The New Teen Titans #36
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe New Teen Titans Vol. 2 #36 marks the debut of the Wildebeest and the Wildebeest Society, a criminal cartel whose deceptive single-operative-at-a-time structure gave Marv Wolfman a recurring antagonist with long-range plotting potential that eventually powered one of the Titans' most consequential 1990s arcs, 'Titans Hunt.' The issue also plants the moral crisis at the heart of that arc — Starfire framed for murder — forcing the team to confront what it means when a hero is made to look like a killer, a theme that deepens the series' ongoing exploration of violence, trust, and identity that distinguished it from lighter superhero fare of the era. Wolfman's decision to seed the Wildebeest Society across dozens of issues before fully revealing its secret leadership — ultimately Jericho, possessed by the souls of Azarath — is an early example of long-form villain construction in mainstream superhero comics.
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The issue was written and creatively edited by Marv Wolfman, with interior art by Eduardo Barreto (pencils) and Romeo Tanghal (inks), coloring by Adrienne Roy, and lettering by Albert DeGuzman; Barreto also drew the cover. Barbara Kesel served as consulting editor, part of the collaborative editorial infrastructure that Wolfman had built around the second volume of New Teen Titans. The book went on sale June 23, 1987, carrying an October 1987 cover date, at a point when the title had transitioned away from George Pérez to Barreto as the primary visual voice — a shift that gave the book a somewhat different aesthetic while Wolfman continued to develop the slower-burn, villain-centric storytelling for which the title was known.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Wildebeest and the Wildebeest Society, created by Marv Wolfman and Eduardo Barreto — a criminal cartel structured so that only one costumed operative appeared publicly at a time, creating the illusion of a single untrackable villain.
- First appearance of Sunburst (Timothy Walton), a supporting antagonist who appears in this issue's character roster.
- Story title: 'Beauty and the Wildebeest!' — Part 1 of a 2-part arc in which the Wildebeest Society frames Starfire for the murder of a civilian named Jonathan Surrey.
- Written by Marv Wolfman; penciled by Eduardo Barreto; inked by Romeo Tanghal; cover art by Eduardo Barreto. Adrienne Roy colored; Albert DeGuzman lettered.
- On-sale date: June 23, 1987; cover date: October 1987 (Volume 2 of the New Teen Titans series, launched in 1984).
- The Wildebeest Society introduced here would later be retconned as the front organization for a possessed Jericho during the 'Titans Hunt' storyline, connecting this debut directly to one of the most dramatic betrayals in Titans history.
- The issue was reprinted in the Brazilian edition Os Novos Titãs #35 (Editora Abril, February 1989) and again in The New Teen Titans (DC, 2014 reprint series) #13 (May 2022), as well as in The New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 5 (published March 2021).
- The Wildebeest character later appeared in the Teen Titans animated series (2003), voiced first by Jim Cummings and subsequently by Dee Bradley Baker, giving this debut issue a footprint in animation.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Os Novos Titãs #35 (1989), The New Teen Titans Omnibus #5 (2021), The New Teen Titans #13 (2022)
Key issues in The New Teen Titans
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