cover image Teen Titans Earth One: Volume One

Teen Titans Earth One: Volume One

Jeff Lemire, Terry and Rachel Dodson. DC, $22.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-4012-4556-6

Rather than more minor tinkering with the teenaged super-hero team, this graphic novel is a full-scale reboot: what if, in an alternative world, circumstances brought together young people who echo the regular Teen Titans but are totally different people? High school student Victor Stone, for example, finds that parts of his body are turning to metal, so that he becomes a cyborg %E2%80%94 but not the familiar Cyborg! This new character is one of a group of kids who have special powers because they were created as experiments by nefarious (adult) scientists, using technology from an alien space ship that crashed decades ago. The insensitive adults also have imprisoned a surviving alien child %E2%80%94 Starfire. Lemire's (Essex County) script exploits teen angst efficiently and with some fresh imagination, while the Dodsons (Wonder Woman) produce lovely art, especially in panels showing Navajo seer Raven. If it's all a formula%E2%80%94 brave teens vs evil adults %E2%80%94 it's still one that works for the new readers this is aimed at. (Dec.)