Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. He co-created the character Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with writer Fabian Nicieza. In the early 1990s, Liefeld gained popularity due to his work on Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and later X-Force. In 1992, he and several other popular Marvel illustrators left the company to found Image Comics, which started a wave of comic books owned by their creators rather than by publishers. The first book published by Image Comics was Liefeld's Youngblood #1.
Liefeld has been called one of the most controversial figures in the comic industry for his drawing skills, business practices, and controversial comments.
Early life
Rob Liefeld was born on October 3, 1967, in Fullerton, California, the younger child of a Baptist minister and a part-time secretary. grew up in Anaheim, California.
Liefeld's love of comics began as a child, which led early on to his decision to be a professional artist, a practice that began with his tracing artwork from comic books. As a high-school student, he took basic fundamental art courses, and attended comic book conventions at the nearby Disneyland Hotel, where he met creators such as George Pérez, John Romita Jr., Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Mike Zeck and Marv Wolfman.
Career
Early career
After graduating from high school, Liefeld took life drawing classes at a local junior college, working odd jobs for about a year, including as a pizza delivery man and construction worker, while practicing his artwork, samples of which he sent to small comics publishers, as he was too intimidated to send them to the "Big Two" companies of Marvel Comics and DC Comics.
thumb|left|Among Liefeld's earliest published work was a pinup of his creation, [[Youngblood (comics)|Youngblood, in Megaton Comics Explosion #1 (June 1987).]]
Among the editors he sent art samples around 1985 to Gary Carlson of Megaton Comics. Carlson was working on Megaton #4, and was looking for replacements for artists who had moved on to bigger projects. Liefeld's submission packet consisted mostly of pinups of DC Comics characters like the Teen Titans and Legion of Super Heroes, as well as some sketches of Megaton characters. Although Carlson thought Liefeld's depictions of his characters was not sufficiently accurate, and exhibited what Carlson characterized as "some goofy anatomy", he found Liefeld's storytelling to be clear, and his rendering style evocative of the influence of artist George Pérez. Although Carlson liked Liefeld's work overall, he felt the young artist was not ready for professional work. Weeks later he received another set of samples that were an improvement, and later still, a four-page Berserker story (not to be confused with the Marvel or Top Cow characters of the same name), along with pinups of the Megaton characters Ultragirl and Ultraman. Carlson used one of the pinups as the inside front cover to Megaton #5, The book also featured an entry for Liefeld's own creation, a team of superheroes called Youngblood, the very first appearance of that team in print.
Carlson and his colleague Chris Ecker later met with the teenaged Liefeld, who at that point had not yet obtained his driver's license, at the Ramada O'Hare Hotel, which was then the location of the Chicago ComiCon. Impressed with the artist's enthusiasm and the new art samples he showed them, Carlson gave Liefeld a test script in order to judge his ability to draw a page-to-page comics story. Although Carlson was impressed with Liefeld's layouts, the story was eventually drawn by Gary Thomas by the time it saw print in Megaton #7. which indicated that it would next appear in Megaton Special #1, by Liefeld and writer Hank Kanalz, with a cover by artist Jerry Ordway. However, Megaton Comics went out of business before that could be printed.
Success with DC Comics and Marvel Comics
Learning from a friend that there was going to be a large number of editors in attendance at a comic book convention in San Francisco , Liefeld and his friend drove several hours to San Francisco, where they stayed with his aunt and uncle. At the convention, he showed editors his samples and offered a package, which consisted of 10 pages of sequential art featuring his own characters. Editor Dick Giordano, to whom Liefeld showed his samples at the DC booth, requested that Liefeld send him more samples. Although Liefeld was apprehensive about approaching the Marvel booth, he did so at his friend's urging, and as a result, editor Mark Gruenwald offered Liefeld a job illustrating an eight-page Avengers backup story featuring the Black Panther, much to the 19-year-old artist's surprise. Though the published story was ultimately illustrated by another artist, Liefeld was later given character design work by the publisher. His first published story, was a DC Comics Bonus Book insert in Warlord #131 (September 1988). Editor Robert Greenberger recalled that Liefeld "was discovered by my office-mate, Jonathan Peterson, who was scrambling to find something for him to do. I had the Warlord Bonus Book slot coming up, so to keep Rob from finding work at our rival, I tapped him for that." Next came the five-issue miniseries Hawk and Dove for DC Comics, the first issue of which was published with an October 1988 cover date. That same year, Liefeld drew Secret Origins #28.
