The other history of the DC universe, II.

The other history of the DC universe, vol. 2

II - 1970 - 1989: Karen Beecher-Duncan & Mal Duncan. 

- John Ridley, et al

The second volume of this fascinating series takes us on a journey through the history of the infamous Teen Titans, through the eyes of two minor… or rather, supposedly minor characters, who in many ways have been representative of the virtues and flaws of the group as a concept and as a comic. 

Bumblebee and Guardian (or Hornblower… of just plain Mal Duncan) illustrate exactly how much damage being regarded as a Token can do to a person, in both a literal and a figurative sense, as well as showing exactly how dysfunctional the Titans characters are and have been for decades. 

This volume takes a much more humorous approach than the first, driven by the couple’s differing points of view and often contrasting recollections of past events. But the humor is used with a satirical intent: Exaggerating the flaws in order to shine a stronger light on the social critique. 

In the first volume, the contrast between real-life events and superhero anecdotes was often jarring. This second volume makes them more organic, though sometimes at the cost of making the narration feel somewhat smug (“Mal fought the Angel of Death and got Gabriel’s magic shofar? I’m sorry, that’s crazy talk. Even in a world where you’ve got to deal with insanity like Mr. ESPer and Antithesis… you talk about fighting Azrael and getting a magic horn you’re either crazy, or you’re desperate to impress people”. “Who designs a super-suit so she can attack her boyfriend in front of her friends just to make a point about their behavior?”). But that smugness ultimately serves to highlight the main point: That even in narrations that illustrate our wildest dreams, too many people are left behind, if not outright discarded. 

A strong second installment, with equally gorgeous art. More than worth a look. 

*