Teen Titans #30

... And Now ... The End Is Near ...

Scott Lobdell Writer
Scott McDaniel Breakdowns
Tyler Kirkham Art
Color: Arif Prianto
Letters: Travis Lanham
Cover: Kenneth Rocafort
Asst. Editor: Anthony Marques
Editor: Mike Cotton
Group Editor: Eddie Berganza

Brett Booth couldn't make it to the end, or DC just decided to give a jumpstart to the new artist for Teen Titans, Kenneth Rocafort. Either way, we end up with what is probably the best cover of this miserable 30-issue run. Rocafort has the ability to be brilliant — sometimes I grow weary of his layouts, but his covers are usually quite a treat. Such is the case here, as he artistically portrays Scott Lobdell's frantic attempt to wrap up all his loose ends. Yeah, remember Harvest? The MAIN reason the Teen Titans formed in the first place? He's finally back. And I almost feel a little excited, in spite of myself. He truly was a cool-looking villain, and Rocafort makes him look great. Oh, what's that? Harvest and Superboy don't actually appear in this issue? This should have been the cover of the annual? Of course. How else could this series end?

Our story picks right up where we left off last issue, with Bunker and Beast Boy battling some ... uh ... shadows? on Red Robin's massive yacht, currently docked at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. The shadows seem to be coming from two young men, one in black, one in white (I think these guys were supposed to debut in issue #17, but Lobdell got distracted with Trigon).

During the incredibly boring fight, Raven randomly — and all too conveniently — declares with a huge smile on her face that she is finally free of Trigon's influence. So I guess Lobdell can check that box off. And Lobdell checks off another box by having Skitter appear out of nowhere. Remember her? One of the founding members of the team who disappeared during the Culling, and then nobody bothered even looking for her? Well, she's back now. And I'm sure she has a good explanation for where she was, but I don't care.

The next box Lobdell checks off is the completely inexplicable return of that mysterious government agency that erased everyone's mind after the Trigon attack. If you'll remember, that team was led by a black woman, who looks and acts just like Amanda Waller but isn't (I think). Well, it turns out this lady is Skitter's mom. Shocker! I guess. Anyway, this organization takes away the two evil brothers, who called themselves the Light and the Way, and they all disappear in a flash of blue light.

After Skitter tells a very long and boring story, our heroes are suddenly attacked by Grymm. Seriously. I told you Lobdell wanted to check off all his boxes. In case you've forgotten (and who could blame you),  Grymm battled the Teen Titans way back in issue #6, while Static Shock was creating Kid Flash's suit. Anyway, I guess that "fight" ends in a cliffhanger, sending readers to Teen Titans Annual #3, which we will not read, because Kid Flash does not make a proper, speaking appearance in it.

But Bar Torr does appear in this issue. Kiran (still in her human form ... perhaps stuck that way?) and Bar are struggling to survive on the hostile planet Takron-Galtos. A big blue guy tries to eat Kiran, but Bar is able to kill him fairly easily with a spear.

Kiran worries that this is going to be their life now — doing whatever it takes just to survive. Which is what Bar had to do his entire life, and Solstice had to do for ... what, three years(?) in the Culling. And even though she didn't hesitate for a second about killing a judge in cold blood just so she could be sent to this prison planet, Kiran is suddenly distraught over the idea of violence. Bar comforts his girlfriend, promising to one day liberate this world, assuring Solstice that they are always going to be Titans.

The End




This series was a disastrous failure. To be fair, Lobdell's momentum was constantly derailed by crossovers such as Death of the Family and Forever Evil. But look at what he did when he wasn't interrupted by outside stories, especially the lackluster Trigon encounter. Lobdell was ambitious, sure, but he lacked focus. He loved to ask questions, but was loathe to answer them. He liberally planted seeds throughout his tale, but he often failed when it came to ... well, harvest them. Lobdell also didn't get much help from his art teams, either. When Brett Booth ends up as your best artist, something is wrong.

But don't worry about the Teen Titans. They're too big to fail. Just a few months after this series ended, DC launched a new Teen Titans series, resetting the numbering under Will Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort. The team roster was exactly the same, as was the continuity, so DC really had no justification for starting over at issue #1 instead of just continuing with issue #31. The only major difference I saw was Beast Boy returned to his classic green coloring. And unless I'm mistaken, DC never explained that change. Sigh. This really has been a rough era for DC.

This issue also included a backup story about Beast Boy helping Bunker reunite with his boyfriend, only to promptly return to New York in time to reunite with the Teen Titans.

Channel 52 shows off Brett Booth's unbearable art on The Flash. You can look up my old New 52 Flash blog to relive my pain of that run.

All Access presents the new series Secret Origins.

Well, that's it for Bar Torr, right? Wrong! But ... we're not going to see him for a full year. In the meantime, we will explore the very brief and criminally few appearances of other versions of Bart Allen. The first is in Multiversity: The Just #1, which came out six months after this issue.