Youngblood (comics)
Encyclopedia
Youngblood is a superhero
team that starred in their self-titled comic book
, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld
. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series
in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics
. Youngblood was originally published by Image Comics, and later by Awesome Entertainment.
Youngblood was a high-profile superteam sanctioned and overseen by the United States government. The members of Youngblood include Shaft
, a former FBI agent and archer
whose bow uses magnets to propel its arrow instead of a string; Badrock
, a teenager transformed into a living block of stone; Vogue, a Russian fashion model with purple-and-chalk-white skin; and Chapel
, a government assassin.
, possibly titled "Teen Titans", to be co-written with Marv Wolfman
. Liefeld and managing editor Dick Giordano
"couldn't make the numbers work," however, and Liefeld merged his Titans ideas into a new creator-owned
project, Youngblood, to be published by the newly-founded Image Comics. According to Liefeld, "Shaft was intended to be Speedy. Vogue was a new Harlequin
design, Combat was a Kh'undian warrior circa the Legion of Super-Heroes
, ditto for Photon and Die Hard was a Star Labs
android. I forgot who Chapel was supposed to be."
Another inspirational source for Youngblood, Liefeld claims, is the theory that if superheroes really did exist, they would be treated much the same way as movie stars and athletes. Throughout the series, there are numerous references to endorsement deals, TV show appearances, agents, managers, and the perceived pressures of celebrity life.
over his X-Force
royalties, Rob Liefeld joined with other Marvel artists to form Image Comics
, and the first comic Image produced was Youngblood #1. At the time of its release, Youngblood #1 was the highest selling independent comic book ever. However, Youngblood #1 also received very poor reviews from critics, which led to Liefeld firing his co-writer from the book. Throughout its run at Image, Youngblood was attacked by critics for what was perceived as poor writing and inconsistent art, but mostly for its lateness. In the mid-1990s, Liefeld had a falling out with his Image partners, forcing him to leave the company and take Youngblood with him.
to relaunch and revamp Youngblood. Moore's run on the title began with a miniseries entitled Judgment Day
, which revolved around the mysterious murder of Youngblood member Riptide
and the subsequent "super-trial" of fellow member Knightsabre. The trial was held in Supreme
's citadel and conducted entirely by superhumans from all corners of the extended Liefeld comic universe. Soon, the heroes learned of the all-powerful "Book of All Stories" which dictated the order of the universe, past, present, and future, all of which could be altered by simply writing within its pages. Knightsabre's defense attorney, former super-sidekick Toby King ("Skipper") discovered that Youngblood field leader Marcus Langston ("Sentinel"), had murdered Riptide himself, framing Knightsabre — all by using the Book of All Stories. Toby revealed that years ago, Sentinel's father had stolen the book from Riptide's father, "Storybook Smith", and, thinking it worthless, had left it for his son. In its pages, the adolescent Marcus Langston found a grim and brutal future for himself, and decided to change it by rewriting the future with the book. Langston created a world full of superheroes in which he was "Sentinel", a brilliant scientist and natural leader. But the young Langston's immature fantasies grew darker, and the future he painted grimmer, full of blood and turmoil. At a Youngblood team cookout, Riptide discovered the Book of All Stories from her parents' tall tales sitting on Sentinel's bookshelf, and took it back for herself. Sentinel responded by killing her, and framing Knightsabre for the crime. Once exposed, Sentinel attempted to fight his way out of the citadel and regain the book, but was taken down by the assembled heroes and imprisoned by Supreme. Youngblood, however, had been disbanded by the government, and the team members went their separate ways.
With Judgment Day concluded, Alan Moore's relaunch began. Moore created a new teenage Youngblood group that was independently financed by the millionaire Waxey Doyle, formerly the WWII superhero Waxman introduced in Moore's run on Supreme. The team was formed by Shaft. The new members included Big Brother. His real name is Leonard Doyle, Waxey's adopted black son who piloted a series of versatile, heavily armed robots of varying sizes; the largest was as tall as a skyscraper and able to act as the team's transport. There is a Doc Rocket, Rachel Richards, a speedster and a medical doctor. She is the granddaughter of Rex Richards, a golden age superhero of the same name who was once Waxy's teammate in the Allied Supermen of America. Twilight, Linda Kendall, is Professor Night
's niece and sidekick. Suprema, Sally Crane is Supreme
's adopted sister. The final member is Johnny Panic AKA John Paneczik. In Moore's words, he is "the first postmodern superhero"; his powers come from a suit that can create holograms and his chosen weapon is a "buzzgun" that fires designer drug ampules. The team's headquarters at this time was Waxey's mansion, the House of Wax, itself something of a museum of Golden Age superheroics.
