Considering the era--where loose-brained and/or violent cults were exploding all over, I found it surprising that this title would even touch on that subculture. Yes, they had been doing their best to be The Young Dark Shadows Chronicles in this period, but for a comic that had not matched the maturity level of other DC titles, Satan worshippers would be the last thing one would imagine being a subject for TT.




At least Aqualad was given some independence in this period (particularly with the Ocean Master storylines in Aquaman #50-51 / Teen Titans #28-29). It shows that DC had willing to bump him up a few "grade levels" and not care about risking a clashing image with the then-heavily syndicated and still popular Aquaman cartoon (originally airing from 1967-68), where that Aqualad was just a "golly gee" Robin exaggeration set underwater ("Holy Halibut!").



Thankfully. His style was never suited for young characters. Far too rough.



Could be; the cover looks like an Adams layout as well as one of Infantino's.



I still disagree with that, and feel he was more flavor than depth considering the real world race issues going on at that time.



Yep.



In The Titans Companion, Adams talks about his sociopolitical goals working at DC at the time--

TTC: "Did you ever change your approach to a book based upon who you thought the audience might be?"

Neal Adams: "Sure. I suppose I had ulterior motives lots of times when I did what I was doing, I certainly felt that bringing the audience into the Twentieth Century with us was a good idea. Introducing black characters was--and continues to be--a good idea, and I'm not convinced that it's been done well yet. And forget black characters--Oriental characters, and Hispanic characters--I see hardly any of that. I am personally offended by that. It just galls the crap out of me. I don't see women handled all that well in comics, although Marvel is making an attempt to do it, and I applaud their attempts there. We need a broader base to our comic books, and we mustn't forget, in my opinion, [that we're] telling stories to people. That's what we're supposed to do."

Of course, Adams and a handful of other were trying to bring realism of the streets and maturity to DC and their readers, and were largely successful, but in the case of the Teen Titans, if he did ghost write, its no wonder its so glaring compared to past stories, particularly in the soft-to-non-handling of Mal.



Pretty forgettable.






This does not seem to be an accident. Its as if certain minds at DC were still thinking their readership was still made up of types like the children of 50's TV such as Father Knows Best or The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, where their world was as white as the vitamin D milk they proudly consumed. so a black character on the cover might rattle their entire sensibilities on exactly who exists in their world. If obscuring his race was deliberate, it reminds me of the European marketing campaign for Roger Moore's debut as James Bond-- Live and Let Die (1973), where his black female co-star (played by Gloria Hendry) had her poster art altered to make her appear white (or was not featured at all), particularly in Italy, where racism against blacks was a solid fact of life, and audiences would have resented the implication of Bond with a black woman (which was unavoidable, as he has sex with her in the film)...



Clearly, he was out of touch with the young culture of that era. That's as bad as mid 60s TV shows still having young characters speak like 50's beatniks, with "daady-O", "That's smooth, cat!"--all coming off like the work of absolutely clueless members of an older generation that not only did not understand the age group they were presenting, but did not care to be accurate. That--needless to say--make this title seem silly, and more than justifies the fact it only has one issue left.

Regarding Haney's handling of Robin--if he was back on his anti-Robin kick, he must have been isolated from the other DC titles Robin appeared in (a nod to his importance in the DC universe), and sleepwalked through the past five years where Robin became one of the more popular (and licensed) characters in comics, not to mention back-to-back high visibility on the 1966-68 live action series, followed by two years of the Filmation animated series. Robin was here to stay.

In any case, for the Titans, their original door is about to close....

The cover of Titans 42 always reminds me of this one from a few years earlier...

Teen Titans #43 (February 1973)



"Inherit the Howling Night!"

Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: Art Saaf
Inks: Nick Cardy
Colors: ?
Letters: Ben Oda

grade: A++


It's only my favorite original Teen Titans story of all time. Everything that had been done right in the previous Titans horror stories comes together perfectly here, beginning in the middle of the action with non-stop pacing and creepy, foreboding narration:



providing spooky visuals, unnatural angles, and murky shadows:





and providing a plot with some truly worthwhile surprises that (for the first time) totally and completely makes sense. You can easily predict the solution to the mystery at the heart of this tale long before the end, and yet, some part of you struggles with the idea that the story could possibly resolve itself in this way.

Rather than going into too much detail here, I'm going to quote myself from back when I chose "Inherit the Howling Night" as my third favorite comic book horror story of all time for The CCF Long Halloween 2014:



The kid they spent the entire story trying to save had been dead for years and replaced by a demonic changeling. Grandpa's resolve in learning this at the end is so eerily tragic:



Bye bye, Davey.


Of course, we have to discuss the final panel, as two extremely interesting things occur there:



First off, the Titans inherit an estate? Was Haney planning on going somewhere with that? How do you end the story with that and then just expect it to never come up again? Marv Wolfman tried to use this moment and decision as a means of explaining how the original team disbanded in his Post-Crisis retelling of their origin in Secret Origins Annual #3, but we're just sort of left with it here in this original telling.