Shortly thereafter, Liefeld began doing work for Marvel Comics as well, his first assignment for them being The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23. which underlined the increased popularity and clout that his stint on the title had earned him. which included an onscreen 800 number that viewers who worked in unique jobs could call in order to appear in the company's commercials. After calling the number and leaving a message describing himself and his career, Liefeld appeared in one of the commercials, in which Lee interviews Liefeld about his career and his creation, X-Force.
thumb|left|Liefeld and [[Marat Mychaels share a laugh as they sketch at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 2, 2010.]]
Liefeld and several other popular young artists including Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Whilce Portacio, Jim Valentino and Marc Silvestri left Marvel in 1992 to form Image Comics. Each co-founder formed his own studio under the Image banner, such as Liefeld's Extreme Studios. Liefeld's superhero team series Youngblood, which is partially a derivative of a 1991 Teen Titans series Liefeld had proposed to DC Comics, was the first comic Image published. He appeared on an episode of The Dennis Miller Show to promote the book.
The series' first issue was poorly received by both fans and critics for the unclear storytelling effected not only by Liefeld's art, but by the book's flip format, which some readers found confusing, as well as the book's poor anatomy; incorrect perspective; non-existent backgrounds; poor dialogue and the late shipping of the book, a problem that continued with subsequent issues. In an interview in Hero Illustrated #4 (October 1993), Liefeld conceded disappointment with the first four issues of Youngblood, calling the first issue a "disaster". Liefeld explained that production problems, as well as sub-par scripting by his friend and collaborator Hank Kanalz, whose employment Liefeld later terminated, resulted in work that was lower in quality than that which Liefeld produced when Fabian Nicieza scripted his plots on X-Force, and that reprints of those four issues would be re-scripted. Writer and Comics Buyer's Guide columnist Peter David pointed to Liefeld's scapegoating of Kanalz as an example of Liefeld's failure to take responsibility for his project, and evidence that genuine collaboration with good writers like Louise Simonson and Fabian Nicieza, which some of the Image founders did not appreciate, had previously reflected better on Liefeld's art.
In 1996, Liefeld's and Lee's studios signed with Marvel to re-envision several of the company's core series, an event called "Heroes Reborn". Liefeld was contracted to write twelve issues of The Avengers, co-written with Jeph Loeb, and was to pencil twelve issues of Captain America. Due to disappointing sales, Marvel terminated the agreement after six issues, and reassigned the two series to Lee's studio, one of the most controversial episodes in Liefeld's career. In early September, Liefeld issued a press release stating he was resigning his position at Image and leaving the group. Nearly simultaneously, the other Image partners issued a press release stating that they had fired Liefeld. His resignation came only minutes before the second meeting that would have forced him out.
Awesome Comics
After leaving Captain America, Liefeld attempted to buy the rights to Fighting American, a similarly patriotically themed 1954 character from Captain America's creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The still-living Simon and Kirby's widow agreed to a figure Liefeld felt was too high, and he created a new similar character, Agent America. Simon threatened to sue, and the parties renegotiated a deal acceptable to all. Marvel Comics then sued Liefeld, who was allowed to use the character but not have him throw his shield weapon, a distinctive trait of Captain America.
Liefeld also hired comic book writer Alan Moore to revive many of Liefeld's creations. Moore wrote a few issues of Youngblood and Glory, but his most lauded work for Liefeld was on Supreme, for which Moore won the 1997 Eisner Award for Best Writer.
Awesome's initial releases included new properties like Kaboom!, created by Jeff Matsuda. Awesome ceased operation in 2000 due to the departure of its primary investor.
2000s work
thumb|Liefeld (second from right) with the other founders of Image Comics at the 2007 [[San Diego Comic-Con]]
In the 2000s, Liefeld returned to his former characters in the X-Men franchise, providing pencils for Cable and X-Force until the early 2000s, when both were canceled.
In 2004, he reunited with Fabian Nicieza for an X-Force limited series and illustrated the early covers for Nicieza's Cable & Deadpool. In that same year, Liefeld formed Arcade Comics and once again announced plans to revive Youngblood. These involved reprinting older material and providing the art for two new series: Youngblood: Bloodsport with Mark Millar and Youngblood: Genesis with Brandon Thomas. Although the former only published one issue, Liefeld expressed hopes to finish the series.
Liefeld and writer Jeph Loeb returned to the Heroes Reborn Universe with Onslaught Reborn, a five-issue limited series that premiered in November 2006. It met with poor reviews.
