Writer: Greg Weisman
Artist: Christopher Jones
Color Artist: Jason Wright
Cover Artist: Christopher Jones & Jason Wright
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Spinning out of the fan-favorites series is Young Justice: Targets #1! After the events of Young Justice: Phantoms, the Team and the Justice League have a new mission on their hands when Queen Perdita , Beast Boy’s ex-girlfriend, has been kidnapped. Now the heroes are on the case to rescue her and stop the culprits’ true plans.
Review:
For fans of the Young Justice series, this series pick ups right after the show’s fourth season Young Justice: Phantoms. The series is written by Greg Weisman, the showrunner of the series and the man at the helm of the Young Justice animated series. He’s joined by artist Christopher Jones and colorist Jason Wright who bring the show’s art style and aesthetic to the comic book form once again.
As the synopsis says, the comic focuses on the kidnapping of Queen Perdita and it brings readers up to speed on all the relevant details as needed. The comic starts in Young Justice fashion with time jumps. Seriously, as the preview images will show, the comic starts in the “present” but then soon enough jumps back to when the kidnapping first takes place. We get some cool superhero spy-thriller elements in when introduced to the main characters in this issue: Bowhunter Security, led by Red Arrow, Guardian, Arsenal, and a fourth guy who’s identity is a big spoiler and a very surprising reveal. It’s their job to escort Queen Perdita in Star City.
Of course, things go awry and the actions starts when mysterious armed assailants attack and the Bowhunters go to work. There’s even a solid backup story that follows a mission with Red Arrow when he went solo and is relevant to the story at hand. Greg Weisman does an excellent job in maintaining the personalities of the individual heroes and side characters since there are some returning faces that fans of the show will notice. The art team also do a great job in keeping the action easy to follow while giving it a little dynamic energy to it while keeping it easy to follow.
The only real downside is that this comic kind of feels like the first five minutes of an episode from Young Justice, even with the backup story. Plus, you don’t really see much of the Team or the Outsiders, so it’s primarily the Bowhunters crew. A little bit of a nitpick, the action is a little slow and while the artists try, it lacks a strong sense of energy and momentum to it. But these criticisms hardly make the comic terrible. I would suggest getting this if you’re either a really big fan of the show, waiting until a couple more issues are out, or wait until the whole series is finished. Either way, it’s a good comic that can entertain you, whether you’re a fan of the show or a new fan.
Final Thoughts:
Young Justice: Targets #1 provides a solid beginning to this series about Queen Perdita’s kidnapping. The art team do a great job recreating the art style and character designs from the show, while Greg Weisman delivers on the story, pacing, and character dialogue for this comic book.