raul grau
Jun 17, 2005, 12:58 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/mangamerica.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Mangamerica logo">By Marcina Riley, fantasyfiv@yahoo.com
Titan Magic
My tastes change. They ebb and wean from one thing to another. I'm certainly not fickle, but I have to admit that I don't read what I used to. I've simply switched over to something else. However, I've never lost my joy over certain comics and certain comic book characters. They may go through drastic changes, but as long as the true essence of the character or the comic is there, I'm going to be reading it. That might be why I found myself watching the animated version of the Teen Titans late one Saturday night.
When first looking at the series, it seems barely recognizable to the comic in any incarnation. The characters are not just young, but naïve... naïve in ways that their comic counterparts never were.
Starfire, the warrior princess, spent her life fighting. She not only had to deal with watching her planet being destroyed, but also with her sister Blackfire. The chaotic sibling rivalry between the two was brutal. Blackfire had no qualms about hurting Starfire both physically and emotionally. Ultimately, it made Starfire the strong independent character we see today. By contrast, Starfire's animated counterpart lived in a much sweeter world. Although Blackfire has reared her ugly head a time or two, she certainly hasn't dominated Starfire's life. The animated princess is super perky and a sweetheart. I suppose one day she might grow into the Starfire of the comics, but from this angle, it's hard to see that.
Raven is the other female left on the animated team. Her origin story has, of course, been toned down to deal with much younger audiences. Although inferences are made and her father is still a demon, it's far more candy coated. The emotional stress of the comic book Raven's life has been lessened, making things far less chaotic for the animated Raven. Her tenure on the team is a lot less hectic and far less violent. However, not every character has gone through the drastic ripping and tearing that Starfire and Raven have.
Changeling, or Beast Boy, still retains much of his childlike qualities, but there is a difference. Animated Beast Boy has his moments of abandonment, but certainly not the complexity Gar went through, having to cope with growing up without his parents. A lot of Gar's internal struggle revolves around the fact that being different is okay. He accepts himself, and tries to be humorous about things. He does have times when he is completely serious, whereas the Beast Boy of the Teen Titans animated series is very much comic relief. Rarely does he have a storyline involving long internal monologues, for example.
Cyborg also does not suffer from the crazy changes that the others have gone through. He is probably the closest to the print version of the five, and underneath that updated look he's still very much the same character. However, animated Cyborg has "ultra-cool" catch phrases like "Booyah!" and "nifty" new gadgets. Victor was one of the more stable characters and one of the more underrated ones, so it is really nice to see him act more like a teenager. It's a great change and it gives audiences the chance to see another side of Cyborg. Of course, then there's Robin.
Probably the least recognizable is Robin, simply because he's a mixture of different versions of Robin that have come before. Within the animated Robin are Dick Grayson's leadership skills, his passion for doing things the right way, and his burning obsession with Slade. There are touches of Jason Todd's street know-how and wildness, with essences of Tim Drake's computer knowledge and patience. It makes for a very crazy mix, but that is how each character is remembered best. These Titans really can be accredited to two people, writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez.
Wolfman and Perez's Titans were magic, the series itself was creative and inventive. They did things with a comic book that people didn't do and still don't today. For instance, Jericho didn't speak with thought bubbles; Perez wouldn't have it. He insisted on drawing Jericho's pantomimes. I respect that. When they came up with the concept of Terra, they wanted to take a good character and make her very bad. They wanted to shock people with the story. And they did. It wasn't and still isn't the norm to see characters changed like that. It wasn't a kid's game. There were very real consequences in the series; people died. Changes may have happened over the years, but it took a very long time to undo what was done. The New Teen Titans had a very hyper-changed atmosphere, and I see that sort of thing in the animated series.
The producers of the show chose not to be bogged down by an origin episode as one of their first ones. They gave each cast member a color to define them. In fact, the addition of Terra completes the color wheel. Each main cast member has a season to shine; a storyline that focuses on him or her, and those stories cater to the personality of the character. Most of Robin's episodes are open ended, Raven's have hidden ideas, Starfire's are always happy, Beast Boy's are funny, and Cyborg's have foreshadowing. There are times when the characters have super-deformed sprites that represent a particular moment, clearly a borrowing influence from Japan. Along with the bright colors, the character designs emphasize individual taste and looks, while sporting more Anime styled contrast in the characters. Cyborg has a very angled looked whereas Starfire is somewhat rounded, for example. There's a soundtrack with vocals, background music, in addition to the typical background sounds. The series also uses obscure Dutch angles and director's shots. The result of which is a beautiful fusion of a highly stylized Western Animation and Anime, giving the show its own distinct look and feel.
