Infamous comic book artist Rob Liefeld is over Marvel — for real this time, not like that time he split from the company in the 90s to help launch Image Comics. In a recent episode of his podcast Robservations, Liefeld opened up about the apparent mistreatment he felt at the hands of Marvel Studios at the Deadpool & Wolverine film premiere last summer.
Liefeld claimed he was not invited to the after party, and that the step-and-repeat photos in which he took part were immediately discarded, suggesting that his participation in the red carpet ritual was only done as courtesy, instead of rightful worship he deserved for co-creating the "Merc with a Mouth." He added that he was also frustrated by Marvel's decision to retroactively alter the creator credits for the character of Wolverine.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Liefeld added:
Marvel's treatment of creators has never been their strength. Without the worlds, the characters and the concepts that we create — and in this specific case, the world of Deadpool — there are no films to shoot. No blockbusters to distribute. … I am not the easy button at Staples. I am the human imagination behind it all. Comic book creators cannot continue to be relegated as afterthoughts. This is easy to address.
There are annoying things about Rob Liefeld's work, such as his inability to draw feet and refusal to evolve his bro-tastic (and weirdly homoerotic?) style. He may claim more credit for the creation of Deadpool than he's due—Liefeld designed a lot of repetitive characters that were generically badass with no actual interesting qualities until other creators fleshed them out. And he is one of the few comic book artists in history who developed his art into financial success—despite the lack of feet.
But here, he's right. The comic book industry is ripe with stories of heartbreaking exploitation; even with the multi-billion-dollar successes of Marvel Studios, the company has tried to wash the blood from its hands by offering one-time payments of $5000 to creators whose characters get featured in films. While this may seem generous in that it is not contractually required—when you create a character for Marvel under a work-for-hire-agreement, the company doesn't technically owe you any residuals—it is still a pittance compared to the amount of money the company makes off of those characters.
In that regard, Liefeld's treatment at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere was sadly par for the course. While his primary complaint does seem to be that he was not treated as special enough (Liefeld points out that he never asked for additional money), the overall issue is a valid one.
After leaving Marvel Comics to help found Image Comics, Liefeld has occasionally returned to the company, mostly to do weird one-off miniseries featuring his pet characters. Next week sees the publication of his latest project in this vein, Deadpool Team-Up: Blood of the Dragon. But after this book, Liefeld says, he's done with Marvel. For good. For real this time.
Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld Will No Longer Work With Marvel After 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Premiere Indignities [Aaron Couch / The Hollywood Reporter]
