on the other hand, i love deadpool. but deadpool was probably just an accident in which liefeld was copying some drawing out of an old comic, got confused, and accidentally traced some other drawing on top of it.

I definitely wonder why there are many Liefeld detractors who continue to beat a dead horse. At this point, people should just over it and move on.

Somehow, you all must have missed Method Man stopping by to praise Rob as well.

Yeah, I gotta say you took a lot of liberty with that bleak intro synopsis…

I was absolutely swamped at the New York comic con, deluged and over-commited with requests for art commissions, a record con high 35 commissions for me. Many of these are displayed at http://www.robliefeld.com This is why I repeatedly put off your interview requests over the course of the con until agreeing in the closing minutes to finally give the interview.

Yes, Image comics does not invest six-figures into their convention displays, they cannot afford to do so as Image is not constructed in the same manner as Marvel, DC and Dark Horse. That said, they’re placement could have been better on the floor but I’d rather be up against a wall and busy as a bee in NYCC then not at all.

The notion that I was somehow a “lonely” artist with a hand written placard eagerly awaiting fan interaction is completely fabricated. As anyone who interacted with me at the show realized, I was frenzied in my attempts to fulfill my commitments. And did you miss the ten-foot Liefeld banner prominently displayed behind me???

There are many, many people who come to a show and want to purchase artwork from artists who they follow, this is how I was as a young fan. I went to shows, money in hand, budget-minded, to purchase art from my favorite artists, that was how I preferred to interact with creators, not getting signatures but in collecting art. When people commission art from me at a show, I try my very best to meet that demand at the show and not carry it home and exchange through mail. My list filled up immediately and in order to meet the demand of 35 commissions in a 48 hour window, I was not as fan friendly as I would like to have been, focusing instead on fulfilling the commitment to fans to provide satisfying artwork they commissioned from me. Were I staying for Sunday, I would have booked even more commissions as demand was definitely there.

Once my commission list was complete, I was able to clear my head and agree to your interview. You also fail to mention that we were basically yelling over the loud din of the still very active convention hall. This as well as my own personal fatigue was responsible for what you have deemed as my ” stand-off-ish” nature. That said, the interview is a good and true.

This idea that the business has somehow passed me by is preposterous. I am in the enviable position of being able to come and go as I choose and my creations are prominently displayed throughout the halls of Marvel and Image as well as on the racks of Comic retailers throughout cons such as NYCC. I built my real estate in this business. it doesn’t matter wether or not you respect it or not, it exists, period. And it is mine.

Upon arriving home from NYCC, my Youngblood movie with Brett Ratner was announced, which followed my “Capeshooters” announcement with Bryan Singer in August. There are many more deals in the works that will see the light of day soon. Deadpool is a key figure in the Wolverine movie and a candidate for his own franchise. It’s a great experience being in control of my own creations, a control that many of today’s exciting crop of artists has yet to excercise.

Sincerely,

rob

You know, I can’t really ever hate Rob Liefeld. His art style is kinda goofy, sure, but he got the freedom to create his own characters, his action scene were dynamic, and he seems to have a genuine crazy love for doing comics. Many of the other Image founders seemed to have business first, comics second, but Rob seemed to really invested in his own creations.

Besides, he created Deadpool, the Mercenary with a Mouth, so I’m willing to overlook a lot.