After rescuing Superman’s clone from Project Cadmus, the group must wait three days for Batman’s decision on their fate.
What They Say:
Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad star in this explosive issue kickstarting an all-new ongoing series! They’re four young superheroes learning how to be a team…and maybe doing a bit of growing up along the way – but only just a little bit!
The Review:
With the rollout of the new TV series of the same name, it’s inevitable that DC Comics will bring along an accompanying comic book for it. These can be a mixed bag for a few reasons, but there are two reasons that always make me leery. The first is that they do a straight adaptation of what’s going on in the show so there’s nothing terribly fresh about it. The other is that if/when the show goes off the air, the book will falter around the same time. This can be especially difficult to deal with when you have a book that decides to do original stories set in the TV series universe. I still lament that the Legion of Super-Heroes comic was canceled both as a show and a comic because it was a show and a comic that my kids were completely hooked out. Frankly, there’s few mainstream comic books that are good for kids to read these days. So with my two girls and I curling up on Friday nights to watch Young Justice, I have hopes that the accompanying comic will be good.
Going by this issue zero launch release, they’re definitely on the right track. Kevin Hopps and Greg Weisman along with artist Mike Norton have captured much of the feel of this Earth-21 variant when it comes to the look of the characters and their personalities as we know them. The voices feel perfectly natural with what we see on the page. What’s even better is that this issue spends its pages telling the story of what happens after Batman tells them he’ll think about what to do and sends them all on their way for three days. And rather than focus on the group as a whole, a couple of them get just a page or two while the main focus is on that of Superboy and Kid Flash. Robin has a nice little page at Wayne Manor griping about waiting to Alfred while Aqualad apologizes under the sea to Aquaman, who comes across properly regal with his response in a way that you can tell reassures the young man.
The real fun comes Wally and Superboy as Wally takes him home to meet his parents so he can crash there for a few days. The sit down at the dinner table is amusing as he runs through all of it to them and his mother is more interested in proper grammar, which is completely misunderstood by Superboy as he corrects her, though it at least seems a little bit under his breath. Wally and Superboy, or Supey as he calls him, rooming together for a few days certainly has its laughs. Superboy has lived in a tube for awhile now so things like beds, TV and malls are all alien to him. The segment at the mall does lead to the main bit of action here as Wally takes Supey there to get him some clothes, particularly since that solar suit is starting to stink, and they end up having a few fisticuffs with a mildly powered pair of thieves named Tommy and Tuppence, who happen to call themselves the Terror Twins. They’re no real threat but it does land both Wally and Superboy in a bit of trouble.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Young Justice has only a single cover as no variants were provided. The release is also a same-day digital release from DC Comics. A seven page free preview is available however and it makes a full page note at the end about buying this issue in your local comic store. The sooner publishers start catering more to their specific audiences and not trying to play the same path with both, the sooner this particular market will expand rather than be held back by the print market.
In Summary:
The Young Justice premiere back in November, which was split into two parts this month, gave me exactly what I wanted out of a team show using characters like this. It firmly exists within the larger DC Universe, but not the one seen in the comics. This variant on the Earth-21 world allows for a good sized group of adult heroes who have found their footing and turns its focus to their sidekicks and partners who want to make their mark in the world. This opening story does a very good job of filling in a particular blank from the show and that’s what I hope to see more of as we get into future issues. Build upon what’s there and expand on it, just avoid retelling what happens there because it’s very easy to see the show. Give us the expanded Young Justice universe here and the book will find quite a few fans with me and my kids being among them.
Grade: B
