I Reads You Review: Young Justice #20

YOUNG JUSTICE #20
DC COMICS

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Christopher Jones
COLORS: Zac Atkinson
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Young Justice Invasion – Chapter One: “Wheelbarrow, Shoe, Thimble”

Young Justice is a spin-off comic book series based on “Young Justice,” the animated superhero television series currently airing on Cartoon Network. “Young Justice” the television series focuses on the lives and adventures of the sidekicks and protégés of some of DC Comics’ biggest superheroes, which includes such young heroes as Nightwing, Superboy, Wondergirl, and Robin, among many.

Young Justice #20 (“Wheelbarrow, Shoe, Thimble”) takes place in two different, but local time periods in the existence of Young Justice: “Yero Zero” and “Year Five,” specifically December 1st. In fact, this date is special because it is Dick Grayson’s birthday, and in both periods, various superheroes stop by to wish Robin (Year Zero) and Nightwing (Year Five) a happy birthday.

The team: Nightwing, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Bumble Bee, Lagoon Boy, Mal Duncan, Miss Martian, Superboy, Wolf, and Wonder Girl (with Robin called back to Gotham City) embarks on a mission to stop an assassination of a visiting foreign dignitary. The team splits in two, with Miss Martian leading the “Beta Team” to stop the assassination. Meanwhile, Nightwing takes “Alpha Team” to recruit the new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, into Young Justice. But unknown players are about to enter this game.

Young Justice #20 is all over the place. There are a lot of characters and even several guest stars, which only makes everyone seem extraneous. Forget two time periods, this issue reads as if there were eight. Perhaps, writer Greg Weisman is just prepping and this is the calm before the multi-chapter storm. The art by Christopher Jones and colorist Zac Atkinson is still high-quality, though, especially that last page.

B

http://DCnation.com


Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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I Reads You Review: YOUNG JUSTICE #18

YOUNG JUSTICE #18
DC COMICS

WRITER: Greg Weisman
ART: Christopher Jones
COLORS: Zac Atkinson
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Young Justice is the ongoing, spin-off comic book series of “Young Justice” an animated superhero television series currently airing on Cartoon Network. “Young Justice” the television series focuses on the lives and adventures of the sidekicks and protégés of some of DC Comics’ biggest superheroes, which includes such young heroes as Artemis (Green Arrow), Robin, and Aqualad, among others.

Young Justice #18 (“Monkey Business”) begins with a wrap up of the team’s recent (mis) adventures. That includes a case involving Red Tornado and also a mission in India with Captain Marvel acting as den-mother. Now, Batman sends Aqualad, Robin, Superboy (and his pet Wolf), Artemis, Kid Flash, and Miss Martian into darkest (imaginary) Africa – the nation of Bwunda.

There, in the Bwundan jungles, they will find the Brain and Monsieur Mallah’s latest Kobra-Venom operation. Although Young Justice recently shutdown the Brain’s last such operation, the villain has an ally this time around, Ultra-Humanite, and he’s calling on Grodd to deal with the children.

My reviews of Young Justice, issue numbers 16 and 17, praised the art by Christopher Jones. Jones is a classic comic book artist in that he understands the visual and graphical storytelling that brings superhero comic books to life. His page layouts and style capture the eye, and his compositions sell the drama and action of the story. After Jim Lee on Justice League, Christopher Jones is the best artist on a Justice League title.

Sans co-writer Kevin Hopps, Greg Weisman offers a story that is darker than the previous story arc. In “Monkey Business,” Weisman places the young heroes in what clearly reads like a convincing perilous situation. More so than in the previous issues, I want to come back for the second part of this.

Young Justice #18 has a 4-page preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series #7 (the comic book adaptation of the similarly named Cartoon Network animated series).

WRITER: Ivan Cohen
ARTIST: Luciano Vecchio
COLORS: Gabe El Taeb
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte

The story features my favorite Green Lantern villain, the Tattooed Man, and I enjoyed reading the preview. I will try to find a copy of this issue.

