1982, DC Comics issued the miniseries Tales of the New Teen Titans, produced by Wolfman and Pérez and edited by Wein. This four-issue story fleshed out the origins of the newly created Titans (Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire) as well the former Doom Patrol member the Changeling. A more detailed origin for Raven was featured in the second issue (July 1982).

Paul Levitz tells BI, “The regular series was doing very well, so we wanted more. I assume Len [Wein] sat down with Marv and George and talked them into doing a Titans mini, and they came up with the idea between them.”

She’s Got Soul Raven’s soul-self, as seen in NTT #8 (June 1981).

TM & © DC Comics.

SOUL (WO)MAN

It is not just Raven’s parentage that sets her apart from the other Titans, it’s also her powers. Raven is an empath. According to Wolfman, “Raven can take other people’s pain, absorb it, and finally release the pain, helping cure whoever she was with. Raven can also move between dimensions and appear elsewhere, which makes it look like teleportation. She has many variations of those powers, too. Essentially, she lives on the emotions of others but is not permitted to have her own lest she free the demon within.”

Humans are extremely emotional, so someone who must keep her emotions in check has to keep her distance.

Thus, Raven couldn’t get as close to her teammates as they got to each other.

Raven’s soul powers made her one of the most powerful of the New Teen Titans. She can travel to other dimensions. She has even used her powers to manipulate people on occasion. Most notably was her manipulation of Kid Flash (Wally West) that started in the first issue of the series when he declined Robin’s invitation to rejoin the Titans and Raven “convinced” Wally to join up.

Her manipulations of Wally continued throughout the series. The manipulations along with other factors ultimately caused him to leave the Teen Titans with New Teen Titans #39 (Feb. 1984). He would return from time to time before becoming the Flash himself after the universe-altering events of DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.

At the time, superheroes were not known for manipulating their friends, but Raven would do what it took to achieve her goals. Even though she did what had to be done, it took a toll on her and she showed regret, but there was little doubt she would make the same New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 21

Wolfman concurs about the miniseries’ creation. “DC requested the miniseries.

I don’t remember if they asked for them to be origins or if it was our idea, but I wanted to make sure it was a powerful origin story.”

If Marv wanted to deliver a powerful origin story, he succeeded. Although Raven’s origin had already been told in the pages of the regular series, it was retold with added detail in the pages of this miniseries.

The issue provided a fuller, more detailed look at Raven’s past, including how her mother Arella ended up in the inter-dimensional city of Azarath, how some citizens of the peace-loving community tried to kill an infant Raven, how Raven was raised by the goddess Azar to keep her emotions in check, and how Trigon found both his wife and daughter in Azarath. The additions made Raven’s story even more powerfully tragic.

The story also fleshed out Azarath, the place where Raven grew up, which helped readers to better understand Raven’s upbringing. In The Titans Companion, Wolfman discussed, “Azarath was a society built off of the intent to try to be very logical. Comics didn’t do that very often back then, but that was one of the things both George and I believed in, so Azarath was very much a society that we put together to make sense of things, a society where pacifism would take root. Now, a lot of these [societies] were tried in reality, and, of course, they never worked. That’s why in many cases Azarath was always doomed to failure, and always had problems, because one cannot, nor should not, contain emotion.

But they did it because [of] the whole Trigon connection, and all of that.”

THAT HUMAN TOUCH

Even though Raven’s father was a demon, Raven herself was only half-demon because her mother was human. Raven struggled to keep control of her emotions lest her demonic side be let loose. She did show her human side during the Bronze Age New Teen Titans series. This was usually done in smaller characterdriven moments and not big action scenes.

One of the best aspects of Raven’s character has always been her struggle to contain the evil inside of her. According to Wolfman, “Being at war with yourself is fodder for great dramatic stories. Although we’re not trying to keep demons away, the idea of fighting your baser instincts is something everyone can understand.” That’s one of the reasons that Raven is an engaging character.

Time and time again, Raven showed her humanity. This was especially evident in issue #5 (Mar. 1981). During the issue, Raven chose to give herself up to Trigon and rule at his side if he would leave Earth alone. By doing this she gave up her freedom and agreed to become a servant of Trigon, thus showing her humanity in the process.

One of the best aspects of The New Teen Titans was the small, intimate character moments that appeared throughout the series. While all the characters (including some of the antagonists such as Deathstroke the Terminator) benefitted from these moments, Raven benefitted greatly from them. They enabled Wolfman, Pérez, and the other creators to explore her character and show how she struggled with her heritage and keeping her emotions under control lest she fall victim to Trigon’s influence.

“Everyone’s seen every fight scene imaginable, so it’s the small, human touches that define a series,” Wolfman tells BACK ISSUE. “I’m not interested in writing something that is just action-based. To me, everything has to be character-driven. If you care about the characters, you’ll care about the book.”

These smaller character moments helped to develop The New Teen Titans to achieve its iconic status.

One of the best examples of smaller character moments in The New Teen Titans was issue #8 (June 1981). The entire issue, titled “A Day in the Lives…”, was composed of shorter segments for each character, including Raven. We see what happens when Raven’s soul-self is separated from her body for more than five minutes and the pain she must endure. She was one second late in reuniting her soul-self with her physical body, resulting in her soul being sent to a dimension from which she had to fight to get out. The experience made her realize that she was stronger than she believed. All the Titans were given great character moments in this issue, which is a fan-favorite, but Raven’s stands out as one of the best and strongest.

Young Raven (top) Raven’s heritage is chronicled, (bottom) as well as her childhood, in her solo spotlight in Tales of the New Teen Titans #2 (July 1981).

TM & © DC Comics.

22 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Changing Features (top) The troubled Titan’s altered appearance, as seen in Tales of the New Teen Titans #2.

Art by Pérez and Pablo Marcos. (bottom) Todd Klein’s Raven logo used on that cover and elsewhere. Both, courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

THE NEW, NEW TEEN TITANS

The New Teen Titans was one of DC Comics’ bestselling titles during the early 1980s, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that DC would want to capitalize on the series’ success by adding another New Teen Titans title for readers to purchase.

DC Comics’ former Answer Man Bob Rozakis tells BACK ISSUE, “A decision was made to have a direct-sales-only TT book and one that would have newsstand distribution. The intention was to follow the hardcover/softcover model of the book-publishing business. The stories from the direct book would be published in the newsstand version a year later.”

The hardcover/softcover model is one in which a more expensive hardcover book is published and then nine months to a year later (or sometimes more), a less expensive paperback book is published.

According to Paul Levitz, “The so-called hardcover/ softcover might have been my idea—or might have been someone else on the team. The concept was to allow us to shift to a direct-market-only title without abandoning the newsstand sales, which were still a significant contributor.”

“But they had to fill the first year [of the ‘softcover’ TT] with something,” adds Bob Rozakis, “so there was new material in both.”

In 1984, the original New Teen Titans became Tales of the Teen Titans (not to be confused with the earlier Tales of the New Teen Titans miniseries), maintaining the original series’ numbering, and a new volume of The New Teen Titans was created, starting afresh with issue #1. The new title was printed on higher-quality “Baxter” paper for distribution to the direct-only market, meaning newsstand readers wouldn’t be able to find it at their local traditional outlets. After the first year of original stories in each of the books, the two series would dovetail when Tales of the Teen Titans began reprinting the Baxter New Teen Titans issues so that readers without access to a comic shop would be able to read these adventures. Eventually, Tales of the Teen Titans ended and only the second volume of New Teen Titans remained.

With the introduction of the new Baxter series, Wolfman and Pérez had a go-big-or-go-home mentality with the first story arc. It began with a Raven-centric storyline that saw the return of Trigon. Wolfman tells BACK ISSUE, “As soon as we knew we were doing this second series, we knew the story had to be big and powerful. Since Raven was a catalyst for the entire Titans saga, it made sense to do this story to launch the new series.”

In New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1 (Aug. 1984), Cyborg discovered that Raven’s features had been changing until she resorted to wearing her hood all the time.

The change to Raven’s features fits into the storyline perfectly. However, the change to Raven’s features hadn’t been intentional. George Pérez, in The Titans Companion, described how the changes to Raven manifested: “That was one of those ‘I meant to do that’ New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 23

Inside the Cult The Titans invade Brother Blood’s sinister church— and Raven wears pants!—in New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982).

TM & © DC Comics.

moments, where as I developed as an artist. I started paying more attention to faces. When I started the Titans, I was right off Marvel, so my characters tended to look rather generic, and it wasn’t until I got more into the swing of it, more understanding characters, more by getting personally involved with the characters, that the characters started to develop really individual looks, where there was no mistaking Raven, Donna [Wonder Girl], and Kory [Starfire] visually, beyond the fact that they were extremes. The hairstyles would definitely make them different. Raven had that jewel on her forehead; Kory had the blank eyes, which become rounder as the series progressed. She became taller as the series progressed. Donna’s face became more defined, and Raven started becoming thinner and [gaunter] and much more extreme looking to the point that it became a perfect thing to do.

“Marv and I talked about it, that since many of the books were being reprinted, we wanted to do something that explained why she looked so radically different.

Kory, she got taller. That’s one of the noticeable things about her. But she wasn’t substantially changed—nor

was Donna—but Raven was, so I played that up and did a scene where it looked like it was planned all along, that her face was a natural progression of her change, as opposed to the natural evolution of my artistic abilities.”

Marv Wolfman adds, “This wasn’t planned, but it’s something George and I both noticed and decided to play with. I don’t remember if George suggested it or I did but it made for a great, surprise reveal.”

During the first story arc for the new series (issues #1–5), Raven’s features changed even more with her turning demonic like her father. Her skin turned red and she grew extra eyes. Raven had always fought to keep her demonic side at bay, but this time she lost the battle.

This storyline is one of the best and darkest of the entire series. Trigon with Raven at his side destroyed Azarath and conquered the Earth. The Titans and Arella killed the demonic Raven and used her soul-self to defeat Trigon. Raven’s body then rose from where she lay and disappeared.

Like any great comic-book superhero, this wouldn’t be the last time readers saw Raven; she would return, but not for a while.

Not only is this one of the best storylines in the series but it also features some of the best artwork that Pérez produced for it. After this story arc, George Pérez left the series to work on other material including Crisis on Infinite Earths and the rebooted Wonder Woman.

Even though Raven would be AWOL from the series for a while, her presence would still be felt.

BRING ON THE DARKNESS

In the beginning of The New Teen Titans, the new members of the team were created to reflect different genres of fiction. Raven was created to allow Wolfman and Pérez to do darker, more horrific stories.

In addition to the Trigon storyline, the New Teen Titans were faced with many terrifying storylines throughout the run of the series, the result of having Raven on the team.

Readers were also introduced to Brother Blood and the Church of Blood in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #21 (July 1982). Brother Blood and the Church of Blood would return several times during the course of the series. The NTT stories that featured Brother Blood were among the gloomiest of the series.

Wolfman states, “Beyond Trigon, we didn’t specifically use horror stories, but it allowed us to create certain moods. Also, I created every Titan as a way of telling any kind of story I wanted. Raven was an entry to horror stories. Starfire to SF stories.

Nightwing [Dick Grayson, the first Robin] for detective stories. Cyborg for tech, etc. Each Titan was a portal to different kinds of stories. Raven allowed darker, more horrific storylines.”

Just like the spacefaring storylines wouldn’t have been as effective without the presence of Starfire [as you’ll read later in this issue—ed.], the Trigon and Brother Blood storylines wouldn’t have been possible without Raven.

Pérez enjoyed the Brother Blood character and storylines. “Brother Blood. Now that was something that Marv did a wonderful job [on],” he remarked in The Titans Companion. “Brother Blood became a rather strong character who would return later, even after I left the series.”

These types of horrific storylines were not typical for superhero comics of the day, but Wolfman and Pérez made them seem like they belonged there. Raven’s character, while not the primary protagonist of some of these tales, enabled the creators the freedom to bring darker and more chilling tales into a superhero comic.

24 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Raven Bronze Age Cover Gallery (top) Trouble with Trigon in NTT #6 (Apr. 1981) and going solo in Tales of the New Teen Titans #2 (July 1982). (center) A shadowy profile cover in New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1 (Aug. 1984) and a rebirth in NTT vol. 2 #39 (Jan. 1988). (bottom) Versus Phobia in NTT vol. 2 #43 (May 1988) and Raven in love in New Titans #66 (May 1990). All covers by George Pérez except for NTT #39 (art by Eduardo Barreto, over an Ed Hannigan sketch) and NT #66 (pencils by Tom Grummett, inks by Pérez).

TM & © DC Comics.

THE END OF RAVEN’S GOLDEN AGE

Pérez’s final issue as penciler was New Teen Titans vol. 2 #5 (Feb, 1985), and as cover artist was #7 (Apr. 1985).

Wolfman remained on the series into the 1990s through a title change and various roster changes. Wolfman’s final issue, New Titans #130 (Feb. 1996), saw a battle between the Titans and Trigon.

Between the time Pérez left the series and Wolfman left, there were many good storylines that featured Raven. However, even Wolfman wasn’t happy with all of them. In the Teen Titans Companion Wolfman stated, “I don’t remember the Raven stuff too much, except for that disastrous ‘White Raven’ and all of that nonsense.

I thought that was all stupid, ultimately. Even the parts that certainly were my responsibility. I thought that was all wrong.”

It seemed that Raven’s best days were behind her, but this wasn’t the case at all. In the new millennium she would even become more popular than ever thanks to a rebooted Teen Titans series under the direction of writer Geoff Johns and artist Mike McKone, a hit animated series, a live-action streaming series, and several solo comic-book miniseries. Marv Wolfman would even return to write Raven’s adventures… but these are stories for another day.

Raven grew to become a popular character in DC’s pantheon due to her complex nature and resonation with readers. Readers connected with Raven because they empathized with her inner struggle to contain her emotions and with her relationship with her father. She wasn’t just a one-note character, but a morally complex one at a time when this wasn’t always the case. She has grown more popular than ever, but it is her stories by Wolfman and Pérez that helped to turn her into the fan-favorite character that she is.

The author would like to thank Paul Levitz, Bob Rozakis, and last but certainly not least Marv Wolfman for their time and recollections. Also, a special shoutout to frequent BACK ISSUE contributor John Wells, who assisted with the research for this article.

ED LUTE is a longtime Raven and New Teen Titans fan who is thrilled to be able to bring you this article. He has written several articles for BACK ISSUE, with more to come. He lives with his family in southern New Jersey.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 25

TM

New Teen Titans and related characters TM & © DC Comics.

(opposite page) New Teen Titans 30th Anniversary Print from DC Comics, with art by George Pérez and colors by Tom Smith, utilizing the cover recreation art seen on page 4 of this issue. Courtesy of Andy Mangels. (top left) Colorist Adrienne Roy’s color separations guide for the New Teen Titans preview’s cover, which appeared in DC Comics Presents #26.

Signed by Roy and artists George Pérez and Dick Giordano. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). (top right) 1981 DC Comics Poster. For a larger version, see TwoMorrows’/Glen Cadigan’s Titans Companion. Courtesy of Andy Mangels. (bottom) 1981 Pérez TT illo produced for New Issue Club Express #117 (Oct. 1982).

Courtesy of Andy Mangels.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 27

28 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

(opposite page) This issue’s cover art, an unpublished NTT cover from 1981 later used by comic shop Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find in Charlotte, NC, for a flier (inset).

Courtesy of Andy Mangels. (top) Original color cover art from 1982, produced for the fanzine Comics Feature #19. Courtesy of Heritage. (bottom left) A jam illo’ed by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, and Romeo Tanghal. From 1982. Courtesy of Andy Mangels. (bottom right) Floating head group shot from 1982. Courtesy of Andy Mangels.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

(top left) 1982 promotional poster advertising New Teen Titans #24. Signed by both Wolfman and Pérez. Courtesy of Heritage. (top right) Pérez’s celebratory cover art for the first anniversary edition of the Amateur Press Alliance Titan Talk #6 (Jan. 1984) was also repurposed for a subscription ad. Courtesy of Andy Mangels. (bottom) Robin had transitioned to his Nightwing identity and Jericho had joined the team by the time Pérez produced this 1984 cover for (inset) Amazing Heroes #50. Courtesy of Heritage.

Amazing Heroes © Fantagraphics.

30 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

(top) A 2002 Pérez group shot, colored

by Marcus Mebes.

Courtesy of Rich Bernatovech. (bottom left) Donna and Kory leave the boys atop the Tower in this 2001 commission from the collection of Mike Negin. (bottom right) Raven and Trigon 2012 commission, from the collection of Mike Negin.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 31

The Titans vs. their Avengers analogs in a stunning George Perez/Tom Smith commission from the collection of Brian Cassner.

Avengers and related characters TM & © Marvel.

32 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 33

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If Adam Strange is a man of two worlds, Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran, better known as Kory Anders and Starfire, is a woman of two worlds.

Since her first appearance in the New Teen Titans preview in DC Comics Presents #26 (cover-dated Oct. 1980, going on sale July 10th of that year), she has made Earth her home, with the Titans being her family at her side during every life-changing event she has endured throughout her time in the DC Universe. As part of BACK ISSUE’s 40th anniversary celebration of the New Teen Titans, we’ll look at the life and times of Starfire and how she came to be the embodiment of feminine power.

A STARFIRE IS BORN

by J a m e s

Heath Lantz

July 1980 saw debut of the Airplane! and Prom Night (both films featured Leslie Nielsen), James Brown’s live album Hot on the One, and a new group of superheroes in the DC Universe. The New Teen Titans made their first appearance in a preview insert published in DC Comics Presents #26. The team consisted of original Teen Titans Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Robin, with former Doom Patrol sidekick Beast Boy—renamed Changeling—plus Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire being new additions to the squad of youthful adventurers.

Starfire’s creation is the result of two men, writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. “I came up with a rough idea for the characters (except Jericho) before George drew them,” Wolfman tells BACK ISSUE. “But, of course, once he did, things changed. I knew the basics of all of them, but we fleshed out a lot together.”

According to TwoMorrows Publishing’s Modern Masters vol. 2: George Pérez, Pérez thought that Wolfman’s description of Starfire talked about a type of Red Sonja from space. Famed MAD and Creepy artist Joe Orlando saw sketches and suggested longer hair for the Tamaranean princess, with Pérez adding a contrail like the one seen in Mighty Mouse images.

Starfire is actually Princess Koriand’r of the warrior Tamaranean race. There has been much debate on how to pronounce her name.

Marv Wolfman informs BACK ISSUE that the name sounds pretty straightforward. It’s “Kory-ander,” like the herb coriander. One could probably go as far as to say that Tamaraneans pack a wallop in battle like the aforementioned herb used in Indian cuisine, and Princess Koriand’r exemplifies that in spades in all the Titans’ tussles with the villains that cross paths with them.

WE ARE FAMILY

X’Hal! It’s a Warrior Princess!

Starfire’s story was told in Tales of the New Teen Titans #4 (Sept. 1982), by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, and Ernie Colón.

TM & © DC Comics.

As with Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four, DC’s New Teen Titans blossoms into a family, with all members sharing some common ground.

“My entire goal was to make the Titans a family book and not a group book,” reveals Wolfman. “Everything we did was to reinforce that.

Backstory, ideas, similarities, differences, etc. were created to make the Titans a family. Starfire has many of the same family/father problems the others have, which gives them all a common origin.”

Those “family/father problems” are clear among the various characters that become Wolfman and Pérez’s New Teen Titans.

Cyborg hates his father for making him a human/robot hybrid.

Raven’s father, the demon Trigon, assaulted her mother, resulting in Raven’s conception. Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Robin attempt to do everything possible to get out of the shadows of their superhero parental figures, and Changeling has parental baggage from his Doom Patrol heritage. Starfire’s paternal issues stem from her father King Myand’r—pronounced “Meander” (as some heads of state and writers are often accused of doing). Myand’r’s father and brothers were killed in the Tamaraneans’ war with the Citadel Empire. To prevent further destruction, his mother surrendered herself and her services to the invaders. This seems to be a family tradition as Myand’r forced Koriand’r into slavery to keep the peace.

Now, Myand’r had Koriand’r and her older sister Komand’r (pronounced “Commander”; more on her shortly) secretly trained as soldiers by the Warlords of Okaara. Myand’r had hoped that his daughters would do what he could not—rebel against the Citadel.

At this point, it should be noted that Tamaraneans are peace loving.

However, they are emotional, easy to anger, and fierce in combat.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 35

Family Feud Starfire vs. Blackfire, on the George Pérez/Dick Giordano cover to NTT #23 (Sept. 1982).

Original art signed

by Wolfman and Pérez; courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Koriand’r was separated from her parents at a very young age. Did she hold her father’s decisions against him?

Perhaps. Yet she loved her parents greatly. This is one instance that shows Koriand’r’s great strength.

She doesn’t give into bitterness when it comes to her father’s choices for her in her youth.

There have been numerous sibling rivalries throughout history and fiction. From the Bible’s Cain and Abel to X-Men’s Cable and Stryfe, from Henry VIII’s Mary and Ann Boelyn to Shirley Jackson’s Merricat and Constance, brothers’ and sisters’ friendships and rivalries have been a part of fact and fiction for eons. Perhaps no other sisterly struggle in Bronze Age comics can compare to that of Komand’r and Koriand’r in New Teen Titans.

Komand’r, also known as Blackfire, was the first child of King Myand’r and Queen Luand’r and the first princess in nearly 100 years. She would have been showered with accolades and affection for this had it not been for two twists of fate. Komand’r, due to an illness, was unable to harness solar energy in order to take flight unlike most of her race. By Tamaranean standards, Komand’r’s being flightless was considered a disability. To make matters

worse, the Citadel Empire attacked and destroyed the city of Kysarr, killing thousands in her name on the day she came into the world. Komand’r became reviled by her people, and they refused to allow the princess her birthright of being next in line for her world’s throne.

Princess Koriand’r was given that privilege, and all the other privileges involved with royalty. Komand’r grew to resent her fellow Tamaraneans and hate her sister.

After openly attacking Koriand’r during training, Komand’r was expelled from the Warlords of Okaara and defected to the Citadel Empire as her hatred of Koriand’r and Tamaran grew. She betrayed her home planet, revealing Tamaranean military secrets. The Citadel had conquered Tamaran. Conditions of the world’s surrender included Princess Koriand’r being forced into slavery, never to return to her homeworld.

Komand’r became her sister’s master. Koriand’r had been subjected to various forms of torture and abuse for years. This obviously would strain any relationship.

Yet, when we see Komand’r and Koriand’r encounter each other in New Teen Titans #23 (Sept. 1982), Starfire clearly states her wish to kill her sister for her treachery and every horror in which she endured at the hands of Komand’r and all of her aggressors allied with her sibling.

Koriand’r hadn’t always felt anger and vengeance toward Komand’r. Even after Komand’r tried to kill Koriand’r for murdering one of her abusers, the Tamaranean princess who would be Starfire frees her older sibling from the Psions, a species of sadistic scientists that captured both sisters for their cruel ultraviolet energy-absorption experiments. Does this show that Koriand’r is a better person for saving someone who hates her to the point of wanting her dead? Perhaps. However, Koriand’r’s actions were against her better judgment, for Komand’r attacked her afterwards. Starfire followed her heart. As is the case with many heroes in the DC Universe and fiction in general, this could be considered Starfire’s greatest strength… and her greatest weakness. It’s both helped her and hindered her throughout her life.

