Young Justice, Vol. 2: Training Day

Young Justice (2011)

by Greg Weisman, Kevin Hopps, Luciano Vecchio (Illustrator)

Based on the highly anticipated, all-new hit animated show from Warner Bros. airing on Cartoon Network, Young Justice collects single issue, all ages appropriate stories featuring the popular characters from the hit Cartoon Network show.

In this volume, Superboy, Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Miss Martian and Artemis defend Gotham City from Batman's biggest foes Ra's al Ghul and Clayface while also fending off Professor Ivo's malevolent MONQIs!

Features Issues #7-13 of the all ages series.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Young Adult, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2012

About the author

Greg Weisman (BA Stanford, MPW U.S.C.) has been a storyteller all his life. His first professional work was as an Editor for DC Comics, where he also wrote Captain Atom.

Greg worked at Walt Disney Television Animation from 1989 through 1996. In 1991, Greg created and developed a new series for Disney: GARGOYLES, becoming Supervising Producer and Supervising Story Editor of that series.

In 1998, Greg became a full-time Freelancer. He wrote the new Gargoyles and Gargoyles: Bad Guys comic books for SLG Publishing, while producing, writing, story editing and voice acting for Sony’s The Spectacular Spider-Man. He then moved over to Warner Bros., where he produced, story edited, wrote and voice acted on the new series, Young Justice, as well as writing the companion Young Justice monthly comic book for DC.

Greg was a writer and Executive Producer on the first season of Star Wars Rebels for Lucasfilm and Disney, and he’s also writing the spin-off comic Star Wars Kanan: The Last Padawan. His first novel, Rain of the Ghosts, was published in 2013; its sequel, Spirits of Ash and Foam, arrived in bookstores in 2014.

Reviews

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. All-ages, so definitely straightforward vocabulary and plot (with some good complexity in the themes and storytelling, nevertheless). This volume sees the introduction of Artemis (daughter of retired supervillains) as a Young Justice hero, a Batman and Robin subplot, and some solo features on Aqualad.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good art and stories in this volume. Fun reads for and afternoon. Recommended

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*
I loved this show, so being back with the characters was really fun. The story & art style didn't necessarily blow me away but if you liked the show I would really recommend the comics for an added bonus!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Felicity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how they used this comic to fill in the lost time/ missions of the characters who would be absent during some of the episodes.

[Mason Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much better than the first one. Way more exciting villains and storylines. WWII is involved. Awesome.

[Sana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was done with archers in superhero costumes and then I discovered the amazing Artemis on the Young Justice TV show and man, she's just as amazing in the comics. I loved her kicking ass especially in issues 7 and 8. The introduction of Wally to Artemis and his entry are so hilarious, I'm glad they redid the scene in the comic, too. However, there wasn't nearly as much Wally and Artemis interaction than on the show. Still, I was very amused when Wally was annoyed by Artemis's absence during one of their missions.

Issues 9 and 10 definitely seem like they'll come into play later and I definitely liked the conspiracy factor to it all.

Issues 11 to 13 finally revealed one of the villains so those were fun and the team fighting the Clayface was quite entertaining. Probably not that much for Aqualad but hey, I'm excited to finally see Atlantis.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first issue starts out with the introduction of Artemis. What’s her relationship to Arrowette? I always get them confused. Both of them were after my time.

It’s always nice when a little girl power is added to the team, especially with powers that require hard work to get, rather than just born-with-em.

The next issue is really cool in that it manages to tell a lot of action sequences with very little words. A montage of cool scenes that are so clear they explain the action. They also convey that Amazo is incredibly powerful but limited by what he can perceive is needed for any particular section. Great comic book storytelling. A great introduction to Artemis.

The next story “Cold Case” definitely adds to the quality. First because it’s actually a mystery, a good comic book mystery, the kind that doesn’t depend on a lot of action, but a lot of footwork that comics can do well when they want to. Another bonus point for a rather cool take on Miss Martian’s shape changing abilities. Again, the kind of stuff usually too subtle for a cartoon.

“Hot Case” the continuation of the mystery was absolutely excellent. A little rushed but a good mystery with a good twist at the end. Damn! I knew I recognized a name!

“The Pit” begins with Batman & Robin doing the ‘Dynamic Duo’ thing. It’s great artwork and classic teamwork stuff. Robin’s comment “I love my job…” is priceless.

It is interesting that they note the passing of Dr. Fate and join him with his wife Inza. It’s one of the more confusing hierarchy’s in comics, but it looks like they’ve chosen a path.

Good story!

“The Pendulum” has a very weird story about Talia falling in love with Clayface — the animated series Clayface — who made a formerly C-lister into a grade A+ lister. Of course, Talia’s not the greatest girlfriend you can have.

Hot but evil. I know what that’s like…

“…And the penalty” starts with the new Aqualad (Kaldur’ahm). Her certainly seems a fine character and I’ve read and seen a few stories about him and his relationship to the original Aqua lad. But I’ve never read a proper origin story on him and thus he has a little less sympathy from me. I’m not even sure how his powers work. Is that just me?

