New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Special (1983)

New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Special (1983)
"Plague!"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Penciller - George Perez
Inker - Dick Giordano
Letterer - Ben Oda
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Consulting Editor - Len Wein
Editor - Dave Manak
Special Thanks - David Mishur & Stephen Jacobs
Cover Price: $1.00

This issue has long been atop the stack of books I wanted to cover for the ol' blog, and I just hadn't gotten around to it.  I figure, given today's date I may as well be all "lol, internet" and post it now.  This is an interesting PSA that features the first (and one of the only) appearance of an all-new Titan, the Protector.  Pro, as his fellow Titans call him is a stand-in for the unavailable Boy Wonder, Robin.

This issue was co-presented by the Keebler Company... like, as in the Elves that make cookies in a tree.  At the time, and hell... perhaps even now, Robin's likeness (along with presumably the entire Batman family) was licensed to the Nabisco Company.  Tensions must have been high during the cookie-wars of the early 1980's.

It's pretty much a tradition here in the United States that the First Lady takes up a cause.  Currently, Michelle Obama is taking on childhood obesity, Laura Bush tackled illiteracy, and so on.  Well, back in the 1980's, First Lady, Nancy Reagan aimed to start the War on Drugs.  It seems like such a quaint idea in hindsight, but at the time "Just Say No!" was a mantra in schools all across the nation.  This comic is part of those efforts, and even includes a letter from Nancy Reagan on the inside front-cover.  This should also be an indication of just how huge the New Teen Titans were at this point in time!

Normally, this whole concept is one that I'd roll my eyes at.  Growing up in the 80's, I found myself the victim of many a "very special episode" of my favorite sitcoms, and feel I kinda know the score.  If there's any creative team who can make me feel different, it's most definitely Marv Wolfman and George Perez.  Let's see how this one plays out!

--

We open on a confessional scene.  Something out of a contemporary reality television program.  A thirteen year-old girl, who introduces herself as Debbie O'Hara, tells of her history of drug abuse.  She also alludes to problems in her family home, perhaps to justify her use.

As the story proper begins, we observe the Teen Titans, sans Robin... plus Protector about to bust up a drug ring they had been surveying for the past several months.  On Speedy's mark, the team bursts through a wall and into battle.

The Titans make short work of the "scums".  Raven attempts to use her empathic powers on the remaining felons wrapping them within her soul-self, and finds herself overcome by pain and weakness emanating from somewhere nearby.  She collapses to the ground.

With her teammates surrounding her, Raven points to the source of her pain.  The Titans discover discover a young boy going into fits, presumably from his rampant drug use.  Realizing time is of the essence, Cyborg instructs Starfire to fly the poor boy to the hospital straight away.

Shortly at the hospital, the Titans anxiously await the news on whether or not the boy would come out of it.  Moments later, a doctor approaches.  He tells the Titans that sadly, by the time they arrived the boy was too far gone.  Upon hearing this, Starfire in particular takes the news rather badly, and bee-lines it to the nearby drug-lab and blasts the thing to pieces.  She questions how people could be so cruel to one another, and begins sobbing.

Back at the hospital, the O'Haras arrive.  They are the parents of the girl who chatted us up earlier.  Apparently, she also had a bad trip and was currently in detox.  The doctor tells them she will make a full recovery, but will need a lot of guidance to stay straight.  Changeling meets Debbie's brother, Teddy and tries to see if he can learn anything.

The rest of the Titans begin questioning the elder O'Haras.  They tell of Debbie's recent change in personality, and the toll it's taken on their entire family.  Raven gets that funny feeling again, this time it's anguish... and it's coming from a motley group of children waiting in the hallway.

Back in the confessional, we now meet twelve year-old Anina Juarez... also a drug user.  She's friends with Detox Debbie, and is the sister of the recently deceased Juan.

The Titans approach the children, thinking perhaps they could be of value, information-wise.  The kids, of course beat a hasty retreat.  Speedy, Raven and a returning Starfire are able to cut them off at the chase, and begin their soft interrogation.  The kids act all defiant, and one has the gall to stick his finger into Speedy's chest.