Marv Wolfman describes the Tamaranean princess to BACK ISSUE as follows: “Kory is all about emotion, good and bad. But she always thinks with her heart and not always with her mind.”

Komand’r and Koriand’r aren’t the only children of King Myand’r and Queen Luand’r. We don’t learn much about Starfire’s family in early issues of New Teen Titans. She does mention missing her parents and brother and sister in #2, but when she discusses her past a little in the next issue, Koriand’r only mentions her male sibling. This could be due to her shame in letting Komand’r go free and the dishonor Starfire felt about Blackfire’s treason.

Ryand’r, later known as Darkfire, is the youngest son in the Tamaranean royal family. He eventually becomes a member of the Omega Men and has even shown up in recent issues of the current Supergirl series. Darkfire, like Blackfire, is reunited with Starfire in the story arc published in New Teen Titans #23–25 and New Teen Titans Annual #1. Komand’r made Koriand’r believe that Ryand’r murdered their parents. This was not true, for the princess who would become a Titan is reunited with her parents, albeit briefly, in the aforementioned Annual #1.

Starfire must leave Tamaran with her fellow Titans in order to honor the treaty with the Citadel Empire.

Should she remain, the planet will be plunged into all-out war with the Citadel. As much as this breaks Koriand’r’s heart, she leaves her birth family behind with her new family the Teen Titans there to help her throughout her emotional distress.

36 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

LIFE ON EARTH

When New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980) begins, we see Princess Koriand’r escape to planet Earth. She is injured and speaking the Tamaranean language when Grant Wilson and the Teen Titans find her. Like Superman and Adam Strange when they arrived on Earth and Rann respectively, Koriand’r is a stranger in a strange land, attempting to adapt to her surroundings. Once she does so, she becomes a woman of two worlds. The road to become the young woman she is was not an easy one to travel. The Teen Titans, who give her the codename Starfire for the energy she emits from her hands during combat, help her voyage and exploration of humanity to become one full of fascination, joy, adventure, and, most of all, love.

Donna Troy, then known as Wonder Girl, is perhaps the Titan who most helps Koriand’r acclimate to Earth’s customs. Some of them are more reserved than those of Tamaran. Koriand’r wonders why swimsuits are needed for swimming in Changeling’s pool in New Teen Titans #2. Donna replies that the male Titans would be driven crazy if they weren’t dressed. This was Wonder Girl’s way of saying humans have taboos about things like not being clothed in public situations. Starfire is confused by this because of how open her people are compared to Earthlings.

Another example of Tamaranean liberation with intimacy is perhaps the most memorable for fans of the Teen Titans, Starfire, and Dick Grayson, who was still Robin at this point. When Koriand’r is recruited as a Titan, there is a huge language barrier between her and the rest of the team. There is a need for her to communicate with them if she is to form a bond with them. Physical contact is needed for a Tamaranean to absorb another world’s linguistic capabilities, and Koriand’r learns to speak Earth language in a unique way. She passionately kisses Robin. The Teen Wonder is surprised, even after her explanation.

“You had to kiss me to do that?” Robin asks.

“Not really,” Koriand’r replies. “But it was certainly more enjoyable this way.”

Marv Wolfman’s assessment of Starfire’s personality is accurate. However, there also an aspect he seems to pinpoint well in his storytelling during the beginning of New Teen Titans. There is an ingenious quality to the Tamaranean princess. This is because she is new to planet Earth and still learning of its customs and behavior. When the Titans return to New York in issue #7 after battling Trigon, a human male flirts with Starfire, and given her Tamaranean upbringing she flirts back, despite Wonder Girl telling her not to let him bother her.

Koriand’r’s Tamaranean nature makes her a very expressive character.

Her experience with feelings also allows her to go with what could be called her gut instinct. Following her hunch helped her to sense that Raven’s bringing the Titans together (in their first story) and Raven’s fear of Trigon were genuine, even if the hooded heroine kept some of the truth from her comrades. Koriand’r proved in that moment and many others that one doesn’t necessarily need Raven’s powers to be empathetic or, at the very least, empathetic. Granted, following her feelings could get Starfire in trouble as it does for anyone, but it can be one of her greatest strengths, one more powerful than the starbolts she fires, when she is able to help a friend or loved one.

There doesn’t seem to be any hatred or bitterness toward those Koriand’r considers friends at this point in New Teen Titans. After Raven’s use of deception to bring the Titans together to battle her father, there is a bit of friction between her and much of the team in spite of the hooded mage being forgiven.

Yet Starfire clearly states that she has no animosity toward Raven because she is a friend. Had it not been for Raven forming the New Teen Titans to save Koriand’r from the Gordanians, she might still be a slave. Starfire’s innocence makes her see things differently and perhaps makes her the most forgiving of the fledgling group.

New Teen Titans #8’s “A Day in the Lives...” (June 1981), a story focusing on the new members of the team, shows Starfire’s exploration of human habits and interactions during her early years on Earth. After battling the Fearsome Five, the Justice League, and Raven’s father Trigon, Starfire enjoys a warm sunny day while flying to meet Donna Troy for lunch. Donna is taking photographs of

Sibling Rivalry Two glimpses at the enmity between sisters Komand’r and Koriand’r, from the Starfire spotlight in the 4th and final issue (Sept. 1982) of the Tales of the Teen Titans miniseries.

By Wolfman and Pérez, with finishes by Ernie Colón.

TM & © DC Comics.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 37

Everybody Wants You (top) When we first meet Princess Koriand’r in The New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980), she’s fleeing toward Earth.

By Wolfman, Pérez, and Tanghal. (bottom) From the classic “A Day in the Lives...” (New Teen Titans #8, June 1981), Kory is a (fashion) model citizen… and meets Donna’s beau.

TM & © DC Comics.

models for the Silver Fox Advertising Agency. One of the girls is uncooperative, making Donna’s job impossible. Her difficult client, Sergio Delevi, later wants Koriand’r to be his next Golden Jeans Girl.

As those pictures are taken, Kory observes Donna with her boyfriend Terry Long and inquires about their relationship. Afterwards, she flies around the city freely, declares Earth her new home, saves a boy from a runaway horse, and wonders what Robin is doing at the moment.

There is a curiosity and eagerness in Koriand’r throughout her parts of New Teen Titans #8. She wants to know about Earth, its people, what they do, how they love, and so on. She also can’t wait to see what the future holds for her on her new home planet. This could be likened to immigrants searching for a better life in a new country. One could also compare Starfire to the character of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, who first appeared nearly seven years after Kory and the New Teen Titans had debuted. There are some out there, from creators to fans, who would say Koriand’r’s sense of wonder and need to learn of humanity is much greater that Starfleet’s most famous android.

The stories in the first year or two of New Teen Titans would seem to prove Starfire’s fans may be right.

THE MANY LOVES OF KORY ANDERS

As stated earlier, Tamaraneans are extremely emotional. They perhaps feel more deeply and intensely than human beings. They seem especially susceptible to love. We are first introduced to Kory’s romantic life in New Teen Titans #2 when she kisses Robin to learn Earth language. The Teen Wonder rebuffs her advances in spite of being attracted to her.

This leads Kory to begin a relationship with Franklin Crandall, whom she met while modeling. Frank was actually working for a rogue agent of Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Eliminations (H.I.V.E.). He refuses to give Starfire to the evil organization because he has genuinely fallen for her. Frank is then murdered, prompting Kory’s first experience with a broken heart on Earth. Starfire is burning with rage when she finds Frank’s killer. She wants to execute him for his crime. Wonder Girl tells Starfire that she will be hunted by the Titans if she doesn’t obey Earth laws. Kory feels alone in this moment of grief, but Donna used stopping her, and later consoling her while the Tamaranean princess sleeps, to show her otherwise. Koriand’r is not the only Teen Titan to go through tragedy. Yet Starfire’s new 38 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

family of youthful superheroes will do everything they can to help her psychological wounds heal.

Now, many New Teen Titans fans who have picked up this issue of BACK ISSUE are likely impatient to read about Koriand’r’s greatest love, her romance with Dick Grayson. The seeds are certainly planted with issue #2’s famous kiss, and their relationship gets complicated with Kory’s dating Frank Crandall and seeking revenge on his murderer. In fact, the other Titans wonder if the Teen Wonder is in love with Starfire when they search for her when Komand’r took her. Dick admits his feelings for Kory in New Teen Titans Annual #1 and New Teen Titans #26. They then began dating. Koriand’r even helps Dick through his identity crisis when he gives up being Robin to become Nightwing in the midst of 1984’s famous “The Judas Contract” serial in Tales of the Teen Titans #42–44 and Annual #3.

Dick also helps Kory understand Earth behavior and customs. Her affection for him grows as he comes into his own as Nightwing, unabashed by the upbringing of his Caped Crusading mentor.

Kory Anders is extremely patient with Dick Grayson as he tries to sort out his feelings for her and his need to move out of the shadow of the Batman. She loves him deeply, as many Tamaraneans passionately love their mates. Her great affection for Dick, and his for her, is especially clear when they are in space, returning home after fighting Komand’r in New Teen Titans Annual #1. Their embrace after Dick declares Koriand’r is not alone because the Titans, her new family, loves her speaks louder than any dialogue Marv Wolfman could have written for the couple.

By 1984, Kory and Dick’s romance is in full swing. Then came controversy. Panel two on page 21 of the New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1 (Aug. 1984) shows young adult Dick Grayson sharing a bed with Koriand’r. During this same year, political wife Tipper Gore was trying to censor such songs as Prince and the Revolution’s “Darling Nikki,” and similarly, some fans were alarmed over this depiction of DC’s former Boy Wonder and girlfriend. George Pérez, however, disagreed in his interviews with Fantagraphics at the time, stating that both Kory and Dick were consenting adults. Granted, Starfire’s age had not been determined, but she appeared to be around 18 or 19 in Earth years, like Nightwing. Pérez pointed out that letters on the subject were printed in the second series’ third issue.

Koriand’r’s romantic relationship with Dick Grayson faced many hurtles throughout its run in the DC Universe—none greater than her marriage. In order to prevent civil war on Tamaran, the princess must wed Prince Karras in New Teen Titans vol. 2 #17 (Feb. 1986).

Her heart, however, belongs to Nightwing, and this marriage is nothing more than a union of state. Koriand’r is heartbroken when Dick leaves Tamaran believing he’s not needed in her life. Her screams of “I love you” echo through the palace halls in issue #18, showing the pain both she and Nightwing feel in that moment.

Kory salvages her romance with Dick once she returns to Earth.

They end up living together and were even almost married.

An attack from an evil Raven, which kills the man officiating the ceremony, makes the couple rethink their relationship.

Karras, meanwhile, is killed by his sister. His dying words profess love for another, a Tamaranean woman named Taryia.

Starfire was married once again, this time to a proud general named Ph’yzzon. Their wedded bliss did not last long, for the Citadel Empire started a war with the recently settled New Tamaran. While they were victorious, Ph’yzzon was killed battling the Sun Eater during DC’s event The Final Night. It is mentioned in the 130th and final issue of the no-longer-teen New Titans (Feb. 1996) that Koriand’r was pregnant with Ph’yzzon’s child. Yet, nothing went further than her mentioning this, and the gender of the baby is left unrevealed.

In Post-Bronze Age DC Comics, Komand’r’s flagship is called the Ph’yzzon to honor the Tamaranean soldier.

Through all of Starfire’s romantic trials and tribulations, there has been but one man in her heart no matter what they’ve been through in 40 years of Titandom. Dick Grayson is her one true love, and they remain friends after their relationship ended. Kory even told Dick that she’d always love him before choosing to remain on the planet Karna to rebuild its culture. They may no longer be lovers, but their romance is perhaps one of the greatest in the history of the New Teen Titans, if not the entire DC Universe of the Bronze Age.

When Starfire Met Robin (top) New Teen Titans #2’s language-absorption lip-lock. (center) Dick confesses his feelings in NTT #26. (bottom) The controversial image from New Teen Titans vol. 2 #1.

TM & © DC Comics.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

WHAT’S MY NAME? Princess Koriand’r isn’t the first DC character to use the name Starfire. The Russian agent Leonid Kovar was the first, as previously mentioned, in Teen Titans #18 in 1968; he was later renamed Red Star. Three years later, a female crimelord named Starfire gave Supergirl trouble in Adventure Comics #402, 404, 405, and 407. During the sword-andsorcery craze in comics [see last issue], Starfire, a comic starring a female warrior battling magic and slave traders, was published for eight issues beginning in 1976.

Princess Koriand’r is out to prove to her predecessors in print that the name Starfire is in good hands.

TM & © DC Comics.

A WARRIOR’S SPIRIT

Let’s not forget that Starfire, like the rest of the Tamaraneans, is a warrior, trained to be such from childhood. X’Hal, the Tamaranean goddess whom Koriand’r’s people worship is one of battle much like Crom in Robert E. Howard’s Conan. Starfire often exclaims X’Hal’s name throughout her adventures.

This could be considered a prayer, but it could also be a means to give her strength when she is fighting an enemy. Whatever her reasons for speaking her deity’s name, Starfire has shown that her prowess in battle would make the golden goddess X’Hal proud.

We perhaps best see Koriand’r’s combatant side on Earth when Starfire is on Paradise Island in New Teen Titans #11–14 (Sept.–Dec. 1981). Where else could be a better place to test her mettle than the Amazon kingdom that gave the DC Universe Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl? She gets to do that when she and the female Titans must go there to heal a comatose Changeling with the Purple Healing Ray Wonder Woman had invented.

Starfire, Raven, Queen Hippolyta, and the Amazons must combat Hyperion, the Titans of Greek mythology who birthed Zeus and the gods of Mount Olympus.

An entranced Donna Troy sides with the Greek titans.

Kory uses her starbolt powers to free Zeus from a stone prison created by his father Cronus to prevent the usurping of Olympus. Yet, perhaps the moment that shows her prowess in combat best is when she takes part in an Amazon tournament to test strength and courage. Starfire holds her own in contests with a lance and staff defeating her opponents.

Queen Hippolyta even states that Koriand’r’s training and expertise rival that of Princess Diana, who we all know as Wonder Woman. Starfire definitely has showed gods and mortals alike she is a force to be reckoned with.

Koriand’r has shown she can fight side-by-side with her fellow Titans against any foe.

Some of those antagonists forget that she is an extraterrestrial. Case in point, New Teen Titans #18 (Apr. 1982) shows the Titans taking on the original Starfire, Russian operative Leonid Kovar (see sidebar), who first appeared way back in 1968’s Teen Titans #18 by Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, and Bill Draut. Kovar is surprised when pressure points that render humans unconscious don’t work on Kory because of her alien physiology.

On a Tamaranean, they feel merely feel like a massage.

Because of Kory’s humanoid appearance many tend to not take into account how truly different the royal princess is from Earth people. This makes her a warrior who can withstand more than your average Joe or Jo.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do An arranged marriage on Tamaran in NTT vol. 2 #17 (Feb. 1986). (inset) The unhappy bride. Cover by Eduardo Barreto. (main) The separated lovers react.

TM & © DC Comics.

40 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Starfire Bronze Age Cover Gallery (top) Kory vs. Dr. Light in NTT #3 (Jan. 1981) and Blackfire in NTT Annual #1 (1982). (center) Going solo in Tales of the New Teen Titans #4 (Sept. 1982) and Titans Spotlight #1 (Aug. 1986). (bottom) Titans Spotlight #2 (Sept 1986) and #19 (Feb. 1988). All covers by George Pérez except for Spotlight #2 (art by Denys Cowan and Dick Giordano).

TM & © DC Comics.

Sometimes, as was the case with the murder of Franklin Crandall, Koriand’r’s warrior’s instincts have put her at odds with the Titans’ ideology. This is evident in the April 1981 cover-dated New Teen Titans #6. Starfire wants to force the priests of the Temple of Azarath to help the Titans rescue Raven from her father Trigon. Raven went willingly with him to his dimension to save Earth from his tyranny.

Most of the Titans must calm Kory down, assuring her that they will find a way to help Raven.

There are two reasons Starfire rushes in to attack the priests for not coming to Raven’s aid. First, she is a friend, and Tamaraneans love for their friends and family make them bolt into situations that could be volatile. Secondly, Koriand’r knows firsthand the type of degradation and abuse that being held against one’s will can create. She does not wish that to happen to Raven or anyone else. When a friend or loved one is in need or has been wronged, Starfire will do everything she can to make things right, even if her emotions may sometimes get the better of her.

Yes, Princess Koriand’r, better known as Kory Anders and Starfire, is a woman of many facets. She’s regal royalty.

She’s a fierce warrior. She’s a model, a hero, a friend, and a lover. Starfire is perhaps one of the most complex characters to come out of the New Teen Titans series and Bronze Age DC Comics in general. Check every aspect of Koriand’r’s life on paper at your local comic shop or digitally at Comixology. X’Hal will thank you for it.

Dedicated to my beautiful and incredible wife Laura, whose starbolts of love continue to strike my heart; Pupino, Odino, and our four-legged Tamaranean royalty who rule us with their endless love and joy; my nephew Kento, who could obliterate the Citadel Empire singlehandedly; and Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, and all the creators past, present, and future who are responsible for making Princess Koriand’r one of the strongest, bravest warriors in the DC Universe. May the light of X’Hal always shine on you.

JAMES HEATH LANTZ is a freelance writer who was heavily influenced by television, film, old-time radio shows, and books—especially comic books—growing up in Ohio. He’s co-authored Roy Thomas Presents Captain Video with Roy Thomas. He also wrote the introductions for Pre-Code Classics: Weird Mysteries vol. 1 and 2 and Roy Thomas Presents Sheena - Queen of the Jungle vol.

3 (PS Artbooks), self-published his Tr i l o g y o f Ta l e s e-book (Smashwords.com and other outlets), and reviews various media for Superman Homepage and Sequart.org. James currently lives in Italy with his wife Laura and their family of cats, dogs, and humans from Italy, Japan, and the United States.

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by A n d y

TV Titans (and a Movie Titan, too!)

Various screen incarnations of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s seminal seven members of the New Teen Titans.

TM & © DC Comics.

Although the 40th Anniversary of the New Teen Titans is the theme of this issue—and yours truly has written his share in those four decades about both Marv Wolfman and George Pérez—BACK ISSUE history would be remiss if at least one article didn’t cover the early days of the groovy teen sidekicks. But while you may know everything about Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani’s creation, first seen in The Brave and the Bold #54 (June–July 1964), it’s doubtful you know all about how often the juvenile Justice Leaguers came looking for fame in Hollywood.

Join us now for “A Titanic Trip to Tinseltown!”

FILMATION GETS GROOVY (1967)

“They just couldn’t wait to get started in their own mag!” shouted the cover to Teen Titans #1 (Jan.–Feb. 1966), and this first incarnation of the Teen Titans featured Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl, with Speedy joining soon thereafter. Later that same year—on September 10, 1966—fledgling animation company Filmation Associates debuted its first animated series, The New Adventures of Superman, on CBS. The series featured Superman and Superboy shorts, with three segments per half-hour. The series was a hit, and Filmation and National Periodical Publications (the name of DC Comics at the time) were soon negotiating to bring other characters to television. First up was Green Lantern, then Aquaman, and eventually Batman, whenever the live-action show for the Caped Crusader wrapped up its ABC run. Other DC characters were developed, including Green Arrow, the Flash, Hawkman, the Doom Patrol, B’wana Beast, the Atom, the Blackhawks, Metamorpho, Plastic Man, Challengers of the Unknown, the Metal Men, and Wonder Woman. Never mentioned in the mix were the

Mangels

Teen Titans, but Filmation was indeed working on them for television before they had even had a first birthday!

Debuting on September 9, 1967 was The Superman/ Aquaman Hour of Adventure, a 60-minute program which included new Superman and Superboy segments, plus two adventures featuring Aquaman and his sidekick Aqualad, and 18 “guest heroes” shorts. Those guests, with three seven-minute episodes apiece, were Flash (with Kid Flash), Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Atom, the Justice League of America, and the Teen Titans (Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, and Speedy). Because Batman and Robin couldn’t be used until the live-action show ended, they did not appear in either the Justice League or Teen Titans shorts.

Aqualad was voiced by Jerry Dexter, a Los Angeles radio personality, while Pat Harrington, Jr. (later better known as Schneider on One Day at a Time) was Speedy.

Red Ryder radio actor Tommy Cook was Kid Flash, and Hanna-Barbera voice actress Julie Bennett was Wonder Girl. With scripts by longtime DC editor/writer George Kashdan, the stories were faithful to the comics of the day, with headquarters Titans Lair making an appearance, and silly nicknames—Wonder Doll, Wonder Chick, Twinkletoes, Speedy-o, and Gill-Head—aplenty.

Fans have often *ahem* “wondered” why Wonder Girl was seen on television before Wonder Woman.

As noted above, Wonder Woman was planned, but for reasons unknown, was dropped. The designs created for her would later be used when she guest-starred in an episode of Filmation’s The Brady Kids on December 2, 1972. Still, with the Filmation Justice League all-male, it seems clear that the Teen Titans couldn’t be, thus Wonder Girl was added.

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The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was a ratings hit, but the next season, the addition of The Adventures of Batman to the hour meant that Aquaman and his friendly guest heroes were shuttled off to Sunday rerun airings. The series remained in worldwide syndication for years, and the Titans cartoons were released on DVD on August 12, 2008 in the set DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures.

HANNA-BARBERA SWINGS ONCE, TWICE (1974 and 1978)

Not much is known about the first potential attempt at a Titans series. A 2011 online auction featured six pencil designs by animation and comic artist Mike Royer, featuring Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Lilith, and Aqualad (looking like caveboy Gnarrk introduced in 1971).

The auction listed them as “original drawing for proposed series” for Hanna-Barbera Productions, circa 1974.

As Hanna-Barbera had debuted Super Friends in 1973 on ABC, they had a relationship with DC Comics, so it makes sense that they may have looked into producing Teen Titans as a companion series. Royer had been an artist for various licensed Hanna-Barbera comics with Gold Key Publishing, and was Jack Kirby’s inker at DC Comics, so he would have been familiar to all parties.

Unfortunately, BACK ISSUE was unable to get answers from Royer himself, and no other name was attached to this project, so it will remain a mystery.

In BACK ISSUE #5, the late animation artist Darrel McNeil wrote about an attempt by Hanna-Barbera to do Teen Titans for NBC as part of a rotating group of titles on 1978’s The Godzilla Power Hour. Supposedly seven episodes—with Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Aqualad—were even given production numbers before the axe fell on this potential iteration.

Seen and Unseen Titans (top) Interstitial and screen capture images from Filmation’s 1967 Teen Titans cartoon. (bottom) Circa 1974, Mike Royer character drawings for a proposed-but-unrealized TTs toon from Hanna-Barbera, with cave-teen Gnarrk doubling as Aqualad (go figure).

TM & © DC Comics.

