Youngblood

"Youngblood" was also the name of a 1986 movie starting Rob Lowe.

Youngblood was a superhero team, and eponymous comic book, created by Rob Liefeld for Image Comics in 1992. Frequently mocked for the low quality of its art and writing, for its frequent lateness, and for its unnecessary graphic violence and foul language [1], Youngblood has often been portrayed as the exemplar of everything that went wrong with the comic book industry in the 1990s.

The members of Youngblood included Shaft, an archer whose bow was consistently portrayed as having no string [2];* Badrock, a teenager transformed into a living block of stone (originally named "Bedrock" until Liefeld faced legal action from the owners of The Flintstones); Vogue, a Russian fashion model with purple-and-chalk-white skin; and Chapel, a government agent whose mission was to have unprotected sex with as many black women as possible, thereby spreading HIV as a means of population control.

• Correction:The lack of string is intentional. The idea is that to make his bow more efficient, it operates under a rail gun capacity, using magnets to launch the arrow and eliminating the use of the string.

In 1998, Liefeld hired Alan Moore to write new issues of Youngblood; however, despite Moore's well-publicized plans for at least twelve issues, only two issues were ever printed and the third story was printed.

In March of 2004, Liefeld hired Mark Millar to write new issues of Youngblood; as of December 2004, only two issues have been printed and the third issue being published in another book called "Awesome Adventures".

In 1993, Liefeld solicited Youngblood stories from Kurt Busiek, who wrote three issues of a projected four-issue series, Youngblood: Genesis. This was never produced; however, in 2004, Liefeld began soliciting orders for Youngblood: Genesis, with Busiek credited as the writer. Busiek has publicly denounced this, since his scripts have been heavily rewritten and his contribution minimised. He has both disavowed all involvement with the comic and asked that his fans not buy it. **

• • Correction: Yes, it is listed that Busiek wrote the plot but it clearly states that is all contributed and that the script itself is by another.

Youngblood comics bibliography

• (1st series) 1992-1994 Issues #1 - 10
• (2nd Series) 1995-1996 Issues #1 - 14 (super special, yearbook)
• (Vol.3) 1998 Issues #1,1a-1j (alternate covers), 2
• Team Youngblood Issues #1 - 22
• (Vol.4) 2004 Issues #1, 2

External links

• Savant Magazine's analysis of the Busiek/Liefeld controversy
• Excerpt from a Newsarama.com public discussion between, among others, Liefeld and Busiek
• A review of Youngblood #1

See also: Youngblood, 1992, 1993, Alan Moore, Archer, Comic book, HIV, Image Comics, Kurt Busiek, Mark Millar