Most of the villains featured in this series were Moore's creations. There is Stormhead, a mutant whose mood influences the weather around him. Most members of Badblood were Moore's characters as well, it was a team created by former Team Youngblood leader Sentinel that intentionally paralleled Shaft's new team in terms of powers and personal connections. Also there was Jack-A-Dandy
, Professor Night's archenemy, a Victorian gentleman-themed schemer.
However, despite Moore's plans for at least 12 issues of his new Youngblood, only two issues were ever printed and the third issue was published in another book called Awesome Adventures. The team also appeared in a short story in the Awesome Christmas Special where Shaft's journal provides the narration as the new team comes together. Moore's rough outline for the series was published in Alan Moore's Awesome Handbook, and included a budding relationship between Big Brother and Suprema, a giant planet-devouring entity called "The Goat", Shaft's fruitless crush on Twilight and the revelation that Johnny Panic was the biological son of Supreme villain Darius Dax.
In the Handbook, Moore also reveals he intentionally chose the team members for their connections to various points and significant characters in the Awesome Universe's superhero history, particularly that which he had created in Supreme, noting this as the case in the 1980s launch of The New Teen Titans. The Titans series' redefinition of the team beyond its "sidekicks club"/"Justice League Junior" perception seems to be noted in the Awesome Holiday Special story, where Shaft rejects Suprema's attempt to replace his chosen lineup with junior assistants of Supreme's Allies teammates.
, who wrote detailed plots for three issues and ideas for a fourth, for Youngblood: Year One. This was never produced; however, in 2000, Liefeld began soliciting orders for Youngblood: Genesis, using Kurt Busiek's unused "Year One" plots. Busiek asked Liefeld to be only credited with plots on this new series. He was only listed as plotter on the comic book itself when it came out years later, but when Liefeld solicited the comic through Diamond Previews as written by Kurt Busiek, Busiek accused Liefeld of not honoring their agreement, and eventually asked that his fans not buy the series. It officially ended after two issues, as the third and fourth issues would have used Image Comics characters that Liefeld did not have the copyrights to. According to Liefeld, "I have the original issues #3 and #4 that Kurt wrote, they can't be produced as is simply from the standpoint that they heavily feature prominent supporting cast members from Spawn
and Wildcats
, as well as Lynch from Gen¹³
and Team 7."
writing new issues of Youngblood: Bloodsport and Youngblood: Genesis written by Brandon Thomas. However, only one issue of the former was published but in June 2008 it was announced, by Liefeld, that issue #2 would appear in September.
In 2004, Robert Kirkman
began writing a new series, Youngblood: Imperial, with artist Marat Michaels but left after one issue due to his busy schedule. Fabian Nicieza
was slated to take over, but so far issues #2-3 have yet to appear, despite solicitations.
In 2005, Liefeld announced that Joe Casey
would be re-assembling and re-scripting the original Youngblood miniseries into a more coherent and sophisticated story, to be titled Maximum Youngblood. On July 12, 2007, it was announced that Liefeld would return to Image Comics
to publish a collected "definitive version" of Maximum Youngblood with a new ending written by Joe Casey
and illustrated by Liefeld himself. This was followed in January 2008 by a new ongoing series
written by Casey and illustrated by Derec Donovan, with covers by Liefeld.Liefeld was slated to begin writing and art duties on Youngblood beginning in May 2009. No new issues have come out since then.
, it is ranked #19 on Comic Book Resources
's 2008 list of the 20 Most Significant Comics. According to CBR's Steven Grant, this status is derived not so much from the comics' content, but for triggering both the 1990s speculator boom and crash that followed, and the trend towards the creation of superhero universes among various publishers. The series, and the formation of Image itself, is also credited for discouraging publishers' emphasis on their creative talent in their marketing decisions.
:
series. A clip was created but the series was never produced. The clip aired in commercials for Youngblood action figures.
In February 2009, according to Variety
, Reliance Big Entertainment
has acquired the feature film rights to the comic book, reportedly for a mid-six figures, and has attached Brett Ratner
to direct. "Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and 'Youngblood' is one of the few comic books left with tentpole potential," Ratner was quoted telling the trade. "It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted ('Youngblood'), but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they're able to move." The film will be fast-tracked, although no decision has been made on whether it will eventually land at Paramount
, where Ratner has a first look deal. No cast or release date has yet been announced. The film is currently being written by J.P. Lavin and Chad Damiani.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team that starred in their self-titled comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. Youngblood was originally published by Image Comics, and later by Awesome Entertainment.
