NYCC 2013: Stephanie Brown Returns and the Death of Superboy

I was originally hoping to find the time to post the information for as many Marvel and DC New York Comic Con panels, but just don't have the time. Thus I'll only now be revealing the big news from any of the panels.

Stephanie Brown Returns

During a Q&A session at the Batman panel the usual when will we see Stephanie Brown or Cassandra Caine? was asked.

Scott Snyder would then reply by saying that Stephanie will be coming back during the Batman: Eternal weekly series, and that James Tynion IV has found a way of bringing her back as Spoiler, and that it will happen in Batman: Eternal #3. 

Death of Superboy

The big news from the Superman panel would be from Scott Lobdell, when he announced that Superboy will die during the "Krypton Returns" crossover. Lobdell said that he'd be making the ultimate sacrifice to stop the universe from falling apart, and that from Superboy #26 John Lane Kent. the son of Clark and Lois.

My Thoughts

Now I am extremely happy that Stephanie Brown is returning, as bar Red Robin getting his own series, this is the thing that I've wanted most in the New 52, as although I love the fact that Barbara Gordon is once again Batgirl, Stephanie is a character that I've enjoyed over the years, and have been disappointed that she's not been in the New 52 yet. I personally however don't really mind much about the fact that Superboy is dying, as although I've once again enjoyed the character over the years, I've never been his biggest fan. I would however still prefer him over the John Lane Kent, as although his appearance in the series should create an interesting story, I am even less of a fan of him as a character.

For full details on the Batman panel go to Comic Book Resources or Newsarama.
For full details on the Superman panel go to Comic Book Resources or Newsarama.

Teen Titans #17 Review

Writer: Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza

Artist: Eddy Barrows

This has been a very unpredictable series when it comes to the quality of story, but I've still enjoyed it. and it's a really fun series. Now that Death of the Family is out the way I hope that it can keep to a more consistent quality level, and hopefully a high one at that.

Plot

Red Robin (Tim Drake) has decided to treat his fellow teammates by buying their own headquarters in the form of a boat.

Review

This issue wasn't anywhere near as good as the previous issue, but to be honest I never expected it to be. To be fair though I would also expect this not to be a brilliant issue as it's a prologue to a new story. Scott Lobdell, and Fabian Nicieza did a really good job on this issue, and the upcoming stoyline looks as if it might be interesting. I really liked Nicieza's work on Tim in the past, both in the Robin, and Red Robin series, so I have been happy to see him on board this series. Anyway the story itself was a bit poor, and slow. The main reason I think that it's like this is because after all the crazy stuff that's happened to the Teen Titans the writers wanted to give them some time to themselves before the next big story. Although this helps keep the reality of the series, whilst also developing the overall team it does mean that the issue overall will be a little slow, and not very exciting. I do however have high hopes that we will see a decent to good storyline coming, and will be disappointed if it's not.

This issue marked the start of new artist Eddy Barrows. Having read Nightwing (which former Titans artist Brett Booth's moving to) I know that Barrows is a very good artist. Although I liked Barrows working on Nightwing, and Booth working on this series, it's still nice to see them swap series', as it gives some variety. The detail in Barrows art was brilliant, as everything looked fully detailed, and wonderful, even the minor details were terrific. I did however notice that Barrows artwork makes some of the characters look a bit different. This isn't a bad thing, I actually quite like it, as the characters look more realistic, and unique. I'm also surprised that I actually like Barrows art more than any of the artists that have worked on this series, even Booth's. I say that I'm surprised cause if I was to compare Barrows' art on Nightwing to Booth's art on this series Booth's would win, but I think that this series suits Barrows artwork more, and cause of that I hope that Booth's artwork suits Nightwing more.

I actually liked that the Titans got a chance to relax, and get to spend some time with each other, apart from in battle I mean. Although it slowed the story down it was nice to see, and now that they have fancy new headquarters, which is a boat it shows that they are becoming a well oiled unit. Another reason I was happy about this sequence was that I'd been begging for more interaction between the characters for a while now, as although Tim, Superboy, and Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) have interacted slightly, and Kid Flash (Bart Allen), and Solstice have interacted, with Bunker interacting with everyone now and then, they haven't really had the chance to relax as a team.

