A few notes/corrections (includes spoilers): -I mention Louise Simonson but show a picture of Ann Nocenti. This will haunt me until the end of my days. Weezy deserves better. As does Ann. I'll be sure to get to them both in future videos. -I show Stan Lee and say Spike Lee. I actually do mean Spike Lee though! The video of him in a yellow shirt is a Levis ad commercial that was directed by Spike Lee, where Rob creates a character called "Spike man" for him. The Stan Lee video was a direct-to-VHS interview. But the way I edited it is very confusing. -Marc Gruenwald hires him to Marvel and then I show DC books. His first published work was for Marvel, illustrations of the Zodiac in a Handbook of the Marvel Universe Issue. I found what I believed was the work in question, but I wasn't able to verify it, so I ended up cutting it, leading to the confusion. So yes, he does start at Marvel, before really launching his career at DC before dramatically returning to Marvel. -Someone said I slipped a Larsen page in with Todd's Spider-Man pages, sorry about that! -As always, there's a ton I left out. There were multiple causes of Liefeld's departure from image. His poaching of talent from Silvestri's Top Cow, some accusations of using Image resources to promote non-Image books, inability to pay back a fee that was inadvertently paid out to all the image partners, etc. And yes, Jim Lee would return to do work for Marvel as well and wasn't kicked out of Image. But again, there's so much to the Image story that I'll cover in the future, I really just wanted to focus on Liefeld and his relationship with McFarlane and not spend half the video on Image drama. -I show an establishing shot of San Francisco when I say San Diego! I was too focused on trying to get that little graphic to look cool. Oops! Thank you all for embracing this video and for keeping me honest with the fact checks! I always strive to catch everything but things inevitably slip by me.
Nice that you clarify certain errors. Your stuff is fun to watch. Do more vids on other comic book creators, specifically ones that actually have artistic talent & can write well ;)
Yeah his proportions were off a bit, but like who fking cares. He brought a bombastic anime style and it was an awesome breath of fresh air. He was good where it mattered...vision, flair and so much visual energy it slapped you in the face. Loved his art style.
DUDE! This video was awesome. #subscribeded I grew up a Image/Liefeld fanboy and then "turned on" him after his Cap run... This video was eye opening. I think I may have been too hard on small feet guy. I am glad that Rob and Todd are working thru stuff. Looking forward to more vids... Interested to see things from Lee's, Larsen's, Portacio's , Valentino's and Silvestri's perspectives
Letting go your own ego and making up with someone whom you had a bitter falling out with despite of your success is pretty brave. I have a new found respect for Rob Liefeld as a person.
The world is a better place when you realize that restoring the friendship is worth more than your ego. So yeah seeing these two guys becoming friends once more makes me happy.
I think it comes with age for most. What seems like less than a 20-minute video to us is an entire professional life lived by these people, which they can't get away from again. There was probably much bitterness towards the subject before he went over it. I just hope he didn't regret much though.
I was prepared to hate an untalented egomaniac, then i saw a creative kid with a dream, then the untalented egomaniac, but was thrown back around to the creative guy who moved past his ego and picked up the pieces and learned. A rollercoaster of emotions, what an arc.
No, Rob Leifled WAS a talented artist entirely so, it's just that his artwork got worse at some point in time and he wasn't doing his best to keep it up to date and good standards. His comic panels and layouts suffered the MOST as his later issues of young blood were incomprehensible, as the video stated. And than we all know what happened with his captain america issue run which we know is history.
I get what you saying bro but How can you call him “untalented “ 🤦🏾♂️😂😂 dont just be trying to hurt people feelings. Because that’s not even a word you can use against someone like him. It’s mfs who can only draw stick figures as people ! This man is A ARTIST! U cannot be that without talent. Stop just using word’s because of emotion. It’s disrespectful to even insinuate honestly. Sorry for the rant but Art is a passion.
@@karithema9ician657 Can't be an artist without talent? Bullshit. If you make art, you're an artist. Doesn't mean you're a good artist, but you're still an artist. Also, successful artists all have one thing in common: Skill. Not talent. Talent only gets you so far, you have to turn that talent into an actual skill to get anywhere, and that takes hard work and dedication. So it would be more accurate to say you can't truly be an artist without hard work and dedication. Talent is dime a dozen, drive is what gets you there.
I honestly don’t care how bad his art style is. The fact that he worked hard at a young age to provide for his dad and family automatically gives him my highest respect.
Yeah that is beyond heavy stuff and very cool of him. I'm sure a lot of his more rambunctious ego moments is due to feeling success in a life that is constantly challenging to take everything you love away from you.
Well i was there 4 the comic revolution/death in the 90s. Him n Todd changed the game. Average artist at best or not their ideas changed comics. Then comics died so who knows.
It really sucks Rob isn’t a cameo in Deadpool 3, he deserves it. Also his art style is definitely unique, it’s not my favorite compared to some other styles but it’s still cool and instantly recognizable! Sucks he’s retiring soon. Dude is a Legend
@VancityMerc319 they reference the foot joke in deadpool 2 also when domino and deadpool are arguing about how her powers work " who would come up with a dumb power like that ? Probably someone who can't draw feet" Or something along those lines
That was so brutal and such a clean roast! But regardless of that, I do heavily respect and admire Rob Liefeld alot because of his passion for art and comics and alot of his early artwork for comics as shown in the video before they started to have issues as Mattt pointed out in the video.
Genuinely glad to see that he wisened up and actually reconnected with his old friend, and it looks like he genuinely has come to accept his failings and move forward. I respect a man who can do that.
I gotta say, I have a newfound respect for Rob, regardless of his ridiculous art style. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and that thing about his dad was just heart-breaking.
Exactly. It’s pretty easy for us to criticize while we don’t know behind the curtain. I’m not fan of his art style but I did enjoyed many of his work at marvel. Knowing his background now and how he has to be the man of the house at a young age, made sense he never improved, he didn’t have time to. Supporting his family got my admiration.
The art style is pretty cool. Technically he’s not good, but style is a separate thing. Plenty of technically superior artists no one will remember because they’re boring. Obviously you should have both, but of the two style is more important.
@jk6971they worked together a few times. there's even RUclips videos of Rob and Todd creating a character for none other than Stan Lee ( who insults them the entire time, it's glorious )
@@reginaldforthright805 The issue people have with Liefeld (albeit they never actually say it like this) is that his art is ALL style. He lacks any creative and storytelling vision other than making everything extreme, which leaves all his work lacking substance. Very few comic artists are technically skilled enough in illustration to be admired for it, so when artists are lacking in every other aspect as well, it's a lot more noticeable.
The quiet light work: you embrace this particular art with love, for the stories told and the stories behind and under the stories we know. This is low-key wholesome and I like it.
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I love the line that he was a kid who knew what other kids wanted to see. He was probably the single biggest contributor to the early 90s comics craze for this reason.
Rob truly was.It's so easy to bash the guy,but,I've always looked at his success rather than his art and brought these things up on other channels when the bashings started.And the silence was deafening. LOL.
@@cianbroderick7733 I understand your point,but,I have to give Rob his dues as a creator/person,he's successful despite his mediocre artwork.People dump on his art,but,neglect his overall successes in the comic business.As an artist it's your job to sell whatever title you draw ( sales matter )and he has done this in spades.
Yea he did the one thing that I was told multiple times about learning art and that's not to get too deep into your comfort zone. He should have improved, but It's as if he rarely study. He probably feels like he's popular and it makes money so it works. Kinda true though.
@@KouD3Grawhe was never taught. He didn't have a base, so he didn't know what not to do. And when people started to complain he was already successful. He had the technical skill, and didn't know a whole other side of art existed.
It's his trademark to keep drawing badly, just as it's Arnolds trademark to not get rid of his Austrian accent. When Rob botches perspectives and anatomy those drawings get famous and talked about. Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all and it earns him money.
I'm glad they're friends again. Losing someone who was like a brother to you is a pain that's almost impossible to overcome--especially if they're still alive, ya know?
