Review: Teen Titans- Beast Boy
Quick Summary
Pros: The main characters, Beast Boy specifically, are charming and fun. The narrative is lighthearted and enjoyable while still containing a meaningful message. The artwork is great and works well with the story being told.
Cons: Some of the secondary characters feel very generic. Some of the subplots don’t add much.
Overall: This is a charming and fun origin story for a cool version of Beast Boy. It contains a mostly lighthearted and fun story populated by great characters. However, it still finds time to say something worthwhile. The only real negatives are in the background and don’t have too large of an impact. In the end, this is a book for readers who want to see a unique version of Beast Boy tackle problems in a high school setting.
Full Review
Teen Titans: Beast Boy, by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo, is a fun coming-of-age story. It features Beast Boy attempting to balance problems with his personal and school life against his emerging superpowers. It also features gorgeous visuals that make the entire experience even better.
The main narrative in Teen Titans: Beast Boy is compelling from all angles. Beast Boy’s personal struggle contains several exciting situations where it is unclear if he will succeed or fail. The stakes aren’t as high as superhero books typically are, which gives the journey a lighthearted feel that suits it well. This main narrative also explores the role of popularity within a high school setting and does so in a way that feels meaningful yet different than other works.
The characters within this story also add a lot to it. Beast Boy is charming from the very start. Whether he is just joking around or is dedicating himself to something important, he is seriously fun to read. Meanwhile, Beast Boy’s friends are great as well. The way the trio interacts and supports each other is well-written and feels like a real friendship.
The entire book is then further enhanced by the artwork. Picolo’s unique interpretations of this comic’s characters are fantastic. They utilize unique clothing styles and environmental details to give readers insight into the personalities of the book’s characters. The artwork also assists the storytelling by properly capturing emotion and through uniquely designed pages that capture exactly what is taking place at a specific moment. Altogether, the visuals in this book are a major asset to its success.
Despite these positives, there are still a few downsides to Beast Boy. Many of the secondary characters feel a little generic and fall into pretty basic tropes. This is a bit disappointing considering how great the main characters are. In addition, some of the book’s subplots are lackluster and feel like a distraction from the main plot, rather than adding anything on their own. Luckily, these problems are pretty small and do not have much of an impact on the reading experience as a whole.
Continuity
Teen Titans: Beast Boy does not continue the storyline from any specific comic. Instead, it presents a new version of DC’s Beast Boy (Reading Order) character.
The story here continues in Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven. Beast Boy Loves Raven also continues the narrative from Teen Titans: Raven.