REVIEW: ‘Teen Titans Academy,’ Issue #9

Roy Harper lives! The overjoyed Titans and their academy hold a “Homecoming” party in his honor. But there is trouble brewing beneath the surface! Will the Titans prevent some of their students from making a tragic mistake that threatens the entire academy? Teen Titans Academy #9 is published by DC Comics and written by Tim Sheridan, with art by Mike Norton, colors by HI-FI, letters by Rob Leigh, cover by Rafa Sandoval and Alejandro Sánchez, and variant cover by Fico Ossio.

Sheridan has consistently given readers the perspective of the various students and faculty of Teen Titans Academy. The introduction of Psimon is somewhat random but ends up working considerably well for the issue and the larger themes of the series. Why should the students give their loyalty to an academy that ostensibly wants to turn them into heroes? What if they’re just going to be used as weapons instead. While I personally love the dynamics we’ve seen at the academy so far, these are important questions to raise, and it’s up to those systems of administration to garner genuine trust in its subjects. The senior Titans are aware of this, but they may be in over their heads on what exactly they should do. Those problems come to a head in this issue, and Sheridan continues to do a fantastic job at keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

At the center of this conflict is Red X, who goes to drastic measures to, as he sees it, protect the students from succumbing to authority. There are powerful moments in this issue in which Sheridan’s stunning writing and Norton’s crushing art come together to make some devastatingly powerful comic pages. It’s a slow burn through this issue that culminates in dire circumstances for the Academy and its students and faculty and will leave them irrevocably scarred. As a reader, this issue will leave you shocked as well, and it’s all the better for it.

Norton’s art is fantastic, especially when he draws the scenes at the Homecoming dance. There’s such a vibrant amount of color used with HI-FI, and Norton designs “formal” variations of the Titans’ costumes and regular clothes that they wear to the dance. Formal Nightwing, Starfire, and Raven particularly stand out, and there’s one panel where Raven’s silhouette makes that of an actual raven! It’s overall a beautiful delight to admire as you read Sheridan’s contrasting unsettling story.

Leigh’s lettering is great and never intrudes on the action on the page. Overall, it contributes to the great flow that Sheridan, Norton, and the rest of the team have made.

Teen Titans Academy #9 is an exciting and chilling propulsion of the story forward. Sheridan writes the teachers and students into their most challenging struggle yet, and the art by Norton stands out especially as he designs all these heroes in a formal gathering. There’s drama at the dance, and you won’t want to miss out on it in this unexpectedly chilling story.

Teen Titans Academy #9 is available wherever comics are sold.