It really seems what killed their friendship was when it became a business relationship. Now, 30-odd years after the fact, I can see why it's easier for them to reconnect after doing their own things for a while.
I'm a little less comfortable with it because Todd has stabbed a lot of people in the back over the years and I'm not sure it's healthy to be friends with him. Ever hear the bullshit he did to Neil Gaiman?
Yeah it was going into business together that killed their relationship and McFarlane stating spawn was the backbone of the company which drove lefield away
Compared to other professionals he's quite bad. Not being rude or anything against the guy, but his fundamentals are poor. Drawing a simple thing very well is harder than drawing a complicated thing badly.
@@808sirenz9people just have this weird unjustified hatred for liefeld. They hear that he's a bad artist and go with it, mostly because of a few bad panels. They don't even pay mind to his entire portfolio
Yeah this. You should get better with age, and if you don't you need to either take some chances make some mistakes or reflect on where you've been and who you are now.
I got to meet Rob Liefeld at San Diego Comic Con 2023 while cosplaying Deadpool (not even planned, we just saw each other while walking the halls). He was a super nice and down-to-earth guy. Complimented my costume and everything. I'm also an avid listener of his podcast. He's not the most technically clean artist but his work is a LOT better than people give him credit for. It's clear, distinct, and has a vibrant vibe that a lot of art misses. If you listen to his podcasts and interviews, he's also very passionate about and well-versed in pop culture and superheroes. He's really one of us and a true geek. I've always thought the hate against him was unwarranted and, frankly, driven by jealousy because he is successful and does not hide from it. (Not that he boasts about it, either.) He's genuine, which can rub some people the wrong way. He was very influential on comics and superheroes. That goes overlooked. His humble roots and wish to help his family is admirable. His work ethic and persistence is inspiring. He's also one of the few nerds who understands the business side and potential of superheroes. Not enough geeks realize or respect the importance of that.
His work did improve over time, not as much as his peers from Image or other artists from that time, but he's far removed from the Heroes Reborn Captain America and the goofy characters from Youngblood.
"He's not the most technically clean artist but his work is a LOT better than people give him credit for. It's clear, distinct, and has a vibrant vibe that a lot of art misses." I've been reading comics for 35+ years. This is something I have been saying from the beginning. A lot of Liefeld's detractors just jumped on the hate bandwagon due to social media. Sure, he's got some pieces out there that are less than ideal but take a good, long, hard look at his work *collectively* and it's very, very obvious the guy is a superstar when it comes to drawing comic characters. He was making things exciting when other artists were just there to get a paycheck. The dude was dealt a bad hand (Not that some of it wasn't his own fault because it absolutely was) and he ended up paying the piper for it. Having said that - he'd still draw circles around 99.9% of the people talking shit about him. Mcfarlane is a rare case -that guy is a once in a lifetime success story. He knows exactly what people want and he happened to have a personal relationship with Liefeld that declined, so of course he was going to have some things to say. Having the audience and pull that he does that inspired a lot of people who otherwise have no stock in Liefeld to hate on him. I'm not saying that's Mcfarlane's fault - I'm not even sure HE expected it to be honest.
I was at his house a few years ago fixing his washer and dryer. Indeed he loves comics and he didn't brag about himself. It took me a while to realize it was him. His name on the work order was different so I wasn't sure at first.
I think most of the hate is literally just a bunch of social media artists who just hate the fact that he's so successful. He's hasn't done anything wrong, and people hate him for it. Like I get it, it's funny to clown on his many drawing errors, but at what point does the joke become genuine bitterness and hatred?
Learning about Rob's dad and his family's struggle makes me appreciate what he did as a young man and artist. I too, was impressed by his artwork initially. It was big and bold. Unfortunately he did not improve so I stopped purchasing his books. He was part of comic history when he and the others left Marvel (which had become garbage). This brazen move opened the door for more artists and writers to create and own their creations. Nicely done video.
I'm glad that they made up and repaired their relationship. Having a someone go from a mentor, inspiration, and motivation to a competitor and "enemy" is not easy.
This is one of the artists I can't hate. He was going through hard times and I can understand him doing whatever he can to help his family. He saw that he was a hit and very successful and he milked it for all he could. Any of us would've done the same to save or at least help the ones we truly love. He was going through a lot. I actually have a lot of respect for that. So I understand him even though he acted sh!tty. I'm just glad he grew up and realized he was acting like a clown but not only that, he calmed down and apologized to repair his friendships, not for money but because he truly cared about those people and didn't want to lose them. I'm also VERY happy that Todd gave him another shot and holds no grudges. Whether they work together or not, I'm glad they're friends. Todd is a wonderful friend for that! 👍👍👍
Dude, he created Deadpool. A character so relatable yet had the ability to interact with us too! And the fact he had quite the career run from nothing gives him my highest respect.
There’s no rules in art except plagiarism. Lichtenstein literally used red stickers on his paintings.. I think people who paid tons of money on art school were just jealous when they couldn’t get paid work because they are a dime a dozen..Haha
He co-created him. Most of the work came from Fabian Nicieza. Rob mostly designed the suit but not the rest and yet everyone credits him for making DP alone. Almost a Bob Kane-Bill Finger situation
I really appreciate you humanizing Rob and highlighting what made him successful. Since the 90, even during the hype, I never liked his art. But he is human. And I’m glad he’s continuing to grow.
He was just a new generation of artist like Kirby, Kirby drew weird and was sneered at by his peers but his pages had power just like Robs do in their own way, being a liefeld hater is low hanging fruit, guys a genius in his own way, end of the day it’s comics not life drawing
@@Matt_Wilson01 so, I actually didn’t like his art for personal taste. I had no idea if the backlash. I remember a few issues if his that got a lot of hype and I just did not understand why. Funny thing is when I learned of the hate, it deflated my disappointment with his work because I just didn’t want to be another hater.
You know what, if he’s genuinely trying to repair those friendships he ruined, then that’s a lot of respect I have to give. It takes a lot of pride swallowing to try and mend a fence like that.
@@gezenewsSay what you really mean, you would rather others didn't try to mend their relationships. Not everyone is you though, and many people are open to forgiveness and redemption.
I've heard Todd McFarlane speak before. His best advice to artists was, and I'm paraphrasing... if you're an artist then get your work out there. Don't worry about it looking perfect, just put yourself out there and sell it at a booth. The same with writing stories, don't worry about how good the writing or story is, just do it and put it out there. He explained that he's written plenty of bad stories and that all that matters is that you keep working towards your goals and put your stuff out there constantly. Those are the ones who get paid.
There's a thing I read once in that same vein, To be a great thinker, you must become a good thinker, to be a good thinker, you must become a thinker. To become a thinker, you must first be willing to produce mediocre and downright awful ideas. Only through doing do you begin to improve yourself.
This is very much the advice for content creation career. Even if it's shit, as long as you continue, you'll grow to become better. By putting yourself out there, there are chances you'll have a following of people that want to watch you grow.
I agree. That's great advice. You have to be willing to swallow your ego and learn "on the job." That's why so few persevere - it's really hard to do that, especially with how critical people can be.
Was watching this unironically because I’ve seen that captain America photo around and wanted to point and laugh. Turned out to be an amazing story of a young dude hungry for success, achieved accomplishments beyond his wildest dreams. Failed, but went through an amazing redemption arc. Awesome vid
I'm not super into his style, but it's so dumb that that Captain America portrait is always shown when talking about this guy. Like that's the ONLY thing he drew. A lot of his stuff was goofy and did make me roll my eyes a bit, but it was DYNAMIC. I can totally understand why he blew up in the 90s.