A-

I Reads You Review: YOUNG JUSTICE #17

YOUNG JUSTICE #17
DC COMICS

WRITERS: Kevin Hopps and Greg Weisman
ART: Christopher Jones
COLORS: Zac Atkinson
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

“Young Justice” is an animated superhero television series currently airing on Cartoon Network (after debuting in 2010). Although it shares a name with the comic book series, “Young Justice” (published by DC Comics in the late 1990s and early 2000s), the television series uses characters and situations from the entire DC Universe.

“Young Justice” focuses on the lives and adventures of the sidekicks and protégés of some of DC Comics’ biggest superheroes, which includes such young heroes as Artemis (Green Arrow), Robin, and Aqualad, among others. DC Comics is publishing a comic book adaptation of “Young Justice,” also entitled Young Justice.

Young Justice #17 (“Uncommon Denominators”) continues from #16. Batman and Robin, Flash and Kid Flash, and Green Arrow and Artemis take on Lord Naga-Naga also known as Kobra. Kobra, whose real name is Jeffrey Burr, has kidnapped his fraternal twin brother, Jason, in order to use him for a mystical rite that will create a giant cobra. While the adult heroes race off to stop the giant cobra from destroy Minneapolis, Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis take on Kobra Cultists and siblings, Mammoth and Shimmer. But Kobra’s dangerous mumbo-jumbo doesn’t stop with a giant cobra.

I can mostly say the same thing about Young Justice #17 that I said about issue #16. The art by Christopher Jones (pencils and inks) and Zac Atkinson (colors) is pretty. The compositions and page design are also good. The storytelling is excellent; it just makes my eyes want to follow the flow of the narrative and keep going back for second looks.

The story by Kevin Hopps and Greg Weismann, who are also writers on the “Young Justice” TV series, is the same as it was the last issue. It’s light on drama and emphasizes action and superhero fights. Nothing against Hobbs and Weismann, but this is a comic book and the storytelling strength is in the art… exceptionally so.

B+

I Reads You Review: Young Justice #16

"Christopher Jones Superstar"
YOUNG JUSTICE #16
DC COMICS

WRITERS: Kevin Hopps and Greg Weisman
ART: Christopher Jones
COLORS: Zac Atkinson
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Rated "E" for "Everyone"

“Young Justice” is an animated cable television series that debuted on Cartoon Network in 2010. Although it shares a name with the DC Comics comic book series that debuted in 1998, “Young Justice” the television series is really an adaptation of the entire DC Universe of characters.

The series focuses on the lives and adventures of the sidekicks and protégés of some of DC Comics’ biggest superheroes. Characters such as Superboy, Robin, Aqualad, and others try to prove themselves while dealing with adolescent issues. As it has done with other animated series based on its comic book titles, DC Comics is publishing a comic book adaptation of “Young Justice,” also entitled Young Justice.

Young Justice #16 (“Common Denominators”) finds three different hero-sidekick combinations dealing with unusual robberies. In Star City, Green Arrow and protégé, Artemis, take on a band of well-armed thieves in Star City World History Museum. The next day, Flash and Kid Flash race through Central City on a mission to capture escaped animals at Central City Zoo? The story moves four days forward to Gotham City. Batman and Robin find thieves in the Gotham City Observatory, but these thieves aren’t after something; they’re after someone.

The first thing about this issue of Young Justice that stands out to me is the art. Christopher Jones is a highly-skilled artist, showing flexibility when dealing with figure drawing and dexterity in the layout of his pages. His compositions are lively, and the backgrounds are simple, clean, and evocative. The color by Zac Atkinson makes the art even more energetic and even makes the drawings pop off the page. This is a good effect for scenes like the splash page (Page 2) and ¾ splash (Page 20).

The art by Jones and Atkinson is what really gives weight and depth to this story, which is written by Kevin Hopps and Greg Weismann, who are also writers on the “Young Justice” TV series. It is not that this is a bad story; it is just slight. This is the kind of story that can only exist as a full story when drawn by a comic book artist. In fact, if this story were drawn by an artist less talented than Christopher Jones, “Common Denominators” would not be much of a story. This is a comic book, and Jones’ kind of comic book art is what makes it fun to read.

B+

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