JL #16 AFTERWARD

Well, what did you think? Was it all it might have have been....but less?

First of all, the whole idea of having a story without any of the Justice Leaguers (the only characters my classes were familiar with) was just....stupid. I know I wanted to show more depth to my version of the DC Universe, but in hindsight....if I had stuck to the main characters that had actual connections to the "big guns" (Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Speedy, Wonder Girl as The Teen Titans and then maybe the super-heroines I had introduced earlier) I think the story would have worked much, much better. I have said before that I needed a good editor on some of my stories; well, in my opinion this is the worst case of that.

So let's edit it together now, shall we?
The first pages establish that the JLA is out of commission. Also a cameo by Black Lightning featuring him knocking out Heat Wave. This is a picture I had in my English classroom because it came from the DC Calendar 1978. So we can keep these pages. By the way, I patterned this news reporter on a friend of mine working in the town next to me at the time. It sort of looks like him....haha!

The next few pages are necessary. Yes, I might have been able to cut a panel or two, but I'm sure I needed to think in terms of panels and pages. We'll let this stuff go as is. Keep.

However, pages 7 thru 10 should have been cut. I included them because Japanese TV was running the old Filmation SHAZAM cartoons at the time and I wanted to tie these characters in with those. (And look, here's The Parasite making a return appearance! I'm sure I included him here because he got the shaft the last time he appeared, haha). Still, this whole sequence does NOTHING for the main plot. Now if I had added the Shazam Family into the main action, maybe, but as is....nope. Which is a shame, because I always liked the Shazam characters. I think they could have been used as supporting characters. I wish I had written some "magic" story which would have been right up their alley. However, as is they just don't fit. Cut.

Pages 11 thru 14 gives the Teen Titans the required knowledge between what is happening to the JLAers and dreams. Plus I thought it worked pretty well and it's action and not just talking. Keep.

Pages 15 thru 20 are really the whole point of the cover, right? If I don't show The Teen Titans actually doing anything, I'm kind of wasting everybody's time. Plus, this is another pseudo "Injustice Gang" slash "Secret Society of Super-Villains" appearance. I was always a sucker for groups of villains getting together. When the enemy/target are the dozen good guys in the JLA, doesn't it make sense to team up with other bad guys? Keep. (This will be the last appearance of most of these characters....Mr. Freeze will be back, however....)

Now pages 20 thru 24 are the worst example of stuff that should have been cut. Hawkman on his own should have been shown rescuing Green Lantern in a half-page panel. This stuff is painfully boring to read. Cut.
(I do like using the Thanagarian space-ship, though. That has appeared a few times and will appear again.)

Pages 25 thru 27 are the kind of pages that could have stayed. I think they should have been dispersed throughout the book instead of lumped together here this way, but the idea was good. I would have even added a page for the Shazam Family and maybe Hawkman, in lieu of the cuttings. Keep.

Pages 28-29 feature the types of scenes that are not really deserving of two pages, but take up more than one. This type of thing is a victim of the layout: Keep.

Pages 30-34 In hindsight I should have sent Supergirl with the original group and cut a page. Cut/Keep.

Page 37 I don't know why I had these three characters get *another* spotlight. Cutting this and going directly to Phantom Stranger is just as good. Cut.

Speaking of The Phantom Stranger, I have him do two bits that he actually did in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE: 1. he appears out of nowhere and saves them (JLA 104) and he disappears in a burst of light (JLA 150). He was a favorite character and I liked using him. I always had the intention of making him the "hero" of this story. It just took way too long to get there.

So, if we keep the conclusion as it is, this would have been a 35 or 36 page story instead of the mammoth 44 pages.

I promise that future issues will never be this over-produced again....well, almost never. :-)

Next issue we will get back to a simple little straight-forward super-hero story, and all I can say is, it was just "A Matter of  Time." :-)

JL #16 Guests & Villains Roll Call

JL #16 All About The TEEN TITANS

Note: After the story ended I included these text pages to help explain who the Teen Titans were. At the time Wonder Girl was called Troia, so that is what I called her. I wish I had just called her Wonder Girl.

So what did you think of "The Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny"? Did you enjoy the teen-age super-team the Teen Titans? Let's introduce them to you in detail!

    

ROBIN is Batman's partner. He grew up as a circus trapeze artist until his parents were killed and Batman adopted him. He is nimble and a well-trained athlete, plus he is cool under pressure. So he is the natural leader even though he is still young. His original uniform is shown here. He discarded it when he went to college. He is now a part-time super-hero.

AQUALAD is Aquaman's partner. He lives at the bottom of the ocean. He is stronger than average humans. Also, he has telepathic powers. Aquaman and his wife Mera patrol the world's oceans.

RAVEN is a witch who came to Earth from another dimension. Her father is literally a demon monster but her mother is a good, saintly woman.

SPEEDY is Green Arrow's partner. His parents were killed when he was very young and he grew up in an orphanage. He learned archery from a Native American teacher. At a Youth Archery Meet he met Green Arrow. When his teacher was murdered he became the adopted son of Green Arrow.

CYBORG's father is a robotic engineer. He was helping him when he was caught in a terrible accident and the left side of his body was destroyed. With his robotic parts he is ten times as strong as normal humans. Also, he has many terrific attachments  such as an electrical eye and exchangeable hands.

CHANGELING got very sick as a child and received a prototype medicine. He was saved, but he was then able to change into any type of animal. He is the youngest member of the Teen Titans (he is approximately 16 years old).

KID FLASH is the nephew of The Flash. He got his super-speed from the same chemical accident that gave the powers to The Flash. He is as fast as lightning. He is the oldest of the Teen Titans (he is almost 20 years old).

TROIA was rescued from a burning building by Wonder Woman when she was very young. She had no other place to go, so Wonder Woman brought her to her home, Paradise Island, where she was raised by the Amazons. She learned Amazonian education and training, where she became stronger than the normal woman.

STARFIRE is an alien princess who escaped when her planet was invaded. She can absorb energy from the Sun and shoot out bursts of energy. The Teen Titans helped her planet escape from the invasion but she enjoyed her life on Earth and returned with them.

TEEN TITANS were formed by the four original members Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Troia. Currently there are 9 members, but with Robin in college and Aqualad on ocean patrol the full membership does not get together very often.

JL #16 "The Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny Part 2!"

 Here's the "reading copy" of Teen Titans Justice League issue 16.

JL #16 FORWARD

If you remember at the FORWARD to last issue, I was explaining how I had bitten off more than I could chew in one issue. I had set myself up as having to show the nightmares of every JLAer, and that filled up the 40 pages I had to work with pretty quickly. So I made the decision to continue the story instead of having Hawkman and Elongated Man rally to actually save the JLA on their own. Looking back at it now, I think I should have had that happen. Instead, we get a story starring characters my readers had never heard of before! Not the brightest decision.

However, there are a few fun things going on. Just because the story doesn't go in the direction it *should* have doesn't mean there isn't anything worthwhile here, haha.

Translation was still being done by my friend Shoko. This would have been the end of the 1994-1995 educational year, which means it would have printed and distributed in February or March 1995.  

JL #16 Teen Titans Roll Call

JL #16, "The Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny!" Part 2

Wow, I do a pretty good steal of Perez/Giordano, but my add-ons of Aqualad and Speedy SUCK. This is my absolute least-favorite cover of all thirty-one. I didn't even get the title at the bottom centered.