Welcome to Ink Spots, a quirky little corner of DC.com devoted entirely to all of our favorite Young Adult comics and fiction. In this new Book Breakdown, Jules Chin Greene discusses the diversity, drama and delicious eats of the latest Teen Titans YA book.
Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo are back once again with a new installment in their Teen Titans YA graphic novel series—this time featuring Starfire! In case you haven’t been keeping up with the popular series so far, Teen Titans: Starfire is Garcia and Picolo’s fifth Titans book. The previous books in the series are Teen Titans: Raven, Teen Titans: Beast Boy, Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven and Teen Titans: Robin. The series has centered on our heroes uniting in the wake of Raven and Beast Boy getting their powers. Together, the Titans have a sense of found family as they work through the challenges of being half-demon, or being experimented on at a H.I.V.E. facility, or having Batman as your dad. It’s rough out there!
Cover Crackdown:
Teen Titans: Starfire’s cover is in keeping with the other covers in the series, showcasing the hero in profile. While Picolo’s covers do highlight the unique powers or abilities of each member of the Titans, he doesn’t capture them in a standard “superhero pose.” By drawing each Titan looking off to the side in a closeup, Picolo’s art has us see them from the perspective of a friend. Instead of being these larger-than-life superhero figures, we see them as peers.
In the case of Starfire, we get a sense that she is still a work in progress. She isn’t striking a powerful pose that highlights her awesome powers because that would imply that she’s got it all figured out. Instead, because she’s looking at something ahead of her, we get the sense that she has a lot of growth ahead of her. This is a perfect approach for the Titans because they’re all just trying to figure out who they are and their place in the world.
Tell Me a Story:
Starfire is a story about sisterhood, particularly the tension of trying to look out for your sister while still giving her room to make her own mistakes. Kori Anders is a teenage girl with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome living in Los Angeles. She and her sister, Kira, work at a ritzy beach club, where Kira met her stuck up walking red flag of a boyfriend, Tate. Tate’s family have ties to a powerful pharmaceutical company where Kori and Kira end up participating in a research study. The study awakens superpowers in both Kori and her sister, and before she knows it, she’s hunted down by a man named Slade Wilson (yep, Deathstroke). Kori is not alone, though. Her STEM whiz kid buddy Vic Stone has her back, along with a group of teens we know as the Titans.
Let’s Talk Art:
Even though this is a story involving the Teen Titans, Kori and Kira feel like actual people you could encounter on the street in Venice Beach. I love how the art captures landmarks from throughout Los Angeles. I know that the Titans have long had roots out here in LA thanks to the Titans West team, but seeing Vic and Kori hang out in some of the same places I go with my friends was really special. And, of course, you can’t go to Venice Beach without passing by a diner, and it was so cute to see the Titans eat at one called Marv’s (referencing Marv Wolfman, the co-creator of Titans like Raven, Cyborg and Starfire!).
Picolo’s art also creates a sharp contrast between the world that Deathstroke operates in and the sunnier world that Kori and Kira live in, in no small part due to the brilliant work of colorist David Calderon. Deathstroke’s scenes have very dull colors, while Kori and Kira’s panels always have bright pink, orange and blue in them (to match their hair, of course!). The difference in color palette between Deathstroke’s panels with that of the Titans’ highlights just how necessary it is for young women like Kori and Kira to live as their most authentic selves. Deathstroke quite literally poses as a threat to Kori and Kira’s vibrance as people.
Dialog Discussion:
I’ve always loved the dynamic between Starfire and Blackfire in mainline DC comics, and writer Kami Garcia seamlessly transitions their relationship to the more grounded world of her graphic novel series. Kori and Kira bicker in the way that only sisters at a transformational stage in their lives can. Their relationship is the very definition of “I’m not arguing with you, I’m telling you!” It’s clear that Garcia has thought deeply about how Kori and Kira’s sisterhood has developed over the years because their dialogue never sounds generic. If you’ve ever had a sibling or even a very close friend whom you love to death, but occasionally lock horns with, this book is for you.
Perfect Food Pairing:
This book is the perfect Venice Beach meal. When I think of Venice, I think of eating breakfast food outside with my friends, no matter the time of day. For me, I’m a huevos rancheros guy, but this book would also pair well with a giant breakfast burrito and some fries. And, of course, no Venice meal would be complete without the scent of the ocean wafting over the breeze.
Voted Most Likely:
If this book were a high school senior, it would 100% be chosen as having the Best Hair. This is a book starring STARFIRE after all! While I miss seeing Kori’s big curly hair as drawn by New Teen Titans artist George Pérez, I do love how her hair in Teen Titans: Starfire is fuchsia at the roots and neon orange at the ends. And Kori isn’t the only one with great hair in this book. Kira’s hair is a beautiful indigo at the roots that fades to a cornflower blue. The Anders sisters have hair the color of flowers, which I’m incredibly jealous of.
The Final Word:
I love love LOVE seeing a version of Starfire where she has a disability. It’s something I never would have expected to see with this character. I also have a disability that affects my joints, so Kori’s story here hit close to home for me. It meant so much to see a beloved DC hero struggling to take off the cap of a joint pain medicine bottle—I’ve been in that exact situation before and I felt so isolated and frustrated. I wanted to jump into the book and give her a hug!
While Teen Titans: Starfire doesn’t shy away from showing the realities of having a disability like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, it also celebrates the things that Kori can do, like roller skating! Once again, this resonates a lot with me because I’m also a roller skater! It’s a low impact form of cardio and isn’t so hard on your joints, which I would imagine is also why Kori skates in this book. I honestly never would have expected to see this type of representation in a graphic novel about Starfire, so this was such a lovely surprise! The Teen Titans have always represented so many of the struggles that us young folk are going through (okay, maybe not the whole demon father thing), and I’m so glad that Starfire is here for us in this way now.
Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo is now available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and as a digital graphic novel.
On more than one occasion, Jules Chin Greene has had to stop himself from yelling at the top of his lungs while explaining his love for Orion of the New Gods. When he's not tampering his unbridled Fourth World enthusiasm, Jules loves getting lost in the worlds of Ngozi Ukazu, Claudia Gray and James Tynion IV. Find him on Bluesky at @JulesChinGreene and Instagram at @infinitevibes.
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NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Jules Chin Greene and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.