Youngblood does not have a good reputation in the world of comics. It was the first comic to be produced by Image Comics, created by Rob Liefeld. It was a massive success at first, but it didn't take long for the audience to realise how low the quality was, having bad art, bad writing and generally not being very good. However the series was very stubborn and refused to die, occasionally getting revived and frequently crossing over into other books. It got to the point where even Alan Moore had a stint, though it is considered some of his worst work. But being Alan Moore, it was probably okay.
However the latest incarnation of th team seems to have broken the mold. I'm not going to say that it's brilliant or that it's officially made me a Youngblood fan, but I've bought two issues, so at least it seems to be worth reading. I was actually convinced to pick it up after the characters guest starred in the Invincible War issue of Invincible, the artstyle of which convinced me to give them a shot.
First of all, here's the current line-up.
*Shaft: Dude with REAL good aim and veteran of the team.
*Diehard: Combat robot, and master of the Crotch Attack.
*Cougar: Wolverine expy, though much more polite.
*Badrock: Large super strong dude made of stone (kinda immature).
*Doc Rocket: Super fast scientist girl.
*Johnny Panic: The First (Post) Postmodern Superhero (whatever the hell that means).
My personal opinion on the team? Not that bad. While I don't like the colors used on their costumes (too...much...red and yellow! My eyes!) I actually think the characters are kinda cool, particulerly Doc Rocket and Diehard. But I guess its not hards to do better than
The cover for this issue is pretty good, showcasing a fight between the villain Warwolf and Cougar, with Johnny and Badrock caught in the crossfire, all of which is forcing the group out of a window. The action never actually escalates to window crashing, but covers don't need to be that accurate. All in all, I like it but I'm not sure if it'd be worth a feature on Awesome Covers.
The first issue showed us the formation of the new team, showing us that Shaft is virtually the slave of the government, constantly being dragged back into the field and having no choice in joining the team. After meeting his teammates and having the new Youngblood reality show hyped up to all hell, the team is brought in to battle a giant robot, which is taken down in one hit by Badrock, getting a Crowning Moment of Awesome. Shaft is visited by a ghostly figure, but shakes it off as a Big Lipped Alligator Moment. He is, however suspicious after seeing the interior of the robot, and meanwhile a villainous quartet lurks in the shadows. It was overall enjoyable. Also their base is called The Bubble.
This issue starts out with the characters congratulating each other on a job well done with the robot, as well as wondering about the team's budget. Badrock discovers that not all awesome comes without consequences, and that his attack on the robot last issue has actually managed to crack his feet, restricting him to crutches, which I'm thinking will make it difficult to fight crime.
Over at El. Segundo, CA, we get a glimpse of our villainous quartet. As it turns out, these opponents are not so mysterious, actually being hired by the government to fight Youngblood to increase the ratings. However, they aren't mere actors, but actual super villains with a genuine hatred of the team. 'Mayhem Inc. consists of the Badrock counterpart Blackrock; the Couger counterpart Warwolf; Poppy, you I am fairly certain is supposed to be a counterpart to Vogue from the original lineup, and Gage, who may be a counterpart to Shaft, though my only evidence on that is that everyone else seems to fit the bill, and he has a stripe on his face (Thought I might mention it). I guess Doc Rocket, Johnny and Diehard get off easy then?
Some time later, Rocket goes on a chat show with Michael Moore to discuss the effectiveness of superheroes. After the show the host hits on her, but she manages to ignore him.
At this stage I think I might give a mention to a key reason why this is so much better than Liefeld's original run. When Image Comics was formed, the flagship characters were generally known by a particuler characteristic. For Savage Dragon, he was a one-man Police Force; for Spawn he was rebelling against the Devil; and in Youngblood's case, it was that they were celebrity Superheroes. I don't want to read the old comics, so I'm just going by what I've seen on Atop the Fourth Wall, but they actually handle that characteristic well here! In the old comics the gimmick seemed more like they were just nineties anti-heroes who killed on a whim (which they totally were).
Here, we get a TON of the celebrity section, if anything too much, but I'm enjoying it so I won't complain. The first issue had the team get their own action figures, their own cartoon, and generally seem more like a Rock Band than a superhero team. This is what makes this incarnation of the team readible.
The battle between Youngblood and Mayhem Inc. is announced on TV. The Team is rightfully confused and angered, showing us that they are in fact superheroes through and through. See Mr. Liefeld? To make people like your characters, you need to make them LIKEABLE!.
The man in charge, McGarry, defends the decision, claiming they are just making the job of beating up super villains a little easier. Besides, even if the villains have been pardoned, they are still dangerous criminals running around the country.
Shaft finally makes an appearance checking out the footage from the robot fight, when he is once again visited by the figure, who I might mention looks like Raven's communist sister. By what I understand, she freezes the image at a certain frame. Shaft finds Diehard and asks him about it. Shaft is suspicious that the government had sent the robot for some purpose, but the conversation is interupted by the camera crew.
Over in Las Vegas, Johnny, Badrock and Cougar are having themselves a swell time at a club, discussing the weaseliness of their employers. Things get a little more interesting when Warwolf makes an appearance. Badrock, being a basic fratboy, finds it necessary to heckle him, "HEY, THOSE AREN'T EXACTLY ADAMANTIUM CLAWS YOU'VE GOT THERE!" I love lampshading.
Of course, this gets the villain's attention, and the press swarms in to report on the inevitable fight. A number of people display rivalling fandoms between the two groups, and since one group is a group of dangerous super powered criminals, a large fight erupts. Amidst the carnage, Johnny briefly sees Raven's Communist Sister, warning of something unstoppable and all devouring.
Back at The Bubble, Johnny and Cougar get a stern yelling at over what happened by their boss. Oh wait, no, that was an actor. McGarry tells them that the viewers respond well to the team getting yelled at by authority figures, and laments on the fact that Shaft must have gone out, meaning they couldn't have him do it. YAY! More lampshading!
Speaking of Shaftm he is at another location discussing the creation of the robot with someone who I'm sure I'd recognise if I'd have read some other incarnation of YOungblood. But I haven't, so I don't. Anyway, they talk about their history and some kind of conspiracy. However, this person pulls a gun and shoots Shaft in the chest, killing him instantly and declaring, "Bang, your dead."
Let's have a moment of silence for Shaft...Now who wants to place bets on how many issues this will last? Two? One? Appear in next issues cliffhanger?
And so that's Youngblood Issue #2. How does it hold up? Pretty damn well if you ask me, I can barely recognise the fact that this used to be the epitome of Nineties Anti-Heroes. I fully plan on buying the other seven issues that managed to get released before the series suffered the same fate as its other incarnations. I sure hope that dosn't mean the issues go downhill from here.
Also, this issue, by what I can tell, completely averts Youngblood's disease. Hurray!
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