Review- TEEN TITANS VOL. 3: DEATH OF THE FAMILY

TEEN TITANS VOL. 3: DEATH OF THE FAMILY (DC, Second Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Teen Titans #0, 15-17, Red Hood And The Outlaws #16, and Batman #17 (cover dates November, 2012- April, 2013)

Writers: Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, and Scott Snyder

Artists: Brett Booth, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, Tyler Kirkham, Batt, Norm Rapmund, Jon Sibal, Timothy Green II, Wayne Faucher, Eddy Barrows, and Eber Ferreira

Colorists: Andrew Dalhouse Blond, FCO Plascencia, and Alex Sinclair

My son checked this out of our local library and asked me to read it with him. While I am glad that I did so that I could censor out the cursewords (regular readers of my blog know of my disdain for superheroes swearing), it was a chore to read. Only my love for my son could have made me endure this nonsensical hot mess of a story.

While I loathe decompression-style writing in comics, the overwriting by '90s holdouts Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza is far, far worse. Reading their dialogue is like chewing chalk. This is some stupid story about The Teen Titans teaming up with Red Hood And The Outlaws to save all twenty Robins from The Joker, or something like that. It was so difficult to read that I zoned out a few times while rattling off the story to my son, who seemed to enjoy it.

My 9 year old son's take: He liked that two different Robins were fighting each other. He also liked the fact that there is not a lot of swearing in it because it is more enjoyable for all ages. He said that it was a pretty good storyline too. He disliked the way that The Joker looked in it. He disliked the tricks that The Joker played on them, like when he had tricked them into thinking that he had removed their faces.

The writing was stiff and clunky while the artwork suffered from a '90s Image influence. My apologies to those who consider bombastic, hyper-stylized '90s comic book art to be in good taste. The coloring was overdone and lifeless. I am just grateful that this was free from the library. I can't imagine how awful I would have felt if I spent my money on it or if my son spent his allowance money on it. Avoid this turkey at all costs.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 0.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone

Paper stock: Good weight glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.