New Teen Titans, The: Who is Donna Troy?
Grade 10 Up–Compiled to provide background for a new series that brings the title character back from the dead, these stories inadvertently show readers more about the artificial business of keeping a serial exciting than making a connection with the eponymous heroine. The first chapter chronicles the meticulous detective work of Batman's former protégé, Robin, as he tries to uncover the missing pieces of the early life of Donna Troy, his teammate in the Teen Titans under the alias of Wonder Girl. The story, while dense, is captivating, with complex, elegant page layouts. As it continues with Wonder Girl's marriage to the ordinary Terry Long, the high caliber of art and the subtle, adult relationships are maintained. It is therefore a great pity that the quality established at the beginning is discarded for a bizarre revamp that mixes loosely adapted Greek mythology and science fiction. Though still fashioned by the same authors, this revision has none of the grounded pathos of the original. The conclusion, an elegy to Donna as friends and family, superhuman and mundane, gather for her wake, recaptures the humanity of the character by showing the ordinary mourning of the people left behind.–Benjamin Russell, The Derryfield School, Manchester, NHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.