It was interesting to see that Superboy has still not returned to the team. I know that he's busy helping Superman in H'el on Earth, but I kinda half expected him to return this issue. It does however make sense that he stays away until H'el on Earth's finished, as it keeps the timeline in sync. Also after reading this issue I wonder where Superboy will be sleeping, as Tim showed every character where they where sleeping, and it looked like there was nowhere left. I know he didn't want to stay with the Titans before, but I thought that was to do with them staying in a LexCorp building, but I thought that he'd stay with them now. There could be an easy explanation that either he's still wanting to keep to himself living arrangement wise, or that there are more beds.

WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!

Another thing that caught my eye in this issue was that Tim was a bit of a womaniser. It has looked as if Tim and Cassie might have a relationship, but for him to be kissing Solstice, and then kissing Cassie is a bit out of character for Tim. I won't say any more about the facts as to avoid overly spoiling the issue, but it was weird, and I look forward to seeing this side of Tim develop, and also for it to get explained. In saying that I also found it weird that Solstice let him kiss her. She's been kind of having a relationship with Kid Flash, and although she mentions this to Tim it doesn't appear to prevent he from letting him continue, which leaves questions about her character.

Finally I'll talk about the new character introduced in this issue. Although she doesn't appear until the end she was also featured on the cover so it's not much of a spoiler. The new character is Raven. I don't know much about Raven, but I do know that she was a long time member of the Teen Titans prior to the New 52, and had a dark side to her. This begs the question in the New 52 is she a friend to the Titans, or a foe. I for one will be looking forward to finding out, and seeing what he role in the upcoming story will be. The villain Dr. Light also appeared in this issue so I will defiantly be looking forward to seeing the conflict between him, and Raven, whatever form it comes in.

Final Verdict

Although not a brilliant issue this was still a good issue. It's nice to see the Titans interact with each other in a relaxed environment for a change, but it did slow the issue down a bit. I would however still recommend this issue, and the series, and am looking forward to the next issue, as this new story looks very interesting.

Rating: 3.5/5

Teen Titans #16 Review

Writers: Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Brett Booth

I have enjoyed this series since it started over a year ago, and although it's had a few bumps along the way, it's still been a very fun series. I was looking forward to this part in the Death of the Family crossover, as it also has this series crossing over with Red Hood and the Outlaws, something I wanted to see, especially considering Scott Lobdell writes both.

Plot

This issue sees Red Robin (Tim Drake) facing of against Red Hood (Jason Todd) in a fight to the death, with their fathers on the line.

Review

This was a brilliant issue, and probably the best in the series so far. Scott Lobdell, and Fabian Nicieza have done a terrific job on this issue, and after Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 being terrible, I was dreading that this issue would follow suit. Gladly it didn't and it was truly a marvelous issue. Lobdell produced a brilliant plot for this issue, with Nicieza doing a phenomenal script. All the characters were handled brilliantly in this issue, something that's not always happened in the past, and it also didn't entirely focus on the Red's, which I liked.

Brett Booth once again did a truly phenomenal job on the artwork, and I will be sad to see him leave this series. I will however gladly greet him on Nightwing, as well as former Nightwing artist Eddy Barrows joining this series, and I think the swap in artists will make the series' more fresh, and dynamic, as sometimes having the same artist for a long time can make a series stale (although it's not happened with Booth or Barrows so far). Booth did however finish with a bang, as he did nothing short of perfection on this issue. I've always loved his art, and if you see his art in this issue you can see why. His style is very unique, whilst fitting in with the series' he works on, and I think he could do a brilliant job on any series. He draws all the characters perfectly, but I mostly enjoy how he draws Joker, and the Red's. I also have to give a lot of credit to Andrew Dalhouse, as his colours in this issue are phenomenal, and really give the tone, and feeling this series needs.

Brotherly love. To older readers it may be strange seeing Tim and Jason having a brotherly bond, but I for one have enjoyed it. There will be a lot of people who will dislike this as Tim and Jason actually kind of hated each other prior to the New 52, and it was Nightwing (Dick Grayson) that Tim had a brotherly bond with. It made a lot of sense then because Jason was out of the picture for so long, but now I actually think it's better having Tim and Jason have the bond, as Jason really needs someone from the Bat-Family that he can connect with, and Tim is the best candidate, as he still doesn't forgive Batman (Bruce Wayne), he's never really liked Dick, and Robin's (Damian Wayne) characteristics would clash with Jason. Plus also Bruce has Damian as a partner, and although Dick mainly works solo he still has a close connection with Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), so having Tim and Jason having a brotherly bond pairs them of nicely. Plus Tim wanted to be Red Robin, and not Robin to respect Jason's memory, which has to count for something. Anyway I was always looking forward to this as they'd already acknowledged that they were friends, and with Lobdell writing both series' there wasn't any reason not to have them crossover. I also hope that they have some involvement with each other in the future, whether in a crossover or not, as despite this being good it wasn't necessarily the best circumstances.

