Young Heroes in Love?

[gentlesatirist]

Anyone follow this 1997-98 DC title? I just picked up almost the complete 17-issue run in the quarter boxes at a local comic shop and was pretty impressed.

Dan Raspler and Dev Madan created the series, with Raspler writing and Madan drawing. It was a start-up group of new heroes that seemed to exist on the fringe of the DC universe. Superman (in short-lived electric blue costume) appears in one issue, and they battle Scarecrow in another. Content seemed a bit hyper-sexed for the time, but now looks rather tame.

Madan drew in a Bruce Timm-kind of style, but seemed to skew toward more realistic as the series went on. The book also had guest artists on 4 issues in less than 18 months, which I thought was kind of odd.

Characterization was solid and art style set it apart. With this and Young Justice, as well as JLA and JSA, DC was putting out some swell team books in the late 90s. It's a shame this one didn't find more of an audience.

Did anyone pick up on this one? And have the characters appeared anywhere since?


- FE
Wickliffe OH

[gentlesatirist]

...which is why it didn't last?

Seems like it tried to walk the line between traditional "comic-style" art and more serious relationship stuff. At least, as serious you can get in a story about adults wearing tight, colorful clothing and punching other adults in the head.

Calls to mind Mark Waid's recent comments about the fear of being branded as a "fun comic" with the new Brave & Bold.


- FE

[dan bailey]

I picked up an ish or two out of an LCS bargain bin maybe a couple of years ago, then completed the run for cheap via either eBay or one of the on-line retailers, or maybe both. Haven't had a chance to read any of 'em yet, though I've seen the comic mentioned as a '90s DC highlight.

[GreatLakesAvengers]

It was most cerinly a "fun comic". I pieced my run together out of quarter and 10 cent bins. Well worth it!

Did you manage to track down Young Heroes in Love #1,000,000?

[Sir Tim Drake]

I really enjoyed this series. It was cute, funny and witty, and its early cancellation was a real shame. If I recall correctly, a lot of CBR posters were fans of YHIL and were sad to see it go.

[gentlesatirist]

...but its manga/baby-style cover art looks intriguing.

Did Raspler and Madan go on to do other comic work? Or was this their one-and-only grab for the brass ring of comics immortality?


- FE

[gentlesatirist]

...after reading the first couple issues of YHIL, I thought it seemed like something that would be in the sweet spot for the CBR community.


- FE

[dan bailey]

Thanks for bringing this one up, G.S. -- I dug the series out Friday after work & finished reading 'em all yesterday (except for 1,000,000, which has been on my want list for awhile now ... actually, I don't own any of the DC 1,000,000 titles, since I skipped the '90s [not to mention the very late '70s, & the entirety of the '80s, & first few years of the '00s] & to this day have never quite grasped what that little event was all about). Very enjoyable, with some quite memorable characters that I agree are well worth revisiting.

I, too,was slightly taken aback by (to borrow your own observation) the appearance of "guest artists on 4 issues in less than 18 months" ... actually, it was more pronounced that that -- guest artists on 5 issues (#s 4, 6, 10, 13 & 16) plus a good chunk of a 6th (the finale, #17, has quite a few pages with Chris Jones pencilling & Sal Buscema inking), not to mention a 7th (#9) with Madan & Jones doing layouts & inker Keith Champagne "finishes").

[JoeK32880]

Yeah, it was good.

Most of DC in the 90s was good fun, in fact.