Teen Titans #33

Teen Titans #33 (On Sale: March 18, 1971), has a cover by Nick Cardy.

This issue features "Less Than Human?" by Bob Haney, George Tuska, and Nick Cardy. Continuing from the last issue, Kid Flash and Mal remain trapped in an alternate timeline. The sorcerer Jupiterius has offered to help if the Titans can pass two tests, Kid Flash successfully passes the first. Mal then must overcome his own fears to pass the second. When he successfully completes the test, Jupiterius sends the Titans back in time to the moment they changed history.

Mal and Kid Flash once again face an attack by an angry caveman. This time, they don't accidentally kill him. The Titans are then returned to their own time period, but the caveman comes with them. The Titans cage the caveman, dubbed Gnarrk, the only word he speaks. The team then works tirelessly to civilize the caveman and teach him to trust and communicate.

Lilith forms a special bond with Gnarrk. During a trip into the city, Gnarrk becomes separated from the Titans. Lilith finds him and brings him back, but while on his own, Gnarrk witnessed a criminal deal involving a city councilman. The Titans then work with Gnarrk to ensure his testimony will stand up in court. Gnarrk successfully testifies, and the councilman is convicted. This is not a great issue of TT. The story is lame, really lame and the artwork by Tuska and Cardy is a step below the pure Cardy of recent issues. The removal of Dick Giordano as editor is really taking its toll.  Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB (2007).

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Teen Titans #29

Teen Titans #29   (On Sale: July 16, 1970) has a nice cover by Nick Cardy. First off, I am a sucker for the half above water/half underwater covers, usually drawn on the war books by Joe Kubert. It works really well here to accentuate the underwater action scene featuring the Hawk and the Dove with the defeated stars of the book on the dock above water. A really well-designed cover by Cardy (or more probably, Carmine Infantino).

The book-length "Captives" is by Steve Skeates and Nick Cardy. Skeates was a much better choice than Robert Kanigher to write the Titans as he was actually a young buck at the time and didn't show any of the phony teen hipness that plagued many Kanigher characters (think of those annoying hipsters in the Phantom Stranger). Also, by including the Hawk and the Dove, which Skeates co-created with Steve Ditko and centering the action this issue on Aqualad and Aquaman's nemeses Ocean Master, they have brought Skeates' first two DC books together in one story. This was a neat trick orchestrated by editor Dick Giordano.

After storming out on his teammates, Aqualad was defeated in a fight against the Ocean Master, tied to a tree and left to die. Aqualad is discovered and released by Kid Flash, Speedy and Wonder Girl. Despite taking a vow of non-violence (Teen Titans #25-26), Aqualad's fellow Teen Titans are willing to assist against the Ocean Master. A mutual friend, named Sharon, had witnessed ordinary citizens transforming into horrific creatures. Aqualad's investigation into the matter had turned up the connection to the Ocean Master.
 

Despite being overwhelmed by the Ocean Master's forces, Aqualad managed to plant a tracking device on one of the Ocean Master's minions. Meanwhile, Hank and Don Hall mount their own investigation. The Halls enter Sharon's apartment, and await the arrival of the Ocean Master's henchmen. As the thugs near the Halls become the Hawk and the Dove. A battle ensues, with the Hawk being overwhelmed. The Dove escapes the apartment to find aid. The Hawk is carried to the waterfront as the Dove, leading the Teen Titans, races to the Hawk's rescue.
 

While the Teen Titan's subdue Ocean Master's men, the Ocean Master, himself, drags the Hawk beneath the waves. The Dove pursues, only to also be overwhelmed by the Ocean Master. The Hawk recovers, to finds himself tied to the Dove, around a featureless cylinder. While the Hawk was unconscious, the Dove was interrogated by The Ocean Master. The Dove learned that the Ocean Master had formed an alliance, with an alien race intent on taking over the Earth. The aliens have employed a second alien race, with more warlike tendencies to act as their agents upon the Earth. These aliens were from the classic Aquaman #51-53 Skeates/Jim Aparo Aquaman, Neal Adams Deadman crossover.
 

The warrior aliens have the ability to temporarily appear human, allowing them to surreptitiously move among humanity, stealing mankind's scientific secrets. It was one such alien, that Sharon witnessed, shedding his human form. The Hawk and The Dove manage to raise their arms up high enough to clear the cylinder. After subduing the guards, the Hawk and The Dove begin searching for the Ocean Master. The Teen Titans work on locating the Ocean Master, via the tracking device planted by Aqualad.
 

