"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library" - Jorge Luis Borges

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Reading: TEEN TITANS GO! TO CAMP - Sholly Fisch (author), Marcelo DiChiara & Agnes Garbowska & Dario Brizuela & Abigail Larson & more (illustrators)

Prose (The Story): After the uber-competitive Robin caused a landslide of molten marshmallow - during a hideous giant s'mores fiasco - effectively shutting down their last summer camp, this year the Teen Titans find themselves spending an even slightly more ... challenging six weeks at Camp Apokolips, which rather resembles Purgatory on a bad day, complete with fire pits and parademons and the presence of activity director Granny Goodness, a white-haired, chubby old lady whose evil eye is on auto-pilot along with her temper. Further to frustrate are the opposing bunks; the Titans must go up against the Titans East and the H.I.V.E. Five to compete in some very dangerous camp games - Robin, blindly and bullheaded-ly leading the way in his personal and selfish quest for the Camper of the Year title, no matter what - or who - he has to crush to get it.

Don's (Thoughts): I love the Teen Titans, and this graphic novel depicts the gang's usual determination to win (or at least stay alive), no matter what insanity Robin leads them into with his big head and ego. The book has a few laugh-out-loud moments (Cyborg's band camp obsession won my heart) and is filled with the snarky humor you'd expect from the series; if I had any complaints, it would be that here the rest of the Titans seem to take a backseat to Robin's shenanigans throughout. One nice touch: each chapter ends with one of the team member's letters they've sent back home, talking about (and often playing up) the "great" time they are having at the horrible camp. Granny Goodness is very funny (even if she did bring back memories of an old grade-school teacher I'd rather have forgotten), and the ending is way cool ... right up to the last letter home depicted in the book, my personal favorite. Could have used a little more punch, but a solid and funny addition to the Teen Titans lexicon!  3.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. 

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