Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up I loved Teen Titans so when I saw that Raven's story was being turned into a graphic novel I was super excited since she was my favorite as a kid. I love the storyline Kami Garcia created for Raven and the illustrations are amazing, the lack of color really added to the sense of isolation Raven is feeling throughout most of the story and the pops of color throughout helped to add emphasis where it was needed. I"m super excited to see how the rest of this series will move forward and to see the Titans brought together in this new world.

Quite enjoyable. There's an accident and Raven is left alone in the world, save for her step-mom's family down in New Orleans. There's the usual teen angst, plots by Slade and voodoo. Oh, there's Trigun, too! Well worth the read. If you like superhero stories, you'll enjoy this.

The artwork in this book was absolutely gorgeous.
I wasn't familiar with Raven's backstory, so it was interesting to finally get to see some. The beginning with the death of her foster mother felt a bit abrupt to me (it would have been nice to even have more of a montage about that). But the characters of her 'cousin' and 'aunt' were fully realized and a lot of fun. I enjoyed the other kids at school and the transition as Raven could figure out her powers.
I was amazing by the artwork in this. The choice of coloring (where in many cases everyone except for Raven was grayscale, unless something amazing was happening) fit the tone really well.

Teen Titans Raven is a graphic novel written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo. It will hit stores on July 2nd, 2019.
Rachel Roth (also called Raven) is a 17-year-old high school sophomore who was involved in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) with her adoptive mother. This results in a chain of events that leads Raven to her aunt, who is a voodoo priestess, and her cousin Max, who also possesses supernatural powers.
Raven suffers unfortunate side effects from the MVA that result in her questioning who she is. The novel takes us from the MVA into a journey where Raven begins to understand her past and make plans for her future.
The story also takes us through the development of Raven’s relationship with a boy from her local high school named Tommy. This relationship is not what it seems and results in conflict.
The novel starts with a bang (literally) and keeps my attention until chapter 15. I greatly appreciate the diversity inclusion throughout the novel. We see illustrations of Latina, lesbian, and African American women (i.e., army of ghosts). I also appreciated the integration of Dracula, the 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.
The main characters are likable and relatable. The dialogue and interactions between the teenagers are appropriate and developmentally correct. The illustrations are on point with cool trendy clothing, hairstyles, and electronic gadgets.
On a side note, for Saga readers, the cat in the tarot reader’s room reminds me of Lying Cat from Saga!
The reason this graphic novel did not earn five stars begins on chapter 15. Raven just has too many powers and they are introduced too quickly. She can read minds, make things happen, and now has astral projection! We also find out who her biological father is, and that is also surprising. All of this made the story muddy for me and slightly rushed. Although, I greatly appreciate the inclusion of diverse characters, I would have made the illustrations of the army of ghosts a bit ghostlier. I clearly saw and felt the historical context, but it wasn’t eerie enough for my liking.
Overall, I enjoyed this graphic novel so much that I will include it on my monthly subscription at my local comic book store. This a good read for young girls and women who are unsure about reading graphic novels.

While I was expecting Raven from the TV show, I really enjoyed the new version. The artwork is beautiful, especially with the simplified palette, less was definitely more in this case! The storyline was a bit cliche and stale, but safe as an introduction for the series. There is a lot of potential here and I look forward to seeing where it goes.

I absolutely loved this origin story! Graphic novels are such a perfect way to hook reluctant readers in the classroom, and anything to do with superheroes flies off my shelves. This origin story of Raven is perfect to get into the hands of readers who love the hero's journey, anything to do with superheroes, girls who think graphic novels aren't for them, and so many more!

I'm actually pretty bummed that we no longer teach mythology in my grade level in my district - this would have been the PERFECT companion book to our discussions of the hero's journey. I'm getting a few copies for my classroom library for sure - this is one that will always be checked out!

CW: Fatal car crash, death of a parent, homophobia, bullying

The first book in the DC Ink Teen Titans series, Raven felt like the perfect choice before I picked this book up. She's long been a favorite character because of her conflicted nature, her inner turmoil, and the enormous amount of power that she has at her disposal. Figuring all or even any of that out is a lot, especially considering her age. How would a new author and a new artist handle one of my favorite DC personas?

