2.178 (543) Youngblood vol 1 #7 ... Image ...

It's been a while since we look at a Youngblood. This is the first title out of Image from way back when and when Liefeld came back from his sabbatical, boy did he pencil the S**T out of this title. I mean, check out that killer title. Sure, you can say the Thing or Hulk ... because it is about huge, muscular chaps ... but Bedrock or Badrock just plain rocks! And this cover is ace!

As for the story within, if you have read the last issue and you are generally aware of what's going on in the Image universe, then this issue is brilliant. Otherwise, you will have some catching up to do but not to the point that it confuses you

The main points covered are SPOILER ALERT ... dealing with the new members that was showcased last issue. First up, we get to see Aussie Mick known as Knight Sabre going through his own practise session and doing a bang up job (love the costume) ... and then we get to see midget Troll (who based on his own thoughts and those balloon boxes seemed to be a real Troll although why so short, eh?) ... who is going through the routines and trying to show he is indeed a bad ass have-fun-all-the-time chap ...

And smack into this is Shaft ... who is finding it tough to negotiate between life as a super hero, being like a cop catching bad guys and also being a role model in the limelight ... love the opening sequence and all that fridge (hehehe you have to buy to know what we are referring to) ...

And lastly to ensure the cover is not a complete letdown we see Badrock on holidays skiing while his PR team is busy trying to ensure his popularity ratings stay sky high to combat the public's apparent growing love for Troll (WTF?!?!?!) ... now as this is also a comic, we need a bad guy and we get them of a size equivalent to 'rock in the form of Overkill (who also works in Spawn's corner of the I-verse) ...

As if that weren't enough ...we are given a glimpse of Chapel ... imagine less than a dozen issues and already so much development as Chapel who is in Youngblood has been transferred to Bloodstrike to takeover from Cabbot and not liking it, he blames someone ... and is planning a pre-emptive strike over in Spawn (again). See? Loads and loads of stuff happening every 2 to 4 pages ...

Ratings: 6/10 (if only interiors had matched the cover not that interiors are bad but the cover is sooo freakin' good
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