Youngblood #7 & 8

If Rob Liefeld is taking over, leaving Joe Casey and Derec Donovan's Youngblood story with no home, I will drop this comic. I've loved Casey's celebrity take on Youngblood since this volume started. The book has a really odd mix of supporting characters and villains, with no normal comic villains since everyone involved seems to know they are having to live up to celebrity expectations. This unique approach seems to be threatened by the backup this issue, where Liefeld has Barack Obama setting up a new Youngblood team made up of characters currently on the run in Casey's story. Liefeld's team is basically a throwback to the original lineup. I liked Liefeld back in the day (I think I have a complete run of Youngblood comics over the years, I'm sad to say), but compared to Casey's unique take, I'm not sure I can go back again. Casey has such a unique take and such weird teams, I don't want to lose it. With Spacehunter (a Martian Manhunter homage?) returning, I think Casey will get at least one more issue, but I'm worried. It also seems this book is going to 3.99. I'm not going to stick with this title if that is a permanent change.

Donovan's art is as unique as always. I love his cartoony style that somehow stays pretty realistic. His designs for the new government Youngblood is pretty cool, with Sentinel's helmet being particularly cool. Liefeld's story is odder, with Obama looking as strange as he does in all his comic appearances. Liefield doesn't have enough of a photo-realistic style to make the commander in chief look normal.

Fair