Yeah, I know. Blah blah, Rob Liefeld. Blah blah, Rob Liefeld can't draw feet. OMG too many pouches. I'm not a fan either. And I hated the original Youngblood series back in the day. I really did. For all the usual reasons.

But this new Youngblood series... it looks like it's actually going to be good. Joe Casey's doing the writing, and he seems to be hell-bent on proving that a) he's one of the most underrated writers in the business and b) the "celebrity superheroes" angle Youngblood is built on works if it's done right. And he's doing it right. Youngblood #1 is a fast-paced, fun, straightforward superhero comic that you can understand without reading five thousand issues of Civil Infinite Identity War Final 52 Crisis Countdown, and frankly, there aren't a lot of those out there anymore. Oh, and Derek Donovan's art is effin' awesome. Very up to date and NOT an early 90s throwback, which is a good thing because the book doesn't look dated.

Pleasant surprise of the year so far, for me. Anyone else read this thing? Opinions?

Rob can't draw feet, puts too many pouches on his characters, and dresses stupid.

I think Liefeld is too easy to make fun sure he's not very good and his art is not that appealing but his early stuff weren't too horrible. They're not classics.

Will the new series be able to make it in spite of the Liefeld reputation of earlier? Maybe that will help it because people will be curious?

I got issue #1 but I can't say that I'll be picking it up. It seems terribly trite and they even had a bit of a nod to it. That being said, I'll probably keep my eye on it just to see what develops.

Ziffy88
I think Liefeld is too easy to make fun sure he's not very good and his art is not that appealing but his early stuff weren't too horrible. They're not classics.

No he wasn't, he was never good. The sad fact is that most of us amateurs who post their work with screen names on the net in our little "gated" communities are better than that man. It's just a sad fact of life, he makes millions by drawing worm feet and... and...

well this shit:

ozoneocean
Will the new series be able to make it in spite of the Liefeld reputation of earlier? Maybe that will help it because people will be curious?

Do you mean his artistic reputation or his reputation as a businessman? He was super-popular back in the heyday of Image comics and made a ton of money off his stuff. He has lots of fans. The truth is that the people who bitch about comics don't make up the majority of the customers. And if anything, his "controversial" rep seems to have made people curious. Which is kind of funny because his involvement with the series seems to be fairly minimal. He only draws the variant covers. It's Joe Casey and Derec Donovan's gig, and they're both very good at what they do.

As for the Liefeld hate, in all honesty, it just makes me roll my eyes these days. Typical internet bandwagon behavior. Yeah, sure, he was never particularly good, and personally, even when he hits the mark, I just don't like his style or most of his character designs. But there are tons of other artists out there with a weak grasp of anatomy. Todd McFarlane anyone? People are just angry because Liefeld was successful. Something about the dynamic of his stuff appealed to a lot of fans, and they bought his comics in droves. If you're still bitter about that 15 years later, I'm sorry, I find that a bit sad.

but that was later in his career his x-force was stupid fun. Like a b-movie. I'm not saying he's a Darwyn Cooke or David Aja but his 80s stuff wasn't terrible like that Cap. image. He just never actually tried to improve.

Ziffy88
but that was later in his career his x-force was stupid fun. Like a b-movie. I'm not saying he's a Darwyn Cooke or David Aja but his 80s stuff wasn't terrible like that Cap. image. He just never actually tried to improve.

Have you read anything of his from the 80's?

Sure it's not AS bad, but my God it's still the furthest thing from good imaginable.

lefarce
well this shit:

Dang. What now?
It's like that poor Captain America has some sort of upside-down pregnant disease. Ehh... that's killed my interest.

mechanical_lullaby

lefarce
well this shit:

Dang. What now?
It's like that poor Captain America has some sort of upside-down pregnant disease. Ehh... that's killed my interest.

Sit him down and ask him to write. It's somehow worse than his artwork.

Sigh. Nevermind.

But its true Liefeld was very popular and was big in the late 80's and early 90's.
I am not a big fan of his but the guy was popular and help bring more recognition to artists and artist rights. To that he should have some respect even if you don't like his artwork.

As to the comic SH, I have not heard about this comic relaunch based on Youngblood, so I looked it up more online , and I have to say the artwork looks real fresh and from the news post it seems a lot of people are really looking forward to it.

imagecomics.com
"We anticipated a high level of interest in Joe and Derec's work on YOUNGBLOOD, but we were frankly caught off-guard by the amount of advance reorders the book generated as press time drew closer," said Image Executive Director Eric Stephenson. "We're thrilled with what the guys are doing with the book, though, and want to make sure copies are available for everyone interested in checking it out."

from the sounds of it from the article I have to agree it sounds quite interesting.

I never said it was good I just said eh The comics weren't terrible but when you put the silly story with it was some enjoyable fun. It's not like I'm saying you need to go buy his work. His style is more like the cartoons from that era. Also we've seen plenty of terrible art from the 90s and really when you compare it to others his is not the worst you can imagine. I think his biggest problem is his pride. He still thinks he's hot stuff like Stan Lee(and no I'm not comparing Stan the Man to Liefeld) They just won't go away. But really Rob Liefeld probably is the comics equivalent to Dane Cook.

