Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1 Review

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Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Invocation (part 1 of 3)

Written by: Judd Winick
Penciled by: Alé Garza
Inked by: Trevor Scott
Colored by: Jeromy Cox
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Breganza
Publisher: DC Comics

According to writer Judd Winick, “My job with this (mini-series) was that I had to end both teams (Titans and Young Justice). I wanted to do it in a manner where it would be brutally obvious as to why they’re not doing this anymore. I wanted it to be clear that at the end of this, they do not want to be Young Justice or the Titans anymore. In the case of Titans, it’s a lot more obvious. In the case of Young Justice, it’s not exactly subtle, but it falls into the area where we can ask, ‘Has Young Justice been doing it right at all?’ They’re just that – a team of young people without much in a way of formal direction or mission. This clarifies that.”

This mini-series is jam-packed with DC’s younger generation of heroes. While Winick makes this issue easily accessible to new readers, here’s a quick roll call of the key players:

TITANS:

Nightwing: Dick Grayson. First Robin to Batman. “Dark Knight light”.
Arsenal: Roy Harper. Formerly Speedy to Green Arrow. Weapons expert.
Tempest: Garth. Formerly Aqualad to Aquaman. Mystical Atlantean prince.
Troia: Donna Troy. First Wonder Girl to Wonder Woman. Powerful Amazonian princess.
Cyborg: Victor Stone. Half-man, half-machine.

YOUNG JUSTICE:

Robin: Tim Drake. Current Batman sidekick. The third Robin, and most independent.
Wonder Girl: Cassandra Sandsmark. Current Wonder Woman sidekick. Gifted with a sliver of Wonder Woman’s power.
Superboy: Kon-el. Boy clone of Superman. Shares some powers with Superman, but also has unique abilities.
Impulse: Bart Allen. Current Flash sidekick. Fastest boy alive and a future-descendent of second Flash, Barry Allen.

According to Winick, after the respective cancellations of Young Justice (YJ) and Titans, DC wanted to “launch two new books, Teen Titans and Outsiders. They wanted me to take Outsiders, and Geoff [Johns] to take Titans. Geoff and I were really excited about that – we’re friends, and this was a chance for us to work closely in our own little corner of the universe. Like the Batbooks and Superman, Teen Titans and Outsiders will overlap here and there. These are the younger heroes of the DCU, so it makes sense that they know one another, and they run in close to the same circles, so they’ll see each other now and then.”

However, before these new series could begin, “the miniseries that would destroy both teams, for all intents and purposes” had to happen. That’s where Graduation Day comes in.

This has not been without controversy.

Of the two cancelled series, YJ has a rabidly-loyal niche fan base and was the superior series from a creativity standpoint and sales. Conversely, Titans alienated it’s fan-base and was in a steady decline since issue #25 until its eventual cancellation and horrible series finale. Former YJ writer, and outspoken comic industry veteran, Peter David (lovingly referred to as “PAD” by his many fans and equal-in-number critics) added fuel to the fire by suggesting DC was cancelling YJ to relaunch a comics series similar to the animated Teen Titans series set for its TV debut shortly. While many YJ fans were enraged at the cancellation and “revelation”, my response has solidly been “so what?”

The comics industry is a business.

DC can, should, and did cancel a poor-selling series (Titans) and a “moderately” successful niche series (YJ) and plans to relaunch two new series with new creative winds blowing their respective sails (and sales). And, yes, there should be some tie in to the new animated Teen Titans TV series. If fans of the show come into their local Comics Shoppe and find a Titans book similar to their TV show on the shelves, hey, maybe we’ll have a new “reader” out of it.

The comics industry has to do a lot to bring new readers in.

This connection between the new comic series and the TV show, which Geoff Johns insists is “coincidental”, should be there and should be planned to bring new readers and old ones into our comics world. DC is doing their part. Marvel is also doing their part by making their key X-books similar in tone to the “X-Men” movies.

Quite frankly, as long as the creativity is there and fresh, I don’t care if there are some similarities to TV shows or movies that, quite frankly, have a greater audience then the shrinking insiders and fans of today’s comics industry.

Well, considering this is supposed to be a review and not a rant, I’ll dive right into my review.

Lets start at the beginning (sorta). In the 1980s there was a point when DC’s Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans series outsold Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men. While those days are long behind DC, with artistic legend George Perez exclusive to Crossgen comics, and writer Marv Wolfman off the radar for years, a new renaissance for superhero sidekicks is underway in the DCU.

