Best Teen Titans Runs: 6 Comics Ranked, from 1966 to 2026

Few DC teams demand as many precautions as the Teen Titans before any purchase: seven volumes carry the same title, one series changes its name along the way, and first appearances hide in issues that do not mention the team. The ranking below is first of all a way to find your bearings in this maze.

As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issues, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected panels or dialogue.

To separate the periods, we asked a simple question: can this block be read without having read the others, and is there a clear physical entry point, in single issues as in collected editions? The quality of the writing and the influence on later series did the rest. The price of an issue never entered the ranking. For the detailed history of the team, see instead our reading path.

Top 1: Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, The New Teen Titans (1980-1984)

The lineup was presented to the public in October 1980 in a preview insert in DC Comics Presents #26, then the series The New Teen Titans began with its #1 in November 1980. It brings together Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Changeling around three new or reworked characters: Cyborg, Starfire and Raven. Wolfman writes, Pérez draws.

Issue 2, dated December 1980, brings the first appearance of Deathstroke, who would become the team's main enemy. Around him, the series weaves two long threads: the past of Raven and her father Trigon, with The Terror of Trigon as the culmination, and the clashes with the Brotherhood of Evil. What sets this run apart is that a consequential issue pays off ten episodes later.

Who it is for: any reader who wants a complete, self-sufficient entry point. For collecting, the 1980s single issues were printed in large quantities and turn up almost everywhere. Only a few issues, starting with the Deathstroke one, concentrate the demand. The rest of the run can be completed from the bins, with no premium for condition on ordinary issues. To learn more about that last key, read the entry on issue #2 of December 1980. Bound collections exist for the early years, and they are enough for reading.

Top 2: Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, The Judas Contract (1984)

The saga appears in Tales of the Teen Titans #42 to 44, with the Annual #3 added, in 1984. This title is the continuation of the first series, renamed from issue 41 while the second series of The New Teen Titans begins in parallel: in the same year, two Titans series therefore coexist at DC. Knowing which of the two you are holding avoids bad purchases.

The story tells of the betrayal by a young recruit, Terra, and Deathstroke's relentlessness against the team. Most readers consider it the best Titans saga, probably because it achieves what the genre often misses: its resolution flows from each character's nature, not from a twist. Dick Grayson also changes identity in it and becomes Nightwing, which makes it a milestone for anyone interested in that character; our history of Nightwing details that moment.

Who it is for: the reader who has read the beginning of Top 1 and wants the peak, or the one who only has time for a single saga. It reads alone in a collected edition, though a few scenes gain from being known in context. In single issues, #43 and #44 of Tales are the ones to aim for first, since they are the ones the 2026 relaunch put back into circulation among hunters. Always check the cover title: the order of the two 1984 series causes frequent errors in listings.

Top 3: Geoff Johns and Mike McKone, Teen Titans (2003-2007)

Johns relaunches the team in 2003 in Teen Titans #1, with Mike McKone on art. The run gathers former and new members: Tim Drake as Robin, Superboy (Kon-El), Impulse turned Kid Flash (Bart Allen), Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), but also Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire. Sources differ on the exact issue where Johns's work on the series ends, so dates should be handled with caution.

This run matters because it takes up the founding idea, that of young heroes growing up in the shadow of their elders, and turns it toward the generation of the 2000s. It served as an entry point for many readers coming from the animated adaptations: the link is detailed in our comparison of the animated series and the comics.

Who it is for: the modern reader, who prefers contemporary art and a story cut into arcs. It is the best second block after Top 1. In collecting, these single issues are affordable, and a complete first series comes together without effort. The collected editions follow publication order but are spread over several volumes; count one per arc or group of arcs. To place the writer within the body of work, see the Geoff Johns page.

Top 4: Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, Teen Titans (1966-1973)

The team was not born in 1980. It first appears in The Brave and the Bold #54, around Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad, then Wonder Girl joins them in #60; these two issues are the landmarks that any hunt for origins must keep in mind. The series Teen Titans #1 follows in 1966, with Haney on script and Nick Cardy on art.