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HANNA-BARBERA ALMOST STRIKES OUT (1983–1984)

By 1983, the animation studio Hanna-Barbera was back to developing a new pitch for The New Teen Titans, then DC’s most popular comic series. As with the long-running Super Friends, Titans was in development for ABC. Over the years, multiple art pieces purporting to be part of the Titans development have surfaced, some stranger than others. One set would almost appear to have been drawn based on Nick Cardy’s designs, and it shows the Titans in their civilian guises: Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Starfire, and Changling (sic). Oddly, Cyborg is a redrawn Gnarrk design and features no metal components, Starfire is a redrawn Lilith with a curly red Afro and no orange skin, and Changeling is a redrawn Dick Grayson/Robin without green skin!

A second set of images contained two color pieces showing the “All New Teen Titans” in costume as Wonder Girl, Raven, Changeling, Cyborg, Kid Flash, and Starfire, all in comics-accurate art resembling George Pérez’s designs, though Starfire was more covered up. A second piece of art showed Cyborg astride a motorcycle, and Raven sky-surfing on a rocket-board.

According to the late Darrell McNeil, storylines for the series would have involved villains Trigon and Blackfire, though neither Robin (already appearing on Super Friends) nor Terra would appear. Wonder Girl would have been the team leader.

In a 2002 posting on silverbulletcomicbooks.com, Marv Wolfman wrote: “I don’t know how far the ’80s Titans show went. What I remember was I went to H&B with Len Wein and Jenette Kahn and I pitched both Titans and Dial ‘H’ For Hero. I pitched the concepts and characters and then I went home. I think it was later developed by Jeff Scott and, possibly, Alan Burnett. I wasn’t consulted after the original pitch.” When contacted by BACK ISSUE, neither Jeff Scott nor Alan Burnett has any recollection of working on the project, however.

While that proposed series didn’t go forward, Hanna-Barbera was hired to animate several anti-drug PSA (Public Service Announcement) commercials co-produced by DC Comics and the Keebler Company.

These were connected to a set of anti-drug awareness comics featuring The New Teen Titans that were being released to schools.

The few pieces of art that remain from the project, dated 12/5/1983— and a fragment of one of the finished commercials that survived on a DC promotional video for their 50th anniversary—show a group of characters almost 100% faithful to their comic-book counterparts.

Only Starfire is in a modified costume, changing her space bikini to a space one-piece. However, as in the anti-drug comics, Robin was unable to be used (he was already licensed to bran-rival Nabisco), so a hero with a similar build and costume—the Protector—was created in his place [see this issue’s Protector article—ed.].

The Titans comic writer, Marv Wolfman, wrote the commercial, which was produced as a 60-second spot, as well as shorter 30-second and 20-second versions. In it, a young basketball player is offered drugs, but before he can be tempted the Titans appear and tell a group of kids that they should “just say no” to drugs. The phrase “Just Say No” had been popularized by First Lady Nancy Reagan beginning in 1982, as part of a concerted effort to keep kids from doing drugs.

Today, only about 20 seconds of the commercial exist in public forums, thanks to the survival of a 1984 promotional video by DC Comics’ marketing department. Darrell McNeil had noted that he was an assistant animator on the commercials, though no other crew have been named.

It’s unknown who voiced the Titans characters, though they were likely Hanna-Barbera regulars. The Titans project went no further— except for Cyborg, who would go on to become one of the most famous Titans ever…

Just Say Yes… to the PSA Titans (above) Character model sheet for the Teen Titans PSA. (inset) Rare screen caps from the Titans anti-drug television campaign.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Cyborg Makes the Big Leagues (top) Title card for 1985’s entry in the long-running Super Friends franchise, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, including Cyborg. (center) GG screen caps featuring Cyborg. (bottom) The late Lee Thompson Young as Smallville’s cybernetic Victor.

TM & © DC Comics.

CYBORG MAKES IT TO THE BIG LEAGUES

Although some animation design artwork has circulated online for another animated New Teen Titans show, reportedly from the late 1980s—it features the post-1984 Nightwing, Raven, and Starfire—no information has been uncovered as to its origins. We note it here to be thorough, and to see if any fans have further information as to its origins.

As Hanna-Barbera readied its final season of its long-running Super Friends franchise, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians for the 1985–1986 season— tied in to the Kenner Super Powers toy line—the company finally remembered that a little diversity could go a long way on a show that was generally all-white.

Their previous non-white characters—Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and Samurai—had never caught on, so the animators looked into the DC catalogue. Reminded that they had already animated a teenage AfricanAmerican character in the New Teen Titans anti-drug commercials, Hanna-Barbera decided to bring Cyborg over into the Galactic Guardians series. Even the exact same character design was utilized.

The debut episode, “The Seeds of Doom,” was written by animation and comic scribe Alan Burnett, and it was relatively faithful to the Cyborg origin, although all Titans lore was omitted. Victor Stone was a promising decathlon athlete, but when an accident destroyed much of his body, his scientist father repaired him with bionic and cybernetic parts. Introduced in the show while helping a young disabled boy learn to walk with a mechanical leg, Cyborg aided the heroic team to fight Lex Luthor.

Offered a spot on the team, Cyborg refuses, but he later helps the heroes fight against a plot by Darkseid.

Changing his mind, Cyborg becomes one of the Super Powers team members.

Voiced by Ernie Hudson (best known for 1984’s Ghostbusters), Cyborg appeared in eight of the ten stories for Galactic Guardians’ eight episodes. In a 2012 interview on tv.avclub.com, Hudson said of his first voice-over job that “Cyborg was a fun character. I love doing voiceover, because it’s a different talent. There are different chops involved if you do it right. It’s acting, but it’s just different.

I loved working on Cyborg, and I did some guest spots on Batman and different things. But after Ghostbusters came out, my wife and I decided to leave the area, and it was hard getting into town.” Cyborg was even made into a Kenner toy, though, sadly, his toy appeared as the line ended, and is thus difficult to obtain.

Cyborg’s next media appearance was in live-action, in 2006’s fifth season of WB/CW’s Smallville. There, Victor was portrayed by Lee Thompson Young, making his debut in the 15th episode, called “Cyborg.” Former Metropolis High School football star Victor was in a car accident that almost killed him, but he is rebuilt

by Cyntechnics scientists who are performing secret experiments. Despite the character and episode title, Victor is never called “Cyborg” in the episode, and refers to his enhancements as “bionic.”

Young reprised the role of Cyborg twice more on Smallville: in 2007’s sixth-season episode “Justice,” which sees a team-up of Green Arrow, Cyborg, Aquaman, and Impulse; and in 2010’s ninth-season finale, “Salvation,”

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More Seen and Unseen Titans (top left) Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Joe Morton as papa Silas Stone in 2017’s Justice League. (top right) Joivan Wade as Doom Patrol’s Cyborg. (bottom) Artist Tommy Tejeda’s unproduced 1996 Teen Titans cast, with adult mentors Flash and Aquaman. (inset below) Cyborgirl, from the animated Justice League test reel.

TM & © DC Comics.

in which he helped to defend the Watchtower headquarters from Kandorians. In each of these later appearances, he wore a vague costume, offered new enhancements courtesy of Green Arrow’s tech, and had a glowing red eye at times, as he did in the comics. Cyborg also appeared in April 2007’s online animated Smallville spinoff, Smallville Legends: Justice & Doom, sponsored by Toyota’s Yaris. In the five-part storyline, Cyborg joined the other Justice Leaguers, and debuted his comic-based sound-wave-projection powers.

Longtime Smallville writer Steven DeKnight revealed on Twitter in 2016 that the “Justice” episode was designed to set up a Justice League live-action series on the CW, starring Cyborg and the others, with occasional appearances by Smallville characters. Young is no longer with us; having suffered from bipolar disorder and depression, the actor committed suicide in August 2013. But in an interview with Smallville magazine #15 (2006), Young said, “The director, Glen Winter, and I had a vision of how we wanted the Cyborg character to be portrayed and we were both happy with the end product. We wanted a balance between the strength and the vulnerability of the character.

We definitely did not want him to be so strong that you couldn’t relate to him because he had gone through so much. It was finding that balance of making him vulnerable and showing his human side so the audience could relate to him, but not so vulnerable that he was just a weak character.”

Cyborg would next appear in live action in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movies, where he has twice been portrayed by Ray Fisher.

He first appeared in a brief sequence in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, then reappeared in full in the Justice League film, released on November 17, 2017. Although Fisher was scheduled to appear in other upcoming DCEU films—including the planned Flash film and a solo Cyborg film—the relative box-office failure of Justice League and changing tastes of film audiences may have doomed those appearances.

Although he was never directly connected to DC’s Doom Patrol comic (other than a friendship to Gar Logan), when DC Universe launched its 2019 Doom Patrol series, Cyborg was a regular character, portrayed by Joivan Wade. Ironically, while Wade’s Cyborg is the most true-to-the-comics live-action version in both storylines and costume design, he did not appear with the Doom Patrol when they appeared in the first season of DCU’s Titans series (which we’ll get to shortly)…

TEEN TITANS GO CRAZY

In 1996, Warner Bros. Animation producers’ assistant Thomas Zellers drafted artist Tommy Tejeda to do some presentation art for a Teen Titans show that featured retro-style versions of the original five Titans, as well as various Justice Leaguers. Although that didn’t sell, the two did go on to work on future Batman and Superman series. In 2001, three animated members of the Teen Titans (with Robin, Impulse, and Cyborgirl, a female version of Cyborg with Natasha Irons) were considered as part of the original pitch for Kids’ WB Network’s Justice League cartoon series; plans were scuttled after a presentation reel was completed and producers decided to have all adult characters. This reel can be seen on disc four of the Justice League Season One DVD set.

But the Teen Titans proper—well, partially proper—would finally make their longform animated debut in 2003, in a new series developed

by Glen Murakami and Sam Register, and airing on both Cartoon Network and Kids’ WB! Following a greenlight in September 2002, the series debuted its 13-episode first season on July 19, 2003, then re-aired on Saturday morning Kids’ WB starting November 1, 2003. The show took its content and characters almost completely from DC’s New Teen Titans comics, featuring team leader Robin (voiced by Scott Menville), second-in-command tech hero Cyborg (Khary Payton), goth sorceress Raven (Tara Strong), bubbly alien princess Starfire (Hynden Walch), and the green-skinned shapeshifter Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), all fighting crime from Titans Tower in a California bay.

This Titans wasn’t aimed at older audiences like Justice League was, and didn’t care about fanboys. Instead, the producers aimed for younger viewers, and took their cues from faster-paced anime and humor shows. In a July 2012 interview with TitansTower.com, producer Glen Murakami said of his approach, “I think the thing we tried with Titans was an ‘anything goes’ approach. We knew going in that it wasn’t going to be a typical super-hero show. We didn’t know whether or not it would all work—but we didn’t think there was any reason not to try them. I think sometimes people are

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dismissive and they say, ‘Well, you guys are just doing fake anime.’ I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to do that stuff. We knew we wanted to do a show about a character. It was a show that focused on teenagers and more emotional things. So we thought it was a good way to express all that. We talked about exaggerating everything. When’s someone is embarrassed, they’ll look really small. We’ll experiment with that sort of style of storytelling.

I think it’s not so much ‘ripping off anime’ as much as it’s a kind of storytelling.”

Over the course of five 13-episode seasons— only two of which co-aired on Kids’ WB—the Teen Titans faced down some of their comic-book foes including Slade (a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator, voiced by Ron Perlman), H.I.V.E. and Brother Blood (John DiMaggio), Trigon, Blackfire, and the Brotherhood of Evil, among others. Vintage Titans villains also made appearances, including the Mad Mod, Ding Dong Daddy, and Dr. Light. Season Two adapted the infamous “The Judas Contract” storyline, introducing the traitorous Terra (Ashley Johnson) into the group, while Season Three’s Titans East flipped the script from the comics—in which the Titans lived in New York, and the Titans West were the offshoot—and welcomed Aqualad (Wil Wheaton), Speedy (Mike Erwin), Bumblebee (T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh), and the duo Más y Menos (Freddy Rodriguez) to the team. Others showed up from time to time, including Jericho, Kole, Gnarrk, Kid Flash, Pantha, Red Star, Wildebeest, and Wonder Girl.

The final Teen Titans episode aired on January 16, 2006, but it was followed by a TV movie, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, on September 15, 2006 (though a preview of it had been shown at San Diego Comic-Con International), which actually became the series finale. In addition to inspiring comic books, video games, and toy lines based on the popular series—and the theme song by Japanese pop group Puffy AmiYumi—the entire series of Teen Titans was a hit on DVD (one set even included an unaired show known as “The Lost Episode”), and was rerun on Cartoon Network’s Boomerang channel until 2014.

By that time, though, plans had already been made for several more unusual versions of the heroes. In 2010, the second season of Cartoon Network’s retro-style team-up series Batman: The Brave and the Bold featured an episode called “Sidekicks Assemble!,” which found preteen Robin, Speedy, and Aqualad joining as proto-Titans early in their careers, then moved forward to their teen years, where they were tired of being seen as mere sidekicks; in it, Robin became Nightwing. In 2011, Cartoon Network had an animation anthology programming block called DC Nation, which aired DC shows like Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Beware the Batman with newly created fare from throughout DC’s history. Super Best Friends Forever cast Wonder Girl, Batgirl, and Supergirl as teen friends in five shorts created in Lauren Faust’s distinctive art style. New Teen Titans was also produced as a series of 17 shorts, reuniting the previous series’ cast, but drawing the characters in a super-deformed chibi [Japanese slang for “short”—ed.] style, making them even more influenced by anime. Based on these shorts, which placed the emphasis on comedy and light-hearted banter than on fights, a decision was made to bring the Titans series back.

Teen Titans Go! debuted on April 23, 2013 on Cartoon Network, with the same voice cast returning again, but a third animation style: slightly more normal than the chibi versions, but more big-headed anime and cartoony than the original series. The Teen Titans Go! series aired 52 stories per season, though some were two-parters. The continuity had no real bearing on previous shows, except for when a joke could be made.

Characters broke the fourth wall to address viewers—including in one episode literally titled “The Fourth Wall”—exchanged powers and bodies, fought Santa and squirrels, met LeBron James and Cee-Lo Green, spoke in Pig Latin, and faced down both Darkseid (voiced by Weird Al Yankowic) and the Justice League. In 2017’s ultra-meta “The Self-Indulgent 200th Episode Spectacular!” the Titans even tried to animate themselves, bringing the show’s real-world production team into their cartoon world!

Early during the series’ fifth season, the show got a theatrical film spinoff, Teen Titans Go! to the Movies. Released on July 27, 2018, the film parodied superhero films—and itself—in a knowing and sometimes surprising way.

In it, Robin is depressed that Batman is getting another movie, and he and

Teen Titans Come… (top) The anime-influenced TTs. (center) Three frustrated sidekicks in a Batman: The Brave and the Bold outing. (bottom) The chibi chucklefest Titans.

TM & © DC Comics.

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the Titans go to Hollywood to get a big-budget movie made about them. Musical numbers, balloon-villain fights, time travel, and cameo appearances by DC characters galore—and Stan Lee!—highlight this absolutely hilarious film. There are digs at Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Green Lantern film, and an Aquaman joke that breathtakingly ends all Aquaman jokes. The project was written and produced

by Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, and directed by Peter Rida Michail and Aaron Horvath. Guest voices included Nicolas Cage, Michael Bolton, Jimmy Kimmel, Patton Oswalt, Wil Wheaton, Kristen Bell, Will Arnett, and Lil Yachty, among others.

In the last decade, the Teen Titans/Teen Titans Go! cast has appeared as some version of their character in the DC Super Hero Girls cartoons, the Lego DC Comics Super Heroes direct-to-DVD projects, and on the Justice League Action series. They also appeared in less humorous form in PG-13 DC Universe Animated Original Movies such as Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. And with this many versions of Teen Titans milling about the multiverse, it was inevitable that Warner producers would find a way to bring them all together…

On September 24, 2019, Warner released a DVD of Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans, a feature-length battle and team-up between not only the two series’ realities, but also the “Titans of Infinite Earths,” including the Wolfman/Pérez comic Titans, the PG-13 Teen Titans, the all-ages Tiny Titans, created for comics by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, and a version that seemed to be a cross between the 1983 Hanna-Barbera designs and the aesthetic of Filmation Associates’ designs.

Also appearing were black-and-white 1930s animation versions, steampunk versions, mermaid versions, and all-animal versions of the Titans. Despite positive reviews— this writer found it hilarious and lots of fun—the film unfortunately has been called the least-selling DC Animated Movie to date.

In September 2019 interviews with writer Marly Halpern-Graser on AnimationScoop.com, he said, “The project is very ambitious. I think you can even see just in the trailers that there is an incredible amount of characters in this. Very big cast, very ambitious, especially on a DVD budget. The team did a really amazing job.

Jeff Mednikow (the director) and I crammed so much into this. I’m pretty sure there’s a fight scene in this movie with more characters than the big fight scene in the theatrical movie we did last year [Teen Titans Go! to the Movies]. Even though this one was gonna go directly to video, we wanted to make sure we were still pushing the limits of what had been established in the theatrical movie… try to make sure it’s even bigger and more exciting.” Director Jeff Mednikow added that it was a “very ambitious project. Anytime you got two sets of great, iconic characters who are different… we’ve thrown them together and we have not only a very satisfying storyline that all the characters get to have their moment but also a lot of heartfelt moments and funny moments, a lot of high-action moments.

Very proud of it… and the fact that it got done at all.”

TITANS: THE DARKENING

…and Teen Titans Go! Teen Titans Go!, stars of (top) TV and (bottom) a motion picture. (inset) When Titans collide!

TM & © DC Comics.

In-between the ending of Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, Cartoon Network debuted a more adult-themed series that was Titans in all but name. Young Justice was developed

by Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman for Cartoon Network. The series did not adapt the Young Justice comic series, but instead mixed the Teen Titans comic series with other teenage and young adult superheroes from throughout the DC Universe.

On Earth-16, superheroes are a relatively recent element, and the members of Young Justice contained many members who were sidekicks to adult members of the Justice League. In the first season, members included Robin (voiced by Jesse McCartney), Aqualad (Khary Payton), Kid Flash (Jason Spisak), Superboy (Nolan North), Miss Martian (Danica McKellar), and Artemis (Stephanie Lemelin).

For Season Two, Robin became Nightwing, and Artemis became Huntress, while new members included include Beast Boy (Logan Grove and Greg Cipes), Blue Beetle (Eric Lopez), Robin/Tim Drake (Cameron Bowen), Batgirl (Alyson Stoner), Bumblebee (Masasa Moyo), Mal Duncan/Guardian (Kevin Michael Richardson), Lagoon Boy (Yuri Lowenthal), Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark (Mae Whitman), Impulse (Jason Marsden), and Static (Bryton James).

Young Justice launched on November 26, 2010 with an hour-long special, and aired 26 episodes through April 2012. The second season, titled Young Justice: Invasion, aired from April 28, 2012 to March 16, 2013, with another 20 episodes.

Fans of the complex and mature serialized show were astonished when it was cancelled in spring 2013—due to a toy deal with Mattel being cancelled and the budget thus plummeting—but internet fandom kept the series alive, even as Teen Titans Go! kept some of the characters on the air.

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On November 7, 2016, Warner Bros. Animation announced that the fan petitions, viewing numbers on Netflix, sales of the Blu-rays, and continued interest had worked—production on a new season, titled Young Justice: Outsiders, began. In a press release, Sam Register, President of Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series, said, “The affection that fans have had for Young Justice, and their rallying cry for more episodes, has always resonated with us. We are excited to bring the show back for this loyal fanbase and to provide an opportunity for new viewers to discover this excellent series.” This time around, the team consisted of Wonder Girl, Robin (Tim Drake), Blue Beetle, Impulse, Beast Boy, Arsenal, Static, and new characters Spoiler, Arrowette, and Thirteen. The season was split into two 13-episode chunks, airing in January 2019 and July–August 2019 on the new DC Universe-branded streaming service.

Warner Bros. announced on May 31, 2007 that work had begun on a Teen Titans live-action film, to be produced by Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Forster through their Weed Road banner, and written by comics and Hollywood scribe Mark Verheiden. The film was to be set at a pivotal point in the characters’ lives, and show the transition of Dick Grayson from Robin to Nightwing. Verheiden turned in a draft prior to the 2007 Writer’s Strike, but the project foundered by mid-2008 when factions at Warner wouldn’t allow the use of Grayson or Alfred after all.

Goldsman later was the producer for a proposed TNT live-action television pilot for The Titans in September 2014, written by Marc Haimes and Goldsman. Set to feature Nightwing, Batgirl, Starfire, Raven, Hawk and Dove, and others, the project was cancelled in January 2016. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the 2016 Television Critics Association press tour, TNT CCO Kevin Reilly said of the decision to drop it that “Akiva is a talented guy, the script just wasn’t there. There is an unbelievable glut of superhero things in the market right now and if you have a really good one, clearly people are up for it. But I just don’t think that there’s a need for one that, for me, at least on paper didn’t seem to be screaming to get made.”

Two years later, as announced on June 28, 2018, the DC Universe internet streaming channel became the newest home for the live-action adventure series Titans.

According to Warner’s press release, “Titans follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging in a gritty take on the classic Teen Titans franchise. Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth, a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness, get embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring Hell on Earth. Joining them along the way are the hot-headed Starfire, and loveable Beast Boy. Together they become a surrogate family and team of heroes.”

Fans were surprised by the trailers and footage shown early on, and word hit swiftly when the first episode of the new Titans was shown at New York Comic Con 2018 on October 3rd, ahead of its online premiere on October 12 debut. Starring Brenton Thwaites as Dick/ Robin, Teagan Croft as Rachel/Raven, Anna Diop as Kory/Starfire, Ryan Potter as Gar/Beast Boy, Minka Kelly as Dawn/Dove, and Alan Ritchson as Hank/Hawk, the new Titans was full of dark cinematography, angry grimaces, loads of flying blood, and a meme-worthy clip of Robin saying “F*** Batman!” unironically. Not only was this not your father’s Titans, it was not like any Titans you would have imagined.

Produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Greg Walker, Sarah Schechter, and John Fawcett, Titans seemed to want to do everything it could to get

down in the dirt and shadows. If there was a violent way to handle a situation, these characters found it, and if there were moments to brood, the new Titans reveled in doing so. Due to language, violence, and nudity, the series would have been rated “R” if it had been a film. Fans were unsure what to make of the series; some loved it for its adult approach, in stark contrast to Teen Titans Go!, while others found it nihilistic and overly gloomy. Everyone could agree on three things: first, in the first 11 episodes (ending December 21, 2018), there was a lot of swearing; second, that Conor Leslie brought light and joy to her brief turn as Donna/Wonder Girl; and third, that the hint of Superboy and appearance of Krypto as the season ended were something to look forward to.

Titans’ second season (September 6–November 29, 2019) hewed a bit more closely to comic lore, though the stories dragged and meandered without purpose much of the time. The key team was finally brought to a form of Titans Tower in San Francisco, and in a season-long fight against Deathstroke (Esai Morales), multiple changes occurred: Dick abandoned Robin and became Nightwing; new character Jericho (deaf actor Chella Man) was killed and revived; Rose Wilson/Ravager (Chelsea Zhang) simpered a lot; Jason Todd/Robin (Curran Walters) was clearly not having a good life as super-jerk Batman’s sidekick (Iain Glen was never in the Bat-costume, but was always a jerk); Conner Kent/Superboy (Joshua Orpin) walked around naked a lot; and both Aqualad (Drew Van Acker) and Wonder Girl were senselessly killed.

