Teen Titans #13 (February 1968)



"The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol!"

writer: Bob Haney
art: Nick Cardy

grade: C


The beginning of this issue offers a lot of hope after the last horrendous outing. We've got Nick Cardy back on pencils for this issue, as well as one hilarious opening:



Unfortunately, that fun contrast between classic literature and hip teen lingo is nowehere to be found within the issue itself. While the Titans are spouting mod language with more regularity than before, there's no irony to be found in this -- it's just a loose retelling of A Christmas Carol with a skinflint junkyard owner, his sole employee with a crippled son, a partner in jail (not dead), and the Titans playing the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Oh, and there are sci-fi gadget-wielding smugglers worked into the plot somehow too.



...because that makes sense.


The only real fun to be had in this issue is with Cardy's art, which remains stunning and full of range:






Beyond that, there's a whole lot that just makes no damn sense, like a hill of trash that, with the touch of a button, seems to magnetically pull the Titans toward it even though they aren't wearing any metal:



and a story that can't possibly compare to the Dickens' original in terms of heart-felt moments and insights. It's really just a lame, LAME issue with impressive Cardy pencils and inks on it.



Minor Details:

Forget the meta thing that Haney is always doing which never stops feeling weird; look closely at what's going on here:



Robin will replace the novel with an issue of Batman next panel, so you've got Robin reading Batman, Wonder Girl reading Wonder Woman, Aqualad reading Aquaman (and commenting on how the sidekick is his favorite part), and Kid Flash reading...Superman. Now there's a healthy self-esteem.



Department of Aquatic Desperation:

Even though a letter is published this month arguing that Aqualad doesn't get enough time on panel, he gets less to do than ever before in this issue that takes place in the middle of Winter. There's no unfrozen water to get into and, thus, Aqualad has nothing to do. Haney Desperation Level: N/A in a story that takes place during Christmas snowfall



Department of Worrying About Wondy:

The boy-craziness has been absent for several issues now, but I'm becoming increasingly concerned with how both Haney and Cardy enjoy depicting her as a sex object:



Psst...Cardy! She's underage.




Plot synopsis: More or less covered above

Yes, there is a Showcase collection: www.amazon.com/Showcase-Presents-Teen-Titans-Vol/dp/140120788X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476098969&sr=8-1&keywords=showcase+teen+titans

Glad you're enjoying these!

Great reviews by the way. When I was young and started collecting comics, my goal was to have a complete run of Teen Titans. I accomplished that goal and would read and re-read those comics often. Back when I first started collecting, those stories were great to me (keep in mind I was 10 or 11). They don't hold up now, however I do find them entertaining. The Cardy artwork is great, especially in the Christmas Carol themed issue. And that Wonder Girl redesign in issue 22 (I think), WOW!

I truly wish I'd had this book when I'd been eight or nine. I don't think I would have minded the silliness at all back then. But, encountering these as an adult, it's sort of my hope that writing these reviews will eliminate the need for anyone to track down an omnibus and read them

Fortunately, the better stories aren't that far away. I remember enjoying the Mr. Jupiter era, and I loved the horror stuff that came after even more.

There are actually two Showcase volumes; volume 2 picks up from volume 1 and through TT issue #36, and also includes the Titans stories from the Brave and the Bold #83 and #94 and World's Finest #205


www.amazon.com/Showcase-Presents-Teen-Titans-Jan-2008/dp/B010BA15ZM/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1476109902&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=teen+titans+showcase+volumes

Thanks! I have some, but not all of these. There is a team-up with the Justice League that gets referenced in a much later Secret Origins story where, I think, the JLA gets possessed by aliens or something, and I've not yet figured out where that team-up originally occurred. Any ideas?

I remember this issue vaguely and I do remember that panel and how ridiculous it was and I agree with you on that part. What you have written in the Department of Aquatic Desperation is one of the things that writers back then have a hard time dealing with Aqualad in the middle of winter and during the Christmas snowfall and that alone makes Aqualad pretty much useless and that's alone makes it impossible to incorporate that character in a story at that time. What they should had done is to make that member inactive in that story and that should be done in the first place.

One of the many things that bothers me with the Teen Titans back then - why they didn't have a ROLL CALL on the front of every cover showing the readers who active and who isn't active just like the Justice League of America?

That's would had done the trick back then. 

Great Reviews Shax ... I have been enjoying reading them!!!