They're making comics you know, but not for me. I love that DC publishes a line for little kids, and have drooled over the like of Batman: The Brave and the Bold on occasion. Tiny Titans? Not so much? I tried a collection of Art Baltazar and Franco's stories, then filed it under 'colourfully bland'. I see how it's going for 'all ages' appeal via exceedingly cute takes on Titans characters, but when the likes of Deathstroke are regulars, and Power Boy and Terra can show up to play with the gang, I get confused.
'Hey Mom, who's Principal Slade in the big kids comics?'
'Oh, he's a murderer with a liking for under-age psycho tarts.'
'Terra?'
'That would be the under-age psycho tart'
'Power Boy?'
'Would-be rapist'
'Oh yeah.'
Yet it's apparently doing decently in sales, and has won an Eisner Award as Best Publication for Kids.
But the latest issue is terribly keen for older folk to buy it, yelling that it features 'special guest Geoff Johns', And lookee on the front, it has his revamped version of Superboy, returning to the book.
And indeed he does show up, bringing a tiny version of usually murderous Bizarro clone Match with him, who eats chairs and fights with Krypto. Another story has the kids become colourful Green Lantern types after getting rings from Mr Johns''s Sidekick City Pawn Shop and Bubblegum Emporium, which may give this book some oddball movement in the back issue market (come on DC, reprint it with a Blackest Night banner!).
Really though, I don't get the appeal of the comic - it doesn't seem witty or clever enough for older readers, while the choice of characters and subjects seems a bit weird for younger ones. But it seems to be a success, so good luck to it.
You mean to tell me Tiny Titans beat out Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade for an Eisner? And I thought the Oscars were out of touch...
ReplyDeleteAwww Mr. Mart, surely even you can see the appeal of a Titans universe where no one ever died, or turned evil, or slept with someone else's boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteI like Darkseid as the lunch lady and occasional substitute principal, and Coach Lobo is definitely the only palatable incarnation of that long worn-out character.
And the Pet Club stories are just fun.
As for Supergirl in the Eighth Grade, it was sadly not up to the standard set by Walker and Jones's earlier creation Little Gloomy.
But . . . but . . . it's not like I'm a curmudgeon!
ReplyDeleteI do see the appeal of an innocent Titans - maybe little kids are more easily pleased these days - when I was a nipper I liked decent verbal jokes and slapstick, neither of which features here.
I need to force this on a kid, for research!
I'm posting my 5-year old's review on Monday. She adores this book and while I snicker at the lack of dismemberment and gore, she sees it all much more innocently (a good thing).
ReplyDeleteHeck, she is just disappointed Starfire didn't get a Star Sapphire ring.
And a lovely review it is! I was going to link to it here, but for the first time ever I'm given a warning as I head for your excellent Comic Per Day Reviews - something about a site it's connected to, www.eyeoncomics.com, being exposed to malware - worth a sweep?
ReplyDeleteI like the book because it exposes kids to a broad sense of the DCU without all the baggage.
ReplyDeleteSo when my kids asked who Deathstroke was I simply said 'a bad guy'. A bad guy as principal was a big laugh.
Plus, I think there are enough 'over the head' in-jokes about the DCU to keep parents interested. The did Battle for the Cow during battle for the cowl. They did 'Finals crisis' (about final exams) during Final Crisis.
My kids think its a hoot ...