Terrific art in this one and wonderful how Clayface in some seriously scary ways divides and conquers the heroes.

But of course, it’s easy to forgot that Batman can always get his science on…

I love the ‘Secret Files’ section they put in the back - wish it was bigger. I have an embarrassingly large collection of ‘Secret Files’ comics.



Pound for pound this was a good collection of reads. Somewhat ‘shallow’ in terms of the art dominating the stories, but the art was pretty darn good. Giving it a strong 4 stars and keeping it.

[MatiBracchitta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se siente mucho la diferencia de escritores, no es que los guiones de Weisman no sean entretenidos, que ciertamente lo son, sino que parecen en cierta manera desconectados del volumen anterior. Es como si se volviera al viejo estilo de DC de "O te conoces a todos nuestros personajes, líneas temporales y lore, o te quedas fuera".

Lamentablemente no es el estilo que más me agrada. A su vez, el estilo de Hopps es demasiado a caricatura de Cartoon Network. Entiendo que de ahí es de donde proviene todo, pero para eso me ponía a ver las animaciones...

Si bien logra cumplir en el propósito principal que es entretener, siento que se perdió las ganas de desarrollar y profundizar a los personajes que veíamos con Baltazar para buscar historias livianas y vacuas que ya hemos visto una y otra vez en diferentes títulos.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am thoroughly enjoying this comic series. These comics may not be the deepest or most thought-provoking in DC's arsenal, but, to be honest, that's not what they are supposed to be: they are companions to an animated series intended for kids (even if said animated series works just as well for adults). Unlike the series, however, the comics have a bit of a harder lean towards younger audiences, though this volume stayed a bit truer to the more complex spirit of the more show. What makes this series fun is that it caters to the fans: it fills in all the behind-the-scenes moments that weren't really necessary for the show to make sense, but, as a fan, are still fun to see.

[Nico · Rating 2 out of 5]

the first 2 issues with artemis were pretty solid and did a good job showing what went on during an episode of the show from another angle, its pretty much what i'd want from this comic, even if it did mostly feel like filler

the captain atom murder mystery issues were a real slog and just feels like it wasnt good enough to be an episode for the actual show. it was a slog that ends on a really dumb note

the clayface issues were legit the worst of the bunch, and unlike the first 2 stories (which were 2 issues long), this gets a full 3 issues, with a garbage love triangle, an idiot plot, the worst clayface origin ive seen, and a deus ex machina ending.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of the Young Justice cartoon's tie-in comic series is great fun. Greg Weisman continues to imbue the comic with the exact voice and tone of the show while getting to expand on little snippets of the Young Justice world as well as revisiting his own DC Comics past with two issues delving into the backstory of Captain Atom. The art matches the animated style while being a little looser and freer. Solid fun comics. Can't wait for season 3.

[Arthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great finding out how Artemis was invited to the team, but I don't like how they changed her skin tone in the book. She's supposed to be tanner, as she's half white half Vietnamese but the book makes her look like a caucasian blonde. The story of Captain Addams was a little hard to follow, but full of great twists. I also finally understand how Ra's Al Ghul keeps coming back to life. Love the series so far!

[Emilce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first one was awesome, this one is fantastic! All of the stories were so great, I literally couldn't put my tablet down (I don't have the paper copy). The Clayface story was perfect, now everything makes sense in the chapter 8 of season 1. The characters are so badass, brave, determined and caring. I love them all.
It's time to start the next volume.

[Kier Scrivener · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really adored this one. I liked that it focused on Artemis' backstory and provided a lot of background of what happens between episodes or when a member is not present. Also since Dick's identity is largely kept a secret on the show and not discussed, I enjoy that him and his relationship with Bruce is explored.

Solid 3.5

[Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artemis joins the Team, the Team went on a military espionage and fought Clayface. It was an OK volume, nice to see more of Artemis and how she became part of the Team. The military espionage arc was really boring and unnecessary. The last was good and it tied in with the TV show itself, also brought back Talia al Ghul who was missing from the show.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

We finally learn how Artemis joins the team as we never got much of an explanation of how she joined and it is quite interesting. Also we get an in universe explanation for Clay face which is cool but I found this clay face origin to be the least interesting as I always preferred Clay Face when he is actor.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining, even better than the first volume. I loved all three stories presented although I think the cold case (I should read more mysteries I think - loved the twist at the end) was my favorite with the Clayface story being a close second. Highly recommended for any Young Justice fan.

[Chels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it really fills in the gaps of the television show while also carving out the characters better without feeling like we're missing anything. It was a lot of fun. I can't wait for the next one.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun and now I want to read more about Talia Al Ghul.

[Tania Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 but still really liked it.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Taha · Rating 4 out of 5]

[***Dave Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid representation of tales based on the Cartoon Network series -- and, in fact, interlocking with some of the early S.1 episodes.

[rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

artemis crock, my beloved

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun comic book, short comics that aren't fully connected. I think they would make better sense if you've watched the series. But the characters are still fun.