Junior JLA (top) Promo for Young Justice Season One, this sort-ofTitans series touted its characters’ connections to their superpowered mentors. (bottom)

By Season Two, the cast was expanding.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Titans for Grownups (left) The initial core group of the live-action Titans series shown in a Season One poster. (right) Titans Season Two poster, with its expanded cast.

TM & © DC Comics.

TEEN TITANS: THE MEDIA DARLINGS

On November 11, 2019, Warner announced that the live-action Titans had been renewed for a third season for Fall 2020. Although no story details were given, rumors that the season will bring back Donna Troy— perhaps under the guise of Troia—have floated around the internet for months, spurred on by early comments made by Conor Leslie. In the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover on the CW’s “Arrowverse” shows, it was established that Cyborg and the Doom Patrol series exist on Earth-21, while Titans exists on Earth-9. Doom Patrol has also been renewed for a second season, to air in 2020.

On the animated front, Young Justice has had a fourth season announced, to debut sometime late in 2020. And as of this writing, Teen Titans Go! is midway through its sixth season, with over 275 episodes having aired to date!

In the 53 years since their debut in the comics, the Teen Titans have changed rosters, changed costumes, changed codenames, and changed series titles. But it’s unlikely that even the precognitive powers of Lilith combined with Raven’s sorcery could predict that in those five decades, the sidekicks would become popular enough to have jumped from the earliest days of Saturday morning to multiple concurrent appearances—appropriate for different

ages—in modern animation and live-action. “They just couldn’t wait to get started in their own mag!” shouted the cover to Teen Titans #1, but maybe it should have shouted, “They just couldn’t stay in the comics and off your TV!” Artwork and photos are courtesy the collection of Andy Mangels.

ANDY MANGELS is the USA Today bestselling author and co-author of 20 books, including the TwoMorrows book Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, as well as Star Trek and Star Wars tomes, Iron Man: Beneath the Armor, and a lot of comic books. He recently wrote the Wonder Woman ’77 Meets the Bionic Woman series for Dynamite and DC Comics, and is currently working on a book about the stage productions of Stephen King and a series of graphic novels for Junior High audiences. Additionally, he has scripted, directed, and produced Special Features and documentaries for over 40 DVD releases. His column, “Retro Saturday Morning,” is featured regularly in TwoMorrows’ RetroFan magazine!

His moustache is infamous. www.AndyMangels.com and www.WonderWomanMuseum.com

50 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

by B

Many superheroes have had almost every aspect of their lives examined, down to the tiniest detail.

Countless books and articles have been written about Superman, Batman, Captain America, and the Hulk, to name just a few.

Ah, but how about one of the lesser lights? You know, someone like… oh, I don’t know, let’s say, the Protector.

Yes, I see the puzzled looks on some faces. The Protector made only three documented appearances in the pre-Crisis DC Universe, and those were in special public-awareness comics!

In 1983, DC Comics published three comic books in association with the President’s Drug Awareness Campaign. They starred the company’s hottest property at the time, The New Teen Titans. Featured along with the TTs was the aforementioned lesser light, the Protector— in place of Robin! The reason? Well, the first Titans drug-awareness comic was published in association with cookie manufacturer Keebler, the problem being, at the time Robin and Batman were licensed to rival Nabisco.

rian Martin

Oops! That’s the way the cookie crumbles! So, a new costume was added onto what was basically Robin, and the Protector was born.

Of course, we don’t want to slight the guy. Although he was the ultimate superhero stand-in (too bad he didn’t make the cut for BI #117), there is a lot of information in those three drug-awareness comics that indicates that the Protector had more experience as a crimefighter than was documented there. That trio of tales also offers some significant insights into the man’s psyche, enough for us to build this little profile of the Bronze Age Protector.

HAVEN’T I SEEN YOU SOMEWHERE?

The first indication we have that we are dealing with a character that has been around the block a time or two is that in a couple of instances in those issues, various miscreants that the heroes track down recognize the Protector and call him by name. You have to have been around a while and made an impression for your average

Clean and Sober Back covers to 1983’s first and third The New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Comics, with the Protector facing front. Art by George Pérez and Dick Giordano.

New Teen Titans and Protector TM & © DC Comics.

Keebler® elf © the Ferrara Group.

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Protector and Pals Covers to 1983’s trio of New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Comics.

New Teen Titans and Protector TM & © DC Comics.

Keebler® elf © the Ferrara Group.

drug dealer to know you on sight. Add to that the fact that members of the Federal Task Force recognize him in the second tale and you have a hero who is not attending his first rodeo.

Further to that line of thinking is the familiarity with which Speedy deals with him, and vice versa. This leads us to the conclusion that maybe these heroes have worked together before. Given that the Protector says he has devoted his career to fighting the War on Drugs, that’s not much of a surprise. By that time in his life, Speedy was concentrating most of his efforts in that area, having a background that involved his own drug addiction. Therefore, it seems likely that they would have crossed paths and worked some cases together. Teaming up with the Titans was probably just a case of the two non-powered Titans needing some extra muscle.

It is stated in The New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Comic #1, in a story titled “Plague” that was produced by the regular Titans team of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez with the assistance of inker Dick Giordano (with Bill Collins on backgrounds, according to a then-contemporary “Meanwhile…” column in DC’s titles), that the Protector and the Titans have never worked together before, yet after this initial tale, prior to which Speedy certainly introduced them, in the latter two comics Protector assists the Titans, or the other way around if you prefer, with Speedy nowhere in sight. So, either they struck up a friendship very quickly, or trusted each other implicitly based solely on one case or on Speedy’s recommendation. More likely, the heroes got to know each other much better in some cases that never saw the light of day. Lots of heroes, initially unfamiliar with each other, work side-by-side in situations when they are thrown together by circumstance, but the missions that the Protector has with the Titans without Speedy being present have a much more calculated feel to them.

Heck, as a cap to all of this, at the lecture that starts off the third The New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Comic, the Protector is given top billing over the Titans when they are introduced by none other than Lois Lane!

Wolfman plotted this third tale, with Joey Cavalieri providing the script for Adrian Gonzales to pencil and Joe Giella and Ricardo Villigran to ink.

JUST A MAN, WITH A MAN’S COURAGE

Now that we’ve established the Protector’s bona fides, let’s take a little closer look at what probably made him tick. No secret origin, at least from the perspective of an accident at a nuclear plant or meeting with an alien needs to be explored. It is quite certain that the Protector was just a man, probably a fairly young man, in a costume. Since he and the Titans seem to communicate on the same wavelength, I think that’s a pretty safe assumption.

His cases with the Titans would have been out of the norm, however, since the Protector does make it clear that he usually works alone. Being in the business of battling against drug distribution, it is probable that he would be involved in a lot of covert operations where working solo was not only smart, but necessary.

MAN ON A MISSION

When we begin to look deeper into the crusade the Protector has undertaken, we have to look at a couple of things: why is he doing what he is doing, and why has he chosen to focus on the area he has. Luckily, the man himself has given us a number of clues, if not outright answers, in a couple of his speeches.

The whys and wherefores behind his decision to dedicate himself to the battle against illicit narcotics are shrouded in mystery. For certain, we don’t get a lot of specific background information. The Protector does mention that he has spent his life fighting drug pushers. We can grant him a little poetic license there and figure that he did not emerge from the womb swinging. Suffice to say, he feels this is his calling and he has devoted a lot of time and energy to it.

In one speech he mentions that he has lost “a lot” of his friends to drugs. Now, we can believe that he came from a drug culture, but I don’t think that is the case. I think he has probably been involved with helping people overcome their drug problems and may have volunteered at clinics or centers. What evidence do we have? Not a lot, but since we know Speedy came from a drug culture in his youth, I believe we would have

52 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Are You Experienced? (top) From issue #1, Speedy spills his guts about his past drug use, famously chronicled in (inset) 1971’s Green Lantern #85–86. (bottom) This letter by then-First Lady Nancy Reagan was included in the Titans Drug Awareness books.

TM & © DC Comics.

seen the two compare notes, or have had one of the Titans mention the pair’s similar backgrounds. This never happens, so we will take it to mean that the Protector arrived at that point by a different path.

We are also led to believe that it has not been an entirely straightforward journey to get where he is. There have been frustrations along the way, and we are not referring to people that he may have lost, but to his own state of mind.

When Raven asks him early in their first mission how preventing drugs from reaching the street helps children, the Protector responds that it doesn’t, it only keeps the drugs off of the street. But he understands that it is a necessary step since the heroes cannot decide for the kids when it comes to getting off drugs, it is a decision they have to make for themselves. He reveals that it has taken him many years to accept that fact. How often, early in his career, did he try to impose his will upon someone, only to have his heart broken? We are not privy to that information, but his comment does reveal the tears and heartache that have gone into his evolution as an anti-drug crusader.

In the second The New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Comic, titled “Battle” and again written by Wolfman with art by Ross Andru and Joe Giella, the Protector tells Kid Flash that the best way to combat drug dealers is to convince kids not to take drugs in the first place. No demand, no market for suppliers.

This shows us that even though we only see the Protector in costume, his role as a masked crimefighter certainly comes second to his role as an educator.

STREET SMARTS VS. BOOK SMARTS

Making the conclusion that the Protector did not come from a life of drug abuse leads us to a couple of other biographical tidbits.

We can deduce just by the fact that he chose to put on a mask and cape to fight drug smugglers that the man is serious about his calling—or mentally unbalanced, but there is no other evidence of that being the case and as we said, it is certainly not the only avenue he uses to confront the problem.

Choosing to believe that he decided to use only his fists as weapons while in costume would be a mistake. Not content to let Speedy dispense all of the knowledge, there are a couple of times where the Protector espouses a number of facts concerning the harmful effects of drugs and the underlying issues that cause the situations in the first place. That means that as well as preparing himself physically, the Protector devoted a significant amount of time to learning all he could about his enemy, to the point that when Raven uses her empathic powers to take upon herself a child’s pain after he has taken dope that has been laced with Angel Dust, the Protector immediately recognizes the reaction and relates the cause to the others.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

When it comes to focusing on children, we may have to make some guesses as to what turned his attention in that direction. In the second tale we meet Protector’s cousin Ted Hart, a high school student who had a bad drug problem and almost died a year or so before the story takes place. Making the leap that it took a while for his addiction to progress to that point, it is likely he began at a fairly young age; that fact gives us at least one reason for the Protector’s focus.

Once concentrated there, however, we see lots of evidence as to why it remained. Since the Protector seems to have had previous experience with Speedy, and as we said, Speedy had personal experience as well as a good deal of time put in battling the problem, it’s pretty safe to assume that the Protector availed himself of a lot of Speedy’s knowledge. In the first issue, Speedy gives an impassioned speech detailing why he believes fighting drug addiction at the childhood level is so crucial. He emphasizes the facts that drugs have a much worse effect on children since their bodies are still growing. Further, he opines that when children start using drugs they have a lot more chance of escalating their use as they search for the next, bigger high.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

To Heck with Drugs (top) Panel from issue #2, with the Protector and the Titans in action. (bottom) Don Heck, inked by Joe Giella, on a Protector public-service announcement. Original art scan courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

In the first story, we are shown children attending discussion groups where they can talk about their problems with their peers. Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous have long employed this method to help their members, so it is quite logical that this sort of thing could be used to help children deal with drug addiction.

Protector and Speedy might have a few more thoughts where that is concerned as well. In the second issue, Protector’s cousin tells him he doesn’t really believe the reasons he is given to not use drugs. Speedy—and probably because of their friendship, the Protector—has some actual insight into this way of thinking since the young bowman eloquently articulated a lot of the reasons in a famous speech in the classic Green Lantern #86 (Oct.–Nov. 1971). When asked by the Emerald Gladiator why he did not believe all of the things that adults told him were bad about drugs, he replied, “You’ve told us war is fun… skin color is important… a man’s worth is the size of his bank account… all crocks. So why believe your drug rap?” If the kids are not going to believe their elders, there is a much better chance they will believe those in their own peer group. Almost every adult knows just how powerful peer pressure can be.

Alongside the pressure to do what their friends are doing, many of the role models that younger kids have make it seem like using drugs is cool. So while it is great to fit in with your peer group, emulating those who you look up to is another huge motivating factor.

The Protector and the Titans run up against this motive in the third story especially.

HELPING THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

Might the Protector have had a sibling who fell victim to drugs? We are not given any comments to that effect, and it may only be his education or his experiences with his cousin, but in the third adventure he gives a long, impassioned speech telling a group of parents what their role needs to be in their children’s rehabilitation, and he does not pull any punches. He lays out the sacrifices they will have to make and the pain they will have to go through. Once more this may just be him utilizing his education, but the speech seems passionate enough to have come from experience—if not his own family, then quite probably that of a family very close to him.

TO SERVE AND PROTECT

I think we make a pretty good case for what made the Protector tick. We can say “made” since the character never made another pre-Crisis appearance. Post-Crisis, DC Comics has opted to include the Protector in their universe. He even received an entry in Who’s Who Update ’87 #4 (Nov. 1987). He was given a name, Jason Hart. His cousin Ted still had a drug problem, and since Ted was a comic fan, Jason was inspired to take on the Protector identity. Things escalated from there and he was involved in an altercation to save Ted from drug dealers. This brought him to the attention of Nightwing, who decided to train Jason and make him an honorary Titan.

54 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Big Bust

TM & © DC Comics.

Unfortunately, no one at DC seemed too interested in using the character. He appeared in a couple of DCU mob scenes, and in a couple of issues each of DC’s animation spinoff titles Teen Titans Go! and Tiny Titans. The recent series Heroes in Crisis (2018–2019) featured Jason checking into Sanctuary for help with vigilante-related stress, and he was one of the heroes who perished there.

A sad ending to be sure, but given DC’s frequent restructuring of its Multiverse, maybe the Bronze Age Protector is still out there fighting the good fight.

If he is, we wish him all the best in his noble pursuit.

BRIAN MARTIN lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and admits that his drug of choice is comic books.

He also realizes he is addicted.

And he’s okay with that.

DC’S FIRST PROTECTOR Did you know that a different Protector predated 1983’s drug-buster of the same name? The Protector— real name unrevealed— was a flying mutant with the ability to alter his molecular structure who gave the Man of Steel a hard time in Superman #307–308 (July–Aug. 1977), by Gerry Conway, José Luis García-López, and Frank Springer. At this writing, he hasn’t been seen since.—ed.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 55

From Superman #308 (Aug. 1977). TM & © DC Comics.

(left) Our hero surprises some pushers in The New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Comic #2. (right) The proselytizing Protector, from the third issue.

by J o

h n Tr u m b u l l

transcribed by Rose Rummel-Eury a n d J o h n Tr u m b u l l

Our Esteemed Panel (left to right) Spencer Beck, Shannon Lower, George Pérez, Ron Lim, Jim Starlin (in back), and Josef Rubinstein. Photo by John Trumbull.

The first time I saw George Pérez, it was love at first sight.

Like most of you reading this, I first met George as a reader. For me, it was in Justice League of America #195 (Oct. 1981), the very first issue of my JLA subscription.

It was the first part of the JLA’s annual meet-up with the Justice Society of America, and in the space of 25 pages, Gerry Conway, George Pérez, and John Beatty introduced me to the JSA, the Secret Society of Super-Villains, Earth-Two, and the very concept of parallel worlds. 27 superheroes, 10 supervillains, and two Earths. To say that it blew my nine-year-old mind was an understatement.

And as an added bonus, it also contained a double-page pinup of the complete memberships of the JLA and the JSA. To this day, it’s one of my favorite pieces of comicbook art. So right away, I knew that George Pérez was the guy who drew everybody and made them look better than anyone else.

I followed Pérez from book to book after that. From the JLA to The New Teen Titans, to Crisis on Infinite Earths, to Wonder Woman, and on and on. He never disappointed.

George announced his retirement from comics on January 19th, 2019, as his health issues caused by a combination of diabetes, heart ailments, and vision problems forced him to step away from the daily grind of writing and drawing comics. He went to a total of seven cons over the course of 2019, many of them making up for appearances he missed after his 2017 heart attack.

On Saturday, May 18th, 2019, Cliff Galbraith’s East Coast Comic Convention hosted a special Farewell Dinner for George, where 46 lucky fans got a chance to spend an evening with the maestro to let him know how much he’s meant to us over the years. At Michael Eury’s request, I was lucky enough to report on the evening for BACK ISSUE. My thanks to Cliff Galbraith and everyone at the East Coast Comic Con for making this happen. What follows is an edited transcript of the event, along with brief bonus interviews with George’s agent Spencer Beck, as well as George’s collaborators Ron Lim, Jim Starlin, and Josef Rubinstein.

– John Trumbull

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PANEL INTRODUCTIONS AND PÉREZ TRIBUTES

SPENCER BECK: [I’ve been George Pérez’s agent] for almost three decades now. To say it’s been an honor and a privilege is an understatement. Tonight is about the man you’ve all come to see, George Pérez. We have a few extra guests here. First at the end is George’s lovely wife, Carol. [applause] He says she’s given him the greatest life that anyone can imagine, and George always likes to acknowledge that to everybody, so I thought I’d do it in advance for him.

This is Shannon Lower. George likes to refer to her as his spiritual daughter. She is my spiritual sister. We will hear from Shannon momentarily. Coming up next, Josef. This is Joe Rubinstein, who some of you may know; he likes to talk a lot and you’ll be hearing from him in a moment. [applause] Coming up next is Mr. Ron Lim, who I think you all know from drawing The Infinity Gauntlet, among other things. [applause] After him, we’ve got a man who I think all of you’ve seen a movie that he created one of the characters in—Thanos, I think?

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jim Starlin. [applause] And now, I’d like to ask everyone to stand up for a moment and give a round of applause for the man you came to see, Mr. George Pérez. [applause] Tonight, you’ll be hearing all sorts of things about a man that we’ve all come to love. I have the honor of calling this man my friend and I refer to him as my spiritual father. This man has done more for me emotionally than I can say. It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with this man. When I’ve had times of distress, I get phone calls, or I give him a call, and somehow, he has a way of talking me down from a bridge. And I cannot tell you how much I love you, my friend and my father. [applause] And now I will pass the microphone to Shannon Lower, and she can say a word or two.

SHANNON LOWER: There’s a saying that there’s a family that you’re born into, and then there’s a family that you choose. And if you’re super, super-lucky, like me, you are fortunate enough to choose a father like George Pérez. I’ve known him since I was 18 years old and he— oh, here we go! [begins to cry a little] Oh, my goodness. He has been part of some of the largest decisions of my life. Most of my major life decisions as an adult have been because of this man. He’s been the most supportive person in my life, in my entire adult life. You all know about the unlimited generosity that George Pérez has—you’ve all seen it. He’s the type of man that engenders absolute devotion and absolute love and you want to protect him; you want to just be in his life.

And that’s what I try to do. I try to do all of that. I try to be in his life, and I try to protect him, as many of you who came through my line today know! Thank you, George. I love you so much. [applause] BECK: The next person we have here to say something is Mr. Joe Rubinstein, a man who is known for many things, one of which is having had the honor of working with George Pérez and making some stuff that I think we all remember quite well, including Infinity Gauntlet.

And so, without further ado… [applause] JOSEF RUBINSTEIN: I inked George on one of his first professional jobs as one of my first professional jobs. I’ve known George for about 40 years. And I blame him because ultimately, I applied for the job as his Mini-Me. You know, I wanted to say sh*tty things about George, and unfortunately, he’s really nice. [to George] You won’t remember this, and it’s a little snippet from your life, but one day we were both in an airport coming back from a convention, and bunch of ladies on your plane had lost their luggage, and you were nice enough to just help them. You didn’t even know any of them. And I thought, “He’s a very nice person!” He doesn’t hide it well, either. So, I’m sure all of you who’ve had any interactions with George during the convention know he’s a nice guy. I’m glad he turned out to be a legendary artist and I can say nice things to him and probably make my job a little better. [applause] BECK: The next gentleman you may have heard of also, Mr. Ron Lim, who had the honor of following George on The Infinity Gauntlet, among other things.

GEORGE PÉREZ: I followed him. He started all of this with Thanos and everything else…

BECK: Oh, okay, so to get it correct: Ron, George, Ron. I believe Ron’s career speaks for itself. The man has worked on pretty much every character that Marvel has and a few at DC, too. Without further ado, Ron Lim. RON LIM: I don’t like to make speeches. But, George, you’re the best, man! Following George on the Infinity stuff was very scary, because I’d

They Oughtta Make a Movie Outta This At the time of this tribute panel, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame was still the talk of the town. These two Jim Starlin classics (featuring Joe Rubinstein inks) were among the film’s source materials.

TM & © Marvel.

only been in the business for a few years, so following George was…

I grew up idolizing his artwork, so I was like, “Man, what am I supposed to do?” I drew the [Silver] Surfer before the Infinity stuff came out, so I was very, very nervous, but it worked out okay. [laughter] He’s a great guy. Probably the happiest guy I’ve ever met, and yeah, he’s a great friend. [applause] BECK: What can I say about our next guest here? I think you probably know his work now. Is there anybody here who hasn’t seen Avengers: Endgame yet? Anybody? [audience laughter as George raises his hand] I’m going to ruin it for you—the butler did it. Without further ado, Mr. Jim Starlin. [applause] JIM STARLIN: Well, I think George and I would probably both agree that me sitting up here talking about you at your retirement dinner is really kind of a bizarre thing, because you and I have never, except on this one job, worked together. In fact, most of the time, when I was at DC, he was at Marvel, and when he was at DC, I was at Marvel. So, we did close to 40 years of passing each other in the night, didn’t we? In fact, just recently in Hawaii was the first time you and I actually were on a panel together.

PÉREZ: …At the same time, you’re right.

STARLIN: But I was always aware of you. We’d met; we’d talked. I always knew what a professional he was. Looked at your work, admired it; but we were ships passing in the night. But I must say I am honored to be here on your retirement party night. I think your career and your life should both be celebrated. I think everyone should get up and stand up and give this man a big round of applause. [applause] BECK: One thing I wanted to interject when everyone is saying what a nice person George is: I want to tell you the first time that I think I upset George when I was representing him. This just popped into my head, and it’s funny. George and I were talking about Alex Ross. [Alex had] just painted over George’s work on the Crisis hardcover, the wraparound cover that George did. … We were talking about it, and George at that time couldn’t believe that Alex was so talented and so young.

And when it came out, I said, “George, you know, when I was growing up, I remember riding my bicycle to go get your work.” I don’t think that statement ingratiated myself to him very much. [laughter] George’s response to me was, “Am I to understand that my agent was riding a bicycle when I was doing some of my work?” and I was like, “…Yeah.” I just remembered how much I loved you more for that moment when you were laughing, and thankfully, you were laughing with me and not at me.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 57

SPENCER BECK ON GEORGE PÉREZ Spencer Beck is not a name that is known to most comics fans, but he’s one of the behind-the-scenes people that makes things happen.

He’s been an art dealer and agent for over three decades and represents some of the biggest names in the comics industry. Few know George Pérez better than Spencer, and we appreciate him taking the time to speak with BACK ISSUE and give us a peek behind the curtain.

