Greg responds...

1. Yes, more or less. (For example, I'm not sure Red Arrow was the FIRST thing we came up with, as your example implies, but it was pretty early on.)

2. In tandom. Though we have a pretty clear idea of who all the leads are when we start.

3. Okay, first, not post-its. INDEX CARDS. Second, that board came down to make room for the Season Two board some time ago. And when I moved offices, even the Season Two board came down. That stuff's all boxed at the moment. But I do have issues #20-25 up on the board now. And since issue #20 has seen print, I'm willing to spoil THAT one here. Now the comic is slightly different. Particularly within this truly jammed-packed six-parter, my index cards literally broke things down page-by-page, and everything is color-coded to make it easier for me to refer to where a particular sub-plot left off:

I'll transcribe it all here, exactly how it's written on the index cards:

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

YOUNG JUSTICE: INVASION #20
"Players, Chapter One: Wheelbarrow, Shoe, Thimble"

PAGE ONE - WHITE - Y0 - Cave - DG's Bday. Z kiss on cheek. KF told Z.
PAGE TWO - YELLOW - Y5 - Blud - DG's Bday. WW, AC call. BK exits bedroom.
PAGE THREE - YELLOW - BK & Gotham Academy Yearbook.
PAGE FOUR - YELLOW - Cave - Splash, Logo, Subtitle. Nw, Sb, MM, Bb, LB, Rob, BBoy, Bg, WG, MD, W. Comp announces Z & Roc.
PAGE FIVE - YELLOW - Leaguers Z, Roc enter "slumming". Nw's ex Z Bday kisses Nw on mouth.
PAGE SIX - YELLOW - Ex Roc kisses Nw on cheek. Rob to join Bm. Roc pix of AE. Nw talks to SB, MM.
PAGE SEVEN - YELLOW - Sb, MM can work together. Nw starts briefing.
BLUE - Metro - Beta - Meg links Con, KB, BG in crowd. Camo'd B-S...
PAGE EIGHT - BLUE - Bored LB at helm. BBoy as warbler is on edge. NH fundraising. QB a threat.
PAGE NINE - WHITE - Y0 - Logan Sanct - GL, Monk watch TV re: RH's impeach. ML tells GL: Meg, Con here.
YELLOW - Y5 - El Paso - Alpha - Nw, WG, S-C.
PAGE TEN - YELLOW - New recruit WG glad to be w/Alpha, recruiting next recruit. Reveal Blue.
PAGE ELEVEN - BLUE - Metro - Beta - Meg alert, longing Con.
WHITE - Y0 - Logan Sanct - Meg, GL, Monk hang; Con w/Sumac.
PAGE TWELVE - WHITE - Meg kisses Con. Reveal Clark, JO interview ML.
PAGE THIRTEEN - WHITE - Intros. ML calls Meg her daughter. Clark & Con meet.
PAGE FOURTEEN - WHITE - JO intro. Clark requested Logan gig. Clark, JO cover impeach. Clark offers ride to get to know kids.
PAGE FIFTEEN - WHITE - Meg turns down ride. Clark may see them in Dhabar.
BLUE - Y5 - Metro - Beta - Clark greets Con.
PAGE SIXTEEN - YELLOW - El Paso - Alpha - DG, CS wait for and discuss Blue/JR.
PAGE SEVENTEEN - YELLOW - Blue into JR. CS greets JR. CS, DG confront JR.
PAGE EIGHTEEN - YELLOW - JR tw/CS, DG.
BLUE - Metro - Beta - JO, Meg, Con look no different. Clark linked, spots Dev. Clark to suit up.
PAGE NINETEEN - BLUE - Dev vanishes. Sm vanishes. Con vanishes. Meg reacts.
PAGE TWENTY - GREEN - Br Ship - Orb-One sends First Leader Ks' go ahead to Br. Reveal Br. Logo, Title, Credits.

4. There's no such thing as filler episodes on any series I've ever done. There ARE change of pace stories, but even they wind up playing into the larger tapestry. For example, one could easily view "Targets" as a change of pace, focusing as it does on Red Arrow, Sportsmaster and Cheshire with just a little Aqualad thrown in at the end, but obviously, it wound up being crucial to the season as a whole. Neither "Secrets" nor "Performance" were filler in our minds. Both advanced the overall story, the arcs of multiple characters, the dynamics between those characters AND held clues to what was still to come. They clearly drove the season forward. Having said all that, I do think it helps to have 'breathers' in there, where some plotlines and/or characters are rested, to allow time for growth, to build suspence, to let off-screen events take place, etc., etc.

Greg responds...