Secondly, "Never the end," huh? There is no indication on the letters page that Hany or Boltinoff were aware that this would be the final issue of the original run, but perhaps this final little end note indicates an acknowledgement. The Lilith story that follows certainly seems a little more convinced that this is the end.

Also, the letters page talks up Boltinoff, Haney, and Cardy taking control of World's Finest with issue #215, as well as the beginning of their "Super Sons' work there. Perhaps that, more than lagging sales, explains the (temporary) end of this series. The three power houses behind the Titans working on a new project that is also aimed at the teen demographic. Perhaps the two projects seemed redundant, and/or the creative team didn't have time for both.

Whatever the case, the original Teen Titans run certainly went out on the right note. It took them two years, but they finally told the perfect horror story, even if we didn't really get a resolution to the series as a whole.


Important Details:

- Final issue of the original run.

- No Mr. Jupiter, nor mention of Mr. Jupiter.

- No Mal, nor mention of Mal.

- At various times since her first appearance in issue #25, we've seen Lilith manifest precognitive abilities, enter another person's mind, and (once only) practice witchcraft. Now, suddenly, all three abilities are played up to the max as we see a severely overpowered Lilith in this story:





...and yet, somehow, she doesn't learn the truth about Davey until Robin figures it out. I suspect this was why she was suspiciously absent from so many Haney issues in recent months. A character that powerful should be able to end any supernatural story before it even gets started. Unless you give her a reason to be conflicted about using her powers. Thus, again, my suspicion that the New Teen Titans' Raven is just a revision of the character of Lilith.


Minor Details:

I'm such a sucker for atmospheric horror stories with a solid mystery at the center. This one is so reminiscent of my favorite horror film of all time, The Uninvited (1944). Coincidence that both have memorable shots of a mother's ghost at the top of the stairs? Probably.








"Please, Tell Me My Name!"

Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: Ernie Chan [as Chua]
Inks: Ernie Chan [as Chua]
Colors: ?
Letters: Jean Izzo

grade: C

Introduced to us as "the final chapter in the bizarre background of Lilith, the Wanderer," this story doesn't really feel like a natural conclusion to Lilith's search. Just as with the last Lilith backup, she finds someone in trouble who looks like her, has her abilities, and just might be a relative (in this case, her mom), but she isn't. Really nothing at all special about this one beyond Ernie Chan (Chua)'s pencils, which make Lilith look far older and also gives her an elegant, but haunted aesthetic.

The ending, once again, clearly reiterates that Lilith's search is somehow done, even though nothing in the story itself justifies this:



Either Haney knew this feature was over, or he knew this title was over. I'm curious as to which.


Also worth noting, while I sincerely doubt this was Haney's intent, it sure looks like Lilith committed murder here:



That's the guy who refuses to testify that he committed murder, and not the woman who is wrongfully being given the death sentence in his place. Lilith sure cautions him to watch out, but exactly one scene earlier, we saw her use her telepathic abilities to make the mayor come out of his office and see her. Now this horse comes flying out immediately after she warns the dude to look out, and his dying words give her the confession he otherwise promised to withhold.

Shady.


Well, that marks the end of the original Titans run until former Titans fan Bob Rozakis picks up the torch three years from now. In case you forgot, an excerpt from one of his fan letters gets mentioned in the letters page of in Teen Titans #32:




I have fonder memories of that run than pretty much everyone else I know, so I'll be curious to see if the stories read as well a second time.


In the meantime, I'll be taking a detour to read through Batman Family (1974) for the first time, as those Dick Grayson appearances (as well as some Bob Rozakis back-up features) may impact my understanding of the Titans stories that will follow...

Excellent review of the end of that era of the Titans. I love this issue with the creepy atmosphere and such a tragic ending. As you mentioned, I recall Marv Wolfman covering this story in a Titans annual from 1989, I think? Interesting how he used this as the basis for how the team disbanded. I think he had it where the others weren't quite as on board with Robin accepting the estate. I often wonder how the series would have progressed if not for the 1973 cancellation. Would the team have set up shop at the estate and dealt with super natural menaces? I suppose we will never know. How fun it would be to able to discuss the topic with Mr. Haney. I was lucky enough to chat with Bob Rozakis several years ago on a message board and I asked him his plans for the Titans if they had not been cancelled again in 1978. He has some fun ideas and was surprised the title was cancelled for a second time as it was actually selling pretty well.

The Scooby Titans are my favorite and I have thoroughly enjoyed your reviews!

I have to track down that issue ... shaxper and I have not seen this before and how that I miss this back then! ... and according to you it has the best origin story.

From what I remember about that annual, it had Lilith track down Starfire and warned her that Dick and Mal were in danger. A hooded villain is tormenting Dick Grayson with memories from the past and Mal figured in there too. By the end of the story, the villain is revealed and all is well. It is a great story with awesome art from some of the greats! Also re-established Golden Eagle and Bat-Girl (Flamebird) post crisis.