True, the stories, the plots, and the characters are fluffier to meet a younger audience, but the series remains true to itself. When animated Terra betrays the team, the impact is nowhere near as dire or sinister as it was in the Judas Contract. However, in many ways, the circumstances around animated Terra are more tragic. Animated Terra never had a chance. She didn't fall from grace, because she was never on a pedestal in the first place. She spent her life trying to fit in, and in the end, she goes to her exit fully conscious that she's the only one capable of stopping a madman. She isn't driven mad by the sudden truth. She knows what's going on. Maybe that's what I like about the cartoon; how it re-spins the events. Of course, I probably shouldn't be comparing it to the original. Yet I can see the touches of innovation that the comic series had, the touches of heart from the original. It makes for good timing that the release of the newest comic incarnation of the Teen Titans and their animated version was so close together.
Shortly after the events of Graduation Day, the print Teen Titans restarted. The writer chosen for the project was Geoff Johns. He rebooted the series by taking a few of the old faces and mixing them in with new sidekicks. Superboy, the new Wonder Girl, the new Kid Flash, and the new Robin entered the scene. A lot of the story arcs thus far have been means to explain why Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven would be working with younger kids. Many of the stories have been Johns' rewrite to make the cast gel. That is not a bad thing, because it does require explanation, and his way of storytelling rarely feels like exposition. Nonetheless, it is a form of exposition; he's trying to reclaim the original glory by explaining what happened in the middle. That might be why I never cared for his pacing; it always felt like he was trying to play catch-up. In sharp contrast, the animated series is a lot more like restarting than the new book. It takes some of the same stories and tells them in a new way. In some cases it's a different angle, a different direction, but the same truth is there, deep down in its core. It's like going through the memories of childhood. The faces are the same, but the pictures are just a little different, a little off. The good memories are made rosier and nicer with the passing of time, and the bad ones are picked over again until they are left raw and open for the world to see. Childish whims are made fanciful, and there's a desire to repeat your actions over again, but done the right way this time. Or, at least, done in a way that the characters might like better.
A part of me looks at the new comic version as a recapture... as a way of taking new, but similar elements, and finding the heart of the series. The animated series, to me, proves that the heart had never left the characters to begin with, they just forgot where they put it. Either way, the Titans have proven that they endure, no matter what.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Marcina Riley is unsure what possessed her to agree to write a column about Western manga and anime for a nicotine-addicted taskmaster, but she is sure that candy bribes were involved somehow.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
Titan Magic
My tastes change. They ebb and wean from one thing to another. I'm certainly not fickle, but I have to admit that I don't read what I used to. I've simply switched over to something else. However, I've never lost my joy over certain comics and certain comic book characters. They may go through drastic changes, but as long as the true essence of the character or the comic is there, I'm going to be reading it. That might be why I found myself watching the animated version of the Teen Titans late one Saturday night.
When first looking at the series, it seems barely recognizable to the comic in any incarnation. The characters are not just young, but naïve... naïve in ways that their comic counterparts never were.
Starfire, the warrior princess, spent her life fighting. She not only had to deal with watching her planet being destroyed, but also with her sister Blackfire. The chaotic sibling rivalry between the two was brutal. Blackfire had no qualms about hurting Starfire both physically and emotionally. Ultimately, it made Starfire the strong independent character we see today. By contrast, Starfire's animated counterpart lived in a much sweeter world. Although Blackfire has reared her ugly head a time or two, she certainly hasn't dominated Starfire's life. The animated princess is super perky and a sweetheart. I suppose one day she might grow into the Starfire of the comics, but from this angle, it's hard to see that.
Raven is the other female left on the animated team. Her origin story has, of course, been toned down to deal with much younger audiences. Although inferences are made and her father is still a demon, it's far more candy coated. The emotional stress of the comic book Raven's life has been lessened, making things far less chaotic for the animated Raven. Her tenure on the team is a lot less hectic and far less violent. However, not every character has gone through the drastic ripping and tearing that Starfire and Raven have.
Changeling, or Beast Boy, still retains much of his childlike qualities, but there is a difference. Animated Beast Boy has his moments of abandonment, but certainly not the complexity Gar went through, having to cope with growing up without his parents. A lot of Gar's internal struggle revolves around the fact that being different is okay. He accepts himself, and tries to be humorous about things. He does have times when he is completely serious, whereas the Beast Boy of the Teen Titans animated series is very much comic relief. Rarely does he have a storyline involving long internal monologues, for example.
Cyborg also does not suffer from the crazy changes that the others have gone through. He is probably the closest to the print version of the five, and underneath that updated look he's still very much the same character. However, animated Cyborg has "ultra-cool" catch phrases like "Booyah!" and "nifty" new gadgets. Victor was one of the more stable characters and one of the more underrated ones, so it is really nice to see him act more like a teenager. It's a great change and it gives audiences the chance to see another side of Cyborg. Of course, then there's Robin.