I was thinking about this for a bit and I think that a good portion of this rating goes toward the art.

What I Enjoyed

Max, Raven's cousin and, is cool. When Raven/Rachel comes to live with Max and her mom after the car accident, she helps Raven settle in at home & at school, including lending her the cover page headphones to drown out the noise (aka thoughts) around her. There's more to her character that would be spoilery, but it's hinted at throughout, mostly in relation to what we see as a part of her mother's development. That aspect, while interesting, felt glossed over.

The artwork is phenomenal. It was a big reason why I picked up this book in the first place, aside from Raven being the main character. I've seen some of Gabriel's Teen Titans work in the past and getting a full length book featuring one of them was something I was looking forward to a lot. Since this was a lined copy only of the book I can't speak to what the fully colored version will look like, but his linework was very good and if past experience is anything to go by, the coloring will be excellent.

What I Didn't Enjoy

While reading, I thought that the scenes themselves felt alright in the moment, but taken as a whole they felt disjointed. There were connections that were missing between them that would have made the story really feel cohesive. There was also no time to really sink in with the characters because of this disjointedness. The rushing? It made the book suffer because I wasn't really able to connect with much, such as who many people were. The side characters were difficult to keep track of so unless they were the small central cast (Raven, Max, Tommy, Viv) it's unlikely I could tell you for sure who was who by name.

Teen Titans: Raven left off in a weird place. I'm all for cliffhangers, but this was different. It's like there were panels or a whole page missing or something, that's how off this as-written ending felt. One moment Max, Raven's cousin, has made a decision and the next she and Raven are doing something counter to that with no reasoning? No point? It was a big head scratcher.

To Sum It Up

Gabriel did an amazing job illustrating Raven, Max, and the rest of the cast. I look forward to seeing what the final book will look like, since this was a mostly uncolored advanced reader copy.

I wasn't really impressed by the writing. I don't think it flowed well for the format, which was a big disappointment. Raven is one of my favorite DC characters and I've enjoyed Gabriel's artwork for a long time. It was a big deal when I heard he got this job, so this was, story wise, a bit of a let down.

Received as an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

I'm fairly indifferent to superheroes, but I did obsessively watch Teen Titans as a kid. I'm unfamiliar with Raven's actual DC story (and what I've heard with Slade is a lot of Yikes) and only vaguely remember her story-line in TT. Teen Titans: Raven is part of the new YA comic reboot, DC Ink.

The story begins with a fatal car crash; Rachel Roth loses her memory and her adoptive mother. She then moves in with her aunt and cousin as she tries to regain her memory. It's a basic and predictable story, but I wasn't put off by it. The art style (my copy was an inks only proof) was cute and on-point for the YA genre. I can't wait to see it in full colors.

Thanks to DC INK and Net Galley for the ARC.
The art is beautiful. I love the water colors. The way that Raven looks is spectacular. Trigon is a monster and that works. It was cool to see Slade. Again, all the art is A+. The low rating though comes from actual story. The dialogue is flat. The supporting cast are just thrown in there just because. I didn't feel any connection to them at all. Honestly, if one does not already know who Raven is, this does not really work as a way in. I know that was the point of this book, but it falls flat. I am still keen to see the rest of the INK series. Just like the DC Legends, not everything was a winner, but the idea behind it is fantastic.

Raven is my second favorite Teen Titan ( only second to Cyborg lol). I was so excited to hear about this book and even more excited to be given the opportunity to review an advanced digital copy. I’m a huge fan of Gabriel Picolo. The art in this book was fantastic. The writing on the other hand fell a bit flat in my opinion. I did not see any depth in this version of Raven. No real character development. The story itself was interesting enough. Hoping the next installments pick up a bit.

*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I wasn't really impressed with this one. I don't think the amnesia storyline worked very well and I found most of the characters to be pretty one dimensional unfortunately. The artwork had some nice, expressive qualities but I found the storyline to be a bit confusing and clumsy. Raven is a tough character to get right and I think they just missed with this incarnation.

Interesting version of the origin story of Raven of the teen titans. I don't think I was ever aware of her background other than she was the child of a demon and a human.