BECK: Yes. I called George and said, “Creator X loves you and wants to work with you. I know you’ve said you would kill to work with Creator X.” And through a mutual best friend of this creator I called him and can’t use the words the guy said—but there were some expletives involved! “‘Expletive’ yes, I would kill for the opportunity [to work with him]. How about this? I’ll write a story for him, and the deadline is whenever it’s done.”

JOHN TRUMBULL: You’ve been George’s agent, or TRUMBULL: So it’s going to happen? representative, for…

BECK: It’s going to happen. If might be five years, SPENCER BECK: Almost 30 years. it might be two years. He said, “Let him do one page TRUMBULL: Do you recall when you first saw his every three months. I don’t care. I just want the work or met him in person? opportunity to put on my resume that I wrote one BECK: That’s two separate issues. The first time I of the final stories for George Pérez.” saw his work, that I knew the creator’s name as TRUMBULL: That really says something. it was connected to the work, was Crisis on Infinite BECK: I’ll tell you the most recent wonderful thing.

Earths. I’d seen his work on Avengers and everyGeorge did a podcast, and in the podcast, he said thing else, but I was too young to understand he regretted… he tried to accomplish a little bit of the difference, [to realize that] “Oh, this guy is everything from every venue in terms of comics, drawing this comic book.” But the first time I but never got the opportunity to draw Vampirella saw his work was Crisis, and as I said during the [on] a published cover. He did a lot of sketches, spencer beck speech, it was one of the first times George ever but never had the opportunity to do Vampirella, reprimanded me, because I commented I was and he never got the opportunity to do a Judge riding a bicycle to go get my comics. He was like, “My rep Dredd. I called Nick Barrucci of Dynamic Forces and Nick said, was riding a bicycle when I was doing that.” He wasn’t happy. “‘Expletive’ yes!” And George did a cover for him. Nick is friends I suddenly made him feel very old, even though he wasn’t at the with the publisher of Judge Dredd, and the guy said, “‘Expletive’ time. It was 25-something years ago I said this to him, so he was yeah! We normally only work with British people, since we’re only in his 40s. But that was that. And then the first time I went a British company, but there is no way I’m turning down a to his house, I never forgot, I went with my lawyer, because he George Pérez cover.” And George had a ball with it. And that’s happened to live locally. He was a huge fan of George’s. already out; if you look it up online. That’s on the stands.

TRUMBULL: Was he still in New York?

TRUMBULL: I’ll have to find that.

BECK: Yeah, still in New York. It was funny. George says, “What am BECK: George said, “You got me both? The [podcast] only came I doing that you need to bring your lawyer with you?” We went out yesterday!” I said, “They both want you. Who’s going to there and, using a Wonder Woman reference, the only way I turn down an opportunity to work with you?” But there are so can describe the feeling is it was like climbing the steps to many things about the man... I get choked up, because it’s Mount Olympus. hard. When you’ve gotten to meet Zeus… meeting Hercules is In my entire life, I’ve had four idols. One was Henry Winkler, the kind of meh…

Fonz. Yes, I was one of those kids that got a library card because TRUMBULL: Everyone else suffers by comparison.

Fonzie said it was cool. The second was Harry Chapin, who a lot BECK: Right, exactly. To give you an idea of the type of man he is, of people don’t know helped form the World Hunger organization he inked Curt Swan on “Whatever Happened to the Man of [now known as WhyHunger]. That was him. The third was Curt Swan. Tomorrow?” George doesn’t really keep his own artwork, but he He simply was comics to me. It was an amazing coincidence how had the title page from “Whatever Happened to the Man of much I loved his work and he became my very first professional client. The fourth hero to me was George Pérez. Just looking at the work, the detail that he puts in, the attention that he puts in, and the amount of hours that he puts in. The sacrifices he has made for his career. He sacrificed a lot of hours in his career to give us the George Pérez that we know. Those were my heroes and one of my friends just said, “I can’t believe the phone rang and I was talking to George Pérez, like most people are ordering chewing gum.” He was my hero. And now, he’s still my hero, but he’s also a client, he’s also my friend and my extended family. His generosity knows no bounds. Like he said about me, I don’t like being very public about a lot of the things I do, neither does George. George has helped me and so many others too numerous to count out in Pérez cover art for ways that I can’t even describe in words.

2000AD #2100 TRUMBULL: What’s been the biggest adventure in your years of representing him?

(Sept. 26, 2018).

BECK: That’s a tough one. There’s been a lot of them. That’s not Courtesy of an easy question. There’s too many. There’s one writer, I can’t say the name, that George always wanted to work with in the last Spencer Beck. decade or two—and he never got the opportunity to work with.

Judge Dredd © Rebellion A/S. When this writer saw George’s retirement announcement, he wrote this glowing article about how much he idolized George and regretted how he never had the opportunity to work with him.

TRUMBULL: So it was mutual.

58 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Tomorrow?” [Superman #423, Sept. 1986]. That page, in today’s market, is probably worth at least $10,000, if not more. When Curt Swan passed away, [George] called me and said, “Would the family like this page?”

It was one of the few pages he kept. It was framed and up on his wall in his living room.

TRUMBULL: …And he gave it to the family.

BECK: He gave it to [Swan’s] daughter. Who was crying when I gave it to her. She actually owned a restaurant in Darien, Connecticut, at the time, and she put it up in her office so she could see her dad’s work every day. When she retired, she took it home.

It’s now in her house. But that’s the type of person [George] is. He thinks about everybody else first.

TRUMBULL: What would surprise us the most to know about George Pérez? What do you know about George that none of us do, that you can say?

BECK: The truth is… nothing. He is an open book.

There’s no pretention; there are no secrets about George. There really isn’t. There’re no secrets about George that you can say. He gives you his all and more. To show you the type of person he is: Two years ago, at this show, he had a heart attack. He was in the hospital potentially dying. Literally, potentially dying. And he said to apologize to everybody, he’s sorry he’s letting people down. Thank God he was okay. He had to have a procedure, et cetera, but he could have died. And all he was concerned with was letting the fans down. I said, “George, you had a heart attack. It’s okay. The fans understand. You’re not staying home to watch a basketball game. You’re in the hospital in cardiac intensive care. Anybody who would be upset, I don’t care to impress.”

I had a creator years ago at a show I was doing, where the man’s wife had a brain seizure; she went literally from in the living room to a coma. They had to take her [to the hospital]. She lived, but she was in critical condition. This “horrible” creator went to the hospital to be with his wife instead of going to the convention, and [some] fans were upset. I got a letter, it was literally two-pages long, saying, “This artist owes me a free sketch. I drove three hours to come here.” I was like, “…His wife’s in a coma?!”

TRUMBULL: [sighs] The entitlement of some people…

BECK: But George, he’s the person who is in cardiac intensive care and he’s concerned about the fans who came to see him at the show. It’s open season.

There’s nothing I can reveal about him, because he’s an open book. He’s the type of person, if you ask him how much money in his wallet, he’ll take it out and show you.

TRUMBULL: I’ll ask him that! I’m going test him. [laughter] BECK: I don’t know if he would! I was speaking figuratively! But anyhow, there are no secrets. There is a reason that this man is revered, that he is the legend he is… because his talent has been a gift to this industry and he is the most giving, most generous, most kind-hearted and loving human being I have ever known. Not only do I love him, but all those that spend five minutes in his presence love him too. Never has a comic creator been more deserving of the title “Living Legend” than George Pérez. At least in my book.

You can contact Spencer via email at SpencerBck@aol. com or visit his website at www.theartistschoice.com.

At this point, we took a break for dinner. In the buffet line, I got to chat with Ron Lim’s young son Brandon, a bright and enthusiastic child who will possibly be following in his father’s footsteps as an artist. Over the course of dinner, I got to know the fellow George Pérez fans at my table. After the meal, George circulated among the tables, spending a few minutes with each person, talking to his fans, posing for pictures, and signing up to three items per person. While I didn’t have anything new for George to sign, I did show him my copy of Justice League of America #200, signed by him, Brian Bolland, Brett Breeding, Pat Broderick, Gerry Conway, Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino, Gil, Kane, and Joe Kubert. George also told our table an amusing story about his being reunited with the young actress who played Little Orphan Annie opposite his Daddy Warbucks in a community theater production of Annie nearly 30 years before.

Once George had visited the first few tables, East Coast Comic Convention founder Cliff Galbraith took the mic to resume the tribute.

SPECIAL THANKS AND AWARD PRESENTATION

CLIFF GALBRAITH: My name is Cliff Galbraith. I’m your host. [applause] No, really, the round of applause should be for you for coming and making this show possible, for all your devotion. I just want to tell you, we’ve had our best show attendance ever since I’ve been doing the East Coast Comicon, and I want to thank everybody. [applause] There are far too many people to thank tonight. I would be up here all night, but I just want to take this opportunity. I know this is about George, but I want to thank someone for putting this all together in so many ways, and that man is Spencer Beck. A lot of you don’t know him, some of you do.

Stand up, Spencer! [applause] Spencer… Well, sometimes he’s in front of the scenes, but a lot of times, he’s behind the scenes, you don’t know what he’s doing, but he does so much. Not just for me, but for other promoters.

He makes these shows possible. He brings the best talent for you to see.

I’m taking all the credit on the floor. People are shaking my hand, and hugging me, and saying, “Cliff, what a great show,” but no, it’s this guy that makes this stuff happen in so many ways. [applause] Thank you.

At this moment, I’d like to turn the microphone over to Jon B. Cooke, the… what is it that you do? [audience laughter] I mean that… he wears a lot of hats.

He’s got no hat tonight, but he wears a lot of hats and he does a lot of things.

He’s a multiple Eisner winner. [applause] He’s a superstar and he’s going to give an award tonight, but he’s going to explain what we’re up to. I’m going to turn it over to him. Joe Cooke, everybody! [applause] JON B. COOKE: Hi, everybody! Thank you, Cliff. My name is Jon B. Cooke.

I do a magazine called Comic Book Creator. I used to do a magazine called Comic Book Artist, and there’s one guy I never interviewed, but he’s well, well deserving of an interview, and that is George Pérez. [hands George a

Well deserved, sir!

Jon B. Cooke (left) presents the Comic Book Creator lifetime achievement award to George Pérez. East Coast Comic Convention organizer Cliff Galbraith (background) enthusiastically approves! Photos by John Trumbull.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 59

Going Gonzo Over the Gauntlet (top left) Thanos’ menace brews in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #44 (Dec. 1990). Cover by Ron Lim and Tom Christopher. (top right) They Oughtta Make a Movie Outta This, Part 2: The Infinity Gauntlet #1 (July 1991).

Cover by Pérez. (bottom) Look out! Starlin’s got the gauntlet! Photo by John Trumbull.

TM & © Marvel.

plaque] This is for George Pérez. This is a lifetime achievement award. This is for recognition of a life devoted to the art form of comics. This is from the East Coast Comicon and from Comic Book Creator magazine. Thank you, George. Thank you. [applause] PÉREZ: …I’m the only person who hasn’t even gotten a chance to talk yet! [audience laughter] Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered, honored, and touched by what’s been said. All these nice things being said, the only thing that’s missing is me lying in a box. [audience laughter] At least I am here to be able to hear it. [applause] Obviously, I’m very thankful to everyone here. Yes, Spencer and I go back more than two decades. He started out as my agent and became my friend and became my brother. I kind of resent being his father. [audience laughter] And, of course, Shannon, who I absolutely do adore as a daughter. I’ve known her since she was a teenager, and love the woman she became, love the bond that we still have.

Love the fact that she’s the best “booth babe” any man could possibly have. [audience laughter and applause] And, of course, she embarrasses easily, and she was tired so she left, but my life would not be worth commemorating if it wasn’t that I was supported and constantly made to feel better about myself by my beautiful wife, Carol. Who, again, not being here to hear it, I’m sure you can now give her all of the applause. [applause] She’s more than just a woman who makes all my shirts.

In June [2019], we’ll be married 38 years. I was reborn with that woman.

She gave me a reason to strive to be better both professionally and taking care of myself. People may know I had a heart attack two years ago…

GALBRAITH: Right here in this hotel. [George’s heart attack happened as he was preparing for an appearance at the 2017 East Coast Comic Con.] PÉREZ: Yeah, coming over here! So, I’m here two years late. Sorry!

I missed a deadline again! [audience laughter] But the fact that, quite honestly—and again, it would embarrass her if she actually heard me saying this to a crowd of people and she would cower away from the attention—but I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for her. And in many ways, I am alive, but it wouldn’t be worth living if it wasn’t for her. [applause] And let it be known that, yes, I am retiring. I am not near death’s door. I am not retiring because I am seriously ill, but because I can’t do it anymore. My eyesight has gotten… anyone who’s read past notes on Facebook, I’ve been given a few bad hands. Some of them I did deserve; I didn’t take care of myself as much as I wanted to, but I’ve had an incredibly, incredibly wonderful career!

I love what I do! I have dozens upon dozens of people willing to pay money to pay attention to me! I mean, I have people who wait in line—that’s time out of their lives—who are willing to spend for me!

For the work I’ve done, for the stuff I’ve done. Because I just wanted to draw comics. And look at my life now. And how many people can say, I know a few people here can, that they got to do all their lives what they’ve wanted to do since they were a child. How lucky can a person be? Any negatives that happened in my life, the positives far outweigh them. I couldn’t be happier. And I’ve said this before: I want to thank everyone involved in my life. Those I see only briefly at conventions, who keep coming back, who have given me a life that is the envy of kings. I am a very, very lucky guy! And thank you for letting me not have to wait for my funeral to hear all these nice things.

BECK: And now we return to George and everybody mingling.

Get your pens ready, and your cameras ready.

STARLIN: [putting on a prop Infinity Gauntlet and posing for photos] Who wants this?

BECK: Do not let him snap his fingers, everybody. Do not snap your fingers, Jim! At this point, George resumed visiting tables and greeting his fans. Since my table was one of the first ones that George visited, I took the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Ron Lim, Jim Starlin, Josef Rubinstein, and Spencer Beck, to get their thoughts on George’s career, his retirement, and their personal relationships with George [see sidebars]. After George visited every table and met his adoring public, everyone re-gathered up front for the Q&A portion of the evening.

60 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

JIM STARLIN ON GEORGE PÉREZ STARLIN: You were very surprised to find out I could keep my mouth shut, apparently.

TRUMBULL: [laughter] Yeah!

STARLIN: I was told by somebody that most of the people who did cameos, they’d tell everyone before it ever comes out, and I was the only one they’d talked to that never told anybody.

I told some family members, but that was about it.

TRUMBULL: And you had a line, too! Were you just on the set for a day, or…?

STARLIN: Yeah, it was only one day. It was a lot of fun.

All those people were very nice. The Russos… Joe was JOHN TRUMBULL: You got into the business a few years before George. Do you recall the first time real nice. Anthony was out with pneumonia at the that you saw his work, or the first time that you time, so I never met him until later on at the met him in person? premiere. And [screenwriters Christopher] Markus JIM STARLIN: Actually, no. He was there. I and [Stephen] McFeeley were very open, and remember seeing his pages up at the office. they were really good to chat with.

TRUMBULL: Did you get to interact with Chris You know, when you’re starting off, all you’re Evans much? interested in doing is just the work, and all the STARLIN: Not too much. We were on the set other stuff is peripheral. I remember George’s work being there. I think, probably [Al] Milgrom showed [together], but he was on one side of the room and it to me, him being a contemporary, and maybe I was on the other side of the room. He would a couple of years behind. He was another guy talk to the other actors around him and a lot of coming from the Kirby school. So, I registered times, folks would come up to him and talk jim starlin business with him. We chatted a little bit, him and liked what I saw him doing, but George and I really did go on different tracks for many © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. but mostly it was leaving him alone so he could years. He was always over at the other company than I was at. get up and check his mail on breaks.

TRUMBULL: You were sort of “ships passing in the night.”

TRUMBULL: What’s it like to see these characters and these STARLIN: Yeah. We were introduced at conventions, but we concepts that you came up with 20, 30, 40 years ago—Thanos never really spent any time [together]. Even when we were and the Infinity Gauntlet, they’re household names now. What working on The Infinity Gauntlet, I was up north and he lived in does that feel like?

STARLIN: It’s cool. It’s nice recognition. There’s a surrealism to it. the city at that point.

TRUMBULL: Did you talk by phone when you were collaborating? I can’t let my ego get too involved in it, because most of it is STARLIN: I was involved with [Infinity Gauntlet editor] Craig being done by a layer of people far removed from me. There’s Anderson. Craig had a misconception of why George got off the a whole studio making this thing. They’re interpreting what I book, because George got off to work on [the DC miniseries] War did and it’s a whole different entity in its own self. I’d like to of the Gods because he was behind on deadlines. And the story say that Endgame made a billion dollars more than any other that I believed for many years was that he had quit to work on movie because I was in it, but the reality is… it’s not so! this play, because he had been doing some acting in New York.

TRUMBULL: [laughter] Right. What are your thoughts of George, TRUMBULL: Right, in community theater. now that he’s retiring? What has set him apart, as an artist and STARLIN: Yeah. So, I just accepted that was where he was going, as a creator, in your mind? but I had no idea. And it’s only been in recent years that we’ve STARLIN: George was a workhorse who just kept at it all the time. actually been chatting with each other and [I] found out what Nobody could do groups like he did. Nobody would go out to the real story was. It never made any difference to me one way look for groups like he did. Probably a little bit masochistic in his or the other, but it was, “Oh, I’ve been telling people the wrong tendencies. [laughter] I tried to avoid story all these years.” groups like the Avengers as much as I TRUMBULL: [laughter] What was your reaction when you found could, since I was creating my own out that all of a sudden George was leaving mid-issue and wasn’t groups. George was never afraid to going to finish the series? tackle any job and you’ve got to admire STARLIN: I was surprised, but at the same time, I was glad to him for that. And he always did a see Ron [Lim] coming back in, because Ron and I had been professional job, got things in on time. working on the series. I was glad to see George come on to it, He was just a consummate pro. but I always thought Ron was going to do it. When Ron came TRUMBULL: Do you have a favorite back on to it, it was, “Okay.” It was all working out fine. I try to George work, excepting Infinity stay kind of even keel with these things when working with Gauntlet? other people, because we’ve all got different crap and I just STARLIN: Some of his early Avengers figured [George’s] crap was taking him off into acting. It was off stuff that he did with Jim Shooter [“The into War of the Gods, which today he says he regrets going in Korvac Saga” in Avengers #167, 168, that direction, because it didn’t sell nearly as well.

170–177, Jan.–Nov. 1978]. They were TRUMBULL: It’s so wonderful to see the appreciation of what kind of interesting stories and he told you guys did together back in the day coming back through the the stories well with his drawings.

Avengers movies now. I personally let out a little squeal in the theater when I saw your cameo in Endgame.

STARLIN: So did I! [laughter] A Starlin Pérez pick: Avengers #170 (Apr. 1978).

TRUMBULL: Because I had no idea it was coming. I just went, Cover by Pérez and Terry Austin.

“Oh, it’s Jim Starlin!” It was just wonderful to see you up there, and I love that they went to the trouble to do that.

TM & © Marvel.

Jim Starlin entered the comics industry in 1972 and he hasn’t slowed down since. In his time in comics, he’s made massive contributions as both a writer and an artist. He’s revamped Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, created or co-created Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Dreadstar, and Shang-Chi, and killed off Jason Todd (an act that I’ve almost forgiven him for). Starlin and George Pérez famously collaborated on the Infinity Gauntlet limited series in 1991. You might also have caught Jim on the big screen as a member of Steve Rogers’ post-snap support group in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

PÉREZ TRIBUTE Q&A

When Titans Clash Pérez penciled page from the unfinished original Justice League/Avengers DC/Marvel crossover of the 1980s.

Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics and Marvel.

DAN GREENFIELD: … My name is Dan Greenfield from the website 13th Dimension [13thdimension.com].

I wanted to welcome back our panel here for your Q&A. One thing I wanted to note, if you didn’t get to George’s panel last night, which was remarkably detailed, he talked about no less than 13 different projects that he’s done over his career and we will be highlighting those at the website also—just a quick plug there. So if you weren’t there, you’ll get to see what he had to say, that’ll be coming out over the next few weeks and months. But tonight is really your opportunity to ask your questions. Spencer and I will be walking through the crowd—it’s like old Phil Donahue or Oprah… everybody will get the chance to ask their questions.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You get a car! You get a car!

GREENFIELD: Look under a chair—George Pérez is going to come to your house! He’ll do your dishes. [audience laughter] So raise your hands with questions, and I guess we’ll start right here.

AUDIENCE MEMBER 1: Mr. Pérez, you’ve drawn so many characters over the course of your career, worked for multiple companies, worked with multiple creators—how was the buffet tonight? [audience laughter] PÉREZ: How was the buffet tonight? I can’t choose among my children. [audience laughter] The usual answer I give for “Which character do I like drawing the most?”: I can’t choose among my children. The food was very good! Better than I expected, and I got it for free!

How did you guys like it? Because you had to pay for it!

That’s the question! [audience laughter] AUDIENCE MEMBER 2: It’s much better than last year’s.

AUDIENCE MEMBER 3: It is last year’s. [audience laughter] JOHN TRUMBULL: Thank you. George, I have sort of a technical question. I recently saw one of your pages from [the unpublished] JLA/Avengers, and what really struck me was how tightly it was penciled, even though you were inking it yourself. Why do you pencil so tightly if you’re inking yourself on a job?

PÉREZ: Well, if I make a mistake with the ink, I have to use White-Out and all these other things. It’s easier to erase pencils, so I wanted to give myself the best groundwork to be able to ink, because I don’t want to make a mistake that I’m going to have a hard time correcting.

The more lines I put on the paper—which is also why when I work with other inkers, even when I do layouts, they’re usually tighter than a lot of people’s full pencils— I want them to know what I’d like to have inked.

RUBINSTEIN: Oh, my aching back! [audience laughter] PÉREZ: I know! And that, yes.

BECK: I actually have a follow-up question, George, that I’ve never asked you, related to JLA/Avengers. Who won between Cap vs. Batman?

PÉREZ: You mean the pages I didn’t draw? It depended on which company was paying me. [audience laughter] AUDIENCE MEMBER 4: George…

PÉREZ: There are other people here!

RUBINSTEIN: We’re superfluous. [audience laughter] AUDIENCE MEMBER 4: Actually, I’m going to ask this of all four, how’s that? We are all thrilled to be in y’all’s presence. You’re heroes to us, very much so. Who was someone you’ve had a chance to meet in your career, that maybe you emulated, but someone who truly was one of your heroes in the industry?

PÉREZ: For me, I think there were two in particular, growing up, Jack Kirby and Curt Swan. [applause] They’re exactly what I wanted them to be. They were gentlemanly, they were appreciative, and I watched them dealing with fans and they were incredibly fan-friendly.

That’s the image I want of people who are entertaining that they seem to be at least enjoying themselves.

STARLIN: For me, it was Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.

Toulouse Lautrec said, “Beware of meeting your idols, because they mostly have feet of clay.” And neither one of them had feet anything other than diamonds, as far as I’m concerned. There’s been a lot of stories about Steve Ditko, but I met him when I was 16 years old. I called him up out of the blue when I was in New York City. He let me come up, and he spent an afternoon just talking with me about drawing. He pulled out all these notebooks that he had filled with just the way drapery works.

