Young Justice #1

by Batmanaruto on January 09, 2019

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: PatricK Gleason
Colourist: Alejandro Sanchez
Publisher: DC Comics


Young Justice is finally back!!! Since the start of DC Rebirth people were wondering if Superboy, Wonder Girl and Impulse would make an appearance in the current DC universe. Tim was in Tynion’s detective comics but left after he had wrapped up his run and wasn’t seen in any DC books. The release of this issue is being timed with the return of the popular show of the same name, which was also highly anticipated.

So, after reading Young Justice #1, how did I find it? The one word I would use to describe this issue is that it is fun. Whilst reading it I had a constant smile on my face and it was really fun to see characters that had been missing for a long time, work and interact together. The new characters that were introduced so far, were also a great addition, especially Ginny Hex, who I can see potentially becoming a fan favourite. As much as I had fun with the issue, there were a few problems that I did have with it.

Whilst it was cool to see the older characters interact, it’s also kind of weird as in the current continuity it is ambiguous as to whether the characters have met before this issue. DC have been really vague as to whether the post-crisis universe exists and this is where the characters currently are or if we are still in the New 52 Universe. Whilst in both universes the characters have met, recent developments in the Rebirth timeline have said otherwise such as Impulse suddenly appearing at the end of the Flash Annual, and Tim having no recollection of Connor kent when he spoke with a future version of him. This is slightly frustrating as it seems to throw the continuity that was set up previously out of the window and seems to act as if the characters have always known each other and been friends, but are now only forming or re-forming the team.

The other problem I had with the issue was with the villains in the story. Bendis does say that the multiple crises are affecting Gemworld, but we are not really told how, and when the villains finally appear the dialogue is really repetitive and the attempts at humour are quite poor. This issue also highlights a personal problem I have with the state of the current DC Universe, as at times it doesn’t feel like the world is lived in. The villains appear in metropolis and for some reason Superman doesn’t help with the problem. Assuming at that time that Superman was busy, I find it unbelievable that no other adult heroes would come in and help. Often it feels writers have to introduce a massive alien invasion or something big to justify a team’s formation but especially for young justice I feel that something on a smaller scale would have worked more.

Gleason's artwork is amazing as usual, however some of his panel layount in this issue is a bit awkward and can sometimes make it hard to see what it is going on in some areas.

Personally I felt that the issue was really fun and gave us some interactions between characters, but was a letdown story-wise and did little to tell the reader where it fit into continuity or how the characters are now familiar with one another. However even with  my criticisms of the book, I would still recommend it and the problems may be solved or developed on in future issues.
 

Our Score:

6/10

A Look Inside