Double Review | Teen Titans! Raven & Beast Boy

Description Summary | A cool read with incredible illustrations. This was a great modern reinterpretation of Raven, but fell a bit flat on story.

Goodreads Synopsis

When a tragic accident takes the life of seventeen-year-old Raven Roth’s foster mom—and Raven’s memory—she moves to New Orleans to live with her foster mother’s family and finish her senior year of high school.

Starting over isn’t easy. Raven remembers how to solve math equations and make pasta, but she can’t remember her favorite song or who she was before the accident. When strange things start happening—things most people would consider impossible—Raven starts to think it might be better not to know who she was in her previous life.

But as she grows closer to her foster sister, Max, her new friends, and Tommy Torres, a guy who accepts her for who she is now, Raven has to decide if she’s ready to face what’s buried in the past…and the darkness building inside her.

Rating

While I am familiar with Raven’s origin story, I liked the modern twist Garcia gave her in this comic. The art style was gorgeous and I feel Picolo excelled in bringing out the “vibes” of Raven through the illustrations.

I did feel however the story is too short, and that in turn made it flat a bit. I just think we haven’t really explored Raven that much; it was like getting flashbacks when you wanted the whole story.

Will I be reading the next installment? Maybe. Depends on how Garcia will proceed with the story.

Do I recommend ? I think it’ll appeal to Teen Titans fans more.

Description Summary | A light hearted interpretation of a classic teen hero while still managing to relate to so many aspects of being a real life teen. Better than the Raven comic.

Goodreads Synopsis

Garfield Logan has spent his entire life being overlooked. Even in a small town like Eden, Georgia, the 17-year-old with green streaks in his hair can’t find a way to stand out–and the clock is ticking. Senior year is almost over. If Gar doesn’t find a way to impress the Chosen Ones–the social elite at Bull Creek High School–he will never know what it’s like to matter. Gar’s best friends, Stella and Tank, don’t understand why he cares what other people think. They miss their funny, pizza-loving, video game-obsessed best friend.

Then Gar accepts a wild dare out of the blue. It impresses the Chosen Ones and his social status soars. But other things are changing, too. Gar grows six inches overnight. His voice drops and, suddenly, he’s stronger and faster. He’s finally getting everything he wanted, but his newfound popularity comes at a price. Gar has to work harder to impress his new friends. The dares keep getting bigger and the stakes keep getting higher.

When Gar realizes the extent of his physical changes, he has to dig deep and face the truth about himself–and the people who truly matter–before his life spirals out of control.

Rating

I really enjoyed Beast Boy’s comic because it did manage to tap into his origins while still not gearing us off course from his present issues and inner discovery. I liked the story and how it included relevant key topics such as bullying, viral popularity, and body image issues while still threading the superhero plot.

Beast Boy’s character development is done really well. I loved watching him grow and kind of reveal the deeper parts of him aside from your typical class clown. He has such an infectious fun loving personality that’s impossible to hate; a character easily you’d back up and root for all the way.

Shout out to his besties, Stella and Tank, they’re amazing examples of true friendship. I just got attached to this trio and their adventures!

Do I recommend ? Yes to the Beast Boy comic!