Anonymous writes...

Why does it seem that Aqualad is the only Atlantean with gills?

Becky writes...

Will we be seeing any more of that hit tv show series "Hello Meg-" in YJ?

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

{Apologies if this is a double post}
Downtime: reactions/questions:
I enjoyed the recent episode. I can't say it was one of my favorites so far, but by definintion not every ep can be...

Main story-
1-I applaud the use of an Atlantian language, but Kal and Aquaman's speach seemed oddly stiff, almost robotic. Was this intentional to show the formalities of royalty?
2-The switch to English was nearly seemless. I didn't even notice it at first and then almost thought it was that Atlantian was used for formal situations like talking to royalty and spells. I jumped back and caught the flash in the pot switch over. (Added little meta moment of her asking if it worked and how would she know.)
3-I also liked the reverse of expectation that it seems the king's brother is loyal.
4-I did feel That Black Manta reporting to The Light was anticlimactic. All his taunting to Kal about it being lesser to serve seems hypocritical, and it wastes having a voice with the acting chops to pull a "If I can't have it no one can!" scream without sounding like a petulant child. Ironically I could have happily accepted all this as a great reversal of expectation, but after The Light being in just about every episode as the big bad behind the curtain I've got a little fatigue on them. I need to see the cast dealing with unrelated crimes too.

The rest of the story-
5-the animation continues to impress, I'd almost say it is a clear gemlike quality to it. Very expressive, very detailed (for animation) and still very clean. The interaction between Conner and Megan especially showcase it. {And also brings up a few questions; Did they kiss? How much does Red Toranado get? (I'd wager more than they'd guess if his wife and daughter come over from the print version) Why does Conner watch static? etc.}
6-Bruce continues to seem very intuned to people, including the ones closest to him. It takes me a while to get used to that, but I'm liking it. When it came to the basketball game, complete with smile, a thought had occured to me- is this an intentional reference to early Batman? I have not read the early Teen Titan stories, but I know the increasingly strained relationship beteen Dick and Bruce was an issue. But I also (again largely without reading) know that in the days before dark 'realism' took hold in comics they had a much easier relationship. Given how young Dick is in this series, it this an intentional connection to that stage of the relationship in the orignal form? And if so, (probably heading into No Comment territory), is the breakdown of that relationship the future in store?
7-Flash family was a hoot. I love seeing functional families getting equal playtime in fiction, and it reinforces they sense that we are in a fully functioning universe with history.
8-Artimas and her mom was intriging as well- Everytime you see a parent aware of that sort of extra-caricular activity you get curious, but the love is clear. Add to that that we know she has a past with the League of Assasins - seeing her actually having a home with a parent and a school life caught me by surprise.

Looking fwd to the next installment!

Matthew writes...

I just watched Downtime. I take it that the scene with subtitles was to show that the Atlanteans do not speak English and the English dialoge was "translated."

1) How did you create the Atlantean dialoge?

2) When Aqualad and Garth stole the uniforms of Black Manta's men, what did they do with the men themselves? Did they take them someplace with air or did they just let them drown?

Pumpkin Bomb writes...

Hi Greg,

Loved "Downtime." One thing I've noticed about other episodes is how dark they are visually, as in some cases it's pretty hard for me to make out some of the actions of characters in whatever warehouse or jungle they're fighting in. But there were lots of great undersea colors that made this episode gorgeous to look at.

Had a quick question about the Atlantian language used in the episode--we get that segment of Aquaman greeting Kaldur in it, but then it's pretty much all English after, albeit in that very formal tone. I know the practical side is that doing an entire episode in a made up language with subtitles would be just plain weird, but to your mind were all characters speaking Atlantian to each other during the underwater sequences? Or is English somehow a fallback language, that friends use with each other after formal greetings?

Javier writes...

Hi Greg, im greatly enjoying Young Justice. The character design departament surprise me every episode, Black Manta never looked more menacing and bad ass. Atlantis looked beautiful and the magic spells looked great, but im really dissapointed becouse compared to other characters like Mera and Aqualad, the king Aquaman seems to be a little weak if he only has his classic powers. Is Aquaman capable of using magic like the other Atlanteans ? thanks a lot for a such a great series, keep it up

Matheus A. Maskalenka writes...

Hey there Greg.

Just watched the episode "Downtime" and I think that episode just redeemed an awful lpt of Aquaman's famous (Albeit unfair) uselesness.

What I have to ask is, is the team's name Young Justice, in the show? I looked into quite a lot of responses and didn't see a question like this so I thought I'd ask.

Mike H writes...

Hi Greg,
In the episode "Downtime", I noticed the initial couple shots of Gotham were very similar to some shots in Brandon's movie "Under the Red Hood". I was wondering if art was reused to lower costs or whether the art was developed separately but shared some common inspiration.

Kenny writes...

What are some of the things you can do in yj with a pg rating rather than one that is rated y7-fv?

Richard Jackson writes...

Mera said she was "with child" in Downtime. Was that just writing a character who speaks in a refined way or is there an S&P ban on using the word "pregnant" for cartoons? I remember that Owen used the word "expecting" to refer to Fox's pregnancy.