User blog:Rassilon of Old/Greg Weisman interview with World's Finest

Recently, Young Justice creator Greg Weisman sat down with The World's Finest to talk about what's "coming down the pipeline for the junior heroes of Young Justice."

Please note, the interview was conducted before the Young Justice episode "Targets" officially aired on Cartoon Network on September 16th, 2011.

 '''The World's Finest: How will the second half of this season (well, the remaining 17 episodes) build off the first nine? What type of escalation can we expect?'''

Greg Weisman: 'Escalation' is in fact the byword for what's coming. The threads that we began spinning in episodes 1-10 will weave into a tapestry of secrets and lies... and ultimately revelations, as the series progresses. We're still opening things up in the next few episodes, certainly through 13. But starting with episode 14 things ramp up... and the ramp up continues and builds momentum right through episode 26.

'''WF: How will the team deal with being thrust into conflicts that seem to be growing far bigger than even the Justice League could handle? Will some break under the pressure, for example? '''

GW: Well, as always, I'm not too keen on giving out spoilers, but the League will respond to the Team's successes by putting more and more pressure and responsibility on these six teens. And it won't be easy on any of them. Any of them.

'''WF: The first ten episodes, ‘Targest’ included, allowed specific characters to be focused on, but also hinted at personal problems which could jeopardize the team. How much will the private lives of these characters come to affect the team and their ability to get their missions done? '''

GW: Throughout, really. Some (but not all) episodes - right through episode 24 - will still focus on individual characters, but always as part of the larger tapestry.

'WF: What has it been like creating a whole new world for Young Justice''? DC is known for having confusing character history and continuity. Has it been difficult to streamline it and mold something accessible for Young Justice How much of this world have we seen so far? Is your work on this show comparable to what you’ve done on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles, or perhaps completely different? '''

GW: In a way, what Brandon Vietti, Phil Bourassa and I are doing on Young Justice is a very similar experience to the kind of thing that Vic Cook, Sean Galloway and I did on The Spectacular Spider-Man. We're taking a complex world and trying to find an interpretation that's coherent, cohesive, classic and iconic. Young Justice is a BIT tougher, because on The Spectacular Spider-Man we were limited to only the Spidey corner of the Marvel Universe (which was complicated enough, of course). On Young Justice, the good news and the intimidating news, is that we have the entire 75 years worth of DC Universe continuity to play with.

Gargoyles, on the other hand, was a whole different animal. On that show, we built things from scratch. On one level, the job is easier... in that we didn't have to deal nearly as much with fan preconceptions of characters that we introduce for the first time. On the other hand, we didn't have the advantage of a character bringing the heft of previous knowledge. For example, Lex Luthor's first appearance in the Teaser to episode 10 makes a great end to that cold opening. But if you didn't recognize the name "Lex Luthor" because the character had never appeared before, the audience would be shrugging and thinking: "So the negotiator is some bald guy. Big deal."

'WF: Cartoon Network has already made it well known that the second season of Young Justice'' will focus on an alien invasion. Should viewers be on the lookout for hints (in current episodes) about what that story could entail? '''

GW: There are a few hints of what's coming. But they'll be much clearer in hindsight, then while watching now.

'''WF: As a semi-follow-up to the previous question, are there any characters that viewers may want to keep a closer eye on...? '''

GW: Well, sure. All 219 characters. ;)

'WF: As we slowly wrap this up, can you pass along a production update for Young Justice'' (ie: which episodes are complete, what’s being worked on...just the general status of the series)? '''

GW: Sure:

SEASON ONE: Episodes 101-110 have all aired. Episodes 111-121 are all in the can. Episodes 122, 123 and 125 are in post-production. Episodes 124 and 126 are finishing up in animation in Korea.

SEASON TWO: Episodes 201-203 have shipped to Korea for animation. Episodes 204-208 are in storyboard. Episodes 209-210 are in script. Episodes 211-220 are all in outline.

COMIC BOOK: Issues 0-8 and the Free Comic Book Day story have all hit the stands, I believe. Issue 9 is being colored. Issue 10 is being penciled. Issue 11's script is done. Issue's 12 is being scripted. Issue's 13-15 have been plotted. Source