This apπears to be a reboot or a better origin for her, where she is adopted into a family that is not aware of her powers, but wants to work with her to control them, once they are aware.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5209" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teen-titens-raven2.png" alt="" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5210" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/teen-titans-raven.png" alt="" />

A bit of high school drama as the mean girl gets what is coming to her.

Pleasant, quick read.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

The artwork was decent but the storyline left a lot to be desired. However, I can see fans of Teen Titans and the Raven character might be interested in this adaptation of Raven's humble beginnings.

I really like the Teen Titans so when I saw that there was going to be a graphic novel dedicated to Raven's origin story, I was very intrigued. I'm going to start by saying that I absolutely LOVED the art in this graphic novel. It's absolutely stunning, and each page was a pleasure to look at. Plot-wise I felt like it went a bit fast and was a little simple.

The plot follows Rachel Roth, who after getting into an accident with her mother, loses her memory. Struggling with a new school, new home, and new family Rachel tries her best to come to terms with not knowing who she is, and the mysterious things that seem to happen when she's around.

The graphic novel as a whole serves as a sort of intro for the forthcoming series, so I felt like the plot wasn't super intricate. It's a very fast read, and overall pretty enjoyable. This was a very interesting intro, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

* I first want to thank netgalley, dc comics and Sarah Ruiz Hannah for sending me an e-copy of this book for an honest review.*


Raven has always been my favorite DC Comic super hero from Teen Titans. I always loved her attitude and her powers and when I was young I wanted to be just like her. As soon as I saw this on Netgalley I had to request a copy and so happy I was accepted.


This was such an easy, fun and fast paced comic. Like Mer I recommend this for younger teens just getting into comic books and don't want that heavy feeling like in real DC comic books. I loved Ravens story in this comic, and would love to read more of her in this world. You kind of get a glimpse into her world and her life if you didn't know her story already. If you read the comics or even seen the show this might be underwhelming for you. This DC comic graphic novels, I feel are targeted to hose younger teens just getting into the DC and Marvel super hero world. This comics aren't dark, they're lighter reads and need new perspectives.


Other than that I really had fun reading this and can't wait to see which other superheroes we get to see renewed.


5 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

We have seen a lot of versions of the Raven character over the years, this version will connect very well with young teens new to the character. The art is stunning and Garcia does a great job of getting into the mindscape of teenagers and characters with a bit of darkness. A great read,

I will be the first to admit, DC comics are not usually my thing, however, I saw so many people talking about this book that I had to check it out.

I ended up enjoying this book, although I was confused at times (I blamed that on myself, not the author). Overall it's a pretty good book, even if you know nothing about the character

First off I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this ARC. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition. While the copy was provided for free, all opinions are honest and my own.

I’m still a very new reader and reviewer of comics/graphic novels, so my reviews are definitely not that in depth yet. It is a genre I want to read a lot more though, and hopefully my knowledge and critique of the form will grow with that! Additionally, I don’t have a lot of personal experience with Teen Titans or Raven, so this review is not biased at all by prior ideas of Raven and her story. I can’t judge whether this is a good adaptation or not, so I’ll leave that to the other reviewers!

Overall, I loved Teen Titans: Raven a whole lot more than the other comic I’ve read in the DC INK line, and a whole lot more than other comics I’ve read and reviewed in general. There was something about this comic that was done so so right, and I absolutely loved the (too short) experience of reading it.

First off, the art style is my absolute favorite thing. To be fair I’ve always been a fan of Picolo and have followed his art for a while, but that’s still much different than the much more simplistic and muted style that found its way into Raven. I still loved it just as much, from the emotions of the characters to Raven’s modern aesthetic to the general scenery of the place. I also loved how her magic (and others) was shown, and it really brought it all to the life in a way words wouldn’t have been able to.

The story itself also had just enough depth for me. It wasn’t as shallow as Mera: Tidebreaker ( a story that left me feeling like I was missing something) but also wasn’t as fleshed out and deep as Monstress (a story that needed a lot more words to be a lot less confusing). It gave enough time and space to Raven’s background, the present situation, and the future, and while I would have loved more, I didn’t feel like I needed it. The story was full and well-rounded, a great single installment in a series that hopefully continues.

