Teen Titans #36 (December 1971)
"The Tomb Be Their Destiny"
Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: George Tuska
Inks: Nick Cardy
Colors: ?
Letters: John Costanza
grade: B-
Sort of makes you wonder why the story couldn't begin here, like
Teen Titans #34, smack in the middle of the story, with moody visuals and atmospheric narration firing on all engines.
Heck, we get a page and a quarter of recap, so why did we have to go through the less eventful setup for this story for the entire duration of last issue? The Titans are in a crypt, there's a mad hunchback lurking in the shadows, and this somehow has to do with the ghosts of Romeo and Julet. That's all you really need.
Besides, the ghost possession aspect of the story NEVER GETS EXPLAINED ANYWAY. We get an entire issue of setup, and we we get an extensive explanation of the Della Loggia smuggling ring at the end that no one needed, but if you're not ever going to bother to explain how/why these ghosts were haunting Lilith and Romeo, nor even how that damn hunchback has stayed alive for centuries, then let's just abandon explanations all together and have a little fun.
Balance is really what's missing in this story. In fact, it bothers me that the creepiest image in this entire issue
pertains to the smuggling ring side plot and in no way involves horror nor the supernatural.
As for the whole Romeo and Juliet aspect, I was ready to let Haney off the hook for all his inaccuracies once the story makes it clear that these ghosts are historical and not literary. Shakespeare based his story, at least in part, on folk legend, so it's entirely possible there really WAS a Romeo and a Juliet, and it's likely their story would have played out somewhat differently than what Shakespeare wrote. Reasonable idea thus far.
But then Haney writes this:
Any freshman in high school can tell you that there WAS a third "actor"/rival for Juliet's affections in that play (and his name was Paris). So no, Haney just really doesn't know what he's writing about. Anyway, the English teacher in me digresses...
Mr. Jupiter's role in the title remains ambiguous as of this issue. He gives no orders and doesn't say or do anything to indicate that he is in charge. However, for the second issue in a row, he manages to work in a severely outdated attitude towards women that seems unintentional on Haney's part:
Seriously, in 1971?
Minor Details: - Last issue's cover more accurately depicted the events of this story than this issue's does.
- As noted by @mrjupiter, where'd Wonder Girls's costume go?
- While this was the most action-intensive moment of the issue
it happens because Speedy did it by accident and "must be losing my eye!". What?? I was ready to chalk it up to ghost possession, but it wasn't.
A better story than the unnecessary first part last issue, but the balancing of Romeo and Juliet ghosts, smuggling rings, and a murderous centuries old hunchback was executed clumsily.
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For the extra content this time around, we have Skeates writing yet another Aqualad solo story that proves to be unimportant for these reviews (why is the title repeatedly pushing Aqualad on us? Are they testing whether or not to put him back on the team?) and a reprint of the first time Robin met Superman, which might be included because the Titans will be appearing in the pages of Superboy later this year. That story doesn't really pertain to these reviews either, though I have to point out my least favorite aspect of Atom Age Batman time-travel stories:
Gee, Robin. It's so sweet of you to care that much about Superman's well-being. But maybe, while you're there in the past anyway, you might want to stop by Haley's circus and, I don't know, prevent the deaths of your parents? Maybe pop on by Wayne Manor and give Thomas and Martha a head's up about Crime Alley too?
Anyway...
The final back-up feature of this issue proves to be the real keeper:
"The Teen-Ager from Nowhere"
Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: Nick Cardy
Inks: Nick Cardy
Colors: ?
Letters: Ben Oda
grade: A-
Lilith seems to be Haney's favorite character right now, and she's been getting A LOT of reaction in the letters page too, so giving her a solo adventure that reveals her origin is a no-brainer, but Haney's approach here is unexpected. This is a story of a much younger Lilith, and between Haney's writing her as a frightened but resolved young girl, and Cardy's amazing artwork, I find myself far more invested in young Lilith than her older Teen Titans counterpart:
Not all that much happens in this short tale, but Lilith does discover her powers and begin to uncover a mystery about her past in which her real mother left her at an orphanage due to some MYSTERIOUS trouble pertaining to her father.
Okay, I was going to save this for MUCH later down the line, but perhaps it's time to discuss my theory that the New Teen Titans' Raven and Cyborg are just updates of Lilith and Mal. Same basic templates, only with greater powers. And now it sure seems possible that Lilith and Raven share similar backstories as well, Raven being hidden by her mother at a young age so that her all-powerful father could not find her. Lilith's story may or may not be heading there, but right now the parallels are hard to miss.
Generally a better installment than the last one (and I can't wait to see where the young Lilith story goes) but I still have higher hopes for the next issue.
