Writer: Greg Weisman
Artist: Christopher Jones
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Queen Perdita, close ally of the Young Justice Team and Beast Boy’s ex-girlfriend, had been kidnapped! Key word, had. She was rescued by Geo-Force and his Infinitors super team in quick fashion. But the Young Justice team still has suspicions on who kidnapped her and their motives. In Young Justice: Targets #3, the Team do their own investigating to uncover the truth behind this plot.
Review:
Queen Perdita was rescued, but the job’s not done. Her kidnappers are still on the loose and so is Count Vertigo, who has a bad history of trying to oust her from the throne, but the pieces aren’t all connecting. So, the Team gets right to it in conducting their own investigation to see who’s really behind it all. One thing this comic has going for it, the same as the rest of the series, is that you actually get what you see on the cover for the most part. In this case, you get Tim Drake Robin and his small team of El Dorado and Looker (yes, that’s her name) in action for a little bit.
From there the comic transitions to the real players in the comic, Nightwing and his stealth team. It’s Nightwing’s team who make the real progress in the comic doing their investigations, drawing conclusions between all of the clues to continue the mission. From there, the plot actually gets interesting as one twist after another occurs while Nightwing’s team continue to put the pieces together, and it helps that his team get to actually be a stealthy covert team in action while they search for answers. Readers also get some neat and fun interactions between the members of Nightwing’s team.
Again, Christopher Jones and Jason Wright show their talents as the art team when it comes to bringing the Young Justice show’s art style to comic book form. What helps is that Greg Weisman really shows his chops when it comes to balancing the action and intrigue and has it all go hand-in-hand with the action and pacing of the comic. This way it actually feels like there’s progress being made while getting an entertaining story with a balance of action, character interactions, and plot progression.
The comic also continues the next part in the Green Arrow backup story. It picks up where it left off with Green Arrow rescuing then Princess Perdita from attackers trying to assassinate her. Like the main story, this one has more action and character interaction than the previous issue, further building up its engagement. Quick SPOILER: The comic also cements when in the timeline this takes place in the show’s chronology. Apparently, it’s direct lead up to Perdita getting her heart surgery as she mentions she’s there to see a specialist for her weak heart. For Green Arrow fans, this backup story is shaping up to be a fun one for them.
Final Thoughts:
Young Justice: Targets #3 shifts focus to the main team with Robin and Nightwing taking the lead. Their investigations lead them to further connect the dots in this mystery while fighting some villains along the way. What the comic has going for it is how Greg Weisman and Christopher Jones strike a strong balance of solid action, character interactions, and plot progression that’s hard to come by in most comics.