The fight itself was amazing, and I loved how shocked Tim was when Jason pulled his gun on him. What I really liked about this fight was that both characteristics were shown perfectly, as you could see the reluctance in both of them, whilst seeing their individual characteristics. You see Jason jumping in feet first, not wanting to take anything for granted, whilst Tim was only fighting to survive, giving himself time to figure everything out, both of which I liked. Booth also did an amazing job of the art in this sequence as it was very dynamic, and showed the emotions between both characters perfectly. I also loved Joker's involvement in this sequence, and liked that he was goading them on, taking nothing but amusement from the Red's predicament.

The only thing I disliked in this issue was that there was a point in the middle that was focused on setting up future events. Don't get me wrong I'm interested in these events, and if done properly they could produce some fabulous stories, but there is a time and a place for things like this, and this wasn't the time. A similar thing happened in RHATO #16, and to me they just feel forced, and could easily wait till the next issues.

Final Verdict

This issue was phenomenal, and the best in the series so far. The fight between the Red's doesn't disappoint, and it's a fitting conclusion to what's been a sketchy crossover (the Teen Titans and RHATO crossover, not Death of the Family). I would highly recommend this issue, and hope that the series continues to be as good.

Rating: 4.5/5

Superman #15 Review

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Kenneth Rocafort

Since Scott Lobdell, and Kenneth Rocafort took over as the creative team on this series it has been a lot better than it had been, and I am happy that Superman is once again a respectable series. The H'el on Earth storyline itself has also been very decent, and I love that you can enjoy any of these series' without reading the others (and not getting confused), whilst also getting a much more enjoying experience reading the entire crossover event.

Plot

This issue sees Superman, and Superboy locked out of the Fortress of Solitude by H'el. Superman and Superboy then head to a prison to visit it's sole prisoner, Lex Luthor.

Review

This was another decent issue in the H'el on Earth crossover, but I felt that it was a bit slow, and not as good as the previous issue. It also didn't really feel like it was fully connected to the crossover, as besides it being the center of most of the conversations it didn't really move the story forward. I still think that Lobdell did a decent job, and it is still miles better than the series was prior to him joining. Although it felt slightly forced I liked the involvement of Lex Luthor in this issue, and think that Lobdell wrote him very well, although I'll talk more about that later. Although it didn't move the story any further forward, I did like that it was still mentioned, and that it eventually set-up the next part of H'el on Earth brilliantly, whether it's this series, or the others.

The art was once again fabulous, and Rocafort did an amazing job. It's been a long time since Superman has had a mind-blowingly brilliant artist, and I'm, happy it has one, once more. It doesn't matter what Rocafort draws, it always looks beautiful, and I really think he could jump on any series, and make it look good, and he proves why in this issue, drawing all the characters brilliantly, as well as the backgrounds, and settings. I loved Rocafort's art on Red Hood and the Outlaws, but I feel that he's much more suited on this series, as despite his work on RHATO being fantastic, his art on this series makes it look average. I also loved that when he draws Superman and Superboy next to each other that Superboy actually looks like a boy. It's weird saying that this was a surprise, but due to the settings Superboy has been in so far in the New 52, as well as the characters he's interacted with it's easy to forget that he's meant to look young, but Rocafort show's it perfectly here.

Superman and Superboy Bonding

I loved the way Superman, and Superboy interacted throughout this issue, as it really shows the differences in their characteristics. Although it wasn't mentioned much, if at all, it was still noticeable that Superboy being a clone drove their feelings for each other. It was interesting to see what Superboy thought of Superman throughout this issue, as he was appreciative for Superman twice saving his life, but made it clear that he wasn't invested in Superman's affairs, or his family (Supergirl). I also liked that Superman was wary of Superboy, due to him being a clone, and that he wanted to keep him near by, for the foreseeable future. The most interesting conversation between Superman, and Superboy was when Superboy asked Superman if he wanted the help of the Teen Titans. The thing that was interesting about this was that Superman wasn't fond of the idea of a bunch of teenage superhuman's going about unsupervised. I will now be looking forward to seeing when/if Superman will confront the Teen Titans, and what series it will be in.