After subduing another of the Ocean Master's minions, the Hawk and the Dove finally confront the Ocean Master. Standing with him is one of the alien warriors, still in it's human form. The Hawk immediately attacks the alien. Holding to his pacifist code, the Dove attempts to assist the Hawk, in as non-violent a fashion as possible. The Ocean Master fires a ray that dissolves the alien's human disguise. Realizing that allowing the Hawk to put their opponents down, violently, places the Dove in a moral quandary. When the fight with the alien begins to go badly for the Hawk, the Dove puts aside his pacifistic nature, to aid the Hawk.
 

The Hawk and the Dove have just about gained the upper hand, when another group of aliens enter the room, and join the fight. Just as the Hawk and the Dove are about to be overwhelmed, the Teen Titans arrive. In short order, the battle is won, and the crisis is over.

Afterwards, Aqualad points out how foolish the Teen Titans' vow of non-violence is, in the face of alien invasion threats and the prevalence of super-villains. The Teen Titans agree to act in times of extreme crisis. For the most part, though, the Teen Titans will continue to find ways to use their powers in service to humanity, without resorting to violence.

This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents:Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB.

This issue was edited by Dick Giordano.

Teen Titans #27

Teen Titans #27 (On Sale: March 12, 1970) has a cover by Nick Cardy. The full-body Titans down the side of the cover appear this issue for the first time in an act of extremely strange timing. We all remember last issue's cover where Wonder Girl says they will, "never wear their costumes again!" and the next issue they become a feature of the cover. I guess it could have been worse had these body-shots premiered last issue.

This issue we have "Nightmare in Space" by Robert Kanigher and Nick Cardy. Now, some people attribute the pencils on this one to George Tuska and Carmine Infantino (GCD even tells you which pages Carmine penciled), but all you have to do is look at the artwork to see that Carmine Infantino and George Tuska had nothing to do with this book. Also, Nick Cardy sure seems to think he drew the whole thing as noted in the checklist in The Art of Nick Cardy. I can see why people would want to take credit for this book though, as the artwork is wonderful throughout.

This story left me very conflicted in 1970 and I'll tell you why. First off, I was a grade A, number one space nerd. I watched every launch and reentry of every Mercury, Gemini and Apollo mission (my mother thinking it was better for me to see history happening than to read about it in school). I belonged to the "Space Club" at school and flew model rockets. I even designed my own model rocket LM (Lunar Module) that I actually got off the ground. My point being, I was very jazzed about all things that were space. But the "space" that I was jazzed about was very different from the "space" of comic books, what with Superman and Green Lantern and Hawkman zipping about all the time, just to name a few. Comic book space was always very different from real space and when they tried to do real space in comic books they usually goofed it up really bad. So where does this story fit into that scenario?

"Nightmare in Space" is maybe the most realistic portrayal of "space" I ever read in a comic book and the whole time I am reading it I am thinking, "Yeah, but if things go really bad they can somehow contact Superman or Green Lantern and they can fly out to save them!" which totally destroys the universe this story attempts to play in. The problem is the universe this story plays in is not the DC Comics universe. It is a hell of a great attempt at a real space story in a DC comic book and when it fails it is because it is a real space story in a DC comic book.

But for a space nerd in 1970, man was this something to read (and I don't often say nice things about Robert Kanigher stories)!

The de-uniformed Teen titans have been training with Mr. Jupiter and their newest member, Mal has done a Dr. Smith and stowawayed on board Jupiter's supposedly unmanned ship to Venus. The Titans and Jupiter have been working round the clock to get a rescue mission going and in a few day's time the Venus Chaser launches with the Titans as crew. On their way to the Moon the Titans lose contact with Mal but continue on their journey.

The mission is complicated. The first objective is to get to the Moon where Dove will stay in the Command Module (CM) while Speedy, Wonder Girl and Hawk take the Lunar Module (LM) down to the moon to check on experimental packages left by Apollo 11 and Kid Flash and Lilith man the Venus Probe Chaser going after Mal. Eventually everyone has to rendezvous above the moon with Dove in the Command Module for the return trip to Earth. The Cardy artwork on this stuff is just spectacular, particularly on the lunar landing.

