Taking the characters back to being younger would have made sense (assuming the NTT never came into being). With it being the 80s, would Lilith had been reimagined as a vapid Valley Girl (which we got with Flamebird) ? A new wave Bumblebee? The more I think about it, there are lots of fun ideas to be had there! I remember when the NTT was launched, I read it mainly to see Robin, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl and kept waiting for the other "real" Titans to show up and replace Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Changeling, hahaha!
Kole was a character I really liked. Sad that she was created just for a Titans casualty in the Crisis along with Dove.

Kid Flash was the backup series in The Flash, and two installments appeared in #265 and #266. #267 was a Barry Allen story, "The Secret of Flash's Uniform." #268 reverted to the 17-page story format as a result of the Implosion. #269 was a book-length teamup of Flash and Kid Flash, which ran 23 pages, and was most likely written and drawn before the Implosion decree was issued. DC had several post-Implosion books that ran 18-25 pages through out the first half of 1979 because they were completed (or close to completion) at the time the line of comics was slashed. Batman #308, for example.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was originally supposed to be 25 pages, like the other Explosion books, but with last minute editing to cut it down in order to allow more ads to fit.

And issue #325 (1983) has a Kid Flash backup story that, according to the editor, was prepared a few years prior, but never printed, which fits in well with the Explosion/Implosion timeline. They even had a page redone to adjust for the then-current New Teen Titans continuity.

So it appears that Kid Flash was to be the ongoing backup feature, with the occasional full-length Flash/Kid Flash teamup mixed in.





1978.

Thanks!

Exactly, and even Robin--the most famous of all teen / young adult sidekicks--was never so much of an "A-List" character (if he ever was one) that he was going to earn a solo title.



Some titles were already working well: Green Lantern ended the decade and started the next) with a solid O'Neil run, that expanded both the emotional angles he originally brought to the title, and the larger sci-fi concepts, which were GL's best environment. Meanwhile, the Legion of Superheroes had consistently interesting-to-compelling Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway (a darling / "win" for the title after his historic work on The Amazing Spider-Man) and Jim Starlin (aka "Steve Apollo") scripts continuing the slick, adult stories of Carey Bates from earlier that decade. In other words, both titles were doing more than just surviving the disaster that hit DC--they were moving onward and upward for a time.



But NTT's foundation and inspiration was so strong that it was already perceived as if it were an entirely new title with no baggage / chains from its previous incarnation, thus whatever growing pains the title had, readers were so interested in that new direction, that they would weather just about anything--not that there was much to weather in that book.

Brave and the Bold #149 (April 1979)



"Look Homeward, Runaway!"

Script: Bob Haney
Pencils: Jim Aparo
Inks: Jim Aparo
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Jim Aparo

Grade: C-


Three guys named Bob walk into a franchise.

The first, Bob Haney, plasters the walls with go-go checks, plays some groovy records, and creates a place where teens can feel comfortable and respected. It works for a while.

Then, eventually, folks get tired of the place, maybe even find it a little condescending. People stop coming, so Bob Kanigher says "Let's try something different". Bob Haney gets kicked out, and this second Bob pulls the go-go checks off the walls, shuts off the jukebox, and creates a more stripped-down, no-nonsense place that's focused on a social message.

People don't like it.

Bob H. wanders back in and starts telling ghost stories. It's random and kind of fun, but the police get called, and he's soon out of there again.

That's when Bob Rozakis decides it's his turn. He hits up the local garage sales, buys up some truly kitsch furnishings from the 1950s, staples them to the walls, and starts laughing at his own jokes while people walk in, stare for a moment, and then leave again.

Eventually, Rozakis is escorted out too.


A few minutes later, there's a large implosion heard outside and half the universe dies, Thanos style.


The place is silent for a good long while.


Then Bob Haney walks back in, peels off the new decorations, and plays the jukebox one last time.


And there's the crux of this (semi) final Haney story. There's neither an attempt to acknowledge Rozakis continuity nor fly in the face of it. It truly feels as if Haney is just totally unaware anything was ever done with the Titans property after 1969 (including his own second run with the title). And, in the wake of the DC Implosion, it's not like anyone else had any plans for this franchise, so he's free to treat the team as he pleases. Thus, we're back to Haney's ideal line-up, free of the later characters that were added by those other Bobs:



though, to be fair, Dick Giordano credits Wolfman and Wein with the creation of Kanigher's additions

and they're back to the same old schtick, willing to drop everything (even after they disbanded) to help Batman infiltrate an organization of teen criminals:



And, as usual, the problem was never really the teens, but rather some greedy adult, corrupting them for his own gain.

The only real excitement to be found in this story is awaiting the revelation of who the mysterious "The Man" is, running the show. However, he is finally revealed to be no one we knew previously, and with absolutely zero characterization. It's a total letdown.


You can't really call this Haney's final word on the franchise he created. It's a throw-away story, perhaps even something pulled from inventory after a full decade in order to make a deadline.

Fortunately, Haney does have one last Teen Titans story left to tell...




Minor Details:

- Whereas Rozakis was constantly working to de-power the Titans, Haney has them more powerful than ever, Kid Flash able to disarm an entire gang, unload their guns, inspect the bullets, and put the guns back without their even seeing it:



and Wonder Girl now apparently able to perfectly mimic any voice she hears:




- I thought Donna's shirt while working with the teen thugs was an impressive choice:



...until I realized Rozakis was actually doing this ironically, Donna trying to play some sort of evil, misguided feminazi while under cover:



How very disappointing.



- Nothing like kissing up to the boss mid-story:

I doubt Haney had any particular concerns with what the X-Men were doing at the moment.