@@noobmaster4412 This is... oddly - the right answer. 😂 To rephrase it - I would say you need to practice the right / correct things - and never overdo something to the point that irreversible bad habits start to form - always work on different pieces and with differing styles. If there's 2 things that I, as a lifelong bad artist aspiring to become a good artist have learnt - is that firstly - you NEED to bring perspective in your artwork. I mean that in every sense possible - literal and figurative. Use perspective grids and principles when drawing - and take references from real life and the work of other artists. However - never copy artwork - look at a piece for some time - study it in your mind and let it internalize. Then put it down to paper on your own after a while and finish it. Then go back to the reference and look for mistakes. For difficult poses / perspectives, I sometimes make my own 3D models to create references that I can then use. Secondly - always keep things fresh. Never work on the same piece / in the same style for extended periods of time... your own glaring flaws in anatomy and perspective will become completely invisible to you and you will feel that your piece is perfect... only much later will you realize that you have created an abomination (like the infamous Captain America piece) - so always schedule enough time to give your eyes and your mind a break and come back to your work later - hopefully after working on something else or interacting with real life for a while.
I love how this video ends in a positive note in favor of Liefeld's. His art maybe ridiculous but we gotta admit that we enjoyed his comics when we were young. His drawings still brings me nostalgia together with his IMAGE colleagues.
He was nostalgic because he was the only option you saw. Imagine if a capable artist had gotten to live their dream and the comics you could have had. The joke is you're defending living in the "bad alternate reality." lol.
He was not the only option I saw. There are a lot of great artists back then. I ain't defending anything. And there is nothing "bad" in having a happy memory with Liefeld in it.
@@Mezuzah87 It's easy for you now to see they are "bad" because of how much we have today, that's like saying newton was dumb for taking so long to research calculus.
My buddy Ben shared this and I think it sums it up perfectly: “I've seen a few quality defenses of his work. I don't think anyone ever doubted the was some skill there, but like this video points out he never had the chance to really grow his talent before he became wildly successful. It's a good lesson on how failure is a better teacher than success. Regardless, the closing video with him and McFarlane was quite touching.”
This!! He just went up, up, up. Never had a flop that he had to learn from and pick himself up out of. He never had a big fail during his rise that could have made him take a step back and say "okay, these are the critiques I'm seeing, this is what I need to work on" and he was so young, and full of that youthful hubris and ego. Failure, while it sucks when it happens, is the best way to make someone look inward and try to figure out what went wrong and how to improve. You can't grow as an artist, musician, chef, etc., etc. if all you ever get is praise. You're just gonna stagnate. And then you can see as his art evolved he was gong for these really dynamic, perspective-focused poses and panels, but he didn't have the anatomical knowledge to actually back up those decisions. I love his eye for dynamic posing and lighting, but it's the execution that just doesn't work. I don't think he's a "bad" artist per se, more just one who never got any chance to grow. As an artist (not a comic artist but still) myself, I'm glad I had the failures I have, because while it feels shitty, it's always helped me take a closer look at my own work and adapt.
For me this is why l love animations and comics/anime as a medium you don't get these completely different or wacky styles in live action "not that live action movies are bad I still love them to" whether it's Mob Psycho, Chainsaw Man, Demonslayer, or Berserk I ALWAYS love seeing even the minor differences in artstyle compared to it's brothers in the medium I'm currently head over heels with Tokyo Revengers by Ken Wakui that shit pretty
As someone who's 23 years old rn, I can't imagine the pressure of having success come at you like that. I makes sense he made so many questionable choices, like betraying ImageComics and his friends, and Mcfarlane. But, considering McFarlane was older, I think that in the end he never really resented him, or at least that would've been inmature on his part, they had to know he was just some 23-25 year old who flew to the sun too fast.
Definitely an Icarus story like you said. Too much success, too fast is a curse. He blew up before he had the chance to fail and gain experience. That meant his first failure was going to be huge instead of just a learning experience. He is an amazing artist, he just seems like he never took a proper anatomy course to actually learn what muscles were where and was just going off of what he saw in ref images. I took an anatomy course at 33 and I was ashamed of stuff I'd been making for years that looked 'good enough' to check all the boxes but lacked the fundamental understanding of what was going on.
yea it's pretty normal at that age you're not really mature yet especially in a business environment. I kind of understand what he did and why he did it, and quite frankly I think that his proportion issues for his characters became more apparent than ever because he lost his friends and betrayed his partner
The reality is (if this story is true), it actually hit him already at 19, not 23. Since that's when he became a pro, one of a relatively few chosen. That was a huge thing.
Please we definitely need content on the other Artist's. This is amazing. You've covered some of child hoods and filled in the gaps before the internet.
@@fuzzypanda1684 It wasnt luck he worked extremely hard to become successful and he was talented while passionate about his comics. He made his comics successful with his powerful and entertaining artstyle
@@doggyhotpot I'm not saying he wasn't talented or hardworking. But I am saying that he was very lucky, had many things fall perfectly into place, met a lot of the right people at the right time, and benefitted from a lot of lucky breaks.
Rob Liefeld seems like a good guy! I used to hate on his art too but his love of comics is real and you can’t hate on that. And he created Deadpool and Cable
While your comment on Rob Liefeld is coming from a good place, there are exceptions. For Steve Ditko. I co created Dr Strange, and Spider Man, and The Question (idk about that feel free to correct me). The dude was an unhinged Libertarian Bircher. Rob L is no Steve Ditko, and that’s a good thing.
@@sawtooth808 Imagine calling a shut in comic artist unhinged. Rob Liefeld did a kickstarter comic roughly 10 years ago and never fulfilled it. He owes fans money and is a thief.
Deadpool… a smart mouth anti-hero with super healing sounds like a lot of existing characters. example - wolvervine - a gruff smart mouth hero with super healing
As much as people hate on him, the dude has a crazy work ethic. The reason he kept getting work and kept making $$ despite his art being subpar is he got results and hit deadlines whereas other people struggled to do that. Sometimes just being consistent, showing up, and being reliable trumps all the talent in the world.
The difference between an amateur and a professional is consistency. An amateur going from 100% to 60% to 100% again is far worse than a professional staying at a respectable 80%.
he cost marvel money from me, when he took over the title i preferred i stopped buying. the art went to crap he ruined characters for his own agenda and doesnt deserve a second thought
JESUS CHRIST!!! I can't believe I lived enough to see people _praising_ Rob Liefeld for his "crazy work ethic" and for "hitting deadlines". What a crazy timeline we're living in!
The idea that rob liefeld is somehow an inherently bad artist is insane from the perspective of someone who’s never been able to draw a straight line in his life (myself)
There’s levels to it. There are people that can’t draw art, people that can but do it poorly, people that can and do it well, and people that can and are great artists. As far as traditional comic artists, Alex Ross is one of those that I would put as the few that are great.
Two life lessons to extract from this story: *Talent without discipline doesn't take you as far as you want. *When you get the opportunity to stay in this world longer than most people, it's time for you to let go of pride, past errors and resentment and find a peaceful life. Awesome video! Thank you!
This dude influenced so many kids. I remember creating my own characters as a teen and putting pouches on them and giving them swords all because of him. His characters were just so damn cool lol.
I’m not a fan of his artwork. But, it’s respectable that he took care of his sick dad. I’m sure he’s a good person. When people make fun of his work just take it as a grain of salt.
He made a name for himself by oversexualizing comicbook characters who were mainly targeted towards children at the time. How tf could he be a good person?
@@monojojo7840 This is a bit silly. Every comic artist from that era (before and after too) sexualized characters. It was the norm - he was not bucking trends, he barely knew them, simply copied what worked. You think he's a bad person because of the industry that spawned him? That seems like a targeted attack for no reason.
@monojojo7840 I was gonna say "lots of characters in cartoons in comics I digested as a kid had sexualized characters, so it wasn't just him," but now I realize he's probably the reason behind that.
When we were kids you 'knew' bad guys were bad but the way he drew Sabretooth and Juggernaut just made them so much more compelling than their dimensional character. Drawing intention isn't easy. The sneer of the face, the curl of the claws and tension of muscles. I can only wish I had that kind of attention to detail.
Yea I remember other artists giving him crap for the crappy "thumbnail" drawing. Poking fun at the impossible proportions. Made perfect sense when I first heard of this artist.