For the Titans, Graduation Day is another opportunity for them to step up and step out of the shadows of their mentors — a task most of the them have been trying to do for years. While Nightwing has been somewhat successful in this regard, only the Flash, Wally West, Kid Flash in his Titans days, has been able to do this successfully and contributes as a solid member of DC’s premier super-team, the Justice League of America (JLA). Interestingly, he’s nowhere to be seen in this series (so far), but can be seen monthly in his own self-titled critically-acclaimed series written by none-other-than Geoff Johns, the upcoming Teen Titans scribe.

For Young Justice, this mini-series is an opportunity for them to step up and grow up. Robin is the most mature of the lot, but having read Johns’ Teen Titans #1 preview, fabulously penciled by Mike McKone, in Wizard #141, currently on the stands, the rest of the YJ crew grows up fast as a result of Graduation Day — well, with the exception of Impulse, but just check out the preview.

For those that have read Winick’s contribution to the truly horrible Green Arrow / Green Lantern: “Black Circle: Urban Knights” series, still on the stands, fear not. Graduation Day #1 is far superior — although that may seem like a weak endorsement as the ingredients listed on my bag of Oreo cookies was more entertaining then the GA/GL weekly series. However, Graduation Day #1 does reinforce my belief that Winick should stick to plotting and leave dialogues to someone who understand how the characters are supposed to speak and has an ear for how real people converse.

Overall, Graduation Day was going to be a tough writing challenge for anyone, veteran or newbie. With a cast of thousands, so to speak, it would difficult to give all of DC’s younger heroes a substantial voice in the mini-series. As such, its focuses on the key players I identified at the beginning of this review — the big guns as it were. If you want to have a meaningful read starring the Titans’ Omen, Jesse Quick, and Argent, and/or YJ’s Empress, you probably won’t like Graduation Day. Although, there is a hierarchy even among the key players, as Nightwing, Arsenal, Cyborg, Robin, and (maybe) Superboy seem to get the most of the airtime.

The issue opens with a look into the nightmare that’s been haunting Donna Troy / Troia.

Potential SPOILER:

This doesn’t bode well for her as DC, Winnick and Johns have all confirmed that a “founding” Titan will perish during the Graduation Day mini-series. With Nightwing and Arsenal already advertised as being part of the new Outsiders series, that leaves only two founding members: Troia and Tempest — a 50-50 proposition. An interesting consideration: I’ve been told that while Tempest has had a somewhat meaty role in the new Aquaman series, Troia has been under the radar for a while in the Wonder Woman series. My money’s on DC axing Troia, although what is “death” in comics really? Only time will tell. Graduation day comes out on a bi-weekly basis, so we should know by issue #3 in June.

END-OF-potential-SPOILER

The issue continues with a US conglomerate called Optitron trying to “buy” a super-team, and offering to finance the Titans and/or YJ.

The most meaningful piece of dialogue in this entire issue comes from Arsenal to Nightwing. It also illuminates the need for change and the need for a “shake-up” by DC of its younger heroes. After Nightwing questions the veracity and motives of Optitron’s financing proposal, Arsenal questions Nightwing: “Listen! Aren’t you sick of being second-string? Titans began because we were all sidekicks. Just us kids trying to make a difference in our own right. We’re not kids anymore. And the J.S.A. and the Justice League can’t handle everything. With this (Optitron’s support) we can pull our weight.

Nightwing seems to hate Corporate Amercia. Aren’t his mentor’s companies key parts of the business sector? With corporate-bashing rampant across much of North America and the world, with companies like Enron and others bilking investors, the business community has been painted with one brush by advocates and the media espousing that regardless of whether some businesses create jobs and fuel the economy, all businesses are corrupt, greedy, and, golly-gee-whiz, just plain bad. Hopefully this simplistic, narrow, and uninformed view won’t stop folks from enjoying Graduation Day and comic books in general, and paying money for a comic books, which are produced by a comic book companies.

Graduation Day also features the debut of Indigo, “a cybernetic girl from the future” according to Diamond’s Previews catalogue, who causes havoc in this issue, and will eventually become a member of the new Outsiders, debuting next month, June 2003. The new Teen Titans series debuts in the following month, July 2003.

Overall Graduation Day is a great jumping-on point for new readers, and an enjoyable read for established fans of Titans and YJ — those who choose to give it a gander. Winick surprisingly delivers a solid read, with some dialogue problems, but hopefully overtime he will come to better understand the characters and his new Outsiders series will be the beneficiary.

Alé Garza provides a visually-stunning, dynamic and energetic artistic outing. Wow. I was worried during Troia’s dream sequence at beginning of the issue, but those poor two pages may be attributed to inker Trevor Scott, who provides fabulous work for the rest of the issue. Comicraft also delivers on the coloring side. Their bright and bold colors really enhance the read.

Graduation #1 is a recommended read for new and old readers.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!