Probably the least recognizable is Robin, simply because he's a mixture of different versions of Robin that have come before. Within the animated Robin are Dick Grayson's leadership skills, his passion for doing things the right way, and his burning obsession with Slade. There are touches of Jason Todd's street know-how and wildness, with essences of Tim Drake's computer knowledge and patience. It makes for a very crazy mix, but that is how each character is remembered best. These Titans really can be accredited to two people, writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez.
Wolfman and Perez's Titans were magic, the series itself was creative and inventive. They did things with a comic book that people didn't do and still don't today. For instance, Jericho didn't speak with thought bubbles; Perez wouldn't have it. He insisted on drawing Jericho's pantomimes. I respect that. When they came up with the concept of Terra, they wanted to take a good character and make her very bad. They wanted to shock people with the story. And they did. It wasn't and still isn't the norm to see characters changed like that. It wasn't a kid's game. There were very real consequences in the series; people died. Changes may have happened over the years, but it took a very long time to undo what was done. The New Teen Titans had a very hyper-changed atmosphere, and I see that sort of thing in the animated series.
The producers of the show chose not to be bogged down by an origin episode as one of their first ones. They gave each cast member a color to define them. In fact, the addition of Terra completes the color wheel. Each main cast member has a season to shine; a storyline that focuses on him or her, and those stories cater to the personality of the character. Most of Robin's episodes are open ended, Raven's have hidden ideas, Starfire's are always happy, Beast Boy's are funny, and Cyborg's have foreshadowing. There are times when the characters have super-deformed sprites that represent a particular moment, clearly a borrowing influence from Japan. Along with the bright colors, the character designs emphasize individual taste and looks, while sporting more Anime styled contrast in the characters. Cyborg has a very angled looked whereas Starfire is somewhat rounded, for example. There's a soundtrack with vocals, background music, in addition to the typical background sounds. The series also uses obscure Dutch angles and director's shots. The result of which is a beautiful fusion of a highly stylized Western Animation and Anime, giving the show its own distinct look and feel.
True, the stories, the plots, and the characters are fluffier to meet a younger audience, but the series remains true to itself. When animated Terra betrays the team, the impact is nowhere near as dire or sinister as it was in the Judas Contract. However, in many ways, the circumstances around animated Terra are more tragic. Animated Terra never had a chance. She didn't fall from grace, because she was never on a pedestal in the first place. She spent her life trying to fit in, and in the end, she goes to her exit fully conscious that she's the only one capable of stopping a madman. She isn't driven mad by the sudden truth. She knows what's going on. Maybe that's what I like about the cartoon; how it re-spins the events. Of course, I probably shouldn't be comparing it to the original. Yet I can see the touches of innovation that the comic series had, the touches of heart from the original. It makes for good timing that the release of the newest comic incarnation of the Teen Titans and their animated version was so close together.
Shortly after the events of Graduation Day, the print Teen Titans restarted. The writer chosen for the project was Geoff Johns. He rebooted the series by taking a few of the old faces and mixing them in with new sidekicks. Superboy, the new Wonder Girl, the new Kid Flash, and the new Robin entered the scene. A lot of the story arcs thus far have been means to explain why Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven would be working with younger kids. Many of the stories have been Johns' rewrite to make the cast gel. That is not a bad thing, because it does require explanation, and his way of storytelling rarely feels like exposition. Nonetheless, it is a form of exposition; he's trying to reclaim the original glory by explaining what happened in the middle. That might be why I never cared for his pacing; it always felt like he was trying to play catch-up. In sharp contrast, the animated series is a lot more like restarting than the new book. It takes some of the same stories and tells them in a new way. In some cases it's a different angle, a different direction, but the same truth is there, deep down in its core. It's like going through the memories of childhood. The faces are the same, but the pictures are just a little different, a little off. The good memories are made rosier and nicer with the passing of time, and the bad ones are picked over again until they are left raw and open for the world to see. Childish whims are made fanciful, and there's a desire to repeat your actions over again, but done the right way this time. Or, at least, done in a way that the characters might like better.
A part of me looks at the new comic version as a recapture... as a way of taking new, but similar elements, and finding the heart of the series. The animated series, to me, proves that the heart had never left the characters to begin with, they just forgot where they put it. Either way, the Titans have proven that they endure, no matter what.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Marcina Riley is unsure what possessed her to agree to write a column about Western manga and anime for a nicotine-addicted taskmaster, but she is sure that candy bribes were involved somehow.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.