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Exclusive: Raven Roth suffers amnesia in DC INK's new Teen Titans: Raven
DC's young adult imprint, DC Ink, is striking solid gold with its fresh lineup of five standalone graphic novels showcasing some of the venerable publisher's most promising characters. The first pair, Mera: Tidebreaker and Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale, have already hit the street, and a third, Teen Titans: Raven, is destined to arrive in comic shops June 26 and book stores July 2.
Revelers during this Saturday's Free Comic Book Day can get a taste of this engaging coming-of-age story written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo in DC Comics' Under the Moon preview giveaway. But SYFY WIRE has an exclusive peek at this transformative origin story's artwork, alongside comments from its creative team.
The storyline unfolds as a fatal accident takes the life of 17-year-old Raven Roth's foster mom, and with it Raven's memory. She relocates to New Orleans to reside with her foster mother's family and complete her senior year of high school. But beginning again is difficult, and Raven might remember how to solve math equations and cook pasta, but she can't recall her favorite song or who she was prior to the accident.
When bizarre events start happening, Raven starts to think it might be better to forget who she was in her previous life. As she grows closer to her foster sister, Max, her new friends, and Tommy Torres, a guy who accepts her for who she is now, Raven must decide if she's prepared to face her buried past and the darkness growing within.
Garcia is thrilled with the results of DC Ink's third offering, presented in deluxe format, and can't wait to see what readers think of the book.
"Gabriel and I are both huge Teen Titans fans, and Raven is my favorite," she tells SYFY WIRE. "So I worked hard to craft an origin story that honored what is special about the character while making her seem more like the Raven in Gabriel’s casual Teen Titans artwork—a girl with problems just like the rest of us, but who also happens to have powers. I know I would’ve loved to have Raven in my English class.”
Brazilian artist Gabriel Picolo (Casual Teen Titans) is a fan-fave illustrator whose cartoon-style renderings and unique color choices make him a natural for this Raven tale.
“It’s no surprise to anyone who follows my work that the Teen Titans are my all-time favorite DC Super Heroes," Picolo explains to SYFY WIRE. "Joining the DC Ink imprint to draw a Raven book was unreal because I got to draw the character dealing with teenage problems as she develop her powers, something I always wanted to do.
"Working with Kami was great, it was the first time I collaborated with an author that was so close to the book. Our ideas of how Raven should look and act clicked from the moment I was drawing her first concepts for the novel. We wanted Raven to have a goth style but not over the top so it would look out of budget for a teenager and not relatable. Also, as you read the book you’ll notice that her fashion game develops and she starts wearing bolder looks!”
Soar into our sneak peek at Teen Titans: Raven in the full gallery below, and if by chance you're in the Annapolis, Md., area on Saturday, May 4, Kami Garcia will be doing a special signing at Third Eye Comics from 10-12 p.m.
