Rob Liefeld Unveils David Finch's Youngblood #1 Cover

02/01/2017 06:42 pm EST

Rob Liefeld has released a full-color image of David Finch's cover to a forthcoming issue of Youngblood...and it might look familiar to long-time fans.

You can check out the full image (as well as a black-and-white version and the cover to Liefeld's 1992 Youngblood #1 for comparison's sake) in the attached image gallery.

The image is an homage to Liefeld's original cover to Youngblood #1, and features the original cast of the team in their '90s designs.

It's unlikely the contents of the book will mirror these designs, exactly: the Youngblood series currently in the works from Liefeld, co-writer Chad Bowers, and artist Jim Towe...who, by the way, Liefeld found on Twitter.

The series was announced during a recent interview. Liefeld said that Towe had redesigned the team more or less as an artistic exercise, and had tagged Liefeld in a tweet to show off the art. Liefeld responded by reaching out to him and offering him a job to draw the characters. After Towe said that drawing the title would be his dream assignment.

"When people say 'dream assignment,' you hire them," Liefeld said. "Because you're going to get their best efforts.

The series will also reintroduce and reinvent Badrock, who will get a change in his power set in the first issue. Liefeld said that there will be an official solicitation shortly, once they have three issues in the can so that Image can solicit the book and avoid lateness.

It's a truism in comics that nobody loves comic books more than Rob Liefeld -- something else you can see on display in this interview -- but what's really unusual here is how self-depreciating he's being. Liefeld is a controversial figure, but he's often left in the position of defending himself and his art from attacks, especially online, so it might be a welcome surprise for some fans to see him cackling to himself when he says things like "I didn't draw it -- that's why it's good!"

ComicBook.com reached out to Liefeld, who provided us with some character designs from the upcoming series. You can check them out in the attached image gallery. Don't be surprised if he and Towe share a bit more on Twitter, as the creative team is all pretty excited about the announcement.

Expect more details on Youngblood 2017 as it draws closer. In the meantime, everyone from fans to the press are talking about how Rob Liefeld made a young artist's dream come true, and Liefeld is praising the heck out of the art we haven't seen yet.

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