In 2007, Liefeld and writer Robert Kirkman collaborated on a revival of Killraven. Although five issues of the series were finished, the project was cancelled without any of them being printed.
In July 2007, Rob Liefeld and Youngblood returned to Image Comics after ten years of self-publication. This Youngblood series was written by Joe Casey with art by Derec Donovan and Val Staples, and covers by Liefeld. It debuted in January 2008. Liefeld took over writing and art duties with issue #9, though that would be the series' final issue. To commemorate the event, and the 15th anniversary of Image Comics, the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con was headlined by the Image Founders panel, where all seven of the original Image Comics founders appeared on stage together.
2010s work
thumb|left|Liefeld sketching [[Deadpool in a copy of the Deadpool Volume 1 hardcover three days before the release of the 2016 Deadpool film. To his right is a figurine of the character.]]
2010 saw Liefeld return to the Deadpool character, first by penciling issue #1 of the Prelude to Deadpool Corps series, the issue focusing on Lady Deadpool. Liefeld became the regular artist on Deadpool Corps, providing interior art for the first nine issues.
In March 2011, Liefeld was announced as the artist on The Infinite, a mini-series written by Robert Kirkman. In January 2012, this project was canceled by Liefeld after Kirkman's studio, Skybound, disagreed on the work of a new inker Liefeld hired to draw 14 of the pages in issue #5, which Liefeld re-inked as a result.
In June 2011, he was announced as the artist on a new Hawk and Dove series, with writer Sterling Gates, as part of The New 52, DC Comics' relaunch of their entire superhero line, returning Liefeld to the characters that helped establish him in the industry. When that book was canceled as of issue #8, Liefeld was hired to take over three other titles: Grifter, Deathstroke and The Savage Hawkman, plotting all three, while also writing and drawing Deathstroke. Though he indicated in July 2012 that he would stay on the titles for a run that would end in 2013, he abruptly quit DC Comics in late August 2012, announcing that the #0 issues to be published in September would be his last. Though Liefeld characterized his experience on The New 52 as a positive one, he did not disguise his animosity toward editor Brian Smith, with whom his clashes were among his reasons for leaving the company. Other reasons he cited were frequent rewrites of his material, and the overall corporate culture that was more prevalent now that both DC and Marvel were owned by large media conglomerates. Liefeld also referred to Scott Clark's artwork on Grifter as "crap". Liefeld indicated that he would return to focusing on his creator-owned properties at Image, including Bloodstrike, Brigade, as well as other projects yet to be specified. Editor Tom Brevoort and writer Gail Simone defended Brian Smith, disputing Liefeld's characterization of him, leading to a heated exchange on Twitter between Liefeld and Brevoort, and eventually head Batman writer Scott Snyder as well.
In 2011–2012 Liefeld returned to his earlier creator-owned characters, with new books written and illustrated by other writers and artists. These included a new Avengelyne ongoing series debut at Image Comics under the creative team of Mark Poulton and Owen Gieni, a Bloodstrike series written by Tim Seeley, a Glory series written by Joe Keatinge and illustrated by Sophie Campbell, and a Prophet series written by Brandon Graham that garnered critical acclaim. He also published revivals of Youngblood with writer John McLaughlin with artist Jon Malin and Supreme by Erik Larsen in 2012.
In August 2012 Liefeld generated controversy by posting a tweet in which he said of his creation, Deadpool, and the creators who worked on the character:
The comment was met with criticism by industry professionals who pointed to the esteemed creators who had worked on the character that Liefeld was apparently calling "D-list" creators. Among these critics was Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool, who pointed out that some of these past creators included Joe Kelly, Ed McGuinness, Joe Madureira, Gail Simone, David Lapham and Kyle Baker. by saying, "Yes!!! I've been elevated to the 'D list' of talent. Thanks Rob. Now if I can only learn how to ink while driving a car." Then-Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso also referenced other creators who had worked on Deadpool, including Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, and Tony Moore, saying, "Welcome to the D-list, @GerryDuggan @thebrianposehn @tonymoore! Howdy Doody just put your name on the list." Writer Rick Remender, another veteran of books featuring Deadpool, stated, "Lot of talented people you just called out as D-list. Might be a better way to congratulate yourself?" Liefeld stated that his point was that "heavy contract players" at Marvel such as Leinil Francis Yu, Steve McNiven, Arthur Adams, and Olivier Coipel did not produce regular monthly books featuring the character. On March 3, Liefeld apologized for his comments, saying, "As a parent I tell my kids it costs nothing to apologise, so here goes: I apologise and am truly sorry to everyone I insulted with my D-list comments. I said it and can't take it back." Liefeld stated that his original complaint was that Marvel tended to rely on new and unproven talent on Deadpool, and not to attack creators such as the then-new team of Posehn, Duggan, and Moore. In an interview that month, Liefeld stated that he was working on the graphic novel Deadpool: Bad Blood, which was set for release later that year.
