Youngblood (partially found production material for cancelled Fox Kids animated series based on comic; 1995)
Youngblood is a superhero comic book series created by Rob Liefeld as the first book ever published by Image Comics,[1] released in April 1992. The series was born out of an idea of a Teen Titans book where Arsenal leads a team of Titans that work for the government. It's also meant to take place in a world where superheroes are celebrities, complete with merchandise, talk show appearances and movies.[2] Mostly, it's known for the exaggerated art style, heavy focus on action scenes and relatively thin storylines.
Animated Adaptation
An adaptation of Youngblood was set to air on Fox Kids in 1995 alongside a Cyberforce series.[3] It was to be made by newly formed Roustabout Productions. According to Nick Dubois, Youngblood would've took a lighthearted approach to the source material with tongue-in-cheek humor.[4]
In 1993, Liefeld financed the pitch demo with Roustabout. The video showcases the action, team and overall premise of the series. For a long time, no recording with audio was available, leading many to believe that none was ever recorded. However, on June 22, 2022, the pitch demo with fully intact audio was uploaded on YouTube. Furthermore, this video contained what would've been the opening of the the Youngblood, which hadn't been seen before up to that point.[5]
Based on what little has been seen of it, Youngblood would've been an action animated series with a style similar to X-Men. Characters that would've appeared include Shaft, Badrock, Vogue, Diehard, Chapel, Riptide, Sentinel and Troll. The demo highlights the team dynamics, varying power sets, humorous moments and the celebrity aspect of their careers.
Most likely, some of the edgier content from the original, such as the excessive violence, blood, killing and sexuality, would've been toned down to be more age appropriate. The demo notably features them fighting robot enemies rather than humans, though it's unknown how representative that would've been of their overall adventures had the show ultimately been made.
Youngblood was ultimately canned due to Marvel securing a deal with Fox Kids to be the only comic book company on the channel, thus the Youngblood series never materialized.
Status
Outside the demo, it's unknown just how far development had gotten before the show was cancelled, seeing as how the show had been greenlit and in active development until then, as nothing else has surfaced.
Gallery
See Also
- The All New Captain Kangaroo (partially found Fox Kids reboot of CBS children's series; 1997-1998)
- Cybersix (partially lost Fox Kids version of animated series based on comic; 2000)
- Detective Conan (lost unaired Fox Kids English dub pilot; existence unconfirmed; 2000)
- The Fox Cubhouse (partially found Fox Kids preschool anthology series; 1994-1996)
- Fox Kids "Bartcasting" (found "The Simpsons" promotional event on children's program block; 1996)
- Fox Kids (partially lost animated "Frankenfox" bumpers from children's channel block; 1991-1992)
- Little Shop (partially lost Fox Kids animated series based on horror comedy film; 1991)
- The Mr. Potato Head Show (found Fox Kids puppet series; 1998-1999)
- The Slayers (lost Fox Kids version of anime series; 2001)
- Toonsylvania (partially found Fox Kids animated series; 1998-1999)
- The Vision of Escaflowne (partially lost Fox Kids dub of anime; 2000-2001)
- Zazoo U (partially found Fox Kids animated series; 1990-1991)
References
- ↑ http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12105
- ↑ http://sequart.org/magazine/17336/sharpening-the-image-rob-liefelds-youngblood-the-man-and-the-comic-that-started-it-all-part-4/
- ↑ http://www.cbr.com/to-the-extreme-a-conversation-with-rob-liefeld/
- ↑ "Youngblood Animated Series in the Works for Late '94". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 54. Sendai Publishing. January 1994. p. 292.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP7YiOeXifU&ab_channel=Saturdaymorningfan