Saturday, July 30, 2005

Top 5 Favorite Comic Books - New Teen Titans #38


New Teen Titans 38
Originally uploaded by Heidi Meeley.
There have been many comic books in my life that have made me laugh, cry, and feel every emotion in between. These are the comic books that never get put away because I know that I will refer back to them again and again. In no particular order, I want to present to you my top five comic books- the ones I can't stand to put away.

The first one is The New Teen Titans #38, which features the definitive origin of Donna Troy as told pre-Crisis by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. The art and storytelling are perfection, and every moment is filled with deep meaning.

Donna Troy has accepted Terry Long's proposal of marriage, but is hesitant to step into the union without knowing about her past. Enter Dick Grayson (Robin, Nightwing), one of Donna's best friends and detective extraordinaire. Using clues from Donna's memories, Dick follows each clue with diligence and the utmost care. What he finds and gives to Donna in the end is stunningly emotional to both the reader and the characters involved.

To this day, I still can't read this issue without tears of joy welling up in my eyes. That is the power of top notch story telling, my friends.

If you ask Donna Troy fans why they love the character, this is an example they are likely to give. Donna is no second-rate Wonder Woman in many of our eyes. She is a strong female character, who tries each day to be the best person she can be. Her convictions and frailities are what make her so compelling.

New Teen Titans #38 is a prime example of what happens when a creative team makes history. Wolfman and Perez have left their stamp on the comic book industry many times over, but this issue is a standout.

This story has been collected in "The New Teen Titans: Who Is Donna Troy?" trade paperback as well as being available in back issue bins. If you have the chance, pick it up and give it a read.

With the resurgence of Donna Troy in the DCU, and the emerging Crisis, her back story has never been in more demand, but to me she has always been an important character.

2 comments:

Brian Cronin said...

Truly a great issue, and to be honest, something that sort of irked me is how they could not leave this work alone, but rather, they seemed to feel the need to revisit the story (and later writers, too)...just leave this great work alone!!!

Heidi Meeley said...

I agree that every time they fudge with Donna Troy, her origin just gets diluted and murky. I miss the fact that this issue is her definitive relationship. I always love looking at this book, and was very sad that they had to "fix" her after Crisis.