Meeting Kirby, after I started working, it was a treat to go out to his place in Rodeo, California, and listening to him talk about drawing, sitting there by his drawing board, looking out the window and saying, “Oh, yeah, every so often, the UFOs go by.” [audience laughter] “And then they stopped, and I just sort of watched them,” and I’m thinking, “Holy sh*t!” [audience laughter] Those are my two guys.

62 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

George Makes His Marvel Memorable Pérez covers on (left) Fantastic Four #187 (Oct. 1977, inks by Dave Cockrum) and (right) The Avengers #181 (Mar. 1979, inks by Terry Austin).

TM & © Marvel.

RUBINSTEIN: Yes, it’s true there are many poopie heads in comic books, and I’ve met a bunch. I was fortunate enough that my idol turned out to be my mentor, which was Dick Giordano [applause], who was a great guy—and even better guy than he was an inker. A sweet man and a wonderful human being, who gave us the generation of Terry Austin and Klaus Janson, and me, and a bunch of other inkers who all spawned from that. Somebody else who was as wonderful as he was great was Joe Kubert. [applause] You couldn’t beat Joe Kubert.

LIM: My big two idols are in this room! Jim and George, of course.

Literally, growing up, you guys’ comics were what I read, and I was really inspired reading their stuff.

STARLIN: We paid him to say this. [audience laughter] LIM: You haven’t paid me yet!

RUBINSTEIN: And Ron, it really hurts. [audience laughter] LIM: Sorry, Joe, sorry! But seriously, you guys’ stuff inspired me to draw comics.

STARLIN: So we’re to blame. We’re sorry we ruined your life. [Lim laughs] BECK: Questions? And actually, everybody, if you could say your name first also, like they do on the talk shows, so everyone will know who they’re addressing.

JOE CHIN: Hello, my name is Joe Chin. I just wanted to know what other hobbies do you have and what are you going to be doing during your retirement?

PÉREZ: I love doing crossword puzzles, so I do a lot of those. I like going out with my wife and we travel when we can. And some people will not be as surprised, and some people might be shocked… I also do some writing and directing on fetish videos. [applause] BECK: For those who don’t know, the company is called Double Trouble. I’d like to do a follow-up to that question: To any of the other people on the panel, what do you do guys do when you’re not drawing?

RUBINSTEIN: I watch his fetish videos. [raucous laughter] I’m available next week, by the way.

PÉREZ: I have a restraining order. [audience laughter] RUBINSTEIN: All right, well, since I’m a big mouth… I actually paint and draw pictures when nobody’s looking. When I’m not doing

comic-book stuff, I’m inking and drawing and taking yoga classes.

Because you sit at the table all day long, your spine turns into Pringles. You’ve gotta keep stretching.

LIM: Oh, I love Pringles! [audience and panel laughter] PÉREZ: If you’ve never seen it, this man is an incredible painter.

I’ve seen some of his portrait work, and his brushwork and his color sense… you’re really an incredible talent.

RUBINSTEIN: Thanks.

LIM: In my free time, I like to watch movies and play video games. [audience laughter and applause] And that is all!

RUBINSTEIN: And walks along the beach.

STARLIN: Okay, I’m going to lie… I like handball and racquetball, kayaking, and lately, I’ve been spending a lot of free time cutting down dead trees and chopping them up with a chainsaw.

RUBINSTEIN: You are so butch! [audience laughter] STARLIN: This is all true!

GREENFIELD: Questions over here?

AUDIENCE MEMBER 5: For anyone who wants to answer it. You’ve all created so many incredible characters taking on a life beyond your stewardship. What do you think about some of the things happening with your characters in some other medium like TV and movies?

STARLIN: I find it really surreal. I’m constantly trying to connect myself up to what I see on the screen. There’s a whole army of people between me and what you guys are seeing up there, and so I have to keep my ego in check. I’d love to tell you that Endgame is making so much money because I was in it [audience laughter], but the truth is there’s all these really talented people doing all this work that are making me really look good now. These books would have disappeared a long time ago if they hadn’t made these damn movies, and I’d better realize that and go on from there. How’s that?

PÉREZ: Similarly, but not quite the scale of Jim’s, all this with the Titans and even Wonder Woman. Even though I didn’t create the character, everyone seemed to acknowledge that my interpretation was very instrumental in the production of the movie. But the thing to me is, that wasn’t what I got into the industry to do, anyway.

I just wanted to draw comics.

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RON LIM ON GEORGE PÉREZ

TM & © Marvel and DC Comics.

Ron Lim has been a comics pro since 1986, when he drew Ex-Mutants for Eternity Comics. He’s probably best known for his runs penciling the Silver Surfer and Captain America at Marvel, as well as taking over the pencils on The Infinity Gauntlet after George Pérez left halfway through issue #4. He also illustrated the 1996 Silver Surfer/Superman crossover that Pérez wrote.

JOHN TRUMBULL: Do you remember when you first met George or when you first saw his work?

RON LIM: Well, it’s his work I grew up with. I loved his old Justice League of America. I loved those. …Was that the first? That may have been the first. His Teen Titans stuff, of course. So, all that stuff, I grew up with.

That was a big influence on me. Him and Jim Starlin here are of the two biggest influences on me. Some ron lim of the most marvelous artists and writers that I’ve ever worked with.

Pat Loika.

I met him… I don’t know what show it was. I think it was San Diego. I think 25 years ago, maybe. And he was always a great guy.

We’d see each other here and there. This is probably the most we’ve ever hung out, this year. We’re doing all this Infinity stuff [at comic conventions].

Even Jim; I’ve known Jim forever as well, so getting to hang out with him more than ever is awesome.

TRUMBULL: Did you talk by phone when you were working on Silver Surfer and Infinity Gauntlet together?

LIM: No, I think I spoke to him a couple of times when we were working on the Superman/Surfer crossover. They told me George was going to write it. I was like, “What!? That’s awesome!” I didn’t know what to expect. I was expecting a sci-fi adventure story, but then George did this Mr. Mxyzptlk and Impossible Man story. I’m like, “What the heck is this? This is awesome!”

TRUMBULL: Is that one of your favorite jobs?

LIM: Oh, yeah. And also having him ink me on the Infinity Gauntlet job was fantastic.

TRUMBULL: Now can you speak a little as to what it was like… He was following you on the Infinity Gem stories [in Silver Surfer], and then you followed him on the Infinity Gauntlet miniseries. What was that like?

I’m sure you had to step in on short notice, right?

LIM: Well, yeah. I was doing Surfer and then I did Thanos Quest. Because they wanted a big name to do Infinity Gauntlet. I’d been there for a few years, but I wasn’t established like George is, obviously. So, when they said that George is going to do Infinity Gauntlet, I was like, “Of course!

I want to read that as a fan. I can be a fan now!” Then George decided to leave, I think he was doing Wonder Woman and that kind of stuff. And so, when he left, my editor said, “Do you want to take over?”

Of course I wanted to, and then I thought, “I don’t want to follow George! [laughter] That’s crazy, man!” But I did.

TRUMBULL: He did, what, the first four issues?

LIM: He did half of #4. I finished #4 and then 5 and 6.

TRUMBULL: Was that a big deadline pressure?

LIM: Kind of. The first one was. I was trying to catch up. It was ahead of schedule, so I had to read everything and catch up on all the Gauntlet stuff, and I would just go from there.

It wasn’t too bad, though.

TRUMBULL: You did Superman/Surfer sometime after that, in the 1990s?

LIM: Exactly. And we got Terry Austin [to ink it].

That’s the extent of us working together. We’re both pencilers, so we don’t really work together unless you white something out! I’m not going to write anything because you don’t want to see that! [laughter] TRUMBULL: You don’t want to follow in his footsteps there?

LIM: No writing, no writing. I’ll let George or Jim write it! [laughter]

I’ve not watched any of the Titans live-action shows, I haven’t seen any of the animated shows. Not because I’m making judgments about them, it’s because since I’m the artist, there’s a visual disconnect for me because they’ve made so many visual changes that I can’t identify them. So, I can’t recognize them as my characters.

But I do appreciate that, for a whole different generation, they’d be introduced to the Titans through those media recreations and they go back to the original comics to see where it all started. And… I make a ton of money in royalties! [applause] I knew going into the industry that when I worked on the Titans and when I worked on anything, I was doing work for hire. I came in, as Jim did, before royalties, so I wasn’t expecting anything. All this is gravy. And I know that the companies own the characters, I’d rather they use them, even badly, than not use them at all, from a strictly financial point of view.

I do earn money [from their use in other media]. There are people who are saying, “Oh, my God! They’ve ruined the comic!”

No, they haven’t. They can still read the comic. The comics still exist, all the stuff we’ve done still exists, thanks to constant reprinting. The movies are their own entity. And as Jim said, put the ego aside. I’m letting my children go out, and all the other people have influenced their lives now. I’ve done my job, I’ve sent them out into the world, now the rest of the world takes care of them. And thank you all for playing the video games that I don’t play, because I make a ton of money thanks to you! [audience laughter and applause] RUBINSTEIN: Adopt me? I’ve never created any characters, but when I was watching the first part of Endgame… did that have the name Endgame, or was it [something else]? The previous picture…

PÉREZ: The previous one was Infinity War, this one was Endgame.

RUBINSTEIN: Okay.

LIM: …How did you not know that? [audience laughter] RUBINSTEIN: [with mock irritation] I don’t know! Do you know ink causes brain cells to die? [audience laughter] People may not remember this, but Jim and I, along with Jim, did the Avengers Annual #7 and Two-in-One Annual number whatever-the-hell-it-was [Annual #2, Dec. 1977], and that was the first big-deal Thanos fighting guys at the end, everything keeps up with the Infinity Gauntlet as they should. The thing is, when I was watching the previous Avengers movie and Thanos was fighting everybody, that was the closest I’d ever come to seeing my work on screen, and it just felt like the stuff I had done. The Wolverine in Japan movie they made, that was also based on my work, but that was so far away from the plot, that I kind of watched it like a viewer. But really, I was kind of delighted to see Thanos beating up on the Avengers, going, “I’ve been there. I know this scene.” [applause] LIM: Like Joe, I have not created any famous characters…

RUBINSTEIN: Just children.

LIM: …but I’ve drawn Thanos a lot, so I think I cared about that the most, seeing that on the screen is pretty— STARLIN: We think of you as an uncle. [audience laughter] LIM: Aw, thank you! Yeah, it’s pretty amazing seeing all that stuff on screen, because we did not expect it.

Seeing it done well is surprising, so yeah, I love it.

PÉREZ: I was just talking with Jim, [and] one of the things that Ron has to take some credit for, is the fact that, even though Jim did some basic design, Ron was the first person to draw the Infinity Gauntlet [in Silver Surfer #44, Dec. 1990].

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STARLIN: Did you ever get any of those designs? Originally, I wanted to put them on his head. [panel laughter] LIM: That’s right!

STARLIN: And then I did some little sketches of it, and he looked like Brainiac, so Craig [Anderson, editor] said, “You’ve got to put it on his arm.” [audience laughter] PÉREZ: It was Ron’s version that I was drawing when I did The Infinity Gauntlet.

I wasn’t the artist who created the Gauntlet. You were the artist I was following, so yes, you should take some credit for it. [applause] LIM: Thanks, thanks.

BRAD: Hi, I’m Brad. When the author Terry Pratchett was still alive, they asked him, “What do you plan to do when you retire?” and he said, “I’ll probably go in the countryside and write some books.” So, my question to you with that in mind is, are you still going to draw after retirement, even if it’s just for yourself?

PÉREZ: I have the luxury now of drawing for the sheer love of it. So, I don’t have to worry about deadlines, I don’t have to worry about paying my mortgage with my artwork. I earn more not drawing than I ever earned drawing. I pay more in taxes than I used to earn drawing. I’m not happy about it, but it’s nothing to feel sorry for me about. And yes, in fact, I am drawing something. I’ve announced this at Fetish Con of all things. I’m actually working on a fetish comic with my fetish model friends as the characters. Just for the sheer love of it. A page takes me a month, but I’m having fun; I can draw at a leisure pace and I have all these beautiful young women who really want to be [models for me]. The old line about, “Come into my home and see my etchings.” No, “Come in my home and BE my etchings!” I’m just having fun.

And I did do one last page for Marvel Comics. I did want to be involved with Marvel #1000, especially. So that is my last work for Marvel in the fore-

Ron and Joe (top) Lim and Rubinstein relax after the Pérez event. Photo by John Trumbull. (bottom left) Unlikely villains plague our heroes in the Pérez-written cross-company crossover Silver Surfer/Superman. Art by Ron Lim and Terry Austin. (bottom right) A 2016 portrait of Stan the Man Lee by Joe Rubinstein.

Silver Surfer and Impossible Man TM & © Marvel. Superman and Mr. Mxyzptlk TM & © DC Comics. Lee portrait © Josef Rubinstein.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 65

seeable future. The thing is, as I said in my retirement notice, “unless something interesting comes along.” And they give me enough time to do it. Because with the help of Photoshop, in order to be able to blow up my artwork as large as I need to, to be able to see it clearly, I can still produce work, it’s just that I can’t produce work at a deadline. So, by retiring from the business of doing comics, it doesn’t mean I retired from the love of my life—drawing.

Except that now I can do it just for love. And I’m really grateful for that.

RUBINSTEIN: You know, if I were drawing a fetish comic, I’d take a lot of breaks too. [laughter] PÉREZ: One thing again, she’s not here to hear this, but what a special woman I married, that I can do this and still be happily married for 38 years. [applause] AUDIENCE MEMBER 6: I actually have a question for the whole panel, which I think everybody here would like to hear. For each one of you: Alive or dead, who is the one creator that you wish you got to work with that you never got to work with—alive or dead?

PÉREZ: For me, he’s still alive, but I never worked with Neal Adams.

And I would’ve loved to have worked with Neal. Now, I couldn’t do justice to him because of my eyesight. I could never work on him now; I’d be as intimidated as all hell. But yeah, he’s one.

Another one is Brian Bolland. I would have loved to have inked Brian Bolland. Because he’s the closest person to my insanity that I’ve met, as far as all that extra line work and everything else. And one time he called me up when he was doing Camelot 3000, and asked me, “How do you manage to do that many pages when I’m having all this trouble getting this book out on time?” And I told Brian, who always…. Even when he does his thumbnails, they’re complete. And then he does complete pencils, and then he does the inking over complete pencils. I told him, “Brian, the secret: Draw it once.

Don’t draw it three times.”

But I’ve been lucky that I’ve gotten to work with a number of great artists, either writing their work or getting to ink their work. Inking Curt Swan was a dream come true for me; inking José [Luis] García-López was another [the miniseries DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1–4, Aug. –Oct. 2005]. He’s one of those underrated artists. [applause] Every one of them was a joy. And I even got to ink one page, not

Thanos Rising Signed Pérez original art promoting Infinity Gauntlet, produced in 1991 for the cover of David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview #94. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Marvel.

a prime page—there were no recognizable superheroes—but I got to ink Steve Ditko. On the cover for something he was doing for Topps Comics [Jack Kirby’s Secret City Saga #4, Aug. 1993]. So, I got to ink Ross Andru [Wonder Woman Annual #1, Nov. 1988], I mentioned Curt Swan [Superman #423, Sept. 1986], I’ve inked Carmine Infantino [Secret Origins #50, Aug. 1990]. So, yeah, I envy people like Joe here, because as your primary job is as an inker, you get to work with so many!

RUBINSTEIN: What about writers you wished you’d worked with?

PÉREZ: Neil Gaiman. I have told Neil, “Yes, I am retired, but if you ever come up with a story, count me in.” And Neil said, “Let me think about it. Let’s see what happens.” [laughter] The idea of coming out of retirement for a Gaiman/Pérez comic, I think the fans might appreciate it. Again, Neil and I have been talking about this for 20 years. If it happens, fine. If not… maybe he’ll write apology note on my tombstone. [audience laughter] GREENFIELD: Jim? STARLIN: Like George, I’d like to someday write a story for José Luis García-López, even though filling up the credit box with his name would really squeeze it in. [audience laughter] What I really wish I could’ve done is write a story for Joe Kubert. That would have been one I would have treasured.

RUBINSTEIN: A contemporary artist that I’d like to work with is Ivan Reis. But I happen to have, just because of the history of the [Official Handbook to the] Marvel Universe going for 20 years on and off, the Guinness World Record for having worked with more artists than anybody in the world—if it exists, which it doesn’t!

PÉREZ: It should!

RUBINSTEIN: Well, I wrote them and said, “Would you like to...?” “We don’t care.” [audience laughter] But the one who said yes, and then he turned it down, for Marvel Universe, was Alex Toth. That’s one I would’ve liked to have seen.

STARLIN: That would have been interesting.

LIM: Hmm... One inker I’d love to work with is Joe Sinnott. I grew up reading The Fantastic Four with Jack [Kirby] and loved his inks. Always loved his inks.

He almost inked me on an issue of Fantastic Four and then he had to be replaced at the last second.

That was it. I think he retired after that.

PÉREZ: Actually, he just retired now.

LIM: Just now?

PÉREZ: He just retired three weeks ago.

LIM: Is that right?

STARLIN: They just told you he retired. [laughter] RUBINSTEIN: And by the way, he changed his address. [laughter] LIM: That’s why!

PÉREZ: Joe… with all this brouhaha about my retiring, Joe just retired because they finally discontinued the Spidey comic strip, which he was inking. I’m going to be 65 years old and I’m announcing my retirement at 64. He just announced his retirement at 92! [appreciative whistles] And the man is still alert. His mind is still steady. The only reason he’s retiring is because his work is

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Pérez’s Prized Pairings Among the highlights of George’s career: inking fellow comic-art luminaries such as (left) José Luis García-López in DC Special: Donna Troy #1, (top right) Steve Ditko on the cover of Jack Kirby’s Secret City Saga #4, (middle right) Curt Swan on Superman #423, and (bottom right) Carmine Infantino on the Space Museum tale in Secret Origins #50.

All TM & © DC Comics, except Jack Kirby’s Secret City Saga © Jack Kirby Estate.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

Fallen Heroes (left) Signed Pérez cover art to The Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Index #1 (Mar. 1986), honoring the characters that perished in Crisis.

Scan courtesy of Andy Mangels. (right) Like the cover blurb says, the death of Supergirl (in issue #7) was a shocker!

TM & © DC Comics.

gone. I don’t feel quite as special when I think about it. I sound lazy now that I’m retiring! A man who is 28 years your senior is still working and now, just retired. He deserves that special accolade for retiring from the industry!

AUDIENCE MEMBER 7: Out of curiosity, obviously, you guys were comic fans growing up: Who was each of your individual favorite superheroes when you were growing up?

PÉREZ: That’s why I do team books, I didn’t have to say a favorite. Because I wanted to draw the characters.

Even though they weren’t credited, I was following the artists more than I was actually the characters.

The stories, yes. I loved what Stan [Lee] was doing and later Roy [Thomas]. I loved Bob Haney or Gardner Fox or Robert Kanigher. All these great writers that were good. I was into the stories.

This was something that Marv Wolfman one time mentioned to me when I looked at this fan review that loved this issue of The New Teen Titans that never once mentioned my name or mentioned the artwork, is that if it’s a good comic, you’ll appreciate

that it’s well drawn, you’ll appreciate that it’s well written, but you won’t single out the artist. You won’t single out the writer’s work, because the fan is involved in the story. And the story is the most important thing. We’re storytellers, first and foremost. So, I never had one single favorite. There were some artists that had an impact, like Jack Kirby when I first saw his work, because it was so different, but I liked the whole more than I liked the individual parts, even though I appreciated them. If it was a great comic story, I was entertained. And sometimes, it wasn’t even the best artist drawing it, but it was a story that was well told.

There are some artists who might not be the best draftsmen in the world, by certain people’s definitions, but they could tell a story like nobody’s business, and that’s the important thing for me.

KEN BUCHANAN: I’m Ken Buchanan from midwest Canada. Question for Ron, and George, and Jim. [Some laughter from the crowd as Joe is left out of the question, with some inaudible jokes about inkers.]

PÉREZ: [jokingly] You’re a tracer!

BUCHANAN: And it’s only because everything than I’m about to ask about has been done before it gets to you. When it comes to doing panel-to-panel work, designing your page layouts, where’s your mindset as you’re actually doing the layouts? Is there a specific mood or ambiance that you’re in at the time as you’re trying to create a mood that you want to display in your work? How does the design work of where the character’s going to be placed on the page come about to you?

STARLIN: Okay, so you know the writer part of this equation, it’s usually you’ve got to craft out the whole story before you get to the breakdowns, and that comes with figuring out your theme, your plot, and so forth. And then, it’s sort of like going back

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like they use a storyboard with movies, stuff like that. Trying to figure out what your most dramatic scenes are. What you want to have big on the page; how many little panels you might want to lead up to a big, cataclysmic explosion of imagery. It’s more instinctual, I think, than anything intellectual. It’s what your gut is telling you how the story progresses, and for me, that’s after a long period of doing things like hanging out on the river, or walking through the woods, driving around, or just sitting there staring out into space. You’ve got to envision it before you actually start breaking it down. [to George] I don’t remember where I was at when we were doing The Infinity Gauntlet. Was I doing any kind of panel breakdown?

PÉREZ: Well, you suggested it and I ignored it. [audience laughter] STARLIN: Yeah, right. I think I gave you a recommendation to ignore it at the beginning.

PÉREZ: I trusted Jim because, of course, he’s an artist, and he understood what works visually, but I also knew what my strengths were. Basically, I tried to honor what he did but then throw a different spin on it, because that was my job.

STARLIN: I usually put those things down there so I don’t have to write: “Big Panel, Little Panel, Big Panel.”

PÉREZ: And sometimes a writer will do that if he’s working with an artist who’s not a particularly strong storyteller, to guide them. Some artists need more guidance than others to tell the story, because it’s

not as natural [to them]. I remember one of the things I was told when I was first starting—probably why they kept giving me work, because I was really, really raw, and I was trying to learn—I was told: “Eventually, you’ll learn how to draw.” Storytelling I had from day one, they said. And that’s what made me valuable in this industry. I’m not drawing posters; I’m not drawing single illustrations; I’m drawing—I’m co-writing— a story visually.

And one of the things, as Jim mentioned, that is particularly valid about storytelling—and I go one further, telling a person that I was a big fan of movies and I studied directors to understand pacing: “If you’re going to be telling a story, imagine that you’re storyboarding a movie. But now, imagine you’re storyboarding a silent movie.” So as much of the story has to be told visually so that the writer can then concentrate on nuance, on what the character’s thinking, all the subtleties that you can’t really show. But the second that the writer has to explain what’s going on in the illustration—what’s going on in the story that the artist is not conveying— then you’re not a visual storyteller. I think in my mind, I’m storyboarding a silent movie. I have to put in as much information visually to make it easier for the writer not only to write the stuff that works for his strengths, but also as not to cover up so much of my art. In comics, unlike a movie, the words take up space, physical space, so you want to minimize how much writing the writer has to do, so you have a nice combination, a fair balance of art and script.

No Crisis He Can’t Handle Behold, the acutely detailed wizardry of Pérez’s cover art, in original art form culled from Heritage’s archives. (left) The AntiMonitor revealed on the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #6 (Sept. 1985). (right) Minus its trade dress, George’s character-covered slam-bang cover for the maxiseries’ final issue, Crisis #12 (Mar. 1986).

