Funnily enough, that's the message at the core of the Teen Titans Drug Awareness Specials too! And if you thought the government-mandated Fastlane was at the frontline of the War on Drugs, you ain't seen nothing yet. Why, one of these specials comes with an introduction penned by then-First Lady Nancy Reagan herself, laying out the comic's stringent anti-drugs message just in case its subtle insertion into the story's plot had managed to pass you by. In the first issue the Titans conveniently leave out their most infamous members, Speedy - who was addicted to heroin, not amphetamines, which would make more sense - and Robin, the latter of whom is replaced by the generic analogue the Protector. Both comics feature roughly the same plotline, as the teens go around beating the stuffing out of all those drug dealers blighting our streets and personally chastising all the idiot children who fell prey to their wares. Marc Wolfman, the man synonymous with the Teen Titans, was actually the one to write these Drug Awareness Specials, but was forbidden from doing anything too risky by the government bigwigs who had commissioned the comics in the first place. He was not allowed to explore the societal pressures that lead to drug use, or why people start selling illegal substances, which means that drugs seem to just strike indiscriminately, like a supervillain without any real motivation. Plus the third comic is all about the Protector asking the Titans to look out for a friend of his with a history of drug problems, which they totally fail to do to the point that he overdoses and ends up in hospital. Still, they beat up all the dealers who sold to him so...problem solved? And the problem is solved for you too, readers!
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
