TEEN TITANS #40

There once was a magical war, which was bold, alarming, and rather raw. But then, one night, to everyone’s, delight, this war transformed into a jigsaw. Want to know more? Then please ignore the following adventure created by Adam Glass, Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, and published by DC Comics in April, 2020.

TO QUOTE Winston Churchill: ‘If you're going through hell, keep going’.

THE STORY:

In order to save Djinn from the bowels of purgatory, Robin has come up with a four-part plan that goes a little something like this: (1) Die. (2) Go to hell. (3) Fight through a swarm of your own personal fears. And (4) Enter purgatory and retrieve Djinn before returning to the land of the living.

But can they do this? Can the Teen Titans carry out Robin’s insane plan within the allotted 30-minute timeframe? And if they can, whatever next? Go to heaven and defeat Elias? Well, to find out, please pick up issue 40 of the Teen Titans today. In the meantime, though, here, check this out…

THE REVIEW:

On the whole, I rather enjoyed reading this second chapter of ‘Djinn War’, because Eduardo’s artwork was bold, clear, and very easy on the eye, whereas Adam and Robbie’s storyline was one part personal and one part adventurous. In many ways, it was the type of episode that works on two basic levels. On one level, it established a fairly simple objective (save Djinn), while on another level, it nicely defined each member of the team (five of them, at least). So with that said, let’s get down to business with the following QnA…

1) What was this story all about? Well, in retrospect, I‘d say this story was about the team trying to save Djinn from purgatory so they can escort her to heaven in order to prevent her brother from attacking the Pearly Gates. But for them to be able to do this, first they have to follow a fairly straightforward plan that’s been devised by Batman’s biological son, Damian ‘the pain’ Wayne. Basically, he’s created a special serum which will allow them to lapse into a coma for 30 whole minutes, so during that time, their souls can drift off into hell and, blah-blah-blah, etc-etc-etc. Eventually, they should be able to navigate the barriers between hell and purgatory, with the hope that they can save their friend and save the day.

2) Did anything oppose them while they were in hell? Yes, I’m afraid something did, because the one thing Damian failed to mention before killing his team (so to speak), is that once in hell, they will each face apparitions of their own personal demons who will try to hinder their quest. For instance...

- Robin confronted his grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul: Which to be fair, was a pretty obvious confrontation, even though I did like the fact that Damian mentioned he was in hell previously (when he was killed by the Heretic). Ouch! That must’ve brought back some lovely memories. NOT! 💀

- Red Arrow confronted the man she killed, Deathstroke: Personally, I thought this battle was a little bit too contrived, as I’m sure Emiko has a lot more animosity towards her mother, Shado, rather than someone she has recently killed. If anything, I thought it would be mummy first, Komodo second, and Slade third, just to emphasize who’s pissed her off the most. 😡

- Kid Flash confronted his dad, Daniel: To me, this face-off was the best one out of the bunch, because it was harrowing, personal, and reminded us that Wally is an orphan who’s still looking for acceptance from his peers. Bless him. 😂

- Roundhouse confronted his sister, Claire: Well, just like Wally’s encounter with his dad, this one between Billy and his dead sister was fairly deep and fairly emotional, especially when she tried to bury him alive! 😱

- Crush confronted herself: Yes. That’s right. I said that Crush confronted herself. Or to be more specific about it, she fought an evil version of herself that looked like her father, Lobo, as if he were in drag. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you, but it did dampen the intensity of their skirmish. 😈

- Jakeem Thunder confronted nobody: Well, he couldn't confront anybody because he was left behind to monitor the health of the Teen Titans and bring them back when needed. So, it's all good in the hood, bro! 👌

3) What did you think about the artwork provided by Eduardo Pansica? I’m a big fan of Bernard Chang's artwork, so whenever I see that he isn't drawing this book, my heart skips a beat and I’m generally disappointed with the end result. After all, Bernard has left an indelible mark on this series, as he’s been the face of it since its inception. Having said that, though, I wasn’t disappointed with Eduardo Pansica’s style of illustration, because even though it does seem more ‘grown-up’ and less ‘fun’ than Bernard's work, there‘s still a certain level of clarity to it that‘s both dynamic and emotional to behold! Well, just take a look at some of the images provided, and see for yourself how he’s nicely framed each sequence so the flow of the dialogue is easy to follow and understand, both on a personal and emotional level. I also appreciated the way he choreographed most of his action scenes as they were dramatically staged and carefully composed. Great stuff.

4) Is there anything else you’d like to mention? No, not really, although I would like to know what’s going to happen next month because… well… shit happened at the end of this month. And along similar lines, I would also like to know if Jakeem Thunder is going to stay around as he’s a great character who deserves some time in the spotlight. Apart from that, though, good job, good story, and good art, with the only thing letting it down being the narratives episodic nature. Next stop, Zauriel or bust, wink-wink!

THE MUSIC:

For this month's musical match-up, I’m going to align this adventure with the AC/DC song, ‘Highway to Hell’, because, well, they’re both about hell.

THE COMPARISON:

I would like to compare this month‘s episode with a psychiatric evaluation, because to some extent, they’re both therapeutic and arduous to endure.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of this issue, something rather surprising happens to the Teen Titans. So, out of the following eight options, let’s see if you can guess what that something might be? I mean, do they…