The things you need to know about Liefeld are 1. He hates drawing feet. Mostly hides them off panel, behind furniture, or inside energy effects. 2. He's a great splash artist. He excelled at covers, adverts, and splash reveals, particularly in his early work when he still had an editor willing him to improve. 3. He approaches multi panel layouts as if every panel is a splash. Sometimes the result is great to look at, sometimes it's confusing, rarely does it tell a story. 4. When he was "writing" his comics he would just draw splash filled pages until he had 30 or more, then pick 22 that he thought sort of told a story, and left the scripter to dredge something together out of the mess. 5. Everything else is subjective. It's art. You know what you like.
Yeah I’m tired of trying to have this constant objective view of art, especially music. I feel like music reviewing is often treated as a real science atm, people actually rate albums and genuinely believe that it’s not subjective and it blows my mind and goes again the philosophy and psychology behind why we’d create and how we enjoy art so much it scares me a bit about how much consumerism has affected how we engage with it. Ramble over but art being subjective is what makes it so special
@@Sinistralitee from personal experience hands are wrongly viewed as being the hardest to learn. Sure their extreme versatility and gesticulation makes it tricky if your inexperienced, but all the parts of a hand are very distinct and distinguishable and track well with itself and the limb it is connected to (in general, a hand always in some way follows the same direction the remaining arm is in) The issue with feet (for me) is that that they have all the intricacy of hands, but squished into a significantly smaller area and with the proportions extremely Inverted (compared to hands). Feet are also typically under pretty extreme foreshortening (perspective distortion) aswell, often more than hands. That further exarbates the issue of having to draw an equally (if not more) complex Anatomical machine that is often under more extreme conditions, that don't aligning aswell with the limb it's connected to and that has differing proportions than most of the other parts of the body (a person's bodyparts are typically long, a foot is on average visually stubby)
@@Sinistralitee To add onto what the other person said, different artists find different things trickier to draw because we all see things a little differently (including colors), and comprehend and learn techniques a little differently. It's possible he found hands and eyes incredibly easy and important so he worked on those more but he considered feet unnecessary and he met his deadlines faster when he pretended they didn't exist. Feet probably weren't the only thing that he struggled with but they were easy to hide and he wasn't incentivized to keep at it because page quantity and speed was valued over art quality by the big publishers in the comic book industry.
Seems like he went through a lot of the same things many young people do when they first achieve success. He just did it on a bigger scale. Glad life worked out for him. I have always enjoyed his art style, I like the imperfection of it personally.
There’s no arguing with the style and art which lands with people. I hated his art, but if most people felt the same as me, he wouldn’t have had a fraction of his success. May we always make room for artists who aren’t our cup of tea and hope there’s always going to be new talent showcased to see if it strikes a chord with the readers.
I remember thinking the New Mutants art was pretty cutting-edge and I liked it. I was a big fan of Buscema before that, loved Byrne's work (but not his faces so much) and also Ron Lim in the Infinity stuff. But his work did stand out as being pretty different, while also appealing to me.
Seems like one of the main criticisms people level against him is that he just draws stuff that looks cool to kids, and the grown men making those criticisms assume he is the one who is wrong and not themselves for still being obsessed with comic books at the age of 47.
I’m with you on the style. I just couldn’t get into image (including spawn). When valiant hit the scene with shadow man and Turok dinosaur hunter though, I was hooked. Can’t deny the men over at image for have the balls to leave marvel though. I was too young to pay attention to drama though.
The two of them reparing their friendship is truely beautiful. Cause thats what true friendship is. Being able to say "sorry dude, i was young, i was stupid and i was a dick, I'm sorry" and the other one accepting it. Leaving the company a friend started to go back to the company ypu wanted to run away from together is a bit of a dick move. But not it's also just human to not pass on 3 million bucks
This is probably the most fair look at Liefeld's art I have ever seen. You are able to show the criticisms against him in an objective way without being one of those people that takes glee in bashing him, while also pointing out his good qualities. This is a great video!
I'm mostly a painter who doesn't really care for comic book art and never heard of Liefeld this was a fascinating video to watch. The anatomy in these is certainly weird at times but as compositions I actually really like them in a way I don't for a lot of other comic art. That Captain America drawing is a hoot though!
Check out the actual comic for more hoots. Liefeld is one of the all-time great American cultural surrealist-satirists. There's an incredible bistable illusion on the very first page of issue one, Captain America is standing there and you can't tell if he's facing you or has his back to you. Liefeld is a genius, it's not enough to simply say he is a great, we must say that he is a great genius.
These guys absolutely wrecked shop in the 90s, all of us kids were studying their art like our lives depended on it, which they sometimes have. The drama and unpredictable events that happened leading up to Image and all that was so crazy. I had no idea Rob was so young during all that!
Yeah,Rob was a youngster,19 yrs old as a pro artist,trying desperately to help/feed his family.He had to grow-up fast,real fast,life doesn't play games,but,at least he was getting paid to do something he-LOVED-and had-GREAT-success and broke comic sales records.Instead of bashing his art ( which is the norm on the internet ) I SALUTE him for his success in the comic field.
At 2:45, Liefeld's art had this "energy, dynamism, and intensity which makes it stand out". And that's why Liefeld was extremely popular in the 90's (with his art helping to sell MILLIONS of comics, far more than the vast majority of other comic artists). Your average person does not give a damn if something is slightly out of proportion or whatever, they just want something that's exciting that leaps out from the page (so to speak) and creates excitement. Liefeld delivers on that and that's why he was (and still is at times) far more popular than most artists. Not saying everything he draws is great, but most of his stuff looks cool and FUN and EXCITING. That's what most people want and it's the reason why a lot of modern comic artists are failing hard and not selling comics... their stuff might be in better proportion, but it's boring as hell and very generic to the point where most people don't even remember who the hell the modern comic artist is and it's so bad no one wants to pay money for their art. With Liefeld, love him or hate him, you are going to get something that's going to get a reaction from someone and it's NOT going to bore the person viewing it. And in my humble opinion, 90% of Liefeld's art looks really FUN and EXCITING and it's always a joy to see his art (just wish he were better at keeping deadlines. That's been his biggest problem... he sometimes takes forever to put stuff out).
Sam Keith who made the maxx I feel like fits a lot of that description as well, from a technical standpoint sure there's flaws you could point out but from an energy standpoint he definitely delivered on conveying that
T. MacFarlane , R. Liefeld and M. Silvestri were the reasons I wanted to be a comic book artist when l was a kid...this video brought back a lot of memories😊😊😊
I inked for Marvel for a number of years, and I did a page or two of Rob's pencils. A VERY well-known comic artist was visiting, took a look at one of the pages, noticed a head that Rob had drawn, and simply said, "Rob should know there's a skull in there." And he redrew the head! Note: I made him write a note to Bob Harris in the border that he's done this instead of me, so I wouldn't get "in trouble."
@@theiscarface Wish I could help you. I started out as a self-published artist/writer (Fish Police), them, with the help of the above-mentioned artist, got my first inking job at Marvel. But that was all 30+ years ago and I have no idea how the industry works now.
This video is amazing. The part at the end where liefeld and mcfarlane are back to joking around and being friends after everything they've gone through warmed my cold dead heart. Props to you for giving a fair and balanced assessment of an artist who until now i had only known through listicles and memes. You earned a new sub.
@@Circuitssmith I'd actually say it is. It just shows how much of an influence and impact he's had on the comic scene that he's still talked about to this day.
@@insantic2197 Not to engage in hyperbole, but Hitler is an example of notoriety and influence not indicating quality of work or of a person. Hitler was not a good politician, he was successful by destroying politics. Liefeld is not a good artist, he became successful by destroying art.
@@Circuitssmith Don't agree with this take. There are tons of mediocre content out there, that doesn't make headlines and doesn't create a single blip in the radar. He obviously had some talent as an artist, at the start I think he was innovative, but he seemed to stop growing, and stopped improving on his own art at some point.
The truth is I know and I'm able to recognize Rob's mistakes and failures but I had loads of fun with his run on the Hawk & Dove and The New Mutantes so here goes a big thank you and hug in appreciation for his work . THANKS ROB LIEFELD AND A BIG HUG!!! Thanks for the great content and keep up with the good work matttt.