Youngblood was a high-profile superteam sanctioned and overseen by the United States government. The members of Youngblood include Shaft
Shaft (Youngblood)
Shaft is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Rob Liefeld.In the early Nineties, Liefeld created the character for his Extreme Studios as leader of superhero team “Youngblood”.-Character biography:...
, a former FBI agent and archer
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
whose bow uses magnets to propel its arrow instead of a string; Badrock
Badrock
Badrock is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in books published by Image Comics. Created by Rob Liefeld, he first appeared in Youngblood #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
, a teenager transformed into a living block of stone; Vogue, a Russian fashion model with purple-and-chalk-white skin; and Chapel
Chapel (comics)
Chapel is a fictional comic book character in the Image Comics universe. He started out as a supervillain but later became a superhero...
, a government assassin.
Origins of the series
In interviews, Liefeld has explained that Youngblood was partially based on a 1991 plan of his for a new Teen Titans series for DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, possibly titled "Teen Titans", to be co-written with Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
. Liefeld and managing editor Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
"couldn't make the numbers work," however, and Liefeld merged his Titans ideas into a new creator-owned
Creator ownership
Creator ownership is an arrangement in which the creator or creators of a work of fiction retain full ownership of the material, regardless of whether it is self-published or by a corporate publisher. In some fields of publishing, such as fiction writing, creator ownership is a standard arrangement...
project, Youngblood, to be published by the newly-founded Image Comics. According to Liefeld, "Shaft was intended to be Speedy. Vogue was a new Harlequin
Harlequin (comics)
Harlequin is the name of four clown-themed DC Comics characters.The original Harlequin was a foe of the Golden Age Green Lantern, and later became his wife. The second Harlequin originally debuted as the Joker's Daughter, and was a member of the Teen Titans. The third Harlequin was a member of...
design, Combat was a Kh'undian warrior circa the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, ditto for Photon and Die Hard was a Star Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 , and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.-Publication history:...
android. I forgot who Chapel was supposed to be."
Another inspirational source for Youngblood, Liefeld claims, is the theory that if superheroes really did exist, they would be treated much the same way as movie stars and athletes. Throughout the series, there are numerous references to endorsement deals, TV show appearances, agents, managers, and the perceived pressures of celebrity life.
Image Comics debut
With his opportunity with DC to do Teen Titans looking bleak, and a growing strained relationship with Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
over his X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
royalties, Rob Liefeld joined with other Marvel artists to form Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, and the first comic Image produced was Youngblood #1. At the time of its release, Youngblood #1 was the highest selling independent comic book ever. However, Youngblood #1 also received very poor reviews from critics, which led to Liefeld firing his co-writer from the book. Throughout its run at Image, Youngblood was attacked by critics for what was perceived as poor writing and inconsistent art, but mostly for its lateness. In the mid-1990s, Liefeld had a falling out with his Image partners, forcing him to leave the company and take Youngblood with him.
Alan Moore age
In 1998, Liefeld hired Alan MooreAlan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
to relaunch and revamp Youngblood. Moore's run on the title began with a miniseries entitled Judgment Day
Judgment Day (Awesome Comics)
Judgment Day was a limited series published by Awesome Comics from June to October 1997 written by acclaimed comic book writer Alan Moore. This story delved into the Awesome Comics universe of characters created by Rob Liefeld, including Supreme, Youngblood and Glory.-Publication history:The...
, which revolved around the mysterious murder of Youngblood member Riptide
Riptide (Youngblood)
Riptide is a fictional comic book superhero from Image Comics. Created by Rob Liefeld, she first appeared in Youngblood #1 April 1992.-Fictional character biography:...
and the subsequent "super-trial" of fellow member Knightsabre. The trial was held in Supreme
Supreme (comics)
Supreme is a fictional superhero created by Rob Liefeld and first published by Image Comics, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment...
