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Young Justice #9 — Brian Michael Bendis, Writer; Andre Lima Araujo, John Timms, Artists; Gabe Eltaeb, Colorist
Ratings: Ray — 8.5/10
Ray: Young Justice is consistently the most entertaining of Bendis’ ongoing DC titles, but it still has the most common weak spot of his writing — pacing, and that’s evident in Young Justice #9. Last issue saw the heroes of Young Justice stranded on a hostile alien world filled with evil doppelgangers, and introduced a duplicate of Tim’s girlfriend Stephanie — and a new and very odd choice for codename for him.
So naturally, for Young Justice #9, only about six pages are dedicated to the battle for Earth-3, with the rest being a flashback segment to the origin of Teen Lantern. This preteen wielding a facsimile of the universe’s most powerful weapon has been a mystery since she first appeared in this title, so it’s good to finally have her origins revealed — and the choice of Portuguese artist Andre Lima Araujo to bring her crowded home of Bolivia to life is perfect. Araujo has only recently broken out into the mainstream, but his detailed work reminds me a lot of iconic comic book artists like the late Moebius.