@@johnnymeeks is that directed at me? Rob is very active in a handful of Facebook groups, and any time the subject of Todd comes up, Liefeld takes a lot of petty snipes at him.
Why? He made millions before he turned 25 due to nothing other than incredibly good luck. Then he also manages to patch things up not only with his friends but also the community? That's just ridiculous. The least that could have happened in exchange for his incredible success is him being ostracized from the community. But when you have infinite luck on your side, nothing bad will ever last.
Don't care if he is a good artist or not. After learning he was working on three jobs so he can provide for his father 's treatments and care giving, he has earned my outmost respect.
Mine too.But,I knew about Rob's father,I bought the dvd on the formation of Image Comics many years ago.I too wanted to be a pro artist,but,my famiy's fiancial situation was brutal.I lived in a very,crime infested neighborhood in Philly with my 5 sisters and mother ( my mother worked )so I joined the navy at 18 and used my signing bonus to get them outta of that war-zone. LOL.We nick-named our neighborhood-LITTLE-BERUIT !!! LOL. Yeah,it was THAT bad !!! This was during the early 90s,Philly had 700 murders a year and that doesn't include robberies,thefts,shootings,etc,etc,..it was a hot mess.You'd come home from work and your apt was ranshacked,your belongs gone.I saw people get robbed in the daytime,stabbed,shot,etc,etc,..had to get outta there-ASAP.
Many had hard lives as a kid, myself included. He just wanted enough and got lucky at the write time. In 1987 I didn't have his confidence and his study of influences.
Show me a person who hasn't made mistakes,bad decisions in their life,there isn't one.Rob had TOO much success at an early age and a lot of it was over whelming for him.Glad he's in a better place now.And McFarlane was getting on Liefeld in that one segment,but,he's one to scold,he's done some pretty shady stuff also.Neil Gaiman ring a bell ???? LOL.
@@bryna7 Rob Liefeld's strength was knowing how to shake up tradition by introducing characters into Marvel that specifically questioned the moral center of the established books. Cable, Domino and Deadpool along with many others basically rebelled against the teachings of Charles Xavier as well as the traditional format of comics in general, thanks Deadpool, which to teenage brains was like adding sugar crust to bacon. However Rob's downfall is that without a established heroic base like Marvel's Xmen or the Avengers his characters are all sizzle and no steak. His characters in Youngblood weren't rebelling against, well, anything so they were about as exciting as a firework released the day after July 4th. To this day I don't know what Youngblood's purpose is and what themes they stand for? Are they young people standing against old???
Such a nice story of reflection and how society puts so much pressure on people that they sacrifice friendships. I am so happy that the two artists came back together as mature adults. What a wonderful experience it must have been for Liefield. I don't understand the deep passion that people have for the comic industry as it only hooked me for a two year period when I was very young. The guy was lucky, passionate about comics and has a vivid imagination. Thanks for the mini doc as I found it interesting and of course recognise the cultural importance of comic books in America, pre internet.
People who weren't there probably won't be able to properly fathom the impact McFarlane, Liefeld, Larsen, Lee had back then. Before them I didn't even know who artists were, for the most part their styles were indistinctable from each other, with some exceptions. When these guys hit the scene, wow, you could tell right away who they were for their distinctive styles, and they made comics so visually exciting and impactful, something completely new and groundbreaking.
Yup...probably the most exciting times ever in the industry.....from 'The dark knight returns' to the creation of Image and comics exploding all over the place. The 90's get a bad rep but this pathetic industry as it truly is now, could only wish for these days to return. Back then they were fun.....now you have woke sorry excuses for comics.
@@PainInTheS I prefer Rob over modern comic art like Derek Charm's Squirrel Girl. Who cares about correct anatomy when the art looks like generic skinny fat geeks that you see on the street? Manga is rarely anatomically correct but they outsell the hell out of comics & have far better writing too. One Piece is ugly but the world building is as deep as Lord of the Rings. As much hate as Image gets, they release stuff like Invincible which has ok art but much better writing than anything from modern DC & Marvel. Invincible followed the Manga ethos of the story carrying serviceable art.
That they become superstars it's true but they also got a huge hand from Marvel's incredible marketing machine in that and it is mentioned in the video too. To say though that, before them, artists were indistinguishable from one another is an atrocity cause people like Kirby, Ditko, Romita Sr., Neil Adams, Miller, Mignola, Golden, Steranko and so many more have styles that are immediately recognisable and have all had a huge impact on the medium. Anyhow, after the Image guys left Marvel learned their lesson and made sure to never pump artists to that level of stardom ever again: the stars were the characters and so it has remained.
@@HeyThreshold I meant that I didn't know who they were and that I wasn't able to distinguish them. I'd buy a Spider-Man comicbook for Spider-Man, not for any artists. But when I got a Spider-Man comicbook by Todd McFarlane it stood out and I wanted to know what was going on with that, because it looked so striking and fresh. The same goes for Liefeld and the others, Keown's Hulk stood out for me too. The first Image titles were exciting, but they kinda lost the appeal after a while. A lot of the Image stuff isn't very good, unfortunately.
@robi6317 as a kid, excessiveness is damn cool, because it stimulates the imagination with more material to work with, as adults it might look stupid but 20 guns on someone’s back was the most badass shit ever when you didnt know how unpractical it was
I remember Liefeld being an inspiration. If you were even a decent artist, you figured "if he could make it so can I". I had no idea about his dad. I'm glad he was able to help his family.
Me too.I think that's what drove him to success at an early age ( he had to become man of the house at an early age ) he dared to succeed.Rob didn't have time to wine and moan about becoming a pro comic artist,he made it happen.Did he stumble along the way and make mistakes ??? YES. Like we've all done in life,do and say DUMB &&&&. LOL. He did more than the average person ( and had more success )before he turned 30 than most people.Owning and running your own business at 25 is a HUGE responsibility,now it's the norm,but,back then it the exception.Instead of fitting the norm on the net ( which is bashing Rob ) I chose to focus on his success and i salute him for it.
@@apg897 AGREED.Rob had to grow up fast and become the bread winner and man of the house also.No time to lag around,he had the role of being the father then.Nothing but respect for Rob from me.
Not to mention that there’s stuff out there with absolutely abysmal art in a traditional sense like Japan’s original One Punch Man webseries and Mob Psycho 100 but fans eat it up because ONE, the artist of said works has immense passion for creating comics and it shows through it’s comedic yet deeply personal stories, ofc learning fundamentals help but a comic is nothing without passion.
Exactly. Style is so much more important than technical skill. There are a ton of isekai mangas out that have incredibly perfect drawings that are super boring and generic. One Piece looks like a toddler with parkinsons drew it and it's the most sold manga in history.
Well... yes: you can learn technical stuff, or even style with some effort. The complaints are that he *didn't* learn any of the technical stuff: in fact he got worse and worse. And it doesn't explain the failure to ship, either. Not that I hate the guy or anything!
He was clearly not perfect in terms of anatomy, but I don't think anyone in their right mind is saying he couldnt draw. Don't cover up for bad anatomy etc though with "style" and "vision" - thats not a good thing for anyone to do. Take your losses and learn from them, dont take your losses and pretend theyre wins.
Looking at all his art in this video he's actually insanely talented. The only frame of reference I've ever had for what Rob Liefeld art looks like is the infamous Captain America drawing. Most of his art seems to actually be insanely good.
His layouts are good, but WAY too busy, just way, way, way too busy. Even if his anatomy was correct, he detracts from his own dynamic placement of characters with way too many details.
Idc how bad he draws, he's an inspiration and he worked hard no matter what. He literally became famous and i bet he inspired many ppl at least but i just feel bad for him bc of other ppl getting on him.
As someone who was teen in 90’s and comic nut, I can confirm this is 💯 accurate about how game changing it was, those x-force books were like 🔥 back then, the day #1 came out we were waiting in line for comic shop to open, lifeild, and McFarland completely changed the “style” of comics, and the influence is still felt today, it was huge point in comic history aesthetic wise
I also remember. Funny thing is that one of our comic collector friends loved Liefelds style, while the rest of us already hated his barrel chested footless abominations right away. I remember lots of making fun of his artwork.
