Each Friday, we'll be letting a different DC.com writer share what they'll be reading over the weekend and why you might want to check it out. Here's this week's suggestion for a perfect Weekend Escape!
 

If you’re looking for your next Weekend Escape, then look no further than New Teen Titans Vol. 1. The storyline features the origin of the New Teen Titans and the first appearances of Raven, Starfire, Cyborg and Deathstroke. Written and illustrated by the iconic team of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, this comic is one of the most successful books DC has ever published.

New Teen Titans Vol. 1 covers the first storyline of the series, which spans New Teen Titans (1980) #1-8 and the team’s first appearance in DC Comics Presents #26. If you’re a DC UNIVERSE INFINITE subscriber, you can read them in one sitting with the New Teen Titans Vol. 1 trade paperback or as individual issues. If you’re a print reader, your best bet will be with the trade collection.
 

THE PREMISE:

Years ago, various teen heroes came together to form a group called the Teen Titans. Time passed, and some of the members grew up and went to college, leading the Teen Titans to disband. Now a new menace is looming, forcing a mysterious girl named Raven to form a new Teen Titans. Appearing in their dreams, Raven gathers Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Changeling, along with new members Cyborg and Starfire.

But the new team has little reason to trust Raven, especially after the Justice League issue a grim warning about her, and Kid Flash learns the empath manipulated his emotions to make him fall in love with her. Can this new team learn to work together, and even if they do, will it be enough to repel the mysterious threat Raven is warning them about?
 

LET’S TALK TALENT:

It’s not hyperbole to say that Marv Wolfman and George Pérez are one of the most consequential creative teams in the DC Universe. Together, the pair wrote and illustrated Crisis on Infinite Earths, which not only remade the DC Universe, but helped to establish a DC multiverse that’s the cornerstone of most of the company’s large scale storytelling to this day. Wolfman and Pérez also wrote and illustrated History of the DC Universe, one of the most definitive chronicles of DC’s history.

New Teen Titans is the title that made all these projects possible. It’s the book where Wolfman and Pérez first jelled as a team, while creating some of DC’s most iconic characters. I could tell you that Marv Wolfman wrote the scripts and George Pérez penciled the pages, but that would be underselling their collaborative process. The two creators worked so closely together that Pérez is co-credited as another writer. In fact, the two would often have late night meetings at diners to hammer out characters, plots and everything having to do with the book.
 

A FEW REASONS TO READ:

  • New Teen Titans Vol. 1 features the first appearances of some of the DC Universe’s biggest characters, including Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Deathstroke. It also includes the first appearance of Titans Tower. Reading this storyline will give you a firsthand look at some very important moments in DC history.
     
  • While Dick Grayson doesn’t become Nightwing here, this storyline does show the beginning of that journey. Throughout New Teen Titans Vol. 1, we see Dick begin to grow out of the Robin identity and question his partnership with Batman, setting the stage for one of the most iconic emancipation stories in superhero comics.
  • If you grew up watching the 2003 Teen Titans cartoon, this is your chance to read some of the stories that inspired the animated series. On the other hand, if you’re younger and grew up on Teen Titans Go!, reading New Teen Titans Vol.1 will show you where your favorite characters got their start. Plus, now that you’re older, reading these more mature versions of the characters will make it feel like they’ve grown up alongside you.
     
  • It’s really not an exaggeration to say that New Teen Titans is one of the most consequential series DC has ever published. At its peak, New Teen Titans was DC’s highest-selling title, and it even outsold a certain competitor’s book about marvelous mutants. Plus, as noted in our LET’S TALK TALENT section, this title led to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Simply put, New Teen Titans is a big deal, and it’s essential reading for DC fans.
     

WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR TIME:

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the historical significance of New Teen Titans Vol. 1, and while all of that is a big deal, the comic also stands on its own as a pretty entertaining read. The characters are fleshed out, the story is exciting and the entire reading experience is an emotional roller coaster like few others in mainstream comics. New Teen Titans captures the fun of Saturday morning cartoons while maintaining the nuance and maturity of an adult drama. Plus, that George Pérez artwork is just gorgeous.


New Teen Titans Vol. 1 by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez and Romeo Tanghal is available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and digital retailers as a softcover graphic novel. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.