Review by Frank Plowright
As the title suggests, Teen Titans Academy is the long established Teen Titans training and acting as mentors to the next generation of teenage heroes. The intake introduced in X Marks the Spot was large, so of necessity some characters remained in the background while others took leading roles. That remains the case in Exit Wounds, despite it starting with Gregg, from an intelligent gorilla society that also spawned the troublesome Grodd. He’s back, and again using his formidable powers of mental control to subvert humanity.
Exit Wounds is a bulky collection, half as many pages again as its predecessor, and after opening with Grodd, Tim Sheridan concentrates on two main plots, but while there are joyous moments and good twists it’s apparent the cast is too large, and the minimising of some is a disappointment. It’s even acknowledged via Starfire making a speech about not giving all students the necessary care and commitment. The overcrowding is exemplified by a contrary decision to introduce even more characters, both to the students and the faculty staff. It’s nice to see Primer and Whistle imported from DC’s young adult titles, but they barely get a look in, and Arsenal turns up back from the dead with absolutely zero explanation, His revival presumably featured elsewhere, but seeing as how much was made of his death in the first volume, the lack of explanation is plain poor writing. However, what Sheridan brings out very well, is how one generation can view situations very differently from another.
Rafa Sandoval drew the bulk of the previous volume very nicely indeed, but only the opening chapter here features his pencils. Primary artists Tom Derenick and Mike Norton are perfectly acceptable superhero artists, but don’t have Sandova’s sense of style, power and grace. The first volume stood out artistically, but this doesn’t.
The mystery of Red X is solved, shockingly, but the emotional impact is reduced by a lack of background explanation, and Dane’s story and his possible connection to the End of the World is the second predominant issue. Ultimately, in trying to tell stories about both the recruits and the senior Titans, Sheridan has too much on his plate, and very few characters have adequate page space. Stitch is an exception, and is great.
Sheridan obviously knew Teen Titans Academy was ending, and plays fair with the students at least by revealing all the mysteries about them, but it’s handled in a rush lessoning the impact. It’s accompanied by a well intentioned, but ultimately puzzling tribute to former Titans artist George Pérez that will mystify readers who don’t catch on. Ultimately the series throws too many balls in the air and is unable to catch them all.