[MC · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's currently a DC Comics' based hit animated series on Cartoon Network. The show is called Young Justice, and for anyone who wonders, it is NOT based upon the comic of the same name. Instead it takes elements of both the Young Justice and the Teen Titans comic series, and creates a new story taking place on Earth-16 of the DC Multiverse.

The show runner is named Greg Weisman, who is known for his popular Gargoyles cartoon and comic book series. Indeed, many of the conventions and plot ideas of Young Justice are reminiscent of his story telling on Gargoyles. The secret villainous group called "the Light", for instance, are very reminiscent of David Xanatos from Gargoyles.

Anyways, when DC Comics commissioned a new comic book based upon the animated series (as they often do with their cartoon series), Greg Weisman decided to do something different this time. You see, normally such comics only tell generic adventures in the same universe as the cartoon, but avoid anything that could be contradicted by the show. In other words, they are sort of secondary in there canonicity. Not so here. Weisman is heavily involved in the comic book as well as the series, and thus the comic and show perfectly complement each other, filling in any plot holes, if you will, in the storyline of the animated series.

This goes so far, in fact, that careful readers of the comic book would have figured out many of the spoilers and "reveals" of the first season finale of Young Justice ahead of time. They also would have seen how the team and the Justice League got some of the Intel for the bad guys' plans they manage to stop during the first season.

Overall, I honestly can't think of anything not to like about this graphic novel. I'll admit that the simple art work threw me off at first as I'm used to the beautiful work I've come to expect in many comic books these days. I eventually realized that this sort of made sense in that the panels on the page look exactly like the animation cells on the show. This only increases the sense of everything taking place in a shared story line, which it obviously does.

Though Young Justice is marketed to a younger audience than the other DC Comics' titles, it still has intriguing and compelling plots from a master storyteller like Weisman. This makes this one of the titles most worth reading.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trade collects issues #7-13 of Young Justice (the tie-in comic for the animated series, not the original comic of the same name).

I'm a big fan of the Young Justice animated series, which created it's own ground up take on the DC Universe (instead of adapting any particular established title or continuity) to create a wonderfully deep and compelling narrative. It focuses on a core group of young heroes forming a covert ops team for the Justice League, draws inspiration from everything from Teen Titans to it's original namesake comic, and is one of the best animated shows I've seen in years. So with it's disappointing cancellation I'm finally getting around to the highly regarded tie in comic.

Training Day contains three main stories featuring Artemis (2 issues), the team investigating an unsolved murder case from Captain Atom (2 issues), and a multi-tiered story featuring some classic Batman villains (3 issues). They are all well paced, engaging and have the expected decent amount of action. The art matches the feel of the show well and is perfect for these tales.

Each story is self-sufficient in general and could be read without knowledge of the animated series. I wouldn't recommend it though, as you'd definitely be missing a lot of context. This is because this comic was written to be a direct companion to the show. Instead of unrelated adventures in the same universe Young Justice directly overlaps it's inspiration. It fills in background on things only briefly touched on in the show, follows team members absent from certain shows were doing at the time, etc. To heighten the cohesiveness, establish timelines and make things easy to follow dialog and short scenes straight from the show are used. I'd recommend watching through episode 8 before reading this trade.

One other way in which it perfectly compliments the animated show is in a slightly different approach. The comic (as benefits the format) focuses somewhat more on character development than on the labyrinthine plots of the show. It fleshes things out nicely and allows both the comic and show to shine in their own ways.

Overall a great supplement for fans of the titular animation, and I'll definitely be reading more. I give it slightly less of a recommendation to those unfamiliar with it, but Training Day would still probably be an enjoyable read.

[The Fizza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars ★★★

Another solid volume - compendium to the television series.

As with the last volume this book directly fits into the series unlike other media tie-in comics, connecting moments and solving mysteries like Artemis' save of Kid Flash in Schooled, prior to her joining the team.

Greg Weisman and Kevin Hopps keep up the level of storytelling in this next volume of the series tie-in with help of artist Luciano Vecchio, Dan Davis and Christopher Jones who do their best to capture the style of animation seen on television.

On whole this book still works for what it is and as with the previous volume this one lends both texture and substance to the series and, while you may not lose much if you just watch the series, a fan will gain much by diving between these pages... Recommended for all YJ fans!

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects Issues 7-13 of the Young Justice comic book series, introducing three storylines set between episodes of the TV series.

Issues 7 and 8 introduce Artemis before she's dropped into the team's lap. The comic's treatment of the character works. It explains a plot point from one of the episodes, establishes what's side she's on but still leaves her with enough mystery to be an interesting character. Grade: B+

Issue 9-11 is actually a surprising story as it's a bit of a thriller, and a bit of a mystery tale as Captain Atom charges the team with investigating a Vietnam-era case. It's an engrossing tale with lots of suspects and a few twists worked in. Also Artemis does some set up work for another episode of Young Justice. Grade: A

Issues 12 and 13 is an odd story involving Talia having a relationship with Matt Hagen due to Batman's qualms about her being related to Ra's Al-ghul. Hagen is an odd choice and this hampers the story which does end with a key decision for Aqualad. Grade: B

Overall, this is a good book and a must if you're a fan of the television series.