Youngblood Strikefile #1

Name: Youngblood Strikefile #1
Brand: Image

Apr 1993 · Image · 2.50 USD; 3.15 CAD

About this Issue

Youngblood Strikefile #1 (April 1993) packs an outsized number of debut appearances into a single issue: Glory (Gloriana Demeter), the WWII super-team the Allies, and the villain Giger all appear for the first time in comics. The Chapel story also functions as an early cross-publisher connective tissue between Liefeld's Extreme Studios universe and Todd McFarlane's Spawn line, presenting a flashback mission in which Chapel operates alongside a pre-Spawn Al Simmons under the direction of CIA handler Jason Wynn — explicitly seeding the backstory that McFarlane had already been building in Spawn. Glory's debut here launched one of early Image's most enduring female characters, a Wonder Woman homage who went on to her own ongoing series, an Alan Moore reinvention, and a critically praised 2012 relaunch by Joe Keatinge and Sophie Campbell. As a flip-book that deliberately wove two different title threads together, it also exemplifies Liefeld's ambition at Extreme Studios to construct a shared universe rivaling those of the Big Two.

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writer Rob Liefeld · writer Eric Stephenson · artist, inker Jae Lee · colorist Steve Oliff · colorist Olyoptics · letterer Kurt Hathaway · cover Rob Liefeld, Jae Lee, Danny Miki

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History

Youngblood Strikefile was launched in April 1993 by Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios as an anthology spin-off of the Youngblood ongoing, with each issue spotlighting individual team members in solo stories. The flip-book format — featuring two covers and two self-contained narratives — was a deliberate creative choice that revived a gimmick from the original Youngblood #1 and tied each story directly into the broader Image shared universe being constructed at the time. Issue #1's Chapel story was co-written by Liefeld and Eric Stephenson (who would later become Publisher of Image Comics) and drawn by Jae Lee, while the Die Hard/Glory story was written and penciled by Liefeld himself, with inks by Danny Miki; Rob Liefeld also provided a standalone Glory pin-up. A Gold Edition variant was produced as a trade-incentive for Diamond and Image Comics distributors.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Glory (Gloriana Demeter), a half-Amazonian, half-demon warrior created by Rob Liefeld as an explicit homage to Wonder Woman; she went on to her own ongoing series in 1995 and a celebrated 2012 relaunch.
First appearance of the Allies, a WWII-era super-team consisting of Die Hard, SuperPatriot, and Glory, who are depicted fighting alongside the Allied forces against Nazi Germany.
First appearance of Giger, the cybernetic villain and leader of Cybernet/Cyberdata, who becomes an antagonist in the ongoing Chapel story arc throughout the Strikefile series.
The Chapel story (plotted by Rob Liefeld, scripted by Eric Stephenson, art by Jae Lee) depicts a flashback CIA mission involving Chapel, Al Simmons (the future Spawn), and Jason Wynn, directly expanding the cross-publisher backstory already established in McFarlane's Spawn series.
The Die Hard story (written and penciled by Liefeld, inks by Danny Miki) launches a three-part arc in which Glory asks Die Hard and Shaft to rescue SuperPatriot from the Cyberdata corporation, which has transformed him into a cyborg.
Published in April 1993 as a flip-book with two distinct covers: Die Hard on the front (Liefeld/Miki cover) and Chapel on the back (Jae Lee cover), reviving the dual-cover format from the original Youngblood #1.
A Gold Edition variant was produced as a retailer/distributor incentive through Diamond and Image Comics.
Chapel's appearance here — and his role as Al Simmons' killer under Jason Wynn's orders — was part of an active creative collaboration between Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane; rights disputes over Chapel later led McFarlane to replace him with Jessica Priest in Spawn continuity and in the 1997 live-action Spawn film.