The storyline is heating up quickly in Teen Titans #19, as Trigon is here – and is devastating New York City! Kid Flash is beginning to show signs of leadership within the team as the Titans face their biggest danger yet in the New52. This issue is action packed, and truly one of the best issues of this title I’ve read in quite some time!
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD! Please read the issue before continuing here!
This issue picks up with some significant dissension in the ranks of the Titans in the aftermath of last issue’s battle with the Suicide Squad. Cassie expresses her displeasure rather, uh, forcefully…with a hand around Tim Drake’s throat! The rest of the team tries to talk her down, but it is Bart Allen who plays peacemaker here. It is good to see Bart stepping up, and I look forward to more from Kid Flash in this title. And, it is important that he is stepping up a bit, as Tim Drake still seems caught in his jerk-of-the-month mode. We don’t linger here much longer, though, because…Trigon appears in Times Square with devastating results! The Titans go into battle, to find that Trigon has more than just a few physical tricks up his sleeve. This is a most impressive battle, but one that doesn’t go well at all for the Titans. Raven appears to be ready to help to an extent…but is she really ready to directly defy Trigon? We’ll have to wait for that answer…
Kid Flash does feature more prominently here than in some recent issues, and there is foreshadowing of future storylines that may finally explain Bart’s future/history in the New52. Scott Lobdell’s script (with dialog by Lobdell and Tony Bedard) was very well done and action packed throughout. It is easily the best issue of Teen Titans I’ve read in some time. Eddy Barrows does a great job on pencils, with inks by Eber Ferreira and colors by Alex Sinclair. This is an excellent issue – and I can’t wait for TT #20!
After last issue’s events, New York’s Times Square is in shambles. Two dozen people trying to secure the area after the battle died with just a simple thought (“drop dead”) from Psimon. What more can go wrong? And, will Raven choose to fight alongside the Teen Titans or side with her father Trigon? That’s the starting point for issue #20 of Teen Titans, which does a good job of pushing forward the New 52 version of the battle between the Titans and perhaps their most infamous opponent.