TM & © DC Comics.

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LIM: Well, I have nothing else to add. [laughter] For me, like George and Jim said, it’s part instinctual and part seeing it in your head almost like a movie, storyboarding. For me, I don’t even think about it too much. It’s just in my head, picturing what’s going on after I read it. That’s pretty much it for me. And layoutwise, obviously. After I lay it out for thumbnails, then I can kind of see how it flows.

BECK: Joe Chin has a question for you, but he doesn’t want to ask it, so I’ll ask it. He said to ask the entire panel, including you, Joe: He wants to know who your hairstylists are? [laughter] [Author’s note: George, Jim, and Joe all shave their heads.]

LIM: Same as mine.

STARLIN: Lawn doctor.

RUBINSTEIN: …Could you point out who this guy is later, please? [general laughter] BECK: [pointing to Joe Chin] It’s him.

PÉREZ: [pointing to himself and Ron] There’s Lim, and there’s Limless. [laughter] BECK: “Limitless,” actually. Hey, George, I have a question for you, based on what you just said: Okay, so people can learn to draw. Can people learn to story-tell?

PÉREZ: Most people would say it’s not that easy.

Because, as Ron said, a lot of it is instinct. There are some people—again, I don’t want to brag, but I was flattered when the late, great Ross Andru—even though, again, I was still developing—said I was a natural at it.

I couldn’t imagine my life without being a comic-book artist or a graphic storyteller, because it was instinctual.

Storytelling, which might be chore for some, was easy for me. I had no problem knowing how to pace a story, where the emphasis was. Some artists, they’re only concentrating on how this page is going to sell [as original art]. They’re thinking of everything except the storytelling. And you know that you build up to a crucial point in the story. It’s like a director saying, you can’t have everybody yelling at the same time, all the time, because then all you hear is the yelling. You don’t hear the words. And in a story, you build up so that big moment, it becomes big because you built up to it, and you come down from it and you build up to another one. But if everything is a splash page and everything is an in-your-face scene, then it’s loud, but with no substance. And no sense of it.

Alfred Hitchcock was an enormous influence on the way I tell a story. John Ford, who did a lot of Westerns like The Quiet Man and all these other great films, he knew how to tell a story. And again, turn the volume down. You don’t understand any of the dialogue if you can’t hear it. He’s upset, it’s leading to this, this is what’s happening, he’s attacking, you don’t know why, but you can tell what’s going on.

STARLIN: I think there’s also a cultural thing of where you’re coming from to begin with. I think you and I, and Ron in particular, we all came from loving comic books and were steeped in comic books, and were steeped in the Jack Kirby and Joe Kubert and Steve Ditko and Carmine Infantino styles of telling a story.

They each had their own individual styles. Somewhere in the late 1970s, we had an influx of Filipino cartoonists

License to Thrill Detail from the original cover art to Wonder Woman #12 (Jan. 1988), by Pérez.

Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

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JOSEF RUBINSTEIN ON GEORGE PÉREZ Josef “Joe” Rubinstein broke into comics in the early 1970s as an office assistant to Neal Adams and Dick Giordano at Continuity Associates. He began inking professionally soon after, while still a teenager. Among his more than 2500 comic-book credits are inking the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Wolverine miniseries, inking George Pérez and Ron Lim on The Infinity Gauntlet, and inking practically everyone else on The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe for more than 20 years. He’s also one of the funniest people I’ve ever interviewed. Be prepared to take parts of this sidebar with several truckloads of salt.

TM & © Marvel.

on and off for 20 years, I would be inking this character with this complicated costume and I’d go, “I know who designed this.”

And I’d go back and look at the source reference, and it was George. So I’m not really very fond of that man.

TRUMBULL: Right… He made your job harder.

RUBINSTEIN: You bet! [John laughs] I have a theory that possibly the reason comic books are so detail-laden these days is because George used to be the most detail-ly guy in comics, whatever that means. And then I think they all went, “Well, I’m going to challenge the champion,” and they all crammed in more sh*t than George did, and that became the standard of what we’re supposed to do.

JOHN TRUMBULL: Hang on, let me get this on tape.... You were saying you never liked him.

TRUMBULL: A whole generation followed in JOSEF RUBINSTEIN: I never liked George anyhis wake. where away from me. I liked it when we cuddled.

RUBINSTEIN: But simultaneously, I think the fact TRUMBULL: Aww. Do you recall the first time that I discovered Arthur Adams is probably… you met George, or you saw his work? Did you I should take a certain amount of responsibility see his work before you met him in person? for what happened after that, letting loose the RUBINSTEIN: I worked on one of George’s very, Pandora’s Box as I did.

TRUMBULL: [laughter] You knew not what you very first jobs. It was the Man-Wolf job. Is that were doing. the guy? He was like J. Jonah Jameson’s son.

TRUMBULL: Yeah, John Jameson.

RUBINSTEIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Please forgive us.

RUBINSTEIN: Bob McLeod was actually the TRUMBULL: So, what is your favorite thing joe rubinstein assigned inker on the thing, but then I was about George as an artist, or what’s your favorassisting Bob at the time. So, it was probably one Gage Skidmore. ite thing about collaborating with George? of George’s very first jobs over 40 years ago and it was my very RUBINSTEIN: George’s stuff is simultaneously tight but not first job. [George drew the Man-Wolf feature in Creatures on the so anal that there isn’t a bit of room to play. And even Loose from issue #33–37 (Jan.–Sept. 1975), with the story finally though George is known for the amount of sh*t he piles on, finishing in Marvel Premiere #45–46 (Dec. 1978–Feb.1979). McLeod if you look at the two-page spread, I think it’s in Infinity is the credited inker on the cover of Marvel Premiere #45.]

Gauntlet #2 or 3, where they show that sort of castle… it’s But I don’t remember when I met George. George has sort got wonderful depth and panorama to it, so George can of been in all of our lives—like Susan Lucci! do that stuff, too.

TRUMBULL: [laughter] That’s a great analogy.

TRUMBULL: Would it take you more time to ink his stuff?

RUBINSTEIN: But George looks better in a backless gown. I just RUBINSTEIN: Than what? want that for the record. He’s got the height to pull it off.

TRUMBULL: Than a typical [comic-book page]…

TRUMBULL: Absolutely. And he would have the poise. I can see RUBINSTEIN: Than Charles Schulz? that very easily.

TRUMBULL: [laughs] Sure.

RUBINSTEIN: Or as I called him in those days… his intimate RUBINSTEIN: A little bit more than Charles Schulz. Yeah, it goes friends called him “Georgie Girl.” [John laughs] without saying that George puts a lot more stuff into it. But he TRUMBULL: How often did you collaborate together? You did loves it! I don’t think George ever did it for the sake of impressing Man-Wolf. I know you did Infinity Gauntlet… or showing off, he just looooves to draw, loves to cram it in…

RUBINSTEIN: We did Infinity Gaunt- and whaddaya know, he became a star! let. I did some covers for him. I did TRUMBULL: All right. Anything else to say about George? Random [a] Taskmaster cover on the Avengers, insults… compliments? when they actually did the Avengers. RUBINSTEIN: You know one other thing with George?

TRUMBULL: Oh, yes. Is it the one Somebody said they felt sorry for me because George would where he’s saying, “Anything the sit there for apparently decades and just draw these sketches Avengers can do, I can do better!”? at cons where he’d do these, I don’t know how long, ten- or [Avengers #196, June 1980] 15-minute drawings, and he’d sit there for 12 hours, and RUBINSTEIN: It’s whatever the one draw and draw and draw and draw, which I’m sure contributed where he’s standing there. I’m so somewhat to his heart attack. And over the years, people happy to never do that guy again. have sent me George’s drawings to flesh them out. I add Whenever I give a list of characters details and blacks.

I don’t like to do, he’s right up TRUMBULL: I’ve seen some of those, yes. there with War Machine and Iron RUBINSTEIN: And people were saying, “Gee, I feel sorry for you, Man and Galactus.

George is retiring.” I said, “You know, I’m sure there are more TRUMBULL: Just too much [detail] than enough of that stuff around that I can probably go out to lunch on that for the rest of my life.” in the costumes?

RUBINSTEIN: I like the Hulk. TRUMBULL: It’ll keep you busy for the next few years.

He’s naked with shorts. [John laughs] I’m good with that.

RUBINSTEIN: And George likes what I do on his stuff, and I think TRUMBULL: George designed Taskmaster’s costume. it’s a nice collaboration.

RUBINSTEIN: Oh, yeah, that’s another thing to hold against George. When I did The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Josef Rubinstein is available for commissions at www.joerubinsteinart.com.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 71

coming over—some terrific artists, Redondo, Niño, Alcala. But none of them were any good at telling a story. I mean, they were terrific illustrators, and Roy [Thomas] and a bunch of other people tried working with them, and they never could get around to that, because they were coming from a place where it was all about the illustration, rather than telling a story. And I think that has a lot to do with whether you’re ever going to be a good storyteller or not, is if you got that origin to start off with.

PÉREZ: You’re going to notice that particular change with the Warren magazines. When the Warren magazines started, they had Ditko; they had all these great artists. And then they started going with artists that were cheaper.

STARLIN: Yeah, the Spanish artists.

PÉREZ: Spanish artists; Filipino artists. Yes, I did notice that. Because then the writers had to practically lay out the book for them because they weren’t storytellers, they were illustrators. Again, there was nothing wrong with them—they were magnificent artists, but sometimes the greatest artists technically are not the best storytellers, and vice versa. You have some artists who are not the best draftsmen, depending on your taste. Again, taste is subjective, but they could really, really tell a story.

One person who was maligned who I will mention by name, was Don Heck. Don Heck was unfairly maligned because he was not ever really comfortable doing superhero comics. He liked romantic adventures, Westerns, but man, could he tell a story! He may not have been the most dynamic artist in the world, he may not have been the best draftsman in the world, but the man knew how to tell a story!

I knew more writers who preferred working with Don Heck than a lot of the bigger names who were stylistically more popular, because he did exactly what this medium needed: He knew how to convey the story that the writer wanted to write.

that!” I’d rather they talked badly about them than not talk about them at all and ignore it. And most of the time, they eventually change back.

I love diversity. When I did Paradise Island, I had to find a way because I wanted to have diversity there out of all these women, but I didn’t want all the women to be looking like Miss Alabama in the Miss America contest. I wanted everyone to have diversity, and I created a story that worked. I can understand the point of some people saying they don’t want their character changed in order to be politically correct, but I totally disagree that diversity in comics is something we should be avoiding—no, we should be embracing it. We should have as many people represented in a story as we can possibly fit in, as long as the story requires it as opposed to just being an exploitative thing, where we’re trying to pander. You can’t insult the reader. It’s like people say, “These are children’s comics, so it has to be written a certain way, a certain bottom line level of intelligence,” without taking into account that most children are pretty damn smart. Do not pander to them. The old G rating used to be something, “Oh, it’s for everyone.”

GREENFIELD: I guess we have time for maybe one or two questions. I’ve got a question as well, but in the back there?

AUDIENCE MEMBER 8: Don’t worry, it’s a quick one.

I wanted to say, George, it’s a pretty damn shame the Where’s Waldo company publishing didn’t contact you, because it took me almost 15 minutes to find Where’s Waldo in the [Incredible Hulk:] Future Imperfect splash page. [laughter] Thank you everyone, for what you do.

GREENFIELD: One more back there, that’ll be the last question.

STEVE: My name is Steve, and I know some comic readers are not thrilled with how much diversity is being added to comics. I’m not among them; I really love diverse characters. All four of you, how do you feel like you’ve advanced diversity through your own work and characters or otherwise?

PÉREZ: This whole “anti-diversity” thing I didn’t even know about, because I’m not on social media until about a year after the first brouhaha, and I think it’s an outrage, because I’ve never had any complaints.

To me, I’m a Puerto Rican who got into comics and I’ve had Puerto Rican characters. To me, I understand some of the complaints like arbitrarily changing a character’s sex or race in order to cater to that crowd, as opposed to, “No, create a new character, that’s just as popular, just as strong.” I’ve been grateful that Cyborg has come out as one of DCs preeminent African-American characters, because he was a good black character, but he wasn’t a variation on another, a white character or a female character. And we can all create. I don’t mind it.

When they do make changes, a lot of people don’t realize, it gets publicity. Because people want it. “Oh, my God, how dare they do

Superhero Diversity Among the characters of color illustrated by George: Cyborg, seen here in a 2009 commission from the collection of Mike Negin. Cyborg created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.

TM & © DC Comics.

72 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

Now no one wants a G rating. “Oh, that’s a children’s film.” And comics have had to deal with that, because everyone’s considering us a children’s medium. Obviously, I’m pontificating now. I think it’s an argument being created by people just for the sake of argument. I don’t think it has a real validity. I think us getting involved in this type of argument demeans us and it takes us away from the good things about creating characters.

Just create somebody new. Race, sex, it doesn’t matter.

STARLIN: George covered a lot of territory there, and seeing that this is the last question, I felt I really should treat this in the most serious manner I can manage.

So, I have to say that I’m very proud of my own work in promoting people of color, especially green and purple ones. [audience laughter] I’ll leave it at that.

PÉREZ: That’s right!

GREENFIELD: We do have one last question, actually.

We’ll make it quick. Recently, it came out that Alex Ross had a gorgeous proposal to do Fantastic Four [covered in BACK ISSUE #118]. I don’t know if you’ve seen the artwork, he did it in his book, Marvelocity, where he revealed the images, and it didn’t go anywhere.

And it struck a lot of people that even the biggest names don’t always get what they want. So I wanted to ask the four of you, because you’re such accomplished creators, was there something that you wanted to do in a story, or a project you pitched that didn’t go anywhere, that always kind of frustrated you that you never got to do it?

STARLIN: Yeah, I had a Sub-Mariner story I wanted to do after 9/11. There was such a drumbeat of going to war at that time and I know I was working against the current, but I still tried it. I wanted to do this story where the Sub-Mariner… Atlantis suffered a similar fate of an attack. I had this story that involved Namor meeting Nelson Mandela, who was still alive at the time, and examining a bit about, “Do we really want to hate all the time, right off the bat? Maybe do a little bit of thinking?” And I just couldn’t get Marvel to do that story, and that’s the one I really regret not being able to do.

PÉREZ: For me, as a fanboy, when the first JLA/Avengers project was scuttled because of political arguments and just a bunch of people in a pissing contest. But I’ve been very lucky. I did finally get to do it, and got to do it probably better than I would have done it the first time.

And there was one Wonder Woman story I wanted to do, dealing with her relationship with Superman, which was called Rendezvous. The idea was that this woman would see Superman as a living god, gets enamored with him, maybe consider that this is the male figure I want a romantic relationship with, and dealing with the characters actually having a sexual relationship. And then a bit of an allegory to the AIDS epidemic at the time, because it’s not as if she’s being promiscuous, because they’re not married or anything else. It doesn’t apply to them. He’s a man from Krypton, there’s no worry about [sexually] transmitted diseases when it comes to them.

But also I wanted to deal with the personalities of the characters. Wonder Woman is disappointed by Superman.

Because despite everything, she looked at him as a god; he was less than that. He looked at her as a superheroine; she was more than that. But [DC] didn’t like the idea of

me making Superman seem a little less. I did manage to hit a little bit of that when John Byrne and I did a Superman/Wonder Woman storyline [Action Comics #600, May 1988], but he made it into a Darkseid/ Superman story, because that’s what he wanted to do, and that became downplayed. So, I made a few hints to it in the dialogue of subsequent Wonder Woman issues, that she was a little disappointed in Superman, without explaining fully why. And I hope that you don’t misunderstand what I meant by “being disappointed

by Superman.” [audience laughter] That was one I wanted to do. It was a nice character story and I really loved delving into the female psyche when I was dealing with Wonder Woman. My greatest compliment I’ve received—actually two greatest compliments I received after I did Wonder Woman—was one woman who wrote a letter and said, “God, I’m surprised that this was written by a man.” And a female writer wrote and said, “I was surprised this was written by a straight man.” [audience laughter] I’m very proud of that!

RUBINSTEIN: This is kind of a downer last question. [laughter] Well… 38 years ago, I did what a lot of people consider a highlight of all of our careers, when Stern, Byrne, and I did Captain America. [applause] Thank you.

Your Two Favorite Writer/Artists…

Together! (above) Action Comics #600’s (May 1988) team-up of John Byrne and George Pérez is as celebrated as the anniversary issue’s pairing of Superman and Wonder Woman.

Original art courtesy of Heritage. (inset) The issue’s cover.

TM & © DC Comics.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 73

Just’a Lotta Fighting The original JLAers scuffle with the late-joiners on this Pérez masterpiece, the wraparound cover to Justice League of America #200 (Mar. 1982).

Courtesy of Heritage. (bottom) Lim, Rubinstein, and Starlin are enraptured by the guest of honor.

Photo by John Trumbull.

JLA TM & © DC Comics.

A final, impromptu question was asked about negative working relationships, which has been deleted in the interest of space and emotional tone.

BECK: On that note, we’re calling this dinner to an end, but again, we should give a round of applause to these gentlemen. [applause] And a special thank-you to Mr. George Pérez for his life, his career, and his generosity.

PÉREZ: And thank you all for being here, from all of us.

The fact is, we’d be writing and drawing stories in a vacuum if it wasn’t for you. So, thank you for that.

And then John [Byrne] and Roger [Stern] had a conflict with Marvel, and one day I walked in and went, “Where’d everybody go?” It’s like, they left the book and I was still there. And I went, “All right.” As a matter of fact, John had drawn six pages of the next issue, which was supposed to be a three-issue Red Skull story arc, which would have been great! Absolutely, I’m sure of it, and I just got around to inking it 38 years later, ’cause I had nothing to do. But, yeah, it’s disappointing. I’m a fan; I like reading this stuff. I wanted to know what was going to come next, and it just went… [hits table with finality] “Well, that was a drag.”

LIM: Hmm… I experience disappointment because I usually get assigned a job after it’s already been approved, so you guys have got to work for it.

Special thanks to Cliff Galbraith and everyone at the East Coast Comic Convention (www.eastcoastcomicon.com) for arranging for me to attend this special evening, and to Spencer Beck, Jon B. Cooke, Dan Greenfield, Ron Lim. Shannon Lower, Josef Rubinstein, and Jim Starlin for their contributions to the night. And thanks most of all to the great George Pérez and his wife Carol for over 40 years of entertainment.

JOHN TRUMBULL has been writing for BACK ISSUE since 2012. You can find more of his work at www.AtomicJunkShop.com.

74 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 75

New Teen Titans #1 cover homage by Chris Giarrusso, from the collection of Mike Negin. Art © 2020 Chris Giarrusso. New Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics.

ORIGINAL ART SCANS IN BI

Send your comments to: Email: euryman@gmail.com (subject: BACK ISSUE) Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief • BACK ISSUE 112 Fairmount Way * New Bern, NC 28562

Find BACK ISSUE on

I only returned to getting BACK ISSUE recently after purchasing a large number of BACK ISSUE back issues from my LCS this year.

I stopped getting it for the simple reason that it was more interesting than the new comics I’d get every week, which put me behind in reading them. Sigh, I’m so far behind nowadays... Anyway, I love to be reminded of classic stories that I want to reread or read for the first time in BI and the new color print format is wonderful!

So, I was super-excited to see an article featuring one of my all-time favorite series, Marvel’s Godzilla [in BI #116]. Even more thrilling was seeing the original art image of the splash page from issue #8! I quickly scanned the caption and my heart sank: “Original art page courtesy of Anthony Snyder (www.anthonyscomicart.com).” Huh? But, I own that page, and have since 2012! I’ve blogged about it on Comics and…

Other Imaginary Tales (http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2012/03/ matthew-year-one-1977-celebrating.html). It’s not even on Anthony’s

IN MEMORIAM: STEVE STILES

Fandom lost a titan on January 11, 2020, with the passing of American artist Steve Stiles (1943–2020), winner of the first-ever Bill Rostler Award in 1998 and the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 2016. As Robert Menzies, writer of BI’s rotating “UnKnown Marvel” column, informs us, Stiles also was a “former member of Marvel’s British Department in the 1970s. While primarily known for his non-mainstream work, he did contribute a lot of splashes and link pages, as well as some lovely posters, to the mags over here [in England]. [The timing of his passing is] a bit sad as he was only now starting to get recognition for his work because of the detective work of [art identifier] Jason Schachter.

The majority of his work was unsigned or miscredited.”

BACK ISSUE offers its condolences to Steve Stiles’ family, friends, and fans.

(top) Steve Stiles, photographed in 1979

by Jeff Schalles/Wikimedia Commons. (middle) Original art for a Fantastic Four poster, penciled by Steve Stiles and inked by Frank Giacoia, from Marvel UK’s Captain Britain #2 (Oct. 20, 1976).

Courtesy of Robert Menzies. (bottom) A Black Panther centerspread, penciled by Steve Stiles, inker unknown, from Super Spider-Man and the Titans #213 (Mar. 9, 1977). Courtesy of Robert Menzies.

TM & © Marvel.

76 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

I’m glad you’ve returned to reading BACK ISSUE! Re original art credits: Most of the original art I use in the magazine comes from Heritage Auctions, from whom I received permission to use art for a credit and comps, although occasionally I go searching for art posted on Comic Art Fans and ask for a scan, in exchange for a credit and a comp copy.

Re the Godzilla page: Anthony Snyder provided photocopies of his original art for sale to TwoMorrows years ago, and I’ve archived pages that I knew I’d one day need—like the Godzilla page in particular. While it would be great if current ownership credit could be given to original art pages, it would be a full-time job tracking down that information... and as you’re aware, sometimes the ownership changes between time an acknowledgment is prepared for print and the issue actually comes out. Sorry this was a disappointment for you, but given our small editorial staff of one, the most efficient way for me to obtain original art is through the dealers, mainly Heritage.

However, I always WANT to give credit where it’s due, and look at your letter as a good opportunity for me to inform original art collectors that BACK ISSUE is open to their art submissions— with the knowledge that an in-print acknowledgment and comp copy would be provided in exchange. Thanks for providing the opportunity for me to discuss this important subject with our readers.

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS ISSUE?

Thank you so much for the complimentary copy of BACK ISSUE #117, which arrived this week. Having suggested the theme of “Stand-in Superheroes” a year or so ago, it was nice to finally hold the finished magazine in my hands, and well worth the wait.

Nowadays we’re used to the idea of another individual taking on the mantle of an already-existing hero, but it was something of a rarity before the 1980s. We’ve learned, with experience, that the change in question will make waves for a while, and the suggestion that it might turn out to be permanent means that it may even reach non-comic readers via the newspapers and television. They duly express shock and outrage, and lapsed readers return to the title in question, as is no doubt the intention.

Over time we have learned that these dramatic changes are a way of shaking up the contents, and reminding the fans of what it is that defines a particular hero, before things eventually revert to the status quo.

I was struck reading the articles by how much the mind can play tricks. I hadn’t realized, for a start, that James Rhodes had spent as long as two years in the role of Iron Man. As the article made clear, that hadn’t been the intention at the time, either.

Yet the creative team felt sufficiently inspired to run with the story. I hadn’t been a regular Iron Man reader, but I began picking

TM & © Marvel.

it up when Rhodey took over the costume, and stuck with the title until his time was over. Iron Man had all the soap-operatic elements that seemed more a part of comics back then, and I enjoyed the ride while it lasted.

