I winced a bit when I heard this would be a direct sequel to the events of Beast Boy Loves Raven, but I honestly enjoyed this one!

Could Dick and Damian have been developed more? Absolutely. Dick is a pretty generic “nice responsible guy” instead of the witty acrobat that die-hard Batman fans know him as and really needs some personality (though maybe they’re aiming for the more serious incarnation of Robin from the Teen Titans cartoon). Damian is much better off in terms of characterization and is honestly the star of the book. He’s not whitewashed for a change (something mainstream DC Comics have struggled to maintain) and I think the author here found a great reason for Damian’s boastful persona and inferiority complex after meeting his father and adoptive brother. The Wayne Family drama was far more interesting to me than Gar and Raven’s relationship or Damian and Max’s.

Yep the rest of the Teen Titans cast is here too, and just like in Beast Boy Loves Raven I wish the book had spent more time developing the relationship of the titular characters than rushing to make a big crossover series. All that said, their presence means the art is far more colorful than previous volumes. For those who don’t know, all of the main characters in these Teen Titan books have a specific color associated with them that’s used as the dominant color throughout the book (Raven had lots of purples, Beast Boy had greens, etc). With all of these characters together, the panels are loaded with color and it makes the book more visually interesting.

I can’t say this is the best YA DC book I’ve read (that honor still goes to Nubia: Real One), but after adjusting my expectations I’ve come to enjoy this series. Starfire is the next Titan to be written by this team and I’m actually looking forward to reading about her adventures in San Francisco. Fingers crossed the rest of the Titans take their time driving to meet her!