In June 2019, Liefeld reacted to the sweeping editorial changes that occurred at DC Comics in the aftermath of a controversial printing error on Batman Damned #1 with a set of two tweets in which he stated, "DC Comics gonna drive off a cliff here real soon ... gotta get my popcorn ... I ain't never seen a company in as much disarray as DC Comics. Thank God they have Batman to act as their Tylenol, , laughing gas ... 'more Batman will fix it! When writer Mark Millar expressed skepticism of this prediction, pointing to DC's strong lineup, Liefeld replied that Millar's assessment was a dated one that had not been true since the 1980s. Liefeld further tweeted, "I understand my DC honesty will cost me a potential opportunity but who cares! C'mon... they should fire everybody in management and refresh. Batman will still be there for the next group ... And Jim Lee could finally draw the X-Men for you again!!! Wins all around!!"
2020s work
thumb|Liefeld at the 2022 [[WonderCon]]
In July 2020 IDW Publishing released the first issue of Snake Eyes: Deadgame, a G.I. Joe-related series co-written by Liefeld and Chad Bowers, and penciled by Liefeld, Adelso Corona, and Neil Vyetake. Around that same time, Liefeld began a podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Podbean called Robservations, in which he talks about different topics pertaining to the comics industry. Liefeld debuted on his Instagram account a proof of concept trailer for Bloodstrike, based on the Image Comics series he had debuted in 1993 as a spinoff of Youngblood. The short was directed by Philip J. Silvera, who had met Liefeld during production of the 2016 Deadpool film, on which Silvera had served as a stunt coordinator and second unit director. Over the years, interest had been expressed in the property by individuals such as Akiva Goldsman and Graham King, and production companies such as Netflix, which optioned the development rights, but these eventually expired without any produced results. Liefeld explained in the caption that accompanied the trailer that he released it in the hopes of spurring renewed interest in producing a Bloodstrike film, saying, "When taking a comic book from page to screen there are always hurdles, screenplay, screenwriters, talent that attach and move on. It gets old really fast." Liefeld hoped the film would be directed by Silvera, whom Liefeld said had expressed not only a significant knowledge of comics, but a passion for the characters of Liefeld's Extreme Studios. According to Liefeld, Silvera had also expressed a commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic to make a Bloodstrike film after his commitments at the time were fulfilled, beginning with the trailer.
On February 5, 2024, Liefeld announced on Twitter that after producing one final Deadpool comic to be published later that year, he was retiring from writing or drawing the character, stating, "I am retiring from Deadpool. It's official. Yup, after 33 years of not only introducing Deadpool but chronicling many of his most popular adventures it's time for the Deadpool Daddy to say farewell. One of the fun parts about getting older is you can retire from things, so here I am." Liefeld cited his age as a reason for his decision, explaining, "In case you are wondering, why now? That's easy, I'll be 57 at the end of this and my eyes are still functioning, the work continues to be strong, I want to go out with the best effort I can muster. The hand-eye coordination won't be there forever."
In October 2024, Liefeld announced that the following year he would be launching a new Youngblood series through Image Comics, his first time producing work featuring that team in seven years. The series would be accompanied by the Youngblood Vault Edition, which would feature high-resolution scans of art from the first Youngblood series in 1992, collected in a deluxe oversized hardcover, as well as a facsimile edition of that series' debut issue in time for its 33rd anniversary in April 2025.