But anyways this is about Youngbloods my biggest question about it is will it be released on a schedule.

Leifeld's figures are usually better than min T_T

But yeah, people, this isn't about him, it's about the relaunch. ;)

TheMidge28
But its true Liefeld was very popular and was big in the late 80's and early 90's.
I am not a big fan of his but the guy was popular and help bring more recognition to artists and artist rights. To that he should have some respect even if you don't like his artwork.

Well, there are stories going around about people not getting paid by his studios, but it's hard to tell what's true and what isn't. Liefeld himself says it's all lies, and others are saying he's lying... I don't know.

It's true that he contributed a lot to the founding of Image Comics way back when, though, and if there's one thing that irritates me to no end about the Image backlash these days, it's the fact that everyone's accusing them of "killing comics" when the truth is that they were a huge force for creator's rights - hell, they still are. Image was the company that established creator owned comics as part of the mainstream.

ozoneocean
But yeah, people, this isn't about him, it's about the relaunch. ;)

Yeah, apparently in the year 2008, it's still impossible to discuss anything even remotely Liefeld-related, even if it's a comic he neither draws nor writes, without people getting their panties in a bunch. And that's precisely why this book is selling so well, of course. It's kind of funny, back in the 90s the "comic artist as rockstar" was all the rage, and now it's like Liefeld of all people is the only one left. People will talk about him no matter what, and his comics will sell - because he's Rob Liefeld.

Ziffy88
But anyways this is about Youngbloods my biggest question about it is will it be released on a schedule.

Wait and see, I guess... I think the folks at Image are very much aware that Youngblood has a lousy rep when it comes to staying on schedule, and Larsen seems to be running a pretty tight ship. Image in general has been pretty good about their publishing schedule for a while now. But we'll see.

yeah but image always had this weird thing about their books. I mean I love the Walking Dead but I could never buy it in issues after Tony Moore's run because of it's weird release schedule. Also since it is an image book will Invincible appear or will they appear in Invincible?

Ziffy88
Also since it is an image book will Invincible appear or will they appear in Invincible?

Image's superhero books are all more or less meant to take place in the same universe, so I guess that means it's at least a possibility.

http://www.imagecomics.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=38742

Erik Larsen

Chaos Hero
What Image Comics take place in the same universe?

All the superhero ones for the most part. The Top Cow books, Spawn, ShadowHawk, Bomb Queen, Invincible, Brit, Savage Dragon, Dynamo-5, Noble Causes, Jack Staff, Youngblood, Gødland, Madman etc.

The Image Universe is somewhat flexible in that every book is essentially its own universe but it contains the same characters from the other books and when they crossover, events in different books coincide.

lefarce
well this shit:

In case anyone's really curious, Rob actually talked about that picture in his Onslaught online diary:
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=zFqXs6vYvO8

Actually, the other videos he posted are pretty interesting as well as you see some of the steps he takes from initial sketch to finished product.

darrell
In case anyone's really curious, Rob actually talked about that picture in his Onslaught online diary:

I seen it... Hmm, but I wasn't that interested in his process... I have a TON of crap art like that myself from doing things the wrong way. :(

...that said, he nekkid version of that pic is priceless. :)

you mean this?
:)

Lord, I knew it was coming....'ask and you shall receive.' LOL @ rob's face placement.

The one without Rob' s face though, that's a beautiful thing. ^_^

The man can't get a break from no one! LOL... I'm actually a big fan of Rob Liefeild! He created alot of really good superheros to like Deadpool. Supreme, Cable and Chapel! That Capt drawing is bad though! How the hell you going to give Cap boobs maaan! He is still one of my fave artists of all time along with Jim Lee!

deadpool= spiderman
supreme= superman
cable= punisher
chapel = black punisher
agent america= captain america

subcultured
deadpool= spiderman

Because Deadpool's such a big believer in "with great power comes great responsibility", being a hitman and all.

cable= punisher

Since when is the Punisher a time-traveling mutant?

The others you pointed out I don't disagree with particularly, but these two... come on.

subcultured
deadpool= spiderman
supreme= superman
cable= punisher
chapel = black punisher
agent america= captain america

well...that can be said about so many other superheroes created in Marvel and DC and even here on The Duck.
Liefield wasn't the first to mimic or copy other characters.

Deadpool isn't Spiderman. Not even a little bit. He's a knockoff of Deathlok.

Deadpool is probably the most beloved Rob Liefeld character around, though I think that has more to do with how he's been written than anything else.

Deadpool is a funny character that's why people like him.

RentAThug
Deadpool isn't Spiderman. Not even a little bit. He's a knockoff of Deathlok.

Deadpool is probably the most beloved Rob Liefeld character around, though I think that has more to do with how he's been written than anything else.

Eh, you don't see the similarities inbetween Deadpool and Spiderman? Red suit, big black eye spots? Fast and wise cracking? I really don't see the Deathlok connection.