Visitors for Mr. Luthor

As I said earlier, I liked the involvement of Lex Luthor, and thought that Lobdell wrote him brilliantly, showing him as the brilliant, self centred, arrogant genius that he is. The thing that I liked the most about this sequence was the interest that Luthor has in Superboy. I've not read all the Superboy series, so I don't know if it's been confirmed that the human part of his DNA was from Luthor, like it was before the New 52, but this meeting shows that this is the case, and that Luthor knows it. If it is the case I will be looking forward to both Superboy's and Superman's reactions to this. The conversation about H'el was also interesting, and I found it especially interesting that despite Luthor being in jail he knew everything that was happening between H'el and Superman. I also liked that at the beginning of this issue, Luthor had built a mini replica of the Fortress of Solitude, reflecting the fact that Superman, and Superboy are locked out of it. I hope that we see Luthor in this series sometime in the future, whether it's in this storyline or not, and hope that it's sooner rather than later.

Enter the Justice League

The Justice League also made an appearance in this issue when Superman calls on them for help. They don't do much, but their appearance alone shows that the upcoming events in this storyline will be epic, whether they're brilliant, or not. I also liked that Lobdell put in a small mention about the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship, which started in Justice League #12, and that it's a secret to the Justice League, although one member knows (Batman). There was also an acknowledgement of this in the last issue, but it was nice to see it mentioned again, especially considering Wonder Woman featured in the issue. This also makes me wonder if there relationship will play any future role in this series, as although Lobdell stated that he wants to focus on Clark, and Lois Lane's relationship, it appears that Superman, and Wonder Woman's might play a role. The main thing I liked about the Justice Leage's appearance was Superboy's reaction to them, especially when he asked Flash if he was Man Flash, due to Kid Flash (who Flash doesn't know of since the events of Flashpoint, and the beginning of the New 52) being on the Teen Titans.

Final Verdict

This was a brilliant issue, and although it doesn't progress the H'el on Earth storyline much it was still a fabulous issue. I would highly recommend this issue, as well as the other issues of Superman, Lobdell's wrote, and am looking forward to the next part of H'el on Earth. Although you don't need to buy Superboy #15 to understand this issue, I'd still recommend it, as it shows why Superboy's wearing Superman's Kryptonian Armour, and was a decent comic in it's own right.

Rating: 4/5

Teen Titans #15 Review

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Brett Booth

This has been a very fun series, but overall inconsistent, with some good issues and some poor. I was hoping that it's part in the Death of the Family crossover, and that due to it crossing over with Red Hood and the Outlaws, that it would put the series back on course, and although it has, it still wasn't quite as good as I hoped.

Plot

This issue sees the Teen Titans enlist Batgirl's help following Red Robin's kidnapping at the hands of the Joker (which happened at the end of the last issue). As Kid Flash speeds around Gotham City, trying to find any clues to Joker's whereabouts, he doesn't realise he's making things worse.

Review

This was a very good issue, and better than the last couple of issues. Scott Lobdell has done a brilliant job of introducing this series into the Death of the Family crossover, and setting up the meeting between the Teen Titans and the Outlaws. Although I was hoping for this to follow-on from Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 it was probably a good idea to have both this issue, and Red Hood and the Outlaws finish in a similar way. I think that this was a good idea, because there will be people who read this series, and not read RHATO, so if this was a direct follow-up then they may have been confused, and if this issue does in fact continue in RHATO #16, at least they've been warned. I also loved that Lobdell kept the other members of the Teen Titans in this issue, as over the last few issues we've only seen Red Robin. Superboy, and Wonder Girl. At the same time I am also happy that Superboy isn't in this issue, as that would clash with the events of H'el on Earth.

