I heart Young Justice

I was sure that I had posted about the new Young Justice series, which I've been asked to weigh in on, but apparently not.

In short (as Comic Guys would put it):

Best. Animated Series. Ever.

And, yes, I'm including BTAS and JLU in that estimation. Flame away.

1. I like the art.

Now, I'm more of a story-guy than an art-guy, but the cartoony-ness of BTAS and JLU always bothered me a lot. Honesty, even "Batman Brave & the Bold" is more realistic than BTAS (and if you don't believe that, compare their drawings of the Joker).

2. I like the balance of tone.

Young Justice is not as wacky as Teen Titans was, nor does it get as dark and somber. That's part of what I like about it. Teen Titans was too schizo and the changes in tone far to extreme for my Western tastes. Young Justice has its amusing moments... and they manage to convey that without relying on a momentary change of art-style, as TT did with its anime style.

3. The YJers are placed in context.

Teen Titans were entirely divorced from the 'ahem' real world of adult superheroes. In the entire series I believe there was only one oblique reference to Robin having a mentor in Batman. Young Justice makes it clear that the JLA supports the group as whole, and has a purpose (secret weapons) and a plan (training) for them. Supporting roles for heroes who don't have proteges (such as Black Canary and Red Tornado) have made it clear that the whole 'village' of superheroes takes an interest in raising the next generation.

4. The YJers interact one-on-one with their mentors.

The YJers aren't just 'the junior Justice League'. They are each also the proteges of individual heroes with whom you see them closely relate, and each in their own unique way: M'gann adoring her Uncle J'onn, Superman's severe discomfort with Superboy's origins, Wally's extended "Flash Family", Kaldur's fond but formal allegiance to his king, Robin's jealousy over Batman's attention to the other kids, and Artemis's obvious strain in the pretense of Green Arrow as her uncle. [By the way, since her full name has just been revealed as Artemis Crock, it's pretty clear why that pretense is being made. ]

5. The adults are portrayed realistically and individualistically.

Superman's not perfect, and he's understandably creeped out by Superboy. Batman is certainly no-nonsense, but he's the one with the most parenting skills and its very obvious that he knows what the kids need, even if that's just a little time playing basketball. Red Tornado respects the team enough to let them work out their own problems without micromanaging. Aquaman's not preachy but shows Aqualad by example how to balance responsibilities.

6. It shows enormous respect and understanding for DCU history and employs it in innovative ways.

There are the obvious things like having Red Tornado as their POC and the Justice Cave as their HQ. Other nice touches include good old-fashioned regular human JLA foes like Prof Ivo and T.O. Morrow kicking their butts. But the recent Atlantis-based episode is a good example of weaving traditions into a new continuity, with Garth having declined the role of Aqualad, Tula injured by invaders, a cameo of Tad William's version of Topo, and the mysterious echinoderm that is oh-so-surely going to wind up at the surface world's Star Labs, where it will earn a new name as an old villain before it troubles the JLA.