PREVIOUSLY: YOUNGBLOOD STRIKEFILE #5
The Day After, Part 2
Written by Eric Stephenson
Drawn by Sam Liu
Down in the sewer, Thomas encountered another humanoid monster, who calls himself HUSK. This monster has killed several guards from the same lab that Thomas escaped from. Husks reveals his background, he’s a reject from a government project that was supposed to save him from dying, but instead turned him into a monster, and then they cast him and others before him, into the sewer to die, but Husk survived. He wants Thomas to join him, but Thomas doesn’t want to, so they fight. Thomas is scared at first but then starts to enjoy the fight as he realizes how strong his now, and he doesn’t have to hold back.
But Husk gets away (or maybe dies, it’s ambiguous), leaving Thomas sitting in the sewer, where Sentinel, Riptide, and Die Hard have been sent to capture him. After Thomas is brought to his father, Sentinel makes Thomas the offer to join Youngblood, where they can help train him to use how new powers to help people and, of course, Thomas enthusiastically accepts.
This is a great story, I loved the background on how Badrock got started. As far as I’m aware Husk was never seen again, which is a shame as his story raised some questions about Badrock’s father’s work (although his father seemed to have no knowledge of Husk’s creation). Husk also alluded to other men who were turned into monsters who served and were living with him in the sewers, what happened to them?
Well, I noticed that Husk is copyrighted to Eric Stephenson and Jason Pearson so, who knows? Maybe he could still show in an Image Comic someday?
From The Same Cloth
Written by Tom & Mary Bierbaum
Drawn by Chris Sprouse
This 10-page story features Masada. She’s recruited by an agent of the Mossad, Isreal’s NSA/CIA equivalent, to track down a rogue Mossad agent whom she used to be close to, who has snuck into America to assassinate a radical Black Muslim minister, who is absolutely not supposed to be a stand-in for Louis Farrakhan (wink wink). Masada accepts the assignment, but internally struggles with her conscience as she’s not only hunting a friend but protecting a man who is a rabid anti-Semite.
After failing to track down the assassin in time, Masada finds herself personally guarding the minister as he gives a speech denouncing Jewish people as bloodsuckers of the Black community. She recognizes the assassin sitting in the audience, even though he’s used makeup to disguise himself as a Black man, and sees that he’s rigged a fake bible to shoot bullets like a gun. Masada throws herself in front of the minister, foiling the assassination. Still, when she tries to apprehend the assassin he shoots himself in the head rather than allow himself to be taken alive (which I’m sure the Bierbaums deliberately wrote to echo the story of the Jews who committed suicide rather than be captured by the Romans at the historical battle from which Masada takes her name). And despite saving his life, the minister remains just as anti-Semitic as before. Ending the story on a somewhat somber tone.
A great story, which makes me wish The Bierbaums had gotten a chance to write more stories with her, to flesh out her character more. And I’ve always loved Chris Sprouse’s art.
Collectively this may be my favorite issue of this series.
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