1. I'm not UNhappy with how it turned out.

2. I believe so. That is, we knew we were going to use Lagoon Boy. We didn't make a final decision on Yuri until just before we began auditions for our Season Two cast. That's not meant as a reflection on Yuri AT ALL. We simply didn't discuss who would be playing what until then, at which point Jamie Thomason and Brandon Vietti and I sat down to figure out which characters we'd need to hold auditions for, and which we were already good with, which of course included Yuri.

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"But for example, the six Leaguers chosen to be missing for 16 hours was definitely influenced by the cast of the original Justice League series."

[Response recorded on September 12, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"NO COMMENT on Dick's backstory for now."

[Response recorded on October 20, 2011.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"I don't know enough about guns to tell you."

[Response recorded on February 6, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"We never did a long version for Season Two."

[Response recorded on September 4, 2012.]

"I have no control over what appears on the DVDs. None."

[Response recorded on July 24, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"Cyborg."

[Response recorded on September 20, 2011.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"I have no control over what appears on the DVDs. None."

[Response recorded on July 24, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

TIM DRAKE: "Just happy it worked."

[From "Young Justice" episode 201, "Happy New Year." Originally aired April 28, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"To begin with, I think you need to go back to Artemis' introduction in 'Infiltrator'. She saw a cute boy enter and that made her insecure, so she cracked a joke. He reacted VERY badly to being embarrassed, and that put them at odds, but I think that both were attracted to each other from moment one. We tried to show that without telling it - or at least without being on the head about telling it.

Then they challenged each other. Not just her challenging him, but him challenging her. And I think she came to admire his intellect - even when it was misdirected, as in 'Denial'. There has to be a reason that she kept at him. If he was of no interest to her, why would she bother? Then you have Kent Nelson. Both Wally and Artemis HEARD what Kent had to say, and it wasn't lost on them. But they didn't want to cop to it, because both felt the other didn't like him or her. So that insecurity pushed them both further into denial.

Then you have 'Bereft'. Here, as I've discussed before, they meet again for the first time without the negative first impression. They genuinely like each other, trust each other and are attracted to each other. When their memories return, so do their insecurities - neither will risk being the first to admit they like the other. But it's not like they forgot that (positive) time spent together. And it's not like their deaf to Robin's 'Get a room' line either.

And so on. Artemis saved the day in 'Homefront'. But she couldn't have done it if Wally hadn't provided the science. (And given her interest in science, revealed in "Denial", I think that would mean something to her.)

Plus, let's not forget the double-whammy of 'Failsafe' and 'Disordered'. Here we reveal just how intensely Wally feels for Artemis, and just how much interest each has in the other. The trick is neither is prepared to take a risk. Rejection from Superboy (such as it was) is nothing compared to the fear Artemis has over being rejected by Wally.

Wally meanwhile is afraid to admit his strong feelings for Artemis, so maintains focus on the safer Miss Martian. Artemis does the same toward Superboy. Both then have to be disabused of the notion that their crushes are viable. I tend to think that deep down, the revelation about Conner and M'gann's relationship was less of a shock to each then it seemed. They didn't want to admit to themselves what they were probably sensing deep down. One reason for Artemis' extreme reaction to the knowledge, I think, is that she was trying SO hard to think that Superboy was a possibility BECAUSE Wally clearly seemed NOT to be, and so she wanted to have something she could use to push Wally out of her mind.

So in 'Coldhearted', Wally learns some big lessons. Miss Martian is out of the picture - and that helps clear his mind. But mostly, he matures solidly in the episode. Now he's ready to behave differently. And in 'Insecurity', he's willing to take a risk. And Artemis rewards that risk taken, by meeting him part way. But she has other bigger insecurities in the way, and they REALLY get in the way, so that by the time we get to the beginning of 'Usual Suspects' - they're still at odds. But one of the reason they are SO at odds, is because for them, the stakes seem very high.

So when the truth finally comes out, it's a HUGE relief. She sees that he accepts her. He doesn't even have to say it. She can see that he does. And he sees that the reason she's been a pain have little to do with him. The deck is cleared.

Then they partner up in 'Auld Acquaintance', and they're a good team. All of which leads really easily into the kiss on New Year's Eve. (Another excuse to do something that they otherwise might have been scared about.)

From there, it's fairly clear sailing. I'm not saying there weren't any ups and downs during the five year gap, because there were. But they both know they have a good thing now. And they stick with it.

The irony is that a lot of fans seemed to think this was about opposites attracting. But we never saw it that way. In fact, we saw it as quite the reverse. Artemis and Kid Flash had so MUCH in common, it was nearly impossible for them to get together. But once they did, it felt very right."

[Response recorded on August 29, 2012.]