I also really liked the characters. One of my biggest issues with comics is often the lack of connection I end up feeling with the characters, main and side characters. I’m just used to having a lot more time, words, and space to fall in love with the cast than the graphic novel format usually gives. Raven was an outlier in this, I loved Raven and the family she’s found, the characters she meets, and the villains that seem to exist and linger in the story. I can definitely see myself falling in love with this world and cast.

Overall, Raven gave me a lot of hope for the DC INK line, as I was worried after Mera and the snippet I read so far of Catwoman that all the stories would be shallow beginnings of heroes that were never fully developed. Instead, Raven gave me a story and an art style to obsess over, and I’m really happy I was able to read this early! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for any continuations of this.

My husband is a big time comics fan and has been for 40+ years. He has a rather extensive collection and knows the background story and facts about almost every character. DC, Marvel, Indy.....he's read them all. I enjoy comics, too. But I'm definitely playing catch up when it comes to my knowledge base. I wasn't allowed to read comic books (unless they featured Disney characters) as a child. My mother didn't approve of them. Fifteen years ago when I married my husband, suddenly I was surrounded by thousands of comic books....and I'm enjoying the experience!

Raven. Before I read this eGalley, I had never read anything about this member of the Teen Titans. Or any of the Teen Titans, to be honest. I read my copy of this book and then talked to my husband about the character. My only experience with the Teen Titans prior to this is the rather silly television cartoon. I'm glad I read this graphic novel. It changed my opinion of the Teen Titans. I'm anxious to read more!

Not sure what more knowledgeable Teen Titans fans will think of this book. As a newcomer to Teen Titans and Raven, I loved it! Not going to fall into discussions of continuity, character development, etc etc....because I knew nothing about Raven before reading this book. For me, the story was engaging. I like the character. And the story kept my full attention from beginning to end.

The basics: Raven Roth is 17 when her foster mother is killed in a car accident. Sent to live with her foster mom's sister, Raven has lost her memory. She doesn't remember who she is...she doesn't remember her foster mom...she doesn't even remember what food or candy she likes. She just knows something is wrong. Loud noise bothers her. And she can sense the emotions and thoughts of everyone around her. Traversing high school is very very very difficult when the very thoughts of the other students are a constant bombardment. Add in the visions, nightmares and feelings of dread, and Raven feels like she is going crazy. Who is she? Why can she do the things she does? As she slowly discovers the truth and learns to control her "gifts,'' she realizes there is a lot more to her powers than hearing thoughts.

I love the artwork in this book! Even in the unfinished pages of a digital galley copy, I could tell the art is just outstanding! It makes the story pop and conveys the emotions of a confused, lost teenage girl who doesn't understand what is happening to her.

I enjoyed watching this character develop from a scared teenage girl into a much stronger, determined fledgling super through the course of this story. She learns what family is....learns lessons on trusting people and betrayal....and discovers that she has more strength, intelligence and potential than she ever dreamed. Lovely origin story!

I am very much enjoying these updated tales about DC teenage superheroes. I recently read another new YA graphic novel about Catwoman that gave some new dimensions to the character. I liked this new look at Raven even more!

I'm glad I read this book! The art is outstanding....the plot line is awesome! I have officially changed my opinion of the Teen Titans now that I've read a serious story about one of them. I look forward to learning more about the other members of the team, and reading more about Raven.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from DC Entertainment via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Teen Titans: Raven was fun and entertaining, even if you have next to zero knowledge of the world of Teen Titans. I've never seen any of the TV show/movie, and can count on one hand the number of comics I've read in general. I still thoroughly enjoyed this coming-of-age story for one of the main characters from Teen Titans. The plot is very basic, but it answers the story of how Raven came to be who she is and the awakening of her powers well enough. I would have liked a little more...personality, I suppose, in Raven. She seems a little flat, as the only two emotions she really seems to have are fear and anger. The ending also seems open-ended, perhaps for future books?

The artwork is very atmospheric, staying almost entirely in shades of gray, black, purple, and white. The detail is quite good, and the font is easy enough to read (a plus for those of us with less than stellar eyesight).

3.5/5 stars. Another excellent contribution to the DC Ink lineup!