Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2003

October 27, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: “A Day After” and “Who Was Donna Troy?”

The writers of the regular Teen Titans and Outsiders ongoing series fill in the blanks from the end of Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day.

Writers: Judd Winick, Geoff Johns & Phil Jimenez
Pencils: Ivan Reis, Carlo Barberi & Phil Jimenez (Plus several others in the profile pages)
Inks: Marc Campos, Norm Rapmund & Andy Lanning (Ditto)
Colors: Sno Cone & Tom McCraw
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano & Comicraft
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Tom Raney, Scott Hanna, Mike McKone & Lary Stucker
Publisher: DC Comics

With DC’s Secret Files series, the stories are almost always sort of superfluous, “fill-in-the-blank” tales that may shed a little light on the regular series, but are almost never necessary to understand the story. The challenge then, for the writers, is to tell stories that are still entertaining in that context. Winick and Johns tag-team to tell what happened in the fallout of Graduation Day, leading up to the regular Teen Titans and Outsiders series they have made into bestsellers. Most of the main characters get a page or two to show how they’re handling the events that tore apart their previous teams, and fans of either series get to peek into their favorites.

The real gem in this book, however, is Jimenez’s short story focusing on the funeral of Donna Troy. This is mostly a showcase for Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, but Green Lantern, Starfire and Superman each have a moment to share their grief, and there is a wonderful scene with Batman that fits nicely into current events in the JLA title.

The profile pages, as usual, are good to help people brush up on the characters they may be less familiar with, and it’s nice to see different artists’ interpretations of the characters. It’s interesting to note that both Winick and Johns contribute artwork to the profile pages, with Winick breaking slightly from his usual, cartoony Barry Ween style for the Grace page and Johns doing an impressive piece with Kid Flash.

This book is indispensable for people who read either or both of the regular series. For others, it probably won’t resonate with you.

Rating: 7/10