In the February 3, 2025 episode of his podcast, Robservations, and a follow-up interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Liefeld stated that he had severed ties with Marvel, following perceived slights at the July premiere in New York of Deadpool & Wolverine. Specifically, Liefeld learned that he and his family were not invited to the afterparty, despite having attended such events in the past, which Liefeld said "was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me." He also said that he had been ignored by top Disney officials, including Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, despite the fact that Feige had been standing near Liefeld. In addition, Liefeld said he posed for professional photos with members of the film's production, but later was told by his publicist that those photos had been deleted. He perceived the photos to have been taken as a courtesy only, without any intention of being published, though The Hollywood Reporters Aaron Couch said that other photos of Liefeld and his family were used in Disney's Getty press portal from the event. Liefeld said that his ire with the company began in early 2023, when he learned that it made the controversial decision to change the credits on Wolverine by giving co-creator status to editor Roy Thomas, which upset Christina Valada, the widow of Wolverine co-creator Len Wein, with whom Liefeld is close friends. Liefeld also made a July 2023 request for special credit on Deadpool & Wolverine, akin to the prominent credit DC Comics gives Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster on its Superman publications, and inquired about other possible promotional opportunities, but this too was rebuffed. Liefeld believed that the negative reaction Marvel had to his request is what motivated his treatment at the premiere.
In March 2025, Liefeld revealed that he would be selling his revived Youngblood series directly to readers on the Whatnot livestreaming platform, where he was one of the most active and popular comics creators, having sold 18,000 comics, prints, and other products on that platform. Liefeld explained that he made this decision due to what he said were poor orders from comic shops for his recent Marvel work and variant covers, complaining that stores were not ordering his books in abundance, and cited reports of some stores not stocking his work at all, with the orders for his variant cover to February 26's Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween #5 being the last straw. On March 2, he wrote on Facebook, "Livestreaming is the first line of distribution for these comics. Retailers have proven unreliable with distribution of my work. I can't allow their inconsistent practices to dictate terms of my engagement with customers. My customers are left scrambling again and again for copies of my work...When they couldn't even order my Batman cover correctly, that sealed it. For months, I go to stores and their shelves are stuffed with unsold product. 15–30 copies of comics that did not move off the shelves and won't unless they are part of a discount sale opportunity. My comics are all gone, my variants like Timeslide are hunted at top prices online. My Deadpool Team-Ups are all gone and now my Batman cover is sold out everywhere. The retail situation is upside down. I'd much rather be the guy with the empty slot due to demand exceeding supply, but all these unsold comics represent a huge misfire on behalf of retailers. Direct to consumer will continue to grow." Liefeld had previously sold direct to fans in 2013, when he ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund a relaunch of his other series, Brigade. That campaign raised twice its $17,500 goal, though as of March 2025, the hardcover edition collecting select Brigade issues had not yet shipped to the 30 people who ordered it, resulting in complaints on social media and the Kickstarter comments section. Liefeld flew to Arizona to personally inspect five special editions of the book, which were printed on with heavy card stock, and limited to approximately 80 issues in total. Each edition would be made available exclusively on Liefeld's website for 24 hours, never to be sold again. Eventually, a standard version of the book will be published by Image Comics.
Criticism and praise
thumb|[[Mark Millar speaking with Liefeld at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 2, 2010]]
Liefeld's name has become something of a lightning rod in the industry. In an interview, Brian Michael Bendis described the polarization of opinion on Liefeld: "There is a great dichotomy... There's either some great and generous story about [Liefeld] or you will hear some unbelievable thing like, 'How is he not in jail if he did that?' There is no middle ground."
In interviews, Liefeld has compared himself to other popular figures who experienced meteoric success and acclaim early in their careers but near-pariah status afterwards, such as LeBron James or Britney Spears, including those who defend his art. The A.V. Club says of Liefeld's critics, "Rob Liefeld is the punching bag of choice for many discerning comics fans. But he's also the man who defined what the 1990s looked like in superhero books, so he's crying all the way to the bank. For every detractor who thinks he's the worst thing to happen to comic books since Fredric Wertham, there are a dozen ravenous fanboys ready to snatch up whatever he does next." Comics writer Grant Morrison credited the Image creators with "rescuing" American comics, explaining that they responded to children's tastes of the time, and brought comics back to their basic superhero roots following the British Invasion in comics and the popularization of titles typified by Vertigo Comics, which Morrison was a part of. Morrison stated that they are an admirer of Liefeld's work in particular, explaining that while Liefeld's art was regarded as "total crap" in the 1990s, many comic book artists today see it as an avant-garde abstraction of reality that is as bizarre and individual as Vincent van Gogh. In 2012, Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool said of DC Comics' decision to assign Liefeld the co-scripting and drawing duties on three of their flagging New 52 titles, "Rob does have a habit, of course, of pulling out sales and attention like a rabbit out of a hat."
In 2013, he was named on IGNs list of "The Best Tweeters in Comics" for both his industry insight and his bluntness.
Art style
Liefeld has been criticized for his drawing skill.