The first real problem we have is with the lunar landing party. They land fine, but there is no sign of the equipment, or anything for that matter, left by Apollo 11. While Wonder Girl works on a bent landing probe rod, Speedy, and Hawk take a moonwalk scouting for signs of Apollo 11. They find nothing but when they get back to the LM they find Wonder Girl is missing.

Meanwhile on the Venus Probe Chaser they locate Mal's ship and though it is touch and go for a bit, including broken tethers and such, they are able to transfer Mal from the Venus Space Probe, which will go on with it's unmanned mission, to the chaser ship.

Back on the moon these glowing creatures (see the cover for details), show up with Wonder Girl in tow. They are alien creatures who crash landed on the moon and were using the Apollo 11 lunar packages as spare parts to try and repair their damaged ship. Wonder Girl has convinced them to put everything back the way it was and that the next Apollo mission will be there soon and will provide assistance to the aliens.

The Venus Probe Chaser docks with the CM and soon the three on the moon are blasting off in the LM to do the same. All goes well with the docking and the Titans head back for Earth. But at some point they all go mad and begin attacking each other but luckily Kid Flash notices that their is a malfunction in the oxygen mix and corrects their nitrogen intake, ending their hallucinations. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB.

Thirty days after this issue hit the stands, on April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Teen Titans #26

Teen Titans #26 (On Sale: January 20, 1970) has another great cover by Nick Cardy. I know that as a young man, I spent many a hour staring at Wonder Girls' butt on this one.

"A Penny for a Black Star" is by Robert Kanigher and Nick Cardy and continues from the dramatic events of last issue, where the Titans responsible for the death of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Arthur Swenson, gave up their costumes, vowed to not use their powers and joined Mr. Jupiter's top-secret project.

Continuing really from the cover, they enter into Mr. Jupiter's training facility, a kind of Titans version of the X-Men Danger Room, a gauntlet of lasers, fire and wind. When they come out on the other side, Mr. Jupiter gives them each a penny and tells them the next part of their training will be in Hell's Corner, the toughest neighborhood in the city, where they are to find jobs, a place to live and one other thing, something they will have to figure out on their own. Lilith says that the answer to the last enigmatic task will be found in Hell's Corner, but she knows know more than that.

Donna wonders what they can do with a penny each and Lilith says that perhaps they can "find... a black star," but once again, more than that she does not know. In Hell's Corner they find a young black girl selling lemonade for a penny and buy some, one to see the girl attacked by Storm and his gang, the Hell's Hawks. Don (Hawk) wants to jump in and pound the gang, but he is held back by Dove and the reminder of what happened the last time they went off one someone. Seeing that they won't fight back, the gang go after the girls, groping at Lilith and Donna. Suddenly the gang is attacked by Mal Duncan, the little girl's older brother and once the gang starts beating up on him the Titans do come to the rescue, without using their super-powers.

The gang runs off and the Titans thank Mal, who tells them that they don't belong there and should leave. But they don't heed his advice and continue on through the neighborhood. Donna and Lilith get jobs at a clothing store and the guys get work and room and board at the neighborhood boys club. where they help the kids with baseball, boxing and painting. That night they learn of a monthly boxing match where the youth of the neighborhood let off steam. A week or so later at the match, Mal is pitted against Storm and knocks him out in the ring. Later when the Titans go to congratulate him they find him being beaten by the gang. The Titans put a quick end to that. Afterward the celebrate and reluctantly Mal goes along, where mainly through the efforts of Lilith, he becomes part of the gang, the Titans realizing that recruiting Mal must be the unknown task they needed to perform.

They bring Mal to Mr. Jupiter where Mal learns that his new friends are actually the Teen Titans. Mal goes through the same danger room gauntlet as the rest of the team and over the next few weeks (months?) they all train (for some reason) for spaceflight. Eventually they are taken to a secret launch site where automated rockets are being prepped for a one-way unmanned trip to Venus. That night Mal sneaks out of the facility, though he meets Lilith on the way, and when the spaceship launches the next morning they find out Mal is on board. With Jupiter's help the Titans vow to take another ship to the moon to rendezvous with Mal and save him.

This was not the best of follow-ups to last issue's story, but I don't really expect much from Robert Kanigher. I'm not sure where Dick Giordano thought he could take the unpowered Titans, but he needed someone like Mike Sekowsky to pull this off and Kanigher just didn't qualify. This was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Dick Giordano.