the original Teen Titans

[wardevil0]

The Brave and the Bold Presents...

 

Several years ago, Geoff Johns reinvigorated the Teen Titans into one of the most enjoyable reading experiences of the 2000s, and certainly the highest quality Teen Titans stories since Wolfman/Perez, if not ever. During this time, I learned about the Teen Titans' first appearances in Brave and the Bold and Showcase in the mid 60s.

 

The early-mid 60s are often seen by comics fans as the dawn of the Marvel Age, I think partially due to the widening gap between the quality of Marvel comics vs DC comics at the time. Marvel's books tapped into the psyche of the generation by easily fitting into archetypes of the picked-on social outcast who could achieve so much, the slightly dysfunctional family who could overcome anything together, the band of misfits fighting to protect the society that feared and hated them, and on and on.

 

Meanwhile, DC was plugging along with business as usual, or leaning toward trying to duplicate what Marvel was doing. Unfortunately, DC's efforts were usually so heavy-handed and forced that no one would ever mistake them for actually being "hip." The cover blurb for Showcase 59, the third Teen Titans try-out story, announces "DIG THIS CRAZY TEEN SCENE! Two guys and a gal--a trio of trouble for the fabulous foursome!" We can tell these teens are rebelling against the establishment with their surf board, motorcycle, and guitar.

 

As a kid, I would've rolled my eyes at this cover and just reread my copy of Uncanny X-Men 197 with the awesome Colossus vs Dr Doom cover. It took a little more maturity to recognize the 60s DCs as tangible evidence of the generational conflict America felt in the 60s. In essence, DC's long-lived characters did represent the establishment, as opposed to the revolutionary concepts flowing from the House of Ideas. While I still consider the stories to be quaint at best, I also recognize them as essential rungs on the ladder between the Golden Age and today.

 

Here we have a copy of Brave and the Bold 54 featuring the first team-up of the kid sidekicks vs Mister Twister, who can apparently make a tornado that rains fire. Brave and the Bold 60 introduced the Donna Troy Wonder Girl as Wonder Woman's little sister (previous appearances of Wonder Girl were actually young Wonder Woman, similar to early Superboy). This is also the first time the group is referred to as the "Teen Titans" on a cover. B&B 54 was bought in its slab, and B&B 60 was part of a recent submission. I do also have Showcase 59, but I think it'll get a press on the way to its slab.

 

Hope you enjoyed this look at a few minor DC Silver Age keys.

 

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[n2wdw]

I lost track of the Teen Titans after the new TTs by Wolfman and Perez. I'll need to look up Geoff Johns' stories. Really nice looking books.

[Brandon Shepherd]

Good summary, dig the scene!

[rjpb]

Interesting to note that DC kept up the kid/teen sidekick tradition into the Silver Age, whereas Marvel just tended to make youngsters Superheroes on their own or on par with adults ( Spider-man, Human Torch, the X-men), and didn't have any who didn't seem at least 16. Even when they had a "sidekick", it was the complicated relationship of The Hulk/Rick Jones and not some Jr. partner.

 

Thank God there was no Iron Kid, Ant-Lad or Dareboy during the Silver Age.

[wardevil0]

As I understand it, DC's kid sidekicks originally served two purposes: provide a character that the average readership of 8-11 year olds could relate to, and be someone for the main character to plausibly talk to. By the Marvel Age, the target audience was thaought to be a bit older, and storytelling techniques had evolved so information could be conveyed through thought balloons or narration boxes*, so there was ne need to have a target for a ton of expository dialogue. DC had a tendency to keep reusing ideas, though, so that's probably why they kept using kid sidekicks for so long, until now they are characters in their own right.

 

(* and often helpful footnotes)