Thread:N8THGR852/@comment-27724978-20170412160910/@comment-27892537-20170412192956

Hi there,

Haroldrocks covered a few good points, but I would like to expand on them if you don't mind.

I am happy to hear that you want to learn more about mainstream Titans mythos. I, too, delved into actual Titans comics after enjoying the television series. As for where you should begin, there are a couple options that I would recommend.

Firstly, there is chronological order. There is certainly an appeal to reading from the beginning. When doing that, there are no gaps in knowledge. Everything stacks, and you can follow along smoothly. On the other hand, the original material from Teen Titans Vol 1 has a completely different vibe from most comics nowadays, and even different from the 80s' Wolfman/Perez run. If you like having the complete story, maybe the chronological approach is for you (it is the approach I took; however, I did so knowing that I would continue reading all of the Titans titles, regardless of how much or little I found certain runs interesting). The first half of original Teen Titans series is often described as "Teeny Bopper." The issues were often cheesy and featured small-time villains and whatnot. Those stories are fun in a certain way, but it's not to everyone's taste. I can appreciate them as a longtime comic reader and young adult. I can recognize I am not part of the target audience, but I still appreciate the stories for their historical value. If you are a bit younger, I don't know if you'd care for the stories as your introduction to Titans mythos, but if you do, I assure you that the stories get better every issue (for the most part).

If you are interested in the layout and historical value of the first Teen Titans series, listen here. The first Teen Titans title has what I call three "waves." The first wave contains issues 1-24 and is the "teeny bopper" issues. These are the issues that focus on the founding members Robin (Dick), Aqualad (Garth), Kid Flash (Wally), Wonder Girl (Donna), and Speedy (Roy). In this wave, we meet future members and whatnot, including the team's first meeting of Beast Boy (who is actually declined membership his first time around - that's an interesting story), as well as a hero by the name of Starfire (Aha! I am pulling one over on you; it's Starfire alright, but it's the first one Leonid Kovar, who changes his name to Red Star later and joins the team). Anyway, there are some appealing aspects of that first wave. The "second wave" as I call it is from issues 25-43. This wave steers away from the cheesy storylines and attempts a "darker" path. This wave also adds some new members to the Teen Titans: Hawk (Hank Hall), Dove (Don Hall), Lilith (Lilith Clay), Mal Duncan, and Gnarrk. If you are interested in seeing those characters become Titans, you might enjoy this wave. The "third wave" contains issues 44-53. This wave is separated from the previous from a three-year gap where there were no Teen Titan issues, but it then continued for another ten issues. In these issues, Mal Duncan gained his first superhero identity - the Guardian. He later changes to Hornblower. If you do not know who Mal Duncan is off the top of your head, he appeared in the Teen Titans animated series as Herald, the guy who used a trumpet (FYI - in the comics, Mal as Herald does not use an actual trumpet). Anyway, the third wave also added Joker's Daughter / Harlequin (Duela Dent) and Bumblebee (Karen Beecher) to the Titan roster. The final few issues had a second Titans branch, Titans West, come into being that added Beast Boy (Gar Logan), Golden Eagle (Charley Parker), and Bat-Girl (Bette Kane) to Titan membership.

Anyhow, if you want to view the historic moments of all these original 15 Titans, then the first Teen Titans title may be fun for you.

However, there certainly is another approach. I hope you are still with me (I know I type a lot). As Haroldrocks suggested, the other approach to starting to read Titans material is to start with the New Teen Titans. This series is the one that the television series was based on, as you know. This series introduced a great many characters and gave pre-existing ones more depth. This series is not only the top-selling Titans title ever, it was also the top-selling title at DC Comics for years, beating out other top contenders like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc. This title really established the camaraderie that is ever-present in the Titan titles. They're a family. The series is being reprinted into trades right now and we have 8 confirmed trades so far.

If your interest stems from the television series and you aren't quite sure if you plan to completely delve into the Titans or not, maybe reading a bit of the New Teen Titans series first would be better. If you feel like you can commit to the series, maybe reading from the beginning would be good. Either way, if you decide to read some of the New Teen Titans series first, like it, and decide you want to delve further into the mythos, you can always go back and read the original stuff at any time.

I will post the links to various options through Amazon. I don't know your age or whether you have your own bank account (and I'm not allowed to ask), but if you can use Amazon or can ask a guardian to use their Amazon, these are good links for you. Amazon has everything cheaply after all.

Here are the links to the current NTT trades. The trades contain issues up to the famous "Judas Contract" storyline involving Terra, Deathstroke, Jericho, and Dick's transition from Robin to Nightwing. Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol/dp/1401251439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492024142&sr=8-1&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+1 Vol. 2 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-2/dp/1401255329/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492024142&sr=8-2&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+1 Vol. 3 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-3/dp/1401258549/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492024142&sr=8-3&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+1 Vol. 4 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-4/dp/1401260853/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1492024142&sr=8-4&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+1 Vol. 5 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-5/dp/1401263585/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1492024142&sr=8-6&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+1 Vol. 6 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-6/dp/1401265766/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492024142&sr=8-5&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+1 Vol. 7 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-7/dp/1401271626/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1401271626&pd_rd_r=XKDWRKXTYDAYVDW7VCW4&pd_rd_w=4noI8&pd_rd_wg=ffjzw&psc=1&refRID=XKDWRKXTYDAYVDW7VCW4 Vol. 8 https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-8/dp/140127496X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492024572&sr=1-1&keywords=new+teen+titans+vol+8

The trades above are in paperback, but alternatively, a new edition of the New Teen Titans Omnibus 1 comes out later this year. This hardback collection contains all the issues gathered in trades 1-4. The costs between the first four trades and the omnibus are approximately equivalent, so the main difference is whether or not you would want to get the trades over time or get the omnibus that contains all those four trades at once. I am a collector, so I have the trades and plan to get the omnibus. If you simply want to try out the series, then maybe testing it out with the first trade is a good idea. If you're confident you'll stick with the series, maybe the omnibus is good. Here's the link to the trade. https://www.amazon.com/New-Teen-Titans-Vol-Omnibus/dp/1401271286/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492024627&sr=1-1&keywords=new+teen+titans+omnibus+new+edition

As for the original Teen Titans series, the series is collected in two omnibuses - a Silver Age one and a Bronze Age one). https://www.amazon.com/Teen-Titans-Silver-Age-Omnibus/dp/1401267564/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492025093&sr=8-1&keywords=teen+titans+silver+age+omnibus https://www.amazon.com/Teen-Titans-Bronze-Age-Omnibus/dp/1401270751/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492025093&sr=8-2&keywords=teen+titans+silver+age+omnibus

Alternatively, the original series is also going to be collected in trade, separating the omnibuses to make it more affordable by essentially allowing you to pay for the omnibus's material in parts. The link to the first trade is here, and it comes out December of this year. If you want to read the material sooner, though, I would suggest the Omnibuses. I think you get more bang for your buck with the omnibuses for this series, but that's just my take. https://www.amazon.com/Teen-Titans-Silver-Age-Vol/dp/1401275087/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492025179&sr=8-2&keywords=teen+titans+silver+age

Anyway! That was a lot of information, and yes it took me a long time to type it. I certainly hope you read the whole thing and took it all to heart. Let me know how this information affects your decision. I would like to know what you plan to do.

Titans Together,

N8