Characters: Teen Titans
Publisher: DC Comics
Artist: Eric Canete
Reviewer: Dean Trippe

This looks to me like a really good direction the comic series could’ve gone after the untimely cancellation of the cartoon series. Eric’s lineup includes original team members Donna Troy, Wally West, and Dick Grayson, as well as fan-favorites Raven, Cyborg, Beastboy, and Starfire. I think you’d have to call it ‘Titans’ and leave off the ‘Teen,’ but to be honest, I thought it was pretty cool the last time they did that. Here’s a larger version of the image above.
Donna appears to have returned to her Wonder Girl roots, which would be a nice step towards simplification given the character’s rather complicated history. The red and gold are reminiscent of her earlier Titans uniforms, and the simple toga-like dress is a strong reminder of her Paradise Island roots. I particularly like Eric’s hairstyling, here, which is fun and stylish as well as being visually different from Wonder Woman’s.

Gar’s costume’s a little obscured, but the push toward a younger appearance is a good call in my book, considering the older company he’s in. It looks to me like he’s wearing an updated version of his Doom Patrol gear. I especially dig that his footgear is built into the suit.

Starfire looks absolutely regal in her updated but still minimal Tamaranian garb. I really like the dreadlockish hair and crown. The sheer skirt is a nice element of softness (and a possible callback to her cartoon counterpart) for a character usually defined by her anger. I’d like to think that signals a shift towards more balanced emotional state for Kory.

Draped by Kory’s arm is the most dramatically revamped character, Nightwing. At first I was put off by how different this is from his current uniform, but then I remembered how different his current uniform is from his first Robin suit. Given that Dick’s character and abilities should basically make him Batman 2.0, I could totally see him upgrading a bit. This uniform features protective headgear, likely with installed communication tech. His wing-design is now armor-like rather than simply a different color spandex. I’d like to think theres some glider extensions collapsed in there. Last but not least, his hands and feet feature talons for climbing and offensive attacks. Needless to say, Nightwing’s the boldest and in my opinion strongest redesign of the group.

Moving onto Raven, we see her portrayed here with her cloak tattered and her gold and red belt redefined as hovering raven emblems. It’s considerably edgier and suits her dark character more than her new current outfit in the comics.

I’m going to presume this Flash is a non-corporeal, back-from-the-dead Wally West, formerly Kid Flash. I was going to say he’d need a new name now that Bart Allen‘s handling the official mantle, but since Jay Garrick still uses the name in JSA, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Anyway, this Flash’s energy-like body reminds me of Alex Ross’s Kingdom Come incarnation, and features an actual ball of lightning where his lightning emblem usually goes. Very, very cool.

Rounding out the team we get a partially-rendered Cyborg whose upgraded suit features the slick blue tech detailing from his cartoon counterpart and a bolted steel exterior that looks both fierce and frequently modifiable. I’d really like to see these elements make their way into the comics.

All in all, it seems Eric’s managed to walk a really cool line between basing his Titans on the comic book versions of the characters and the Cartoon Network team lineup. Needless to say, I’d add this book to my holds box list in a heartbeat.

(Just for fun, check out this earlier Titans image Eric did, which prompted me to invite him to submit something to Rooftop. Also for fun, Wikipedia’s got a killer Frank Cho pic of the Titans featuring this exact same lineup in earlier uniforms. Check it out!)

UPDATE: Eric posted some preliminary character sketches for this piece over on his site!