Some thoughts about Are You Afraid of Darkseid? #1

Is time for terror.

Robin has gathered the Teen Titans to tell some of the scariest tales they can think of and they're all related to experiences they're pretty familiar with.

What a better way to start October than with an special that works as an anthology for horror stories? Best of all is that this works pretty naturally due that these tales are told by characters in a camp which brings me good memories of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? show (which yes, in hindsight is pretty obvious this was inspired by that show).

Now, just like with that show, these are not exactly "scary" stories, in fact the segment featuring the Teen Titans is more comedic than anything else. Fortunately, Elliot Kalan knows how to portray most of the cast and creates a really fun dynamic between all of them (except Roundhouse who for some reason has never been portrayed as silly as he originally was since his creator, Adam Glass, left the book) while the transitions for each tale is done pretty appropriately. Mike Norton's artwork captures the expressions of each teen hero perfectly.

The first proper story is written by Kenny Porter about Harley Quinn and Darkseid which is mostly centered around the horrific creature called Bloody Mary and is for the most part yet another light-hearted adventure with a certain terrifying tone because of the supernatural, is pretty solid in that regard. Max Dunbar has a pretty flexible style that is also perfect for such tone.

Later Calvin Kalsuke offers a segment about Batman and the Mad Hatter which creates a solid dynamic between them with fast pacing and an appropriate supernatural tone. Rob Guillory's semi-cartoony artstyle also fits the direction nicely.

Then John Stewart stars in a story written by Dave Wielgosz about the main character dealing with his own insecurities and how the rest of the Earth Lanterns are seen. Mind you, it seems like the writer wants to emphasize some mistaken traits of the other Lanterns that are not John like saying that Guy Gardner is a loudmouth who never gets called out when in fact he constantly does (Batman's "One Punch" is what he's most famous for) but on the other hand, the author also mentions all their most positive qualities as well and ends in a strong note. Pablo M. Collar has a pretty detailed style that reminds me of Bernard Chang's work which is always a positive.

Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing deliver a story about the Phantom Stranger which is really heavy in terms of narration with a huge emphasis on staircases and is not exactly the best offering since their usual work is usually pretty overwritten by itself so giving even more focus to it is not a good idea. Jesus Hervas' art is pretty creative though.

Aqualad and Aquaman features in a more personal segment written by Ed Brisson which is very character-centric and thus offers a lot of insight into both protagonists, is very well done overall. Christopher Mitten also creates pretty bizarre scenarios when needed.

Terry Blas follows with a section about Wonder Woman and Vixen of all people which might be the most realistic of all stories in terms of tone despite of also dealing with supernatural material while creating interesting social commentary. Garry Brown's semi-realistic pencils are perfect for this once again, I really like the choice of artists for this special.

Finally Jeremy Haun offers a team-up between Superman and Lois Lane where they both to contribute a mystery surrounding a strange farm. The dynamic between the two is very well-executed and follows the expected theme of the book. Tony Akins is a great penciller and I'm glad to see his work again, especially during the strangest scenes.

Overall, a pretty satisfying anthology, definitely worth your time.