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The Insult That Made A Man Out Of Rob Liefeld And Saw Him Quit Marvel

The Insult That Made A Man Out Of Rob Liefeld And Saw Him Quit Marvel... the red carpet drama behind Rob Liefeld's decision to leave

If anyone wants to draw the Atlas Man Of Muscle parody featuring Rob Liefeld and Kevin Feige, go ahead. Last year, Bleeding Cool reported on Rob Liefeld's declared decision that first he would no longer work on Deadpool comics after the conclusion of the Deadpool Team Up series out next week. Then that he was done entirely with Marvel. It didn't seem a decision made in anger, but one of deciding what he wanted in life, committing to creator-owned comics, and doing the Alan Moore trick of burning your bridges so that your future self could not betray your decision in the moment. Of course, this would not be the only time Rob Liefeld had burnt bridges, only to later see them rebuilt by others. And Tom Brevoort sidelined. This, however, seemed more permanent. At the time, Rob said that there was no drama over this decision. But this week, it seems that there was a fair bit.

In his recent Robservations podcast, Rob Liefield cited events around July's New York premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine. Where the creator of Deadpool discovered that he and his family were not invited to the premiere afterparty and was blanked by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige on the red carpet, stating that "it was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me". He also discovered that after being asked by Disney reps to pose for photos with people involved with Deadpool & Wolverine, his publicist later told him that any official photos taken with him and the movie cast and crew were deleted.

He also cites his issues beginning in 2023, when Marvel chose to give co-creator status of Wolverine to the editor Roy Thomas of the comic where Wolverine first appeared, against usual creative protocol where its the writers and artists who get that credit, causing consternation across the industry, with Liefeld close to Wolverine co-creator Len Wein's widow Christine Valada.

Then in 2024, Liefeld asked if he could receive a lead credit on Deadpool & Wolverine, with Fabian Nicieza as co-creators of Deadpool, similar to what Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby have received for recent movies, or even Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster on Superman, asking that this request be sent to Bob Iger and Kevin Feige. Stating, "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." His agents told him that his message was not received well inside Marvel, tweeting, "My reps were screamed at today 'We are NOT Fox!' Tell me about it. Also hung up on."  He states, "Kevin Feige does not treat comic book creators well. That is my personal experience". He posts to Facebook, "This last issue of Deadpool Team-Up is my final work with all the gang and my last work with Marvel. I had a good time. In stores Feb. 12th!"

Rob Liefeld posted "Thank you to everyone who has reached out today. I appreciate you all so much. I will always believe that comic creators are special and deserve special treatment. It cost nothing to share a kind word, sadly, even that was beneath Marvel & Disney. My family and I deserved common decency. We are the dreamers that light the way. Maybe the situation improves for others from here forward."

I am also reminded of the time Todd McFarlane chose to quit Marvel because they didn't send him one of the T-shirts Marvel had licensed featuring his work. For something that would have cost almost nothing, Marvel has lost someone who definitely made them a lot of money.

Fellow Deadpool writer Gail Simone posted on Facebook, "I feel very weird about this because I absolutely believe the creators of Deadpool should be treated wonderfully and with all the respect they have earned. On the other hand, Marvel treated me wonderfully at that same premiere. I mean, they went WAY out of their way to make it a lovely experience. I hope this gets worked out for everyone."

In response, Michael D. Flohr asked "How did they treat Fabian?" And Fabian Nicieza replied "Fabian was treated just fine and Fabian was invited to the after party, so infer from that whatever you wish." He also added "Fabian was disappointed that all the celebrities and movie people were cordoned off behind a roped off section of the place. Fabian was also disappointed that the only chance he had to meet director Shawn Levy was in the men's room when he was at the urinal and Fabian was waiting in line. Fabian chose to not introduce himself as Shawn went to wash his hands and Fabian just went to the urinal instead. Mostly, Fabian was really glad to see Shawn wash his hands because Fabian tends to be appalled by how many people don't."

It might be worth revisiting at the time, from that premiere, that Fabian Nicieza posted on X, "A "writer's photo" from the #DeadpoolAndWolverine premiere has gotten play, which is honestly nice, but also: COMIC BOOKS ARE A VISUAL MEDIUM. They do not exist without artists. I thank the artists who have ALWAYS made my Deadpool stories better because they were OUR stories."

So, yes, Fabian Nicieza was invited to the Deadpool & Wolverine after party, and Rob Liefeld was not. That's a lot more than a free T-shirt and, for the price of some appetisers, Marvel has lost any more Deadpool – or anything – from Rob Liefeld, including the previously promised Major X and X-Men series previously announced. Deadpool Team-Up #5 by Rob Liefeld is published next Wednesday.

DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #5 (OF 5) ROB LIEFELD VAR
MARVEL COMICS
OCT240641
(W) Rob Liefeld (A/CA) Rob Liefeld
THE END.
•  Deadpool is down. The Dragon's eggs are in jeopardy. Will the ultimate team-up end in…the ultimate sacrifice?
•  Rob Liefeld's FINAL issue of his FINAL Deadpool storyline is here. Don't miss this historic conclusion!
PARENTAL ADVISORYIn Shops: Feb 12, 2025 SRP: $3.99

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