This brings us back to the confessional.  Speedy tells his tale of use and abuse.  He says the things he would do to get his fix would make them sick, but does not go any further into detail.  He shares that at his lowest point, he contemplated suicide.

Back inside, Protector, Cyborg, and Wonder Girl are trying to speak with detox Debbie.  They want to know where she got her drugs.  She refuses to answer... says she's not a snitch.  Changeling and young Teddy enter the room.  Ten year-old Teddy claims he may have overheard something of import.

After hearing the news Mr. O'Hara begins laying into the Titans, claiming they haven't done enough to stop things like this.  Cyborg pops in and says they can only do so much, and makes an observation in regard to how sexy drugs and alcohol are depicted in media.  He also mentions that the crew he used to hang out with all fell in with drugs, but he was able to sidestep it.

Now, armed with the information (that they haven't yet shared with the reader), the Titans take to the skies.  They pass an almost perfect juxtapositional scene with one group of teens being active and playing basketball, and another group just lounging with smokes and drinks.  Okay, I think they could have cut this scene... we get it already.

The team happens upon the helicopter they had been looking for and they hang back as to not arouse any suspicion.  After a landing, the team observes a drug drop.

Confessional time.  Meet fourteen year-old Joseph Cummings.  Drug user and detox veteran, Joe claims his father is a cop.  He hasn't been feeling too good of late, and he hopes it's just because of his drug use, and not anything more dangerous.

It must be a few days later, as it is the morning of Juan's funeral.  Joseph approaches Anina and notes that she looks upset.  That Joe must be on some enlightening stuff at the moment.  Joey reaches into his pocket and retrieves a joint... surely, in light of recent events the best thing for mourning Anina is a toke.  She clearly agrees, and lights up after putting up a sad bit of resistance.

Meanwhile, Titans Protector, Starfire, and Cyborg fly to the mountaintop base of Evil Narcotics Incorporated, LLC and overhear some goons talking about the death of Juan.  They all laugh it off, and joke that with all the garbage they're lacing the drugs with, they aren't surprised.  The team, well, okay just Starfire (but the others do follow) bursts into the scene, and make short work of the scums.

Back in the city, a funeral is taking place.  As the priest gives Juan's eulogy all of the children begin laughing.  That sounds about right.  When Anina's parents question her bizarre reaction, she flips out on them and flees through the graveyard.  Her goofball coward friends turn all scared rabbit and run away as her parents give chase.  Anina ultimately collapses into a pile of tears and bong water, and her parents hold her as she sobs.

Confessional ti... wait, him?  Bwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!  Okay, okay... ahem.  Meet thirteen year-old Henry Catlin.  Drug addict, and I think he was the heavyset red-haired kid that was in every 1990's kids movie... like the ones where they played sports, and they weren't very good... but still won in the end.  Yeah, him!  Either that, or this is Pat from Saturday Night Live.

Meanwhile, across town... remaining Titans Wonder Girl, Changeling, Raven and Speedy pull a raid on the street dealers who are selling to a group of kids.  They do so in grand fashion, Changeling takes the form of an elephant and Wonder Girl throws a truck and appears to rip one poor guy's heart out.

The day is saved, and the Federal Task Force is called in to take the creeps into custody.  The empathic Raven runs the gamut of emotions, surrounded by all of these poor addicted children.  Speedy gives her a hug, and promises they'll bring her someplace safe.

Later on, the He-Man Drug-Lovers club all decide it's time to clean up once and for all.  They get arm and arm and march into detox, heads held high.

Our final confessional scene features fifteen year old Roger Levine.  While he goes through his history, he stops himself.  He knows that drugs have overcome his life, and he wants a change.  Only now does he know he wants and needs help to stop.

We close with the Titans sitting in on a group therapy session for addicts and their families.

--

Okay, that was... and I swear I'm not trying to be contrarian here... not half bad.  The Titans had featured socially relevant stories throughout their tenure, and this one (outside of featuring the Protector) would not feel terribly out of place.  A bit heavy-handed, perhaps... but it kind of had to be given the circumstances.  Of special note, they made Starfire's outfit a touch more modest, covering up her belly and cleavage.  I suppose that makes sense if these things were going to be passed out in schools and pediatrician offices nationwide.  Really can't complain too much about that, in fact I didn't even notice it while I was reading, it was only after doing a bit of research that I found out.

