Teen Titans #50: Back in the list

I've made no secret of my opinion that Teen Titans has lost it's way. Johns and McKone's issues are some of my favorite Titans books ever, but it really got off track during Infinite Crisis, and simply couldn't recover with the Death of Conner (Superboy) and the removal of Bart (Kid Flash) for the artificial aging to adulthood and subsequent death barely more than a year later.

Sean McKeever appears to have a solid grounding for the characters. Issue #50 gives me hope that this run of Titans isn't going to die. I've been on and off with the Titans since the A Lonely Place of Dying crossover arc with Batman in the late 80's. A lot of Titans teams have come and gone since then and the four who graduated from Young Justice were one of my favorites. It's been a sad slow decline in enthusiasm for me since the afore-mentioned sundering of that team but in #50 McKeever makes me think I could come to love these newer characters as much as those we've lost. It's always been about the interpersonal relationships for the Titans. If he can concentrate on that aspect of the book while keeping firmly within superhero adventure, then he'll have me for a long time.

The only doubt I have is the chosen artist for the new run. Ale Garza is a very talented artist, don't get me wrong. But I have a firm belief that even supremely talented artists are not the right fit for any story merely based on their talent. Art style has to match well to the tone of the story. Comics are a blending of two halves which only work when one dissolves into another and makes a whole. Personally I don't feel Garza's style works well on superheros. A fantastic artist, but in my opinion, the wrong artist for the job.