True story: one of my favorite moments at New York Comic Con was when I stopped by Franco and Art Baltazar's table in Artist Alley and heard that TINY TITANS was coming back (more information HERE). The orignal series ran for fifty issues with SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES adding another twelve. I got the chance to talk to these two gentlemen and it was quite the phone call.
COMIC VINE: Do you know if the series will start with a new #1 or continue with #51?
ART BALTAZAR: Issue #1, sir! I believe so, yeah. We're gonna put a little '51' on the cover somewhere, I think. Or in the inside, maybe.
CV: Will your approach to the series remain the same? Will it center around Robin and the other Titans?
ART: Oh yeah. It's like you're reading issue #51. It continues from where TINY TITANS left off and where SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES left off. It's the next DC book from me and Franco.
FRANCO: This is true.
CV: Will each issue have the same format of shorter stories with a sometimes overall connecting theme?
FRANCO: Yes! Absolutely!
ART: Maybe.
FRANCO: They have a dilemma in the first issue - their treehouse disappears and that's sort of a running theme throughout the issues that are coming up. You'll see them running around like crazy as they figure out what's happened. It'll be fun. We'll have some surprises in there too.
ART: It's true. True story.
CV: I guess we assume the series is still in its own continuity and won't be some sort of New 52 Tiny Titans?
FRANCO: It's the same one but we're gonna make fun of…not make fun of, you know, we'll discuss the New 52 in parts.
ART: We'll give the New 53 version. We're the 53rd title in the New 52.
FRANCO: Dan [DiDio] doesn't like when we say 53 so we're gonna say it anyway.
ART: We're gonna say it's the New 54.
CV: Will the animals still appear from time to time?
FRANCO: Yeah, first issue, they're right in your face.
ART: Yeah, like the Super-Pets? They're all over the place. And they're big, the size they were in SUPERMAN FAMILY. So they're not puppies anymore. Dogs and cats grow bigger. They grow faster than kids. So they're already big.
FRANCO: It's true.
CV: Are there still penguins in the Batcave?
BOTH: Yes.
ART: Continuity! We're staying in continuity. Yup.
FRANCO: Bats in the belfry. And bunnies all over the place.
ART: Yeah, there's bunnies too.
FRANCO: I like that these are actually serious interview questions. "Are there still bunnies and bats and penguins?"
ART: Well yeah, people have questions.
CV: I have to ask the questions that me and my daughter want to know.
BOTH: Yeah!
ART: Absolutely.
CV: In the first fifty issues, we've seen several amazing guest appearances. Are there still characters you want to use that haven't appeared yet?
ART: Oh yeah. You're gonna see guys in the first issue. There'll be guest stars and cameos.
FRANCO: Yeah, that's right.
CV: Do you guys ever have to go back are read or research old comics to come up with old references or do you two have an encyclopedic memory on the characters?
FRANCO: Never! It's like you talk to Art and it's like Britannica himself. It's all there. It's all in his head.
ART: It's true. But sometimes I have to go back and read our fifty TINY TITANS to find out what they did.
FRANCO: [laughs]
ART: I forget half the time but my kids read the trades so I forget half the time when they ask me stuff. "Oh yeah, I did that." You know? It's funny.
CV: Do we know approximately when the first issue is coming out?
ART: Hmmmm…
FRANCO: Hmmmm…
ART: 2014. May?
FRANCO: April? February, March April? May, June or July.
CV: Okay.
ART: Somewhere mid-year. Yeah. We're not really sure.
CV: Can we get you guys locked in for another fifty issues? At least?
ART: Yeah.
FRANCO: Yeah, I wanna go for a hundred or so.
ART: Yeah, I wanna do a whole bunch. I want them to give us a title we can do whatever we want.
FRANCO: Let's get a grass roots Internet campaign.
ART: Yeah. That they should keep us on there. It'd be good. We'll go from TINY TITANS to SUPERMAN FAMILY. We'll do some Justice League. We'll do some Doom Patrol. We'll do all of them. It'd be good. That's all we wanna do, keep going. Wouldn't it be awesome?
CV: Sounds good to me. Okay, that's all the questions I have.
ART: Alright.
FRANCO: That's it? That was easy.
ART: Good times.
CV: Thanks a lot guys.
ART: It's gonna be good. Aw yeah, man. You're a rockstar!
[laughs]
CV: I'll talk to you guys later.
ART: Right on, dude.
Be sure to check out the return of TINY TITANS in April? February, March April? May, June or July. Sometime in 2014.
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