While on the subject of Starfire, I'd say that maybe her behavior was a touch over-the-top, however, she was always known for losing her cool in the heat of emotion/battle.  I gotta say, all of the Titans acted completely in character throughout this tale.  Only sorta-kinda hiccup to me would be Raven  referring to the Protector as "Pro"... I mean, she called Flash "Wallace", I can't see her being so informal... however, I'm guessing this is the result of having already sized the word balloon to fit "Robin", and trying to fit "Protector" in there would be a bit unwieldy.

Overall, this was an extra 20-odd pages of Teen Titans drama and action by two of the all-time greats.  Of course it could be better, however, I think I can safely say it could have been far far farrrrrr worse.  If you're a fan of the Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans, yeah, snap this one up.  I know we're in a more cynical and perhaps devil's advocate-y time, but there really is a lot to dig about this issue.

--

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Thriller #1 (1983)

Thriller #1 (November, 1983)
"Down Time, Part One: Seven Seconds"
Writer/Co-Creator - Robert Loren Fleming
Artist/Co-Creator - Trevor Von Eeden
Colorist - Tony Ziuko
Letterer - Phil Hugh Felix
Editor - Dick Giordano
Cover Price: $1.25

Thriller is another one of them books that kinda gave me the heebie-jeebies when I'd come across it in a back-issue or cheap-o bin.  Something just seemed off about it.  I suppose a lot of that has to do with the somewhat stylistic art of co-creator, Trevor Von Eeden.  Even in just a quick flip-through, his gritty angular style just pulls me in.  This book will not let you read it passively... you must allow the words and art to seep in through your eyes and fingertips, Thriller simply wouldn't have it any other way.

For the longest time, I only had the second issue of this series.  I swear it would call out to me each time I entered my library... begging to be read.  Special Origin Issue was plastered along the bottom of an image of a house engulfed in flames.  Somehow, I was able to hold out... I wanted to read this series in order.

When I decided to pursue this reading project (as we bloggers/comic fans call them), I had a ridiculous time finding the remaining eleven issues.  Comic shop owners claimed to not even know about it.  There's very little information of this series online... for a moment I thought perhaps I'd imagined the whole thing.

As luck would have it, I stopped in to a somewhat local record store one day during my lunch break.  They had a box of "last chance" items (comics, books, magazines) sitting in front of their doorway, that were priced at somewhere between a dime and a quarter... one last ditch effort at making a little cash before sending them off to be recycled.  The very top book was the one we'll be discussing today, Thriller #1.  In another odd twist, I found the entire series there that day... the only one missing was #2, which I already had.  Talk about something being meant to be!

--

We open during a Satellite News Network report of some happenings in Mecca.  We join twin brothers, Ken and Dan Grove.  The former a correspondent, the latter his cameraman.  They are on the run from from a team of gunmen who have spotted them.  In their attempt to flee over a wall, Dan falls.  Ken quickly comes to his aid, however, they now find themselves both at the mercy of a large masked man who introduces himself as scabbard.

Ken helps Dan to his feet and tells him to keep recording... no matter what.  Scabbard calls forward "his woman" Malocchia.  She speaks almost melodiously and stares deeply into Dan's eyes.  Ken warns that she is a hypnotist, and again presses him to keep the camera rolling.

Scabbard backhands Ken, knocking him to the ground.  Ken stops Dan from intervening, giving him the OK sign and once more tells him to keep recording.  Scabbard reaches behind his head, and draws a sword out of the skin of his back.  It is as though he's wearing a scabbard of his own skin.  Rather disturbing to observe, but fitting.  Scabbard raises the sword above his head, and brings it down the back of Ken's neck, decapitating him.  All while Dan watches... and films.

We now flash forward to Dan standing on a bridge preparing to throw himself off.  He looks into the night sky, tears streaming down his cheeks.  As he appears to come to peace with his decision he hears a disembodied voice call his name.  Suddenly the sky is filled with the rainbow swirls of a woman's face.

