Publisher: DC Ink
Release Date: June 26, 2019
Price: $16.99
Creator(s): Kami Garcia (writer); Gabriel Picolo (illustrator)
Format: 184 pgs., Full-Color, 6"x8.5", Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8623-1
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
This is a mostly excellent re-start for this enigmatic character, long a staple of the Teen Titans. Marv Wolfman wrote her original stories, and this is a bit different, but close. The only odd thing is that it moves her origin to New Orleans, which is somehow a more "magical" place than other cities. That is easy to forgive, though, as the overall story is good. Its only real weakness is that it seems to not be leading to a series of Raven stories told in the same style. The included excerpt of the next book indicates that the next volume will focus on Beast Boy, next year. At that pace, it will be half a decade before the author has finished the origin stories, perhaps a bit slow.
For those who have not read the Teen Titans for the last 30 years or so, Raven is the empath/mystic of the group, with dark secrets that are not due to her doing anything wrong. She just has a very dark back story, not all of which she really knows. She may have been chosen to start this series of books because that is so much like the life story of many teens.
A minor weakness of the story is the apparent re-invention of a major character from DC comics, a change which may be confusing to longtime readers who recognize him, and his connection to the story is not made clear within this volume. Thus, another story fragment that has to wait at least a year for resolution.
The audience for this volume will be teens and older who want an interesting story set in a superhero world.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.