The series that defined the 90’s is back! Infamous Rob Liefeld has revived his old property as part of the Extreme Studios Relaunch. Let’s see how this book aged.
Written by Jon McLaughlin
Illustrated by Jon Malin and Rob LiefeldIt’s the 20th anniversary of the comic book that launched the Image Revolution in 1992! ROB LIEFELD’s YOUNGBLOOD returns bigger and better than ever with an all-new look at the next generation of superheroes, courtesy of screenwriter JOHN McLAUGHLIN (Black Swan, Parker), up-and-coming artist JON MALIN and YOUNGBLOOD creator and Image founder ROB LIEFELD!
In this first issue, a young reporter is embedded in the Youngblood team. Her assignment is to gather enough information for a humiliating puff piece, but she quickly discovers Shaft, Vogue, Lady Photon, Die Hard and Cougar are a team to be reckoned with. Badrock would be part of the group too… if he wasn’t in a coma with wounds that have nearly pulverized his otherwise rock-hard hide.
I can honestly say i hadn’t read a book with Rob Liefeld in the byline since the height of his popularity in the 90’s. But since I had enjoyed the rest of the Extreme books before this launched, I decided to check this one out in a fit of hopeful curiosity. Did this book mature into a super-book anyone can pick up and enjoy? How was I going to feel about it?
I certainly got my answer: boy, was this a terrible comic.
I wanted this book to be good, I REALLY did. The writer, who co-wrote the popular Natalie Portman/Darren Aronofsky movie Black Swan seemed like he had the pedigree to elevate the book to new heights, and make it enjoyable for all. However, the book was filled with somewhat unoriginal and sometimes crass characterizations. For instance, the character of Vogue was portrayed in the same way that Kate Beaton wrote her satirical STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS comic (no, I’m not really happy I’m making that comparison AGAIN in a review), and others fared little better. The most interesting character was the replacement Shaft, who was not respected by his own team, and lamented even being on the team in the first place. The reporter character, Gail Cook, was probably added to bring a meta-edge to the book, as a writer sent to…write…about the team. She brings a somewhat “Ultimates” feel the to the book, but it’s nothing impressive, or even interesting.
The plot doesn’t fare much better. While it borrows elements from “The Ultimates” in terms of themes and character interaction, it never quite figures out how “The Ultimates” worked. Instead characters simply bicker until the “villain” for this month’s issue appears. But since the in-fighting took up so much time, the battle at a local mall is so abbreviated, it feels little more than tacked on as a way to add on action to a dull story filled with talking heads. But if you like seeing superheroes beating up teenage girls, then by all means, this book is for you.
As a whole, this book seems very anti-female. Gail, our reporter, comments that comic books are “obviously a boy thing,” ignoring the fact there are millions of female comic readers out there who will read anything from “Batman” to MAYBE even “Youngblood.” Not that I expect many to keep reading after seeing their entire gender erased as possible fans, followed by a pack of women literally being torn apart by the team. I’m not even going to touch on the confusing (at best) writing for the seemingly transgender character, Photon.
There’s not much I can say about the art. It’s very Rob Liefeld. If you’re one of his fans, that’s not a bad thing for you. However, if you dislike his art, there’s nothing here to make you change your mind, either. To his credit, there are moments where you say “oh, that’s not terrible!” or “oh wow! You can actually understand what’s going on here!” But in your humble reviewers opinion, moments of not-terribleness that few and far between don’t really deserve that much credit.
Extreme was doing really well, until this book came out. What could have been great turned out to be something out of a adolescent boy’s fantasy. If the plot and characters were improved upon in the next issue, I can write this off as a fluke. But as it stands, no. It’s not a fluke, it’s just bad.
Final Verdict:: 2.0 – Burn
I will say, however, that a character named “Golden Stream” is HILARIOUS.
