Review: Young Justice #20

Young Justice #20

 

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker

Artists: Scott Godlewski

Colorist: Gabe Eltabe

Letterer: Wes Abbott

 

Reviewer: Tony Farina

Summary

For the first time in months, the entire Young Justice team comes together to face a threat bigger than anything they’ve faced before. Just as the team has come to grips with their fractured legacy, someone from Young Justice’s past has come back to murder them! Guest-starring the Wonder Twins, Dial H for Hero, and Naomi—plus some other Wonder Comics surprises too hot to mention here! Don’t miss this final issue from the Eisner Award-nominated co-writers of Naomi!

Young Justice #20

Positives

Young Justice #20 has always shined when Scott Godlewski is doing the art. Once again, we are rewarded. Bendis has this insatiable need to draw action scenes all the time (more on that below) and so having a great artist like Godlewski helps. This is full of smashing, crashing, and gnashing of teeth. Eltabe’s colors jump off the page. I always feel like I am standing right next to wherever the battle is raging. It makes this entire series readable. If you just left the words off the page and flipped through it, you would be thrilled.

Young Justice #20

Negatives

Young Justice #20, much like most of issues 1-19 is a mess. What is going on? Which other series written by Bendis did I have to read to know what is going on in this issue. The way to fill in a story is not to force people to read other books. Tim Drake is my favorite DC Character. Stephanie Brown is a close second. I wanted to read a Young Justice comic, not Action Comics.

I keep bringing this up, but we do not need to have random smash/splash pages just to keep the reader’s attention. Sometimes, readers want a story. Bendis keeps giving us these emotional, thoughtful ideas, but then he can’t help himself and we have to have five splash pages of action, that are beautiful and fun, but take readers out of the story. UG.

Verdict

Young Justice #20 seems to set up a future series. If that is the case, I hope that it has a little more focus. Team books can’t be this messy. Team books need to focus on a few members of the team at a time OR they need to have a smaller version of the team. Neither thing happened here. I know that Bendis and Walker had to wrap everything up in a few issues and so they have been trying to give the supporting cast time in the sun. It feels like what it is, too much all at once. I love most of these characters so I hope they all get a place to shine in other books.

 

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