I was extremely happy that Brett Booth was back to do the artwork on this issue, and am happy that he will be doing the art on the other Teen Titans issue featured in Death of the Family. It is however a shame that he won't be staying on after this story, and I hope that he comes back to do artwork on this series sometime in the future. The minute I opened this issue I remembered why I initially loved this series, as although this series has had decent artists in Booth's absence, none have even came close to being as good as him. There was only one thing I had a small complain with about Booth's art, and that was Joker's face. Don't get me wrong, he did a fabulous job of drawing Joker, it was just that it was hard at times to tell that he was wearing a mask, as he looked like normal Joker. If it wasn't for prior knowledge, as well as the straps, and hooks at the side I wouldn't have realised it was a mask. Besides this Booth's art was amazing, and I loved the way he drew all the characters, and especially how he drew Batgirl, as she was perfectly drawn, and looked exactly like she does in own series, as sometimes characters in guest roles don't reflect their own series, but she did brilliantly. I also have to say that DC have done a brilliant job of keeping continuity since launching the New 52, and that most guest characters look like they do in their own series, and follow the same timeline (give or take an event).

Batgirl's Help

Batgirl's guest appearance in this issue was brilliant. Although it was advertised in the solicit I was more excited in seeing Batgirls appearance after it was mentioned in RHATO #15. Although Joker's been getting about a lot over this crossover, I've also noticed that Batgirl herself has been getting about a bit, making an appearance in Batman #15 (along with the rest of the Bat-Family), a small appearance in Nightwing #15, and now in this. There were two thing I really liked about Batgirl's appearance, and that was that she was acting like the person in charge, whilst treating the Teen Titans like children, and trying to fit in jokes wherever she could. The other thing I like was that during Red Robin's monologue, he knew she'd act like this.

Kid Flash, and Solstice Try to Find Joker

As I said earlier, I was really happy that the rest of the Teen Titans made an appearance in this issue, and that it wasn't all Red Robin, and Joker. I also liked that Kid Flash, and Solstice were the tow characters mainly shown, as I've enjoyed seeing the possibility of a relationship grow in them. It was also nice to see Kid Flash use this as a chance to show off, as he sweeps Solstice off her feet. Kid Flash, and Solstice split up whilst looking for the Joker, and it is revealed that Kid Flash's speed is doing more harm than good. I won't spoil exactly what happened, and sorry if anyone's worked it out purely on that sentence. Although they wasn't involved much, I was also happy that Bunker, and Wonder Girl got a few lines in the issue, and despite all the chaos going on around, Bunker was still able to be happy, and cheerful.

Joker's Joke

I wasn't too sure if I actually liked Joker in this issue or not, as I liked some things about his appearance, but disliked others. The overall conversation between Joker and Red Robin was good, although not brilliant, and I liked that Red Robin wasn't intimidated by him. The main thing however that I wasn't keen on was that Joker said what Red Robin was thinking. The reason I didn't like that too much was that it looked like Joker could read minds, and although it was obviously a coincident, it didn't work for me, and I'd rather it was left out. I did however like that Red Robin was able to work out Joker's plans, even if he didn't like what he was seeing. There was also one other thing that I was hoping to see that didn't happen, and that was Red Robin, and Red Hood interacting with one another, but hopefully that will happen in both RHATO #16, and Teen Titans #16.

Final Verdict

A very good issue, and I'm happy that Teen Titans is back on track. I would recommend this comic to anyone whether you're getting Teen Titans already, collecting the entire Death of the Family crossover, or just starting to collect comics. I would however warn fans of Red Hood and the Outlaws that this doesn't continue the story from the last RHATO issue, and that of you were getting this issue for that, you may be disappointed.

Rating: 4/5

Superman #14 Review

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Kenneth Rocafort

The first year of this series was terrible, but since the arrival of Scott Lobdell as of issue 0 the series has become what it should have been all along, great. I have been a Superman fan since a child so seeing the main Superman series do so dreadful whilst others like Action Comics doing so well wasn't nice. Nothing against any of the other series, and mainly Action Comics, which Grant Morrison has done a great job on, but the main Superman series should be the best like the main Batman series should be better than the other Batman series.

Plot

This issue sees Lois Lane visit Clark to try and persuade him to come back to the Daily Planet. Her visit is however cut short by the arrival of Supergirl (who can now speak English), who takes Clark to meet the Kryptonian, H'el, who claims he can restore Krypton.

