Teen Titans
Raven
The Teen Titans’ resident mystery girl goes solo in Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo’s graphic novel Teen Titans: Raven.
The latest in DC Ink’s line of young adult graphic novels focuses on Raven, a super-powered heroine best known as a cloaked and hooded member of the Teen Titans. Here, Garcia takes elements of Raven’s long-established origin story and adds new situations and details, setting her in New Orleans as Rachel Roth, the survivor of the car accident that killed her mother.
Rachel has a limited memory of who she was before the accident, but as she begins a new life with her aunt and foster sister, clues begin to present themselves. Rachel hears people’s thoughts, sees things that aren’t there, and develops powers of telekinesis. Things come to a head at the prom, where her demon father Trigon appears to claim her, voodoo magic aids in her defense, and a mysterious masked figure appears, claiming knowledge of how to stop Trigon.
Garcia brings Rachel to life as a kid drawn to darkness—Bram Stoker’s Dracula figures prominently—who’s also trying to figure out typical adolescent stuff, like her feelings about a certain boy. The book’s colors are muted, with a limited color palette of black, white, gray, and shades of red and purple—enough to set the book’s mood and give Picolo’s art a bit more kick than standard black and white would have provided. Relatable to its intended modern audience but true to the spirit of the character, Teen Titans: Raven is a refreshing and entertaining take on teen heroism that builds a solid foundation for future stories.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
