Rob Liefeld is easily one of the most recognizable names in comics, making a name for himself with Marvel creations such as Deadpool, Cable, and Domino and going on to be one of the founders of the wildly successful Image Comics. After his recent work with Marvel Comics, Liefeld is returning to his Image roots by bringing back the supergroup known as Youngblood. Returning to write and draw the likes of Shaft, Badrock, and Diehard for the first time in sixteen years, Rob is making a shift by distributing the comic himself to fans and has plenty to say when it comes to their long-awaited return.
Liefeld couldn’t have picked a better time to bring back Youngblood as their return will coincide with the thirty-third anniversary of Image Comics. “Youngblood was the only Image Comics for the first three months and I had set this all in motion, if I hadn’t gone first it wasn’t going to happen. Part of what we did with creators’ rights and what Image set up, you can make characters and catalogs and you can sell them. It is a thrill to come back to these characters and it was last April that I talked with Image Comics and Scott Rosenberg to team up and do Youngblood again, since Scott controls those specific characters. We cut a great deal to find me back on board, and media like television and movies are great, but publishing is where my heart’s at.”
In referencing the decision to coincide the release with the Image Comics anniversary, Rob had to do the release in a ‘very specific way,’ “I had to have the book at the printer last week so I could have it this week and then sell it! At the end of the day, I’m so thrilled that I’m back with Shaft, Badrock, Diehard, and Chapel. I think the book will be a revelation to many and it is my love letter to the team. I feel like these kinds of team books don’t exist on the shelves anymore, like the ones I grew up with like the Titans. I wish I could say more, but that would be spoiling it.”
In an effort to get this comic series out to the fans, Rob took matters into his own hands, distributing the upcoming series on his website (which you can check out by clicking here.) “This is really celebrating the launch and history of Youngblood and no one will have these issues before the readers. I know that the comics will find their way online with spoilers but I think this will open it up to the fans.”
This isn’t the first time that Liefeld has opened a channel to readers, having done so previously with his story Last Blood. Rob was more than happy to explain how this method was a new way for the Extreme Universe to thrive, “I’ve been doing a direct-to-consumer product, Last Blood, and it’s the future of the Extreme Universe. The book has Battlestone, and he’s old with a beard and people wonder if Youngblood will be older, and no. They’re Peter Parker age-wise and they’re exactly where you left them. They’re a government-sanctioned super squadron that takes on missions that threaten the community. I think every ten years there has to be a reset where you introduce yourself so this works perfectly for that. If you don’t know who Youngblood is, that’s fine. We introduce all of them once again, we explain who they are and they are identified immediately and we’re off to the races.”
Rob won’t be pulling any punches with his Extreme characters this time around however, stating as much during our interview, “I’ve never treated a couple of characters so cruelly, I really get to punish them pretty badly. If you’ve been around a long time, you might be thinking ‘Wow, Liefeld has never gone this far!’ and we have three cliffhangers. Average comics are twenty-two pages and ours is thirty-two, we wanted to go big and put the characters through their paces. In some ways, you never left them and there are some new twists and turns. I think it’s a great ride. If I’m going to complain about comics, I better put up one that can stand above the rest of them.”
This first issue won’t be it for the Image super-team however as Rob is already working on future issues, “I’m doing Youngblood all the time. We’ll have about eight issues to get everyone hooked then we’ll dive into legacy numbering at issue #100. I have another secret Youngblood project in the works that’s ‘Giant Size Youngblood’ which is my love letter to Giant Size X-Men. I am a big kid in a candy store who is reunited with his favorite creations, I’m so happy to be back.”
Youngblood #1 will be available beginning on Wednesday, April 16th and you can reserve your copy by clicking here.
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