Review

This was a brilliant issue and a great start to Superman's role in the H'el on Earth crossover. Lobdell's work over the three series he writes (this, Teen Titans, and Red Hood and the Outlaws) has been very interesting, as this series is brilliant, Red Hood and the Outlaws has been fairly good, but Teen Titans has been poor as of recent. I have however loved what Lobdell has done with this series since joining, and how during this issue he's been able to integrate Supergirl, and Superboy also. His work since joining the series has been brilliant and I like how he's made a distinct difference between Clark and Superman whilst finally giving Clark a back bone. It's been interesting seeing Clark use more of his Superman traits in real life and I love how it's been done subtly. I also like how Lobdell writes all the Super's in this issue, and how you can easily tell they're different. Having read Superboy since the start (which Lobdell used to write), only missing issues 10-12, and reading the last issue of Supergirl, I have been able to appreciate them from their own series', ans I think anyone who is a fan of them series' will love what Lobdell has done with them in this issue, and appreciate how he's kept their characteristic's, and tones.

The art in this issue is simply astonishing. Kenneth Rocafort produces some of the most amazing art I have ever seen, and whether it's on this series or his time on Red Hood and the Outlaws, it's always outstanding. The detail he puts into his work is phenomenal, and the emotion into the characters is amazing. I love how he keeps the characteristics of the characters the same as their respective series', which is great as the fans of them series' wouldn't be happy otherwise. It's also nice that he can still add his own uniwue tone to the issue whilst doing this, as it makes his art easily recognisable. The colours from Sunny Gho throughout this issue is beautiful, and make Rocafort's art event prettier (if possible). I like how the colours in this series are similar to the colours Blond produced in Red Hood and the Outlaws, making Rocafort's art even more easier to recognise. The thing I like about the differences between Gho's colours in this series, and Blond's in Red Hood and the Outlaws, is that the colours in this series are a lot lighter and give a more warm and calmer feel to the series, whereas Blond's darker colours gave the type of tone Red Hood and the Outlaws needed.

Lois' appearance in this issue was brilliant, and although it was brief I have a feeling this will be setting up things that will happen either during H'el on Earth, or more likely after. The interaction between Lois and Clark in this issue was very well written, and the chemistry shown between them was perfect. I like how Lobdell writes the different feelings they have towards each other, as it's obvious that Clark want's to be more than friends with Lois, whilst Lois only classes Clark as her best friend. It will be interesting to see how their relationship progresses in later issues as Lobdell stated that he was going to focus on Clark and Lois' relationship and that Lois and Clark should be together. I do however hope that the Clark and Lois relationship isn't developed any more than this issue did during H'el on Earth, as I think it would take away from the bigger story and rush the progression of the Lois and Clark relationship. I also liked how Lobdell put in a reference to the Superman/Wonder Woman kiss from Justice League #12, and it will be interesting to see if this has anything to do with the development of the Clark and Lois relationship.

 

The way Supergirl was introduced into this issue was great, and I loved how Lois reacted thinking that Clark was interviewing some cosplayer. The way Clark reacted to Supergirl's arrival was also brilliant, and I loved the conversation they had about how she almost blew his secret identity. The differences between Superman and Supergirl, are perfectly shown throughout this issue also, as we have Superman who sees Earth as his home, and wouldn't be happy if his secret identity was revealed, whereas Supergirl just wants to return to Krypton, and thinks that it's silly that Superman goes about pretending to be a human.

H'el's role throughout this entire crossover has probably been the most interesting. The way he's brought all the Super's together in one place is outstanding, and the mystery throughout his character is amazing. I think H'el has been a brilliant villain, and the thing I like most about him is he's not your usual villain. He' like most villains, as in he thinks his ways are just, and that he's doing no wrong, bit where he differs is due to him being an alien. He knows a lot less about humans than Superman does but his ambition to restore Krypton makes him such a dangerous villain. I also liked how he's put a fracture in the already small relationship between Superman and Supergirl. I also liked how he brought Superboy, "the abomination", along with him like he did in Supergirl #14, and the way both this and Supergirl's appearance has been integrated into this isue make both Supergirl #14 and Superboy #14 even more worthwhile reading. I also loved how Lobdell managed to connect the event from Superboy #14, and Supergirl #14 brilliantly, making the experience of reading all three amazing, whilst making this issue a brilliant stand alone issue.

