What if, instead of teenagers, the Teen Titans were in primary school? That's the basic premise of Tiny Titans, featuring Robin (the Dick Grayson version), Batgirl (the Barbara Gordon version), Superboy, Supergirl, Aqualad, and loads of others. Most stories are only a few pages and are heavy on gags. In a way, they're similar to Archie Comics – there's an incredibly loose continuity and most stories are about dealing with everyday problems (like getting a load of penguins out of the Batcave, or trying to find somewhere to host Pet Club). There are a lot of in-jokes for long-time comics readers, but they're not always glaringly obvious and never detract from the main focus of each story. They're also really cute.
Art Baltazar and Franco have created a perfect style for an all-ages comic – thick lines and bright colours to attract younger readers, strong stories to capture the attention of older ones backed up by enough connections and elements of the source material to keep long-time fans interested. The art is simple, but it's not basic – it's coming from a long tradition of all-ages comics, but it's more Peanuts than Calvin and Hobbes or even Garfield. There are recurring gags (the penguins, for example) and characters develop naturally. Most of all, it's fun – something that is often lacking in comics aimed at adults. The series has proven so popular that it has had two spin-offs – The Superman Family Adventures and Itty-Bitty Hellboy. Baltazar and Franco have even turned the art style into a stand alone series called Aw Yeah Comics! being released into a trade paperback in September from Dark Horse Comics.
If you love the lighter side of comics or have young kids who want to try comics, this is a series you should pick up immediately.
Tiny Titans vol. 1: Welcome to the Treehouse – 9781401220785 - $19.99 – 144 pages
Aw Yeah Comics! And... Action! - 9781616555580 - $24.99 - available 15th September 2014
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