Rob Liefeld, the creator of Deadpool and one of the best-selling comic book artists of the last 40 years, is finally set to reunite with one of his most beloved projects: Youngblood. The series, which Liefeld created in the 1980s, then brought to Image Comics as one of its 1992 launch titles, centers on a government-sponsored superhero team, their battles with villains and the internal personality clashes and politics that threaten to get in the way of saving the world. Liefeld had abandoned Youngblood amid a dispute with Rip Media, Inc., who handles the rights for the property.
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In addition to the new series, Image will publish the Youngblood Vault Edition, featuring high-resolution scans of the original art from the 1992 Youngblood series, collected in a deluxe, oversized hardcover. There will also be a facsimile edition of Youngblood #1, to timed to hit in April (the month that original book launched in 1992). There’s no word on whether there could be more Vault Editions down the line if this one does well.
“It’s so great that I can run into the comfort of characters that I created, that launched a movement,” Liefeld told THR. “They carry such history. I love Youngblood so much. These characters are my absolute passion.”
It’s the first time Liefeld has worked with Rip Media’s Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. The dissolution of Awesome Comics in 2000 saw Liefeld split the company’s assets three ways, with investment partners Rosenberg and John Hyde. Each of the three would have rights over eight of the company’s 24 distinct properties to exploit in other media, with Liefeld maintaining publishing rights over the characters he created. That changed in 2018, when Rosenberg told Liefeld that he had partnered with a new party, a man named Andrew Rev, to finance Youngblood comics and toys. It now appears Rev simply licensed the property, and didn’t own it, opening the door for Liefeld to return to the property.
Liefeld will write and draw a new series published by Image Comics. He recently said goodbye to Deadpool, telling fans that he would use the later years of his career to explore characters he owns. It appears that he just couldn’t say no to a return to Youngblood now that things have changed.
“Rob and I are a fantastic team, and I’m as excited now for Youngblood‘s relaunch as I was in 1992 for its initial launch,” Rosenberg told THR. “I’m excited to bring them to audiences old and new with their original creator, Rob Liefeld.”
Keep your eyes on ComicBook for more details on the Youngblood revival by Liefeld and company.