's citadel and conducted entirely by superhumans from all corners of the extended Liefeld comic universe. Soon, the heroes learned of the all-powerful "Book of All Stories" which dictated the order of the universe, past, present, and future, all of which could be altered by simply writing within its pages. Knightsabre's defense attorney, former super-sidekick Toby King ("Skipper") discovered that Youngblood field leader Marcus Langston ("Sentinel"), had murdered Riptide himself, framing Knightsabre — all by using the Book of All Stories. Toby revealed that years ago, Sentinel's father had stolen the book from Riptide's father, "Storybook Smith", and, thinking it worthless, had left it for his son. In its pages, the adolescent Marcus Langston found a grim and brutal future for himself, and decided to change it by rewriting the future with the book. Langston created a world full of superheroes in which he was "Sentinel", a brilliant scientist and natural leader. But the young Langston's immature fantasies grew darker, and the future he painted grimmer, full of blood and turmoil. At a Youngblood team cookout, Riptide discovered the Book of All Stories from her parents' tall tales sitting on Sentinel's bookshelf, and took it back for herself. Sentinel responded by killing her, and framing Knightsabre for the crime. Once exposed, Sentinel attempted to fight his way out of the citadel and regain the book, but was taken down by the assembled heroes and imprisoned by Supreme. Youngblood, however, had been disbanded by the government, and the team members went their separate ways.
With Judgment Day concluded, Alan Moore's relaunch began. Moore created a new teenage Youngblood group that was independently financed by the millionaire Waxey Doyle, formerly the WWII superhero Waxman introduced in Moore's run on Supreme. The team was formed by Shaft. The new members included Big Brother. His real name is Leonard Doyle, Waxey's adopted black son who piloted a series of versatile, heavily armed robots of varying sizes; the largest was as tall as a skyscraper and able to act as the team's transport. There is a Doc Rocket, Rachel Richards, a speedster and a medical doctor. She is the granddaughter of Rex Richards, a golden age superhero of the same name who was once Waxy's teammate in the Allied Supermen of America. Twilight, Linda Kendall, is Professor Night
Professor Night
Professor Night is a fictional character created by Alan Moore in the Supreme comic book, wherein most heroes and villains are thinly disguised counterparts of DC icons. Although his name is derivative of Doctor Mid-Nite, the character is otherwise clearly intended be a counterpart of Batman...
's niece and sidekick. Suprema, Sally Crane is Supreme
Supreme (comics)
Supreme is a fictional superhero created by Rob Liefeld and first published by Image Comics, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment...
's adopted sister. The final member is Johnny Panic AKA John Paneczik. In Moore's words, he is "the first postmodern superhero"; his powers come from a suit that can create holograms and his chosen weapon is a "buzzgun" that fires designer drug ampules. The team's headquarters at this time was Waxey's mansion, the House of Wax, itself something of a museum of Golden Age superheroics.
Most of the villains featured in this series were Moore's creations. There is Stormhead, a mutant whose mood influences the weather around him. Most members of Badblood were Moore's characters as well, it was a team created by former Team Youngblood leader Sentinel that intentionally paralleled Shaft's new team in terms of powers and personal connections. Also there was Jack-A-Dandy
Jack-A-Dandy
Jack-A-Dandy is a fictional comic book super villain created by writer Alan Moore and artist Rob Liefeld, as guided by Mort Weisinger. The character is modeled after the Joker and the Riddler to be the archenemy of comic book hero Professor Night, which is a character based on the Batman mythos.His...
, Professor Night's archenemy, a Victorian gentleman-themed schemer.
However, despite Moore's plans for at least 12 issues of his new Youngblood, only two issues were ever printed and the third issue was published in another book called Awesome Adventures. The team also appeared in a short story in the Awesome Christmas Special where Shaft's journal provides the narration as the new team comes together. Moore's rough outline for the series was published in Alan Moore's Awesome Handbook, and included a budding relationship between Big Brother and Suprema, a giant planet-devouring entity called "The Goat", Shaft's fruitless crush on Twilight and the revelation that Johnny Panic was the biological son of Supreme villain Darius Dax.
In the Handbook, Moore also reveals he intentionally chose the team members for their connections to various points and significant characters in the Awesome Universe's superhero history, particularly that which he had created in Supreme, noting this as the case in the 1980s launch of The New Teen Titans. The Titans series' redefinition of the team beyond its "sidekicks club"/"Justice League Junior" perception seems to be noted in the Awesome Holiday Special story, where Shaft rejects Suprema's attempt to replace his chosen lineup with junior assistants of Supreme's Allies teammates.
