Guest List: Gabriel Picolo on the Goth-Pop Sounds of Teen Titans: Raven

For our Guest Lists, Paste invites a creator or creative team to share the music behind their upcoming comic. For this month’s installment, artist Gabriel Picolo—who first rose to fame thanks to Teen Titans fan-art shared online and is now illustrating a line of Teen Titans graphic novels for DC’s Young Adult line—reveals the goth-pop tunes of Teen Titans: Raven. Written by Beautiful Creatures co-creator Kami Garcia, Raven touches on some timeless teen standards: dad difficulties, feeling like an outcast, struggling to make friends, possessing world-ending magical power (okay, that last one might be specific to Raven). Picolo’s soundtrack below offers some insight into how the artist tapped into Raven’s world, and readers can cue it up before heading to their local comic shop or preferred digital retailer to pick up Teen Titans: Raven, available now.

Gabriel Picolo on Music in Teen Titans: Raven:

Music has always been essential in my workplace. I created playlists for the Teen Titans, for Raven while working on her graphic novel, and now I’ve created a playlist for Beast Boy as well—the project I’m currently working on. The songs I selected can all be found on Raven’s Playlist that I created on Spotify, which has nearly 15,000 followers.

“Going Under,” Evanescence
This sort of gothic rock (or any Evanescence song) was the sort of music that put me in the mood to draw Raven. “Going Under” is the first song of the playlist and the song I would listen to start my day of work.

“Lovesong,” The Cure
Evanescence is inspired by the goth style and so is Raven. I think she would know the history behind the genre and this would probably be her favorite tune of the decade.

“Cities in Dust,” Siouxsie and the Banshees
This is the goth band she would listen to with her foster sister Max, who prefers bands with female leaders.

“Homemade Dynamite,” Lorde
Raven is not the pretentious goth girl who only listens to one genre of music. She also listens to pop anthems of her own generation, as long as she finds the lyrics meaningful.

“But it’s Better if You Do,” Panic! At the Disco
This is the kind of music I used to listen to in high school (yep, I was very emo) and I think it’s a song Raven would listen to herself and this is the point where we connect.

“Nobody’s Home,” Avril Lavigne
This song is perfect for the novel. The story starts with Raven in a state of amnesia and the lyrics say she doesn’t know where she belongs.

“Don’t Fear The Reaper,” Blue Oyster Cult
This is the upbeat song that gives Raven courage before the impending storm that is Trigon.

“Anthonio (Berlin Breakdown Version Remix),” Annie
I think this would be a good song for a slow dance in prom.