What this run tells: adventures of teenagers who take themselves seriously, with a tone that reflects the youth culture of the 1960s. The style is very dated, and that is what makes it more of a document than a pleasure read. It matters in the history of the Robin character and in that of DC's sidekicks, who become full-fledged heroes here before being so in the following series.

Who it is for: the collector interested in origins, and the reader who already enjoyed the previous blocks. Single issues of the period are fragile, and the difference in condition is paid for heavily; favor collected editions for reading and reserve single issues for those you really seek. The series was interrupted in 1973, then resumed later in other forms; it should not be confused with the more recent volumes carrying the same title.

Top 5: Marv Wolfman, The New Teen Titans vol. 2 then The New Titans (1984-1996)

After the 1984 turning point, Wolfman continues to write the team in a second series, then in The New Titans, which keeps the numbering and starts from issue 50 at the end of 1988. The artists change over the years, including Tom Grummett. The general thread follows adult Titans, with longer and darker plots than in the first period.

This block ranks fifth because it requires knowing the characters: it extends Top 1 rather than replacing it. It interests the reader who enjoyed the first ten issues and wants to know what becomes of the heroes. The length and the changes of creative teams make the whole uneven: it is better to proceed by chosen arcs than by buying everything.

A trap specific to the French market: the magazine Titans, published by Lug then Semic from 1976 to 1998, has nothing to do with this series and notably carried Marvel comics episodes, to the point that the catalog records an Avengers story in its last issue of the Lug period. Our entry on the guide to the Titans magazine explains how not to confuse it. For American single issues, the series turns up in bins regularly, with no particular difficulty.

Top 6: Kyle Higgins and Daniele Di Nicuolo, Teen Titans (2026), provisional ranking

The most recent of the runs is also the only one that cannot yet be judged. Teen Titans #1 came out on September 2, 2026 under the DC Next Level label, written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Daniele Di Nicuolo, with Marcelo Costa on colors. The publisher announces a team made up of Fairplay, Cheshire Cat, Proxy and Wildcard, with Red Hood in the role of a reluctant mentor.

We place it last because a series with only a few issues cannot be compared with runs finished for years, not because it would be inferior. Who it is for: those who want to follow a relaunch from its start. For collecting, the question is not the run but the starting issues, which we detail in the entry on the key issues of the 2026 relaunch.

The ranking will be revisited when the series has a few arcs behind it. Until then, the safest advice is not to buy in quantity: a first issue and a first alternate cover are enough to keep a record of a start.

Which to start with, depending on your profile

You are discovering the Titans. Take Top 1 and read the first years. If the tone suits you, follow with Top 2, which is the team's most famous saga.

You prefer a recent story. Choose Johns and McKone: the art is modern and the arcs are short. You can go back to Wolfman and Pérez afterward to see where the team comes from.

You like characters rather than teams. Go through Nightwing, whose ranking of runs extends Dick Grayson's trajectory.

You collect origins. Target The Brave and the Bold #54 and #60, then the 1966 series. Read in collected editions, buy single issues.

You come from the animated series. Start with Top 1: the characters of Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Changeling are introduced there at their birth, and you will find the dynamic you know.

What these runs are worth in a collection

The Titans market illustrates a simple rule: what sold well at the time costs little today. The 1980s produced large print runs, and the body of the Wolfman and Pérez run trades at a modest level, with mid-series issues barely more expensive than an ordinary single issue. Only the first appearance of Deathstroke, in #2, clearly breaks from this pattern, with a large gap between raw and certified.

The buying method comes down to three steps. First identify the few issues that matter: The Brave and the Bold #54 and #60, DC Comics Presents #26, The New Teen Titans #1 and #2, Tales of the Teen Titans #43 and #44. For each, compare completed sales of copies in the same condition, strictly separating raw and certified. Finally complete the rest in collected editions, which cost less than the series in single issues and take up less space.

One last point: beware of listings that mix eras. The search "Teen Titans #1" brings up several volumes at once, and only the exact title and the year tell you what you are buying. To value a copy you already own, use our free estimate.

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