Controversy
In 1993, Liefeld solicited Youngblood stories from writer Kurt BusiekKurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
, who wrote detailed plots for three issues and ideas for a fourth, for Youngblood: Year One. This was never produced; however, in 2000, Liefeld began soliciting orders for Youngblood: Genesis, using Kurt Busiek's unused "Year One" plots. Busiek asked Liefeld to be only credited with plots on this new series. He was only listed as plotter on the comic book itself when it came out years later, but when Liefeld solicited the comic through Diamond Previews as written by Kurt Busiek, Busiek accused Liefeld of not honoring their agreement, and eventually asked that his fans not buy the series. It officially ended after two issues, as the third and fourth issues would have used Image Comics characters that Liefeld did not have the copyrights to. According to Liefeld, "I have the original issues #3 and #4 that Kurt wrote, they can't be produced as is simply from the standpoint that they heavily feature prominent supporting cast members from Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
and Wildcats
Wildcats (comics)
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
, as well as Lynch from Gen¹³
Gen¹³
Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
and Team 7."
2004 – present
A number of projects were announced in 2003 including reprinting older material and providing the art for two Youngblood series. The two new comic books involved Mark MillarMark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
writing new issues of Youngblood: Bloodsport and Youngblood: Genesis written by Brandon Thomas. However, only one issue of the former was published but in June 2008 it was announced, by Liefeld, that issue #2 would appear in September.
In 2004, Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
began writing a new series, Youngblood: Imperial, with artist Marat Michaels but left after one issue due to his busy schedule. Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza is an American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Cable and Deadpool, and Thunderbolts, for all of which he helped create numerous characters.-Early life:The son of Omar and Irma Riguetti Nicieza, Fabian...
was slated to take over, but so far issues #2-3 have yet to appear, despite solicitations.
In 2005, Liefeld announced that Joe Casey
Joe Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite, among others.-Biography:...
would be re-assembling and re-scripting the original Youngblood miniseries into a more coherent and sophisticated story, to be titled Maximum Youngblood. On July 12, 2007, it was announced that Liefeld would return to Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
to publish a collected "definitive version" of Maximum Youngblood with a new ending written by Joe Casey
Joe Casey
Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite, among others.-Biography:...
and illustrated by Liefeld himself. This was followed in January 2008 by a new ongoing series
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
written by Casey and illustrated by Derec Donovan, with covers by Liefeld.Liefeld was slated to begin writing and art duties on Youngblood beginning in May 2009. No new issues have come out since then.
Reaction and impact
As Youngblood #1 is the comic book that introduced Image ComicsImage Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, it is ranked #19 on Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
's 2008 list of the 20 Most Significant Comics. According to CBR's Steven Grant, this status is derived not so much from the comics' content, but for triggering both the 1990s speculator boom and crash that followed, and the trend towards the creation of superhero universes among various publishers. The series, and the formation of Image itself, is also credited for discouraging publishers' emphasis on their creative talent in their marketing decisions.
Collected editions
A number of the comic books have been collected into trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Youngblood, Volume 1 (collects Youngblood #0-10; remastered as Maximum Edition, 168 pages, Image Comics, hardcover, December 2008, ISBN 1582408580)
- Youngblood: Focus Tested (collects Youngblood vol. 4, #1-4; 96 pages, Image Comics, September 2008, ISBN 1582409455)
- Youngblood: Voted Off the Island (collects Youngblood vol. 4, #5-8; 96 pages, Image Comics, November 2008, ISBN 1607060035)
In other media
A half-hour Youngblood animated series was planned for the 1995-96 season on Fox as part of an hour block with a proposed CyberforceCyberforce
Cyberforce is an Image Comics super-hero team created by artist Marc Silvestri and writer Eric Silvestri in 1992. Silvestri would begin performing both the plotting and pencilling chores, but the series was subsequently drawn by other artists, including David Finch...
series. A clip was created but the series was never produced. The clip aired in commercials for Youngblood action figures.
In February 2009, according to Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, Reliance Big Entertainment
Reliance Entertainment
Reliance Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group handling its media and entertainment business, across content and distribution platforms....
has acquired the feature film rights to the comic book, reportedly for a mid-six figures, and has attached Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
to direct. "Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and 'Youngblood' is one of the few comic books left with tentpole potential," Ratner was quoted telling the trade. "It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted ('Youngblood'), but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they're able to move." The film will be fast-tracked, although no decision has been made on whether it will eventually land at Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, where Ratner has a first look deal. No cast or release date has yet been announced. The film is currently being written by J.P. Lavin and Chad Damiani.
External links
- Extreme Genesis For many Youngblood covers and other Liefeld art
- Web española sobre el universo superheroico de Liefeld
- Excerpt from a Newsarama.com public discussion between, among others, Liefeld and Busiek
- Beginning of the Busiek/Liefeld controversy in response to a Previews solicitation. Rec.arts.comics.misc. August 2000.
- Discussion between Busiek and Liefeld, among others. Rec.arts.comics.misc. August 2000.