Young Justice justice?

So the current book up for review is Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #6, which features a two-part story guest-starring Young Justice. While reading through the issue and working on my review, it was hard not to see just how much the characters from Young Justice have been changed over the last ten years.

And I'm not just talking about their appearance, although their costumes did have had some drastic changes.

For the most part, it's hard to find fault about their aesthetic changes. Poor Superboy, such a slave to the fashion of the time. Do you think that if he had been created during the 80's he'd have been wearing a Thriller jacket and parachute pants instead?

No, the big change has been on an emotional level with what DC has actually put these characters through in the last ten years. And remember, these are supposed to be kids. Granted their young teens, but they are still kids.

Which leads me to my theory about why DC refuses to collect the Young Justice series in trade paperback.

If they did, they'd have such wildly different versions of the characters on the shelf next to each other that they'd have to tacitly acknowledge exactly what they put those nice young kids through.