Teen Titans Go! #23
Teen Titans Go! #23 marks the first comic-book appearance of Red X — a character invented entirely for the 2003 Cartoon Network animated series rather than drawn from pre-existing DC print mythology — transplanting one of that show's most enduring mysteries into sequential-art form. The issue's central joke is itself a piece of meta-commentary on Titans history: the villain Control Freak schemes to steal a fictional comic called 'The Courageous and the Cocky #54,' a transparent parody of The Brave and the Bold #54, widely recognized as the original Teen Titans' debut, weaving franchise self-awareness into a story nominally aimed at younger readers. The issue also introduces the 'Tween Titans,' a roster of chibi-style knockoff characters that literalize the comic series' anime-inflected visual humor. Taken together, the issue exemplifies what made the 2004 comic run distinctive: it expanded the animated continuity rather than merely duplicating it, smuggling in genuine DC history alongside crowd-pleasing gags.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The 2004 Teen Titans Go! series was published under DC's all-ages Johnny DC imprint as a companion to the Cartoon Network animated series, written throughout its early run by J. Torres with Todd Nauck as the primary penciler and Lary Stucker on inks. By issue #23, Mike Norton had taken on penciling duties for certain issues while Torres remained writer and Sean Galloway continued as cover artist — a creative configuration confirmed across multiple solicitation and database sources. The series was designed to expand on animated-show storylines without contradicting established episode continuity, which gave Torres latitude to bring in characters (including Red X) whose rights cleared more easily in print than on television. Dan DiDio is listed as editor in DC's own database entry for this issue.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First comic-book appearance of Red X (as robotic duplicates) — Red X was created for the Teen Titans animated series, first appearing in Season 1, Episode 9 ('Masks'), and had no prior existence in DC print comics before this issue.
- Written by J. Torres; pencils by Mike Norton; inks by Lary Stucker; cover by Sean Galloway ('Cheeks'); edited by Dan DiDio.
- Cover date: November 2005 (publication date September 2005); part of Teen Titans Go! Vol. 1, the 55-issue series running January 2004 – July 2008 under the Johnny DC imprint.
- Story title: 'Knockoff!' — the plot involves Control Freak orchestrating a Red X robot crime spree across Jump City, culminating at the Jump City Comicon.
- The Red X figures in this issue are explicitly revealed to be robots, not the real Red X — a distinction flagged by Key Collector Comics and consistent with the animated show's ongoing mystery about the character's true identity.
- The issue contains an in-story parody of The Brave and the Bold #54 (the original Teen Titans' unofficial debut), titled 'The Courageous and the Cocky #54,' serving as a layer of franchise self-commentary.
- Introduces the 'Tween Titans,' a group of chibi-style knockoff characters including Chibi Beast Boy, Chibi Cyborg, Chibi Raven, Chibi Starfire, Chibi Control Freak, and Chibi Red X.
- The issue was later collected in the trade paperback Teen Titans Go! Vol. 4: Ready for Action (DC Comics, 2006), which collects issues #19–25 of the series.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Teen Titans Go! #5 (2006), Teen Titans Go!: Ready for Action #[nn] (2017)
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