It never dawned on me at the time that Azrael had been created as a temporary stand-in for Batman, so his elevation to full status caught me somewhat by surprise, even though there was never any sense that this change would be anything other than temporary. Yet although most things returned to normal in due course, not everything did.

Bruce Wayne may have resumed his costumed career, but the “grim and gritty” aspect of the Batman character that Azrael personified is still largely with us today.

As for future editions of BACK ISSUE, have you considered one that focuses on the ever-changing role of NonCostumed Supporting Characters? People such as Commissioner Gordon, Alfred, Steve Trevor, J. Jonah Jameson, Lois Lane, and Foggy Nelson, to name but a few.

– Simon Bullivant Simon, a Supporting Casts theme crossed my mind years ago, but with your reminder and “vote” I’ve made a note of it for future consideration. Thanks!

LOVING THE BI TIME MACHINE

BI just continues to roll along. Every time I think you must be running out of themes by now, along comes an issue like “Superhero Stand-ins,” and I realize you still have a lot of fun paths to explore.

I liked the extensive coverage of John Stewart (a nice companion piece to the Guy Gardner profile in the “All Jerks” issue) and Beta Ray Bill, but I was most impressed with the Gregory Reed article. I had no idea this character had made so many appearances.

Kudos to writer Philip Schweier for the research.

“Prince Street News” never fails to deliver a smile and some nostalgia. But Karl Heitmueller, Jr.’s riff on Superman #349 was laugh-out-loud funny. For Karl to make a funny bit from a single obscure Bronze Age issue is a testament to his talent.

I have some suggestions for themes, if you haven’t gotten to them already. I always got a kick out of anniversary issues, those centennial milestones that celebrated in some special way. How about covering those?

Also, how about an “Omnipotent Issue,” featuring characters that are godlike in their powers? I’ve often wished comics would further explore what it’s like living in a world among beings like Darkseid, the Phantom Stranger, the Spectre, Galactus, Odin, or the Beyonder.

Finally, have you ever considered a “Comic Parodies and Spoofs” issue?

I’d like to see your coverage on the humor books of the day that poked fun at comics, TV, and movies such as Arrgh and Spoof. Maybe you could even sneak in something from Crazy, MAD, or Cracked.

BI is a terrific time machine, always taking me back to the comics I grew up with. It often gives me new information I didn’t know, and sometimes it stokes my interest in a series that I previously had no interest in. So keep up the good work.

– Michal Jacot

TM & © Marvel.

site anymore (for obvious reasons). However, it is the same scan that originated on his site and the one I used in my blog post, which I thought was acceptable since I had purchased the piece.

So technically, it was courtesy of him after all, but man, I was hoping that I had gotten a credit. Could you explain the process of how you obtain your original art scans?

Oh, well, it was still cool to see the piece published for others to enjoy too. It’s the crown jewel of my meager original art collection, representing the year I started collecting comics, 1977. I remember looking at a house ad in a comic on the way to the 7-Eleven, and when we arrived the first issue was on the spinner rack!

I became friends with Herb Trimpe in 2007 and chatted with him whenever he attended the Baltimore Comic-Con until his untimely passing. I have a great Godzilla commission from him that is a pseudo-recreation of Incredible Hulk #184. I’ve gotten Joe Staton and Steve Conley to ink versions of it from blue-lines I had made from the pencil scan. One day I hope to get other inkers to do more versions (like Erik Larsen, Karl Kesel, etc.).

Maybe you’d like to use the image for one of your covers. If so, let me know!

Matthew G. Mann, Sr.

New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue • BACK ISSUE • 77

Spider-Ham TM & © Marvel.

Thanks, Michal. It’s always a pleasure getting a letter from you.

Glad you liked the “Superhero Stand-ins” issue—and yes, Karl Heitmueller, Jr.’s “Prince Street News” is one of BI’s highlights.

You pitched some good ideas for BACK ISSUE themes—so good, in fact, that we’ve already done ’em! Our tenth anniversary issue, #69, looked at anniversary issues of comics, and our “April Fools” issue (a theme suggested by our designer, Rich Fowlks), BI #39, included an article about MAD as well as one on Marvel’s MAD-like titles Crazy, Arrgh, and Spoof.

But the “Omnipotent Issue” intrigues me. It’ll be considered for a future issue.

magazine, not exactly something most comic fans would kill for, and I’d think it would be the last to go OOP. I can see #99 being out of print already due to the popularity of Batman: The Animated Series, but #106 and 109 are also already out of print?

I don’t see any particular reason for this, unless TwoMorrows under-prints some issues if they think the demand will be less?

Does BI’s print run vary according to this projection, or is there a set print run?

2) In the letters section of BI #117, Dominic Cabot and Yaakov Gerber requested articles that “have already appeared” in back issues of BACK ISSUE. I have found many wonderful articles by accident, just perusing my spare copies of BACK ISSUE. I have to keep a little notebook and pencil on my reading table now to remember where I saw what. Would you be interested in publishing an index to BACK ISSUE? I personally would love to see indexes for both BACK ISSUE and Alter Ego. In the meantime, thanks to TwoMorrows for posting most of the tables-of-contents with the magazines on the website.

Keep up the awesome work, Mike! BACK ISSUE is a masterpiece.

– John Linton

WANTED: A BI INDEX

John, I’m thrilled that you discovered us—especially since the magazine won you over despite your initial resistance. That says we must be doing something right.

Re your questions: 1) I suspect it was the nostalgic ’70s content and the cover tribute to DC’s 100-Page Super Spectaculars that made it the first issue to sell out, certainly not the cover’s romance cover homage. BI’s print run does indeed fluctuate depending upon advance orders (with some guaranteed strong sellers like the BTAS issue getting a larger print run), but overall our numbers remain relatively steady.

2) There’s a downloadable index available via the BI Facebook group; you can find it in “Files” option. It’s an Excel spreadsheet was created and occasionally updated by one of our readers, the super-helpful Giulio Uggè, and lists subjects and issue numbers; as of this writing in late January 2020, it was last updated on December 9, 2019. That index doesn’t include interviews, though, so one of my goals is to eventually build upon Guilio’s excellent work and produce a comprehensive BACK ISSUE index that would list all of our content, then maintain it as I finalize content for each issue. This is a massive undertaking, though, so given the responsibilities of producing this magazine (as well as the other TwoMorrows magazine I edit, RetroFan), it will take a while before I’m able to take this on. However, it’s the kind of matter I’d prefer to handle personally rather than dole out. Eventually.

I am another recent convert to BI. I stopped collecting comics in 1969, after completing my Marvel collection from 1961–1969. I then proceeded to sell or trade (for guitar equipment and records) most of the good ones in the early 1970s.

I started buying comics again in 1980 when I ran across a comic shop close to the construction site I was working at. I continued buying comics throughout the 1980s. In 1987 I got a nice job in Washington, D.C., and Big Planet Comics, a great local comic store, was right on the way home, so I subscribed to lots of comics and magazines like Alter Ego there. Until... …I got transferred to Maryland in 2001 and cancelled all of my comic subscriptions. I wish I’d at least kept all of the TwoMorrows stuff going. It’s hell playing catch-up!

In 2010 I had an epiphany and at least got caught up on Alter Ego, to that point.

This past spring I ran across a box of spare reading copies of older Alter Egos in my study. After being delighted by them, I checked out the TwoMorrows website, and was delighted to find that not only is the magazine still being published, but most of the ones I’d missed since 2010 were still in print. Between TwoMorrows and eBay, I got all caught up on Alter Ego. And I learned how to navigate the TwoMorrows website pretty well.

It was while scrutinizing the website that I ran across BACK ISSUE. “The Bronze Age.” Not my cup of tea. I did NOT want to like this magazine. I can barely get into my study as it is, with books and magazines piled in boxes floor to ceiling. The last thing I need are more magazines to read and store. My mistake was clicking on a couple of the digital back issues. They looked pretty good… plus, I realized that you also cover the 1980s and 1990s. I was buying some other TwoMorrows books anyway, so I threw in a copy of BI #100 just to give it a try (hoping that I would hate it!), and that was it, my goose was cooked. I immediately bought the BI bundle and all of the new BIs that are not included in the bundle, then have spent the months since scouring eBay and other websites for all of the copies that TwoMorrows no longer offers for sale. I’m proud to say that I have a full run now, though I still need the longbox version of #61. And I’ve read so much that my eyeballs are about to fall out.

A couple of questions: 1) I noticed, looking through older issues of BACK ISSUE, that the first BI to go out of print was #13, the “That ’70s Issue.” And even now it seems pretty hard to get hold of. Which is somewhat surprising to me, since with its pink-hued cover it almost looks like a romance

STANDING UP FOR STAND-INS

BACK ISSUE #117 was in no way a stand-in issue for the real thing.

It was up to your usual extremely high standards.

I will admit that I was a little disappointed at the time that John Stewart replaced Hal Jordan since I had just returned to collecting GL when Wein and Gibbons took over and was looking forward to a long run of stories starring Hal. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the stories, but I do remember my initial reaction.

We Bronze Age babies sometimes do look at things through our bronze-colored glasses.

I remember when the Green Lantern movie came out (a much-maligned film that I quite like), one of the knocks against it was that because of the Justice League TV cartoons, most people thought of Green Lantern as John Stewart and were confused when the film featured some guy named Hal Jordan.

BI can even do a profile of a character of the stature of Gregory Reed, and if all readers are like me, we are enthralled. In my collecting career I think I read his first appearance last so I was a little surprised he had begun as a

Shang Chi © Marvel. E-Man © Cuti and Staton.

78 • BACK ISSUE • New Teen Titans 40th Anniversar y issue

TM & © DC Comics.

villain. I think much better use of him has been made since then and it was a great idea not to just have him be some one-note opponent.

It’s heartening to learn the reason why this change was made and a fine testament to a man that was the first real, live Superman that many of us saw.

I was a fan of James Rhodes before he became a superhero, and it was nice to read a history of how he has evolved over time. He was heroic even before he donned armor.

The guys in the women’s costumes in “Prince Street News” was enlightening.

And slightly disturbing!

It is a tribute to the quality of Walt Simonson’s Thor that the cover to issue #337 is STILL iconic and still impressive.

I think the character would be remembered today even if he did not reappear after that initial storyline. Thankfully Simonson continued to develop him and all the fine creators detailed in that article continue to add to his story.

Ever since returning all those years ago in Avengers #4, it seems like Captain America has been asking to be replaced Green Lantern and Star Sapphire TM & © DC Comics.

BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows. All Rights Reserved.

at various times. Using his replacement to present contrasting views of freedom and democracy was a great idea and obviously sparked something in a lot of people to allow the character to continue.

Then we have Azrael. As Denny O’Neil comments, they could have sold truckloads of the initial miniseries if they had told people Jean-Paul was going to become Batman. My memory of the time is that the buzz was that he would become an important character but that was all. Once more, we have a well-developed character subsequently taking on a life of his own.

All in all, it is quite amazing how many fill-in characters have gone on to stardom in his own right. I’m sure that is the hope of the creators when they begin, but it takes a lot of talent to make them memorable. Kind of like how this and pretty much every issue of BI stays in my memory due to the talents of yourself and my fellow writers.

– Brian Martin Next issue: Cuddle up with BACK ISSUE #123, a Superhero Romance issue! The Many Loves of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, a Star Sapphire history, Bronze Age superhero weddings, a TOM DeFALCO/ROGER STERN Johnny Storm/Alicia Pro2Pro interview, Elongated Man and Wife, May-December superhero romances, Supergirl’s Secret Marriage, and… the wedding of Aunt May and Doc Ock?? Featuring MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, CHRIS CLAREMONT, GERRY CONWAY, J. M. DeMATTEIS, STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB LAYTON, DENNY O’NEIL, JOE STATON, and many more creators, under a Green Lantern/ Star Sapphire cover by DAVE GIBBONS. Don’t ask—just BI it! See you in thirty!

Your friendly neighborhood Euryman, Michael Eury, editor-in-chief

RetroFan: The Pop Culture You Grew Up With!

If you love Pop Culture of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties, editor MICHAEL EURY’s latest magazine is just for you!

RETROFAN #11 (Now Bi-Monthly!)

Just in time for Halloween, RETROFAN #11 features interviews with Dark Shadows’ Quentin Collins, DAVID SELBY, and the niece of movie Frankenstein Glenn Strange, JULIE ANN REAMS. Plus: KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER, ROD SERLING retrospective, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST, TV’s Adventures of Superman, Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen, QUISP and QUAKE cereals, the Drak Pak and the Monster Squad, scratch model customs, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, and SCOTT SHAW! Edited by MICHAEL EURY. (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 • (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships October 2020

RETROFAN #6

RETROFAN #7

RETROFAN #8

RETROFAN #9

RETROFAN #10

Interviews with MeTV’s crazy creepster SVENGOOLIE and Eddie Munster himself, BUTCH PATRICK! Call on the original Saturday Morning GHOST BUSTERS, with BOB BURNS! Uncover the nutty NAUGAS! Plus: “My Life in the Twilight Zone,” “I Was a Teenage James Bond,” “My Letters to Famous People,” the ARCHIE-DOBIE GILLIS connection, Pinball Hall of Fame, Alien action figures, Rubik’s Cube & more!

With a JACLYN SMITH interview, as we reopen the Charlie’s Angels Casebook, and visit the Guinness World Records’ largest Charlie’s Angels collection. Plus: interview with LARRY STORCH, The Lone Ranger in Hollywood, The Dick Van Dyke Show, a vintage interview with Jonny Quest creator DOUG WILDEY, a visit to the Land of Oz, the ultra-rare Marvel World superhero playset, and more!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with the ’60s grooviest family band THE COWSILLS, and TV’s coolest mom JUNE LOCKHART! Mars Attacks!, MAD Magazine in the ’70s, Flintstones turn 60, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Honey West, Max Headroom, Popeye Picnic, the Smiley Face fad, & more!

With MICHAEL EURY, ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, and SCOTT SHAW!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with ’70s’ Captain America REB BROWN, and Captain Nice (and Knight Rider’s KITT) WILLIAM DANIELS with wife BONNIE BARTLETT! Plus: Coloring Books, Fall Previews for Saturday morning cartoons, The Cyclops movie, actors behind your favorite TV commercial characters, BENNY HILL, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, 8-track tapes, and more!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Celebrating fifty years of SHAFT, interviews with FAMILY AFFAIR’s KATHY GARVER and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’s GERI “FAKE JAN” REISCHL, ED “BIG DADDY” ROTH, rare GODZILLA merchandise, Spaghetti Westerns, Saturday morning cartoon preview specials, fake presidential candidates, Spider-Man/The Spider parallels, Stuckey’s, and more fun, fab features!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

RETROFAN #1

RETROFAN #2

RETROFAN #3

RETROFAN #4

RETROFAN #5

LOU FERRIGNO interview, The Phantom in Hollywood, Filmation’s STAR TREK CARTOON, “How I Met LON CHANEY, JR.”, goofy comic Zody the Mod Rob, Mego’s rare ELASTIC HULK toy, RetroTravel to Mount Airy, NC (the real-life Mayberry), interview with BETTY LYNN (“Thelma Lou” of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW), TOM STEWART’s eclectic House of Collectibles, and MR. MICROPHONE!

Horror-hosts ZACHERLEY, VAMPIRA, SEYMOUR, MARVIN, and an interview with our cover-featured ELVIRA! THE GROOVIE GOOLIES, BEWITCHED, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and THE MUNSTERS! The long-buried Dinosaur Land amusement park! History of BEN COOPER HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, character lunchboxes, superhero VIEW-MASTERS, SINDY (the British Barbie), and more!

Interview with SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE director RICHARD DONNER, IRWIN ALLEN’s sci-fi universe, Saturday morning’s undersea adventures of Aquaman, horror and sci-fi zines of the Sixties and Seventies, Spider-Man and Hulk toilet paper, RetroTravel to METROPOLIS, IL (home of the Superman Celebration), SEA-MONKEYS®, FUNNY FACE beverages, Superman/Batman memorabilia, & more!

Interviews with SHAZAM! TV show’s JOHN (Captain Marvel) DAVEY and MICHAEL (Billy Batson) Gray, the GREEN HORNET in Hollywood, remembering monster maker RAY HARRYHAUSEN, the way-out Santa Monica Pacific Ocean Amusement Park, a Star Trek Set Tour, SAM J. JONES on the Spirit movie pilot, British sci-fi TV classic THUNDERBIRDS, Casper & Richie Rich museum, the KING TUT fad, and more!

Interviews with MARK HAMILL & Greatest American Hero’s WILLIAM KATT! Blast off with JASON OF STAR COMMAND! Stop by the MUSEUM OF POPULAR CULTURE! Plus: “The First Time I Met Tarzan,” MAJOR MATT MASON, MOON LANDING MANIA, SNUFFY SMITH AT 100 with cartoonist JOHN ROSE, TV Dinners, Celebrity Crushes, and more fun, fab features!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

ALTER EGO #165

ALTER EGO #166

ALTER EGO #167

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #23

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #24

WILL MURRAY showcases original Marvel publisher (from 1939-1971) MARTIN GOODMAN, with artifacts by LEE, KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, MANEELY, BUSCEMA, EVERETT, BURGOS, GUSTAVSON, SCHOMBURG, COLAN, ADAMS, STERANKO, and many others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt with more on PETE MORISI, JOHN BROOME, and a cover by DREW FRIEDMAN!

FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA (FCA) Special, with spotlights on KURT SCHAFFENBERGER (Captain Marvel, Ibis the Invincible, Marvel Family, Lois Lane), and ALEX ROSS on his awesome painting of the super-heroes influenced by the original Captain Marvel! Plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s “Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt” on Superman editor MORT WEISINGER, JOHN BROOME, and more! Cover by SCHAFFENBERGER!

Salute to Golden & Silver Age artist SYD SHORES as he’s remembered by daughter NANCY SHORES KARLEBACH, fellow artist ALLEN BELLMAN, DR. MICHAEL J. VASSALLO, and interviewer RICHARD ARNDT. Plus: mid-1940s “Green Turtle” artist/creator CHU HING profiled by ALEX JAY, JOHN BROOME, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and Mr. Monster on MORT WEISINGER Part Two, and more!

WENDY PINI discusses her days as Red Sonja cosplayer, & 40+ years of ELFQUEST! Plus RICHARD PINI on their 48-year marriage and creative partnership! Plus: We have the final installment of our CRAIG YOE interview! GIL KANE’s business partner LARRY KOSTER talks about their adventures together! PABLO MARCOS on his Marvel horror work, HEMBECK, and more!

Cover by WENDY PINI.

TIMOTHY TRUMAN discusses his start at the Kubert School, Grimjack with writer JOHN OSTRANDER, and current collaborations with son Benjamin. SCOTT SHAW! talks about early San Diego Comic-Cons and friendship with JACK KIRBY, Captain Carrot, and Flintstones work! Also PATRICK McDONNELL’s favorite MUTTS comic book pastiches, letterer JANICE CHIANG profiled, HEMBECK, and more! TIM TRUMAN cover.

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Oct. 2020

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(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Fall 2020

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #25 WORLD OF TWOMORROWS

BACK ISSUE #123

BACK ISSUE #124

BACK ISSUE #125

BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH discusses his new graphic novel MONSTERS, its origin as a 1980s Hulk story, and its evolution into his 300-page magnum opus (includes a gallery of outtakes). Plus part two of our SCOTT SHAW! interview about HannaBarbera licensing material and work with ROY THOMAS on Captain Carrot, KEN MEYER, JR. looks at the great fanzines of 40 years ago, HEMBECK, and more!

Celebrate our 25th anniversary with this retrospective by publisher JOHN MORROW and Comic Book Creator magazine’s JON B. COOKE! Go behind-the-scenes with MICHAEL EURY, ROY THOMAS, GEORGE KHOURY, and a host of other TwoMorrows contributors! Introduction by MARK EVANIER, Foreword by ALEX ROSS, Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ, and a new cover by TOM McWEENEY!

SUPERHERO ROMANCE ISSUE! Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark’s many loves, Star Sapphire history, Bronze Age weddings, DeFALCO/ STERN Johnny Storm/Alicia Pro2Pro interview, Elongated Man and Wife, May-December romances, Supergirl’s Secret Marriage, and…

Aunt May and Doc Ock?? Featuring MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB LAYTON, DENNY O’NEIL, and many more! Cover by DAVE GIBBONS.

HORRIFIC HEROES! With Bronze Age histories of Man-Thing, the Demon, and the Creeper, Atlas/Seaboard’s horrifying heroes, and Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) rides again! Featuring the work of CHRIS CLAREMONT, GERRY CONWAY, ERNIE COLON, MICHAEL GOLDEN, JACK KIRBY, MIKE PLOOG, JAVIER SALTARES, MARK TEXIERA, and more. Man-Thing cover by RUDY NEBRES.

CREATOR-OWNED COMICS! Featuring in-depth histories of MATT WAGNER’s Mage and Grendel. Plus other indie sensations of the Bronze Age, including COLLEEN DORAN’s A Distant Soil, STAN SAKAI’s Usagi Yojimbo, STEVE PURCELL’s Sam & Max, JAMES DEAN SMITH’s Boris the Bear, and LARRY WELZ’s Cherry Poptart! With a fabulous Grendel cover by MATT WAGNER.

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Winter 2021

(224-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $37.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 • Now shipping!

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TwoMorrows.

The Future of Comics History.

KIRBY COLLECTOR #79

See “THE BIG PICTURE” of how Kirby fits into the grand scheme of things! His creations’ lasting legacy, how his work fights illiteracy, a RARE KIRBY INTERVIEW, inconsistencies in his 1960s MARVEL WORK, editorial changes in his comics, big concepts in OMAC, best DOUBLE-PAGE SPREADS, MARK EVANIER’s 2019 Kirby Tribute Panel, PENCIL ART GALLERY, and a new cover based on OMAC #1!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

OLD GODS & NEW: A FOURTH WORLD COMPANION (TJKC #80)

Looks back at JACK KIRBY’s own words, as well as those of assistants MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN, inker MIKE ROYER, and publisher CARMINE INFANTINO, to show how Kirby’s epic came about, where it was going, and how he would’ve ended it before it was cancelled by DC Comics!

HOLLY JOLLY

MARK VOGER’s sleigh ride through the history of Christmas! Explores movies (Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life), music (White Christmas, Little St. Nick), TV (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), books (Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol), decor (1950s silver aluminum trees), comics (super-heroes meet Santa), and more! Featuring CHARLES M. SCHULZ, ANDY WILLIAMS and others!

(160-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $26.95 (192-page FULL-COLOR hardcover) $43.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 • Ships Winter 2021 (Digital Edition) $15.99 • Ships Nov. 2020 ISBN: 978-1-60549-098-4 ISBN: 978-1-60549-097-7

BRICKJOURNAL #64

Classic LEGO® themes re-imagined! PIET NIEDERHAUSEN’s creations based on the Classic Yellow Castle, CHRIS GIDDENS (originator of Neo-Classic Space theme), and tour the Masterpiece Gallery at Denmark’s LEGO House! Plus: “Bricks in the Middle” by HINKLE and KAY, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Oct. 2020

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