Finally, the last piece of Rob Liefeld’s Extreme relaunch has arrived. Because of the diverse offerings provided by Liefeld’s imprint thus far, I wasn’t sure what to expect from his flagship title Youngblood.

The biggest x-factor on the book is the writer, John McLaughlin, who was also the screenwriter for that weird lesbian ballet movie where Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis make out. Apparently Scott Lobdell was supposed to write this book, but he must be too busy writing 75% of DC’s output to take this project on.

How does McLaughlin fare? You can tell he’s learning on the job, but his outsider perspepctive adds to the charm of this book. There’s some funny dialogue, weird situations, and that ’90s style flash that holds everything together.

Unlike most of the other Extreme titles, Youngblood’s art is very reminiscent of the ’90s over-rendering craze popularized by the Image founders. While I would consider myself a Liefeld fan, even I have to admit that the man’s work can be very hit or miss. He only does layouts this issue, and let’s just say that layouts aren’t his strong suit. There’s some very wonky perspective in spots, but overall it does a nice job setting the tone and telling the story.

This series has the potential to be a fun exercise in watching two inexperienced creators grow into their roles on the book. There’s enough here to satisfy for now, but I’ll be disappointed if I don’t see gradual improvement issue to issue.