The Brave and the Bold #54 was released April 30, 1964…
Showcase #59 (Nov.-Dec 1965). Script by Bob Haney. Art by Nick Cardy.
By PETER BOSCH
Hitting the comics racks 60 years ago on April 30, 1964, the Teen Titans banded together for the first time in The Brave and the Bold #54 (June-July 1964). Though DC hadn’t given the group a name yet, Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash teamed up when they discovered all the teenagers of Hatton Corners had disappeared.
The Brave and the Bold #54 (June-July 1964). Art by Bruno Premiani.
The Brave and the Bold #54 (June-July 1964). Script by Bob Haney. Art by Bruno Premiani (inks by Premiani and Charles Paris).
In their next appearance (The Brave and the Bold #60, June-July 1965), Wonder Girl had already joined the guys as the newest member of the group of young sidekicks. (Note from Dan: Notoriously continuity-averse writer Bob Haney hadn’t realized that Wonder Girl was Wonder Woman as a teen. Oops!)
The Brave and the Bold #60 (June-July 1965). Art by Bruno Premiani.
The Brave and the Bold #60 (June-July 1965). Script by Bob Haney. Art by Bruno Premiani
Showcase #59 (Nov.-Dec. 1965) was the last tryout issue before they received their own series.
Showcase #59 (Nov.-Dec. 1965). Art by Nick Cardy.
In honor of the Teen Titans’ 65th anniversary, here are some highlights from the first series, plus the revamped The New Teen Titans, with a cover by George Pérez (the overhaul actually started in DC Comics Presents #26, October 1980):
Teen Titans # 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1966). Art by Nick Cardy.
Teen Titans #4 (July-Aug. 1966). Art by Nick Cardy.
Teen Titans #13 (Jan.-Feb. 1968). Art by Nick Cardy.
Teen Titans #14 (Mar.-Apr. 1968). Art by Nick Cardy.
Teen Titans #17 (Sept.-Oct. 1968). Art by Nick Cardy.
The Brave and the Bold #83 (Apr.-May 1969). Art by Neal Adams.
Teen Titans #23 (Sept.-Oct. 1969). Art by Nick Cardy.
New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980). Art by George Pérez (pencils) and Dick Giordano (inks).
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MORE
— TEEN TITANS’ Debut to Be Re-Released as a FACSIMILE EDITION. Click here.
— The TOP 13 TEEN TITANS Stories — RANKED. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. He is currently at work on a sequel, about movie comics. Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
April 30, 2024
A very good story but sixty years have passed since their debut.
April 30, 2024
Peter, your math is off. People and events turning 65 this year were born, or had occurred, in 1959–not 1964. The Teen Titans are 60 this year, and as of today as I type this (if the phrasing of that doesn’t seem like a contraction: “teens” turning 60).
Nonetheless, still a great commemorative post as I vividly recollect some of those back issues, esp. B&B 54 (which was reprinted in one of my 100-page Super Spactaculars as I recall, if forgetting which one), along with B&B 83–“Punish Not My Evil Son,” and, of course, Wolfman and Perez’s “The New Teen Titans” # 1
April 30, 2024
Hi, William. Actually, I did write 60 but somewhere somehow it got posted as 65.
April 30, 2024
As someone born in 1964, turning 60 this year is bad enough. Don’t make me 65 😉
April 30, 2024
I’m right behind you, SJG…we don’t need to rush things.
April 30, 2024
Totally my fault, folks! Peter wrote 60 and for reasons I cannot fathom, I changed it to 65. Cardinal sin for an editor. Apologies to Peter — and all you near-60-year-olds! (I’m only a few years away myself!)
April 30, 2024
Thanks, Dan.
April 30, 2024
“Despite your Amazon Powers, you’re just a mere girl.” Even though Wonder Girl reminds her mother that they are amazons, Queen Hippolyta was so wimpy. I’m glad Hippolyta became a real warrior after Crisis.
April 30, 2024
Love the Teen Titans! The very first new comic I ever bought was 66’s TT #1!