Final Verdict

This was an amazing issue and a perfect way to start the Superman section of H'el on Earth. I would highly recommend this to everyone, and if you read Superboy or Supergirl I'd recommend trying out this issue, as it continues both series brilliantly. It's also a great starting point for new fans, and the perfect place for older fans who lost faith in the series prior to Lobdell joining returning. I for one am looking forward to seeing what H'el has in store for Superman, Supboy, and Supergirl in their respective series, and if this will come back to this series, like it did with this issue.

Rating: 4/5

Teen Titans #14

Writers: Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Alé Garza

I have overall been enjoying this series and it's been very fun. The current story involving Wonder Girl's origin has however been very poor and I hope the Death of the Family crossover, between this series and Red Hood and the Outlaws is better.

Plot

This issue sees Wonder Girl, along with Superboy and Red Robin in search of Diesel and the Silent Armour he's wearing. Meanwhile Kid Flash and Bunker are bored waiting for the others to return, and Solstice gets visited by Kurt Lance who offers to make her human again.

Review

This was a disappointing issue and the whole Wonder Girl origin story hasn't been as good as I hoped. This issue felt very rushed and is by far not one of Scott Lobdell's best written stories. I've loved how he's written the characters throughout the series, and especially the chemistry between Superboy, Wonder Girl and Red Robin. I was also happy that this story they have been the main characters with the other Titans making brief appearances, but this issue they didn't get as much time to interact. I did like how despite the separation you could still see that both Superboy, and mainly Red Robin cared for Wonder Girl but it would have been nice if we'd seen a bit more. Although I liked the confrontation between Diesel and Wonder Girl, even it felt rushed, which was disappointing. Lobdell does however continue to show the characteristics of each character perfectly, and I liked how he handled the small sequence between Kid Flash and Bunker.

I'm not to sure if I like the art in this issue or not. Alé Garza has done a decent job on the artwork over the last couple of issues but I'd much rather Brett Booth and am looking forward to seeing him return as artist next issue. Garza's art is good and very detailed, and I love the way he shows the character emotions. There's however something that doesn't feel right about his art in this series and the way draws hair isn't very appealing. Although I know this is Superboy using his powers, him going about with a swirly red light coming from the back of his head looked weird, and it didn't look right whilst he was flying really fast. I also can't remember seeing this in anyone else's, art whether on this series or the Superboy solo series.

The fight near the start of the issue between Wonder Girl, Superboy and Red Robin against Diesel's army was interesting, but by far not the best fight scene I've seen. I liked how the fight was laid out, and how it moved between the different characters. I also loved how despite not having any powers Wonder Girl was still able to handle herself and managed to put up a strong fight. This initially question just how strong Diesel's army is, but that is answered when Wonder Girl is swarmed by them.

It was interesting to see that Superboy had the cooler head during this fight, and how he had to pull Red Robin away from the fight. This is interesting as Red Robin is usually the one who knows when a fight is lost, and his determination to save Wonder Girl questions how far his feelings towards her actually go. The series has shown Red Robin and Wonder Girl flirting in the past, and earlier on in the series it looked like the two might possibly get together, so his determination to save her in this issue reopened that question. It's also interesting to see how Superboy has changed over the series, as when he first joined the Titans he would have been the one risking his life to defeat a foe, and would have needed to have been pulled away himself.

I was looking forward to seeing the confrontation between Wonder Girl and Diesel in this issue, and to be honest it was a bit disappointing. The interaction between the two was great and I liked how you could easily see the past emotions released, and that even after everything that's happened, there is still a part of Wonder Girl that still loves Diesel. The end of the confrontation however was disappointing. I won't spoil the result of this confrontation, but I would have expected more of a fight to have happened between the two, and the end result felt very rushed.

The set-up for the Death of the Family crossover at the end of this issue wasn't very good, and one of the poorer set-ups. I'm still however looking forward to seeing both the Teen Titan's and the Outlaws involvement in this crossover, and how Red Robin an Red Hood handle the Joker. It will also be nice to see Brett Booth return as artist and I'm hoping that the Death of the Family crossover will be a much better story than this was.

Final Verdict

This was a good issue but a poor end to what was an interesting story. If you have either got the series, or this story so far I would recommend getting this issue. I would also recommend it to Wonder Girl fans, but otherwise woild recommend waiting till the Death of the Family crossover next issue.

Rating: 3/5