721. Youngblood Strikefile 1 #Image ... #Robliefeld ...

[This is reviewed on 6th Jan 2018]

This is a surprising edition to the Image Universe when it was first published primarily because the main youngblood title was still in its nascent stage and they have already sprouted this title but hey we are not complaining because it boasts some awesome artwork and great storylines dealing with the backstory of the primary Youngblood characters

So in issue 1 there are two tales of three chapters each. First up is Diehard and you get this crazy over the top kinetic artwork from Rob. One gets the feeling Rob is really motivated because the action scenes are just crazy. Story wise, they take us back to WW2 when there was a super team called the Allies that had Diehard (of that era), Glory and Super Patriot (before he became a walking metal monster)

And after the war, something or other happened, then Patriot was stolen to be retooled. Glory recruited Diehard to go against the bad guys and free Patriot and obviously this version of Die Hard agreed. Now we have to wonder why with all of her own powers and abilities, this is a solo mission for Die Hard, eh?

Anyway as they say it will be continued

On the second tale, it features Chapel and like it or not, while Chapel looks grim and gritty, he doesn't do much in the Youngblood title. He is merely one of many that carries guns and looks grim n gritty and in Youngblood, you have others like Dutch etc doing the same. Hence aside from dark skin tones, he doesn't really stand out

Good choice of artist though - Jae Lee made Chapel looked more like a demon than a human

As for the story, we see how Chapel was someone named Bruce who together with Al Simmons (his pre-Spawn days) and a chap named Duke were mercs for a powerful corporate mover n shaker, Jason Wynn. And during one of their last missions together, Chapel was asked to ice Duke for betraying them. What exactly he did was never revealed because ... hey they need to be mysterious, okay? Hah!

Anyway, not long after that, the team broke up but Jason went on growing his power base while Chapel ended up in Youngblood enjoying the celebrity lifestyle. However, for some unknown reason, Jason has a mission for Chapel and summoned him. But what will happen next?

To be continued ...

Ratings: 7/10