She introduces herself as Thriller, and tells Dan that he needn't feel bad about what happened with his brother.  She also tells him that she sees him as part of her future.  There's no more time for tantrums or cowardice.  It is now time for him to step up.  He's told there's a car on its way for him, and Thriller comments that she now has "seven seconds".

A black car pulls up and Dan is yanked in.  It is here that he (and we) meets a man called Data, the first-second.  He introduces himself as an information specialist, and it is soon clear that he is controlling the car, which he also claims is his home, with his mind.  Data drives Dan to a terrible area of town and unceremoniously kicks him out.

Here, in an alley Dan witnesses two men attacking a woman.  He attempts to intervene, only to gets knocked on his ass for his trouble.  The woman frees herself and appears to be able to affect the physiology of others with only a touch.  She easily takes care of her would-be attackers before turning her attention toward Dan.  She introduces herself as White Satin, and is the second-second.  When Dan makes it clear he's working with Thriller, she slaps him in the face with train tickets to Los Angeles, and leaves.

One of the attackers regains his composure and readies himself for one last shot at Dan.  As he pulls the trigger, an odd hand extends from around the corner.  From out of the shadows a man emerges firing multiple rounds toward the attacker, one of which actually collides with the oncoming bullet.  This is Tony Salvotini, or Salvo the third-second.

Dan doesn't appear to be too thankful, and makes some contentious remarks toward Salvo.  In response, Tony unloads his gun into Dan at point-blank range.  Dan is shocked to find that he's not bleeding, let alone dead.  Here we learn that Salvo only uses non-lethal rounds, and vows he wouldn't even kill a fly.  He claims to be Thriller's brother, and invites Dan to join him on a roof-top run.

Once atop a nearby hotel, Salvo shoves Dan off.  As he falls a helicopter swoops in, a large arm snares Dan out of the air and into the chopper.  Dan recognizes the owner of that big arm as Beaker Parish... the world's first artificial man, and the fourth-second.  Years earlier, Dan's twin brother Ken interviewed him.  At this point, Parish is nine-foot tall and an ordained priest.  He delivers Dan to the Trinity Building.

The Trinity Building is the home of Edward Thriller, the man who won the Nobel Prize for finding a cure for cancer.  Inside, Dan runs into who he believes is White Satin... however, this is the fifth-second Robert Furrillo aka Proxy, a former actor who badly burnt his body while freebasing cocaine.  He was "shellacked" with synthetic skin that melts off every 24 hours.

We see a cameo of the sixth-second, Crackerjack, who Proxy refers to as their "Honduran Houdini".

Dan hears the disembodied voice call his name once more, and has a brief memory of his mother.  When he comes to, he finds himself standing before the extended hand of one Edward Thriller who welcomes him to their family.

--

Thriller is a great comic.  This was a very strong opening chapter that introduced our potential Point-of-View character in Daniel Grove, and touched briefly on his teammates in the Seven Seconds.  The scenes were dynamically paced and illustrated, with nothing really overstaying its welcome.  I did not recall how, ahem, thrilling this series could be... and after rereading this first issue, I find myself wanting to dive head-first back in to the series (at least until the unfortunate creative-team change).

I suppose a minor complaint would be that at times the art was somewhat hard to follow.  Whether this was a simple hiccup in the stylistic approach, or if this was intentional to play up the almost psychedelic dream-like state the latter half of this issue provides is unknown to me.  I would imagine if I were reading this monthly, as fans were in 1983-84 I would be a bit more confused.  The passage of time between each issues release would likely only exacerbate any bewilderment felt by those readers.

I will concede that knowing what I know about the creative shuffle and struggle did affect my overall enjoyment of this issue.  I can only guess what Fleming and Von Eeden had in store for their story before butting heads with DC Editorial.  I'm sure it would have been, ahem, thrilling.

All that having been said, I would still wholeheartedly recommend checking this one out.  The first seven or so issues are great fun, and illustrate the potential had by a non-traditional, non-code comic series in the early 1980's.

--

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