Same! I was a teen too and when his stuff came out it blew me away. I used to draw and even mimicked his tattered signature box. I do remember getting and not liking that Captain America issue but it wasn’t about the art, it was more about the story direction they were going in post onslaught with all most their comics.
That clip at the end made me smile. Great ending to the video. Whatever Rob's faults, ego, mistakes he's made etc, It's good to see that him and Todd are friends again.
Well, the common ground of both Rob and Todd being driven to provide for their family and loved ones is certainly the one thing that is worth repairing their friendship over.
Rob found his way back from the looks of this story, nobody's perfect and I got to be honest, I think the money and success really went to his head at the time, he was in his early 20s after all,and believe me those years are when you feel on top of the world when you achieve something big. The dude was and is passionate about comics but maybe just a little too passionate. Still it's good to know things mostly worked out.
The ending scene with them sort of reconciling made me tear up. Still goes to show they still care for each other despite past mistakes and grievances.
at the time he was one of the HOT talents... everyone loved his work, it was new and different. What hurt him was that he didn't grow or change in his style. After awhile, we all out grow it and what we used to enjoy, no longer has the same spark. My favorite part of this video is that Rob and Todd were able to rekindle their friendship.
The founders of Image....with their crazy over the top styles were the main reason I began to draw when I was younger. Love or Hate his art, there is no denying his impact on comics. His reimagining of the New Mutants was a refreshing break from the stale Marvel mold at that time. The covers to X-Force #1 and Youngblood #1 are iconic to me.
This was a very well made video. I'm 39 so I was a kid at the exact time that all of this went down. My older brother got me hooked on comics and those X force books ABSOLUTELY popped! I was too young to understand the weird anatomy but those character designs grabbed you. I'm sure Gen Z doesn't understand just awesome those shoulder pads and pouches were to 8 year olds in the early 90's, I still remember it like it was yesterday when my brother brought home the first issues of Young Blood, Wild Cats ,Savage Dragon and Supreme, and I was completely enthralled with all things image. It's really such a "You just had to be there" period in time, to truly understand why Rob Liefield was sooo successful and sooo awesome.
As a child I absolutely LOVED the pouches. In my head each one had a purpose and held a mystery utility item. I would spend hours imagining what went in those pouches and what their niche uses were. Edit: I would literally add pouches to belts and wear them like bandoliers and fill them with knick-knacks like rabbit's feet and compasses.
Same here. I was 10 when xforce started. I loved his comics without even knowing they were his. I was a kid. That's the whole damn point of comics. They're supposed to be entertaining... for kids. Who cares about anatomy and pouches? They made millions off of his drawings and no one cared at the time about the anatomy and perspective.
I'm right there with you. I saw his face in the thumbnail and said "is that Jeff Scott Campbell, no Adam Hughes, noo that's Liefield" and had to click. I'm amazed at all the faces I recognized in this, from Jim Lee, Erik Larson, and Joe Chiodo in the studio to Lynch in _youngblood._ it's been 25 years at least, and i guess i picked it all up reading _Wizard_ and i don't know what else, but all those old pictures were of people I didn't remember that I had idolized as a kid.
Rob was promoting his new label at the 2006 SDCC. He was doing free bust drawings. Line was long and I was all fired up when I got to him. Chatted him up with a lot of energy and positivity and history and he was stoked on it. He made an amazing Thor for me and even inked it which he had not done for anyone else. It's perfect and I have it framed. He's a squirrelly dude but he is kick ass too.
Those Marvel years of McFarlane and Liefeld were my formative days of Comic Collecting. As a young teen, these guys inspired me to want to draw. As Matttt said, what those artists were doing on those pages were just insane, and not just them. It seemed like every comic had a brilliant dynamic style to it. They were really modern gold years which were tarnished by faux collectability and Limited editions that sold millions and were worth nothing in the end.
I once heard that those who compete will always fell behind those who create. I really respect Liefeld for his creativity, but maybe his folly was that he tried to compete with McFarlane, while McFarlane just created the best thing he could
I'm glad they got back together as friends, recognizing your mistakes in your youth lets you become an adult no longer burdened by them, but grow because of them.
Yeah, he was actually pretty good when he started, and not just in a "for somebody with no formal training" sense. But as he pushed further and further into the unconventional page layouts and energetic poses without regard for the anatomy...he'd gotten so big, so fast that nobody was going to tell him the parts he was doing wrong and he'd have little reason to listen to them if they did. After all, if he's getting this popular and this rich by "doing it wrong", why should he want to do it right?
Hell no, he's always been amazing, look at the anatomy in his first comics. This is just an artstyle he thinks looks cool, and to some extent I agree, I like big buff Captain America if we look past the fact that's not "realistic"
so.... a bad artist? 😂. that's not anyone's fault but his own too. He could've taken some time and actually tried to learn but he didn't. he had mcfarlane by his side and other legendary artists by his side
This was a very balanced take on his work, because we have this stereotype of Liefeld - "Liefeld, you're not an artist", as sung by an early famous comic youtuber - but the reality is more complicated than that. Liefeld's life story reads like a classical tragedy: he loved comics and revolutionized comicbook making, but he couldn't deal with his shortcomings in a healthy way (even at the later career) and fell because of his hubris, but still he's still living on, doing comics.
No matter what ended up happening, he's a success story. To have a genuinely selfless goal and to meet it is very admirable. It's nice to see someone going after their goals full force and not using victimhood as an excuse.
His legacy will always be the guy who over exaggerates proportions, he was a bit too obsessed with making statements rather than allowing the story to be told. I always remember seeing his work on X-Men and then the jump over to Image, I cannot lie I was drawn to his covers. However when I flipped through it was just a mess, the art style is way too busy to understand what's happening in the story. Clearly he wasn't able to maintain that amount of detail throughout a long lasting run. But those early days were wild, a handful of comic book artists essentially became well-known celebrities in pop culture. I couldn't see that happening for any new talent in comics nowadays, though maybe its for the best because every single one let their ego take over.
It warms my heart to hear that there are still people in this world they are willing to sacrifice everything to take care of their family and especially their parents.
I'm not a comic book guy; I found this short doc very interesting and entertaining. Great work! Was shocked to see you're a relatively new creator. Keep it up! Great script and editing skills here.
Liefeld brought energy to comics. For all his faults he had real passion for comics. People who bash him only know him from the same 3 Google images. He's a million times better than 90% of the art in modern comics.
Watching him and McFarlane together at the end made me unexpectedly happy. They should just get together one day and create a one-shot flashy comic without thinking about money, just good old cool poses and wild action tropes.
I honestly met Liefeld one time at a convention right after the launch of Image. I wanted to be a comic artist so bad and he told me to learn the basics before showing my portfolio again. I was pissed mad and hated the guy but he was right. I chose writing over being an artist.
@@Corthmic But he did master the basics before showing his portfolio. His portfolio actually looked good! Like, I've seen Jim Lee's art from the same age as Rob Liefeld's portfolio is from. Jim Lee's art at that age is garbage compared to Rob. Jim Lee!! Rob Liefeld could have probably been the greatest comic book artist of all time, but he just... kept getting worse? His art "progression" from his teens to Youngblood looks like he's suffering from a degenerative neurological condition. It's uncanny how absolutely backwards it is. Like, it's not a one-of-a-kind thing, but I've only ever seen this with smut artists before. And Frank Miller.
My friends father owned a comic book store in Sacramento, California during this time. The hype was real, trust me 🤣There were some unknown artists at the time drawing on the floor, it was amazing time for them. The two standouts were Tom Coker and Melvin Rubi. Tom's art style was abstract while Melvin's was detailed. Both actually made career out of it! This vedio brought back all the memories thank you!
A few notes/corrections (includes spoilers):
-I mention Louise Simonson but show a picture of Ann Nocenti. This will haunt me until the end of my days. Weezy deserves better. As does Ann. I'll be sure to get to them both in future videos.
-I show Stan Lee and say Spike Lee. I actually do mean Spike Lee though! The video of him in a yellow shirt is a Levis ad commercial that was directed by Spike Lee, where Rob creates a character called "Spike man" for him. The Stan Lee video was a direct-to-VHS interview. But the way I edited it is very confusing.
-Marc Gruenwald hires him to Marvel and then I show DC books. His first published work was for Marvel, illustrations of the Zodiac in a Handbook of the Marvel Universe Issue. I found what I believed was the work in question, but I wasn't able to verify it, so I ended up cutting it, leading to the confusion. So yes, he does start at Marvel, before really launching his career at DC before dramatically returning to Marvel.
-Someone said I slipped a Larsen page in with Todd's Spider-Man pages, sorry about that!
-As always, there's a ton I left out. There were multiple causes of Liefeld's departure from image. His poaching of talent from Silvestri's Top Cow, some accusations of using Image resources to promote non-Image books, inability to pay back a fee that was inadvertently paid out to all the image partners, etc. And yes, Jim Lee would return to do work for Marvel as well and wasn't kicked out of Image. But again, there's so much to the Image story that I'll cover in the future, I really just wanted to focus on Liefeld and his relationship with McFarlane and not spend half the video on Image drama.
-I show an establishing shot of San Francisco when I say San Diego! I was too focused on trying to get that little graphic to look cool. Oops!
Thank you all for embracing this video and for keeping me honest with the fact checks! I always strive to catch everything but things inevitably slip by me.
Nice that you clarify certain errors.
Your stuff is fun to watch.
Do more vids on other comic book creators, specifically ones that actually have artistic talent & can write well ;)
Why do we fall? So that we can pick ourselves up. Good job, man. Still a great video.
Yeah his proportions were off a bit, but like who fking cares. He brought a bombastic anime style and it was an awesome breath of fresh air. He was good where it mattered...vision, flair and so much visual energy it slapped you in the face. Loved his art style.
DUDE! This video was awesome. #subscribeded I grew up a Image/Liefeld fanboy and then "turned on" him after his Cap run... This video was eye opening. I think I may have been too hard on small feet guy. I am glad that Rob and Todd are working thru stuff. Looking forward to more vids... Interested to see things from Lee's, Larsen's, Portacio's , Valentino's and Silvestri's perspectives
Please do a video for each Image creator!!!!!
Letting go your own ego and making up with someone whom you had a bitter falling out with despite of your success is pretty brave. I have a new found respect for Rob Liefeld as a person.
The world is a better place when you realize that restoring the friendship is worth more than your ego. So yeah seeing these two guys becoming friends once more makes me happy.
You can thank Robert Kirkman (walking dead) for that
im a 90's kid so i loved his spiderman and xmen, deadpool and dragon stuff. this video is an eye opener 😂
same
I think it comes with age for most. What seems like less than a 20-minute video to us is an entire professional life lived by these people, which they can't get away from again. There was probably much bitterness towards the subject before he went over it. I just hope he didn't regret much though.
I was prepared to hate an untalented egomaniac, then i saw a creative kid with a dream, then the untalented egomaniac, but was thrown back around to the creative guy who moved past his ego and picked up the pieces and learned.
A rollercoaster of emotions, what an arc.
No, Rob Leifled WAS a talented artist entirely so, it's just that his artwork got worse at some point in time and he wasn't doing his best to keep it up to date and good standards. His comic panels and layouts suffered the MOST as his later issues of young blood were incomprehensible, as the video stated. And than we all know what happened with his captain america issue run which we know is history.
U should never be prepared to hate someone. Such thoughts are toxic and cloud ur mind.
I get what you saying bro but How can you call him “untalented “ 🤦🏾♂️😂😂 dont just be trying to hurt people feelings. Because that’s not even a word you can use against someone like him. It’s mfs who can only draw stick figures as people ! This man is A ARTIST! U cannot be that without talent. Stop just using word’s because of emotion. It’s disrespectful to even insinuate honestly. Sorry for the rant but Art is a passion.
zenith pfp
@@karithema9ician657 Can't be an artist without talent? Bullshit. If you make art, you're an artist. Doesn't mean you're a good artist, but you're still an artist. Also, successful artists all have one thing in common: Skill. Not talent. Talent only gets you so far, you have to turn that talent into an actual skill to get anywhere, and that takes hard work and dedication. So it would be more accurate to say you can't truly be an artist without hard work and dedication. Talent is dime a dozen, drive is what gets you there.
I honestly don’t care how bad his art style is. The fact that he worked hard at a young age to provide for his dad and family automatically gives him my highest respect.
Yeah that is beyond heavy stuff and very cool of him. I'm sure a lot of his more rambunctious ego moments is due to feeling success in a life that is constantly challenging to take everything you love away from you.
am i the only one who likes his art style?
Well i was there 4 the comic revolution/death in the 90s. Him n Todd changed the game. Average artist at best or not their ideas changed comics. Then comics died so who knows.
long as its not obviously traced over
@@SamuSayoYes yes you are.
It really sucks Rob isn’t a cameo in Deadpool 3, he deserves it. Also his art style is definitely unique, it’s not my favorite compared to some other styles but it’s still cool and instantly recognizable! Sucks he’s retiring soon. Dude is a Legend
He did have a reference to him In The movie though, so there's that
@@nicogarcia3703 “Leinfeld’s Just Feet”
He had a store which Deadpool got knocked into by cassandra nova that was called liefelds “just feet”
@@DREX0RSALT Yea ik
@VancityMerc319 they reference the foot joke in deadpool 2 also when domino and deadpool are arguing about how her powers work
" who would come up with a dumb power like that ? Probably someone who can't draw feet"
Or something along those lines
I feel for his backstory but "he robs, he lies and he fails" must have delivered pure emotional damage 😂
LOL, I thought the same!
That was so brutal and such a clean roast! But regardless of that, I do heavily respect and admire Rob Liefeld alot because of his passion for art and comics and alot of his early artwork for comics as shown in the video before they started to have issues as Mattt pointed out in the video.
BARS
It's in his name,Rob
Lie-feld..
Feld becomes fled...
"rob lie fail" 😭💀
Genuinely glad to see that he wisened up and actually reconnected with his old friend, and it looks like he genuinely has come to accept his failings and move forward. I respect a man who can do that.
Same
I gotta say, I have a newfound respect for Rob, regardless of his ridiculous art style.
He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and that thing about his dad was just heart-breaking.
Exactly. It’s pretty easy for us to criticize while we don’t know behind the curtain. I’m not fan of his art style but I did enjoyed many of his work at marvel. Knowing his background now and how he has to be the man of the house at a young age, made sense he never improved, he didn’t have time to. Supporting his family got my admiration.
The art style is pretty cool. Technically he’s not good, but style is a separate thing. Plenty of technically superior artists no one will remember because they’re boring. Obviously you should have both, but of the two style is more important.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
@jk6971they worked together a few times.
there's even RUclips videos of Rob and Todd creating a character for none other than Stan Lee ( who insults them the entire time, it's glorious )
@@reginaldforthright805 The issue people have with Liefeld (albeit they never actually say it like this) is that his art is ALL style. He lacks any creative and storytelling vision other than making everything extreme, which leaves all his work lacking substance. Very few comic artists are technically skilled enough in illustration to be admired for it, so when artists are lacking in every other aspect as well, it's a lot more noticeable.
The quiet light work: you embrace this particular art with love, for the stories told and the stories behind and under the stories we know.
This is low-key wholesome and I like it.
I love the line that he was a kid who knew what other kids wanted to see. He was probably the single biggest contributor to the early 90s comics craze for this reason.
Rob truly was.It's so easy to bash the guy,but,I've always looked at his success rather than his art and brought these things up on other channels when the bashings started.And the silence was deafening. LOL.
@powerbadpowerbad I just wish we would stop using sales as a defense. When it comes to art, the one quality we should be championing is quality
@@cianbroderick7733 I understand your point,but,I have to give Rob his dues as a creator/person,he's successful despite his mediocre artwork.People dump on his art,but,neglect his overall successes in the comic business.As an artist it's your job to sell whatever title you draw ( sales matter )and he has done this in spades.
@@powerbadpowerbad I'll begrudgingly accept that. I despise business and those who partake in it. With that said, business is exposure
@@cianbroderick7733 You're correct,business is exposure.
It's a shame Liefeld's art got worse over time. His first comics were honestly pretty decent and good-looking despite their faults
Well they have gotten better in recent yeats
Yea he did the one thing that I was told multiple times about learning art and that's not to get too deep into your comfort zone. He should have improved, but It's as if he rarely study. He probably feels like he's popular and it makes money so it works. Kinda true though.
Did it really?? I honestly havent seem his art since.......that long ago
@@KouD3Grawhe was never taught. He didn't have a base, so he didn't know what not to do. And when people started to complain he was already successful. He had the technical skill, and didn't know a whole other side of art existed.
It's his trademark to keep drawing badly, just as it's Arnolds trademark to not get rid of his Austrian accent. When Rob botches perspectives and anatomy those drawings get famous and talked about. Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all and it earns him money.
I'm glad they're friends again. Losing someone who was like a brother to you is a pain that's almost impossible to overcome--especially if they're still alive, ya know?
It really seems what killed their friendship was when it became a business relationship. Now, 30-odd years after the fact, I can see why it's easier for them to reconnect after doing their own things for a while.
I'm a little less comfortable with it because Todd has stabbed a lot of people in the back over the years and I'm not sure it's healthy to be friends with him. Ever hear the bullshit he did to Neil Gaiman?
Like Mase and Camron lol
Yeah it was going into business together that killed their relationship and McFarlane stating spawn was the backbone of the company which drove lefield away
No. Friendships come and go. It’s not anything to never be able to overcome.
How can you call this guys zero skills in drawing? There are literally people who can only draw stick figures 😅😅
Compared to his contemporaries
To be honest, hes not that much different than McFarlane
Compared to other professionals he's quite bad. Not being rude or anything against the guy, but his fundamentals are poor. Drawing a simple thing very well is harder than drawing a complicated thing badly.
Everyone likes the Boys comics and the art is terrible
@@808sirenz9people just have this weird unjustified hatred for liefeld. They hear that he's a bad artist and go with it, mostly because of a few bad panels. They don't even pay mind to his entire portfolio
Who didn't make incredibly stupid decisions when they were young? Age brings wisdom and humility. Glad Rob pulled it back together.
Totally agree. Life isn't a dress rehearsal and a lot of mistakes are made along the way.
Yeah this. You should get better with age, and if you don't you need to either take some chances make some mistakes or reflect on where you've been and who you are now.
It’s funny how 20 mins ago I didn’t know who either of these 2 men were and now I’m tearing up at the end seeing that they’ve patched things up 😂
@@BigPurp9I didn't tear up, but I do have a big smile on my face. I'm so happy they became friends again and no more bad blood
@@L16htW4rr10r I hate seeing money/jealousy coming between friends so it got me a bit emotional 😅
I got to meet Rob Liefeld at San Diego Comic Con 2023 while cosplaying Deadpool (not even planned, we just saw each other while walking the halls). He was a super nice and down-to-earth guy. Complimented my costume and everything.
I'm also an avid listener of his podcast.
He's not the most technically clean artist but his work is a LOT better than people give him credit for. It's clear, distinct, and has a vibrant vibe that a lot of art misses.
If you listen to his podcasts and interviews, he's also very passionate about and well-versed in pop culture and superheroes. He's really one of us and a true geek.
I've always thought the hate against him was unwarranted and, frankly, driven by jealousy because he is successful and does not hide from it. (Not that he boasts about it, either.) He's genuine, which can rub some people the wrong way.
He was very influential on comics and superheroes. That goes overlooked. His humble roots and wish to help his family is admirable.
His work ethic and persistence is inspiring. He's also one of the few nerds who understands the business side and potential of superheroes. Not enough geeks realize or respect the importance of that.
His work did improve over time, not as much as his peers from Image or other artists from that time, but he's far removed from the Heroes Reborn Captain America and the goofy characters from Youngblood.
"He's not the most technically clean artist but his work is a LOT better than people give him credit for. It's clear, distinct, and has a vibrant vibe that a lot of art misses."
I've been reading comics for 35+ years. This is something I have been saying from the beginning. A lot of Liefeld's detractors just jumped on the hate bandwagon due to social media. Sure, he's got some pieces out there that are less than ideal but take a good, long, hard look at his work *collectively* and it's very, very obvious the guy is a superstar when it comes to drawing comic characters. He was making things exciting when other artists were just there to get a paycheck. The dude was dealt a bad hand (Not that some of it wasn't his own fault because it absolutely was) and he ended up paying the piper for it. Having said that - he'd still draw circles around 99.9% of the people talking shit about him. Mcfarlane is a rare case -that guy is a once in a lifetime success story. He knows exactly what people want and he happened to have a personal relationship with Liefeld that declined, so of course he was going to have some things to say. Having the audience and pull that he does that inspired a lot of people who otherwise have no stock in Liefeld to hate on him. I'm not saying that's Mcfarlane's fault - I'm not even sure HE expected it to be honest.
Well said. Liefeld Rules.
I was at his house a few years ago fixing his washer and dryer. Indeed he loves comics and he didn't brag about himself. It took me a while to realize it was him. His name on the work order was different so I wasn't sure at first.
I think most of the hate is literally just a bunch of social media artists who just hate the fact that he's so successful. He's hasn't done anything wrong, and people hate him for it.
Like I get it, it's funny to clown on his many drawing errors, but at what point does the joke become genuine bitterness and hatred?
Learning about Rob's dad and his family's struggle makes me appreciate what he did as a young man and artist. I too, was impressed by his artwork initially. It was big and bold. Unfortunately he did not improve so I stopped purchasing his books. He was part of comic history when he and the others left Marvel (which had become garbage). This brazen move opened the door for more artists and writers to create and own their creations. Nicely done video.
Die Hard's shoulder Belts still doesn't make sense. haha
I’m glad they are friends again. I think that’s the most important part of the story.
Agreed.
I'm glad that they made up and repaired their relationship. Having a someone go from a mentor, inspiration, and motivation to a competitor and "enemy" is not easy.
He made Deadpool?! Actually insane. Competition really brings out the best in people.
Call him bad artist but you gotta admit he was pretty influential
Well if I remember correctly his Deadpool was a bit more serious, not the Deadpool we know today.
@@dntthe88 ooh interesting, to think a serious Deadpool is now rare to see
He co-created him. Mostly he designed the suit. Everyone gives credit to him except to the one who actually made DP's character.
This is literally a story where competition almost destroyed someone lol
Imagine Liefeld drawing JoJo characters and poses with such physical proportions...
DIO?
JoJo?
You mean Ronnie James Dio from Rainbow and from Black Sabbath, and JoJo Hailey from K-Ci & JoJo and from Jodeci? 🙂
@@subraxasNo. They mean the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Though the character DIO is actually named after Ronnie James Dio.
@@wp2837
Aye!
I see!
🙂
@@subraxas You stole my joke! To bad there are no people in the world aware of both Dios. Well, I guess NOW there are.
@@subraxasFreek'N You by Jodeci was used in the credits for the anime.
This is one of the artists I can't hate. He was going through hard times and I can understand him doing whatever he can to help his family. He saw that he was a hit and very successful and he milked it for all he could. Any of us would've done the same to save or at least help the ones we truly love. He was going through a lot. I actually have a lot of respect for that. So I understand him even though he acted sh!tty. I'm just glad he grew up and realized he was acting like a clown but not only that, he calmed down and apologized to repair his friendships, not for money but because he truly cared about those people and didn't want to lose them. I'm also VERY happy that Todd gave him another shot and holds no grudges. Whether they work together or not, I'm glad they're friends. Todd is a wonderful friend for that! 👍👍👍
Dude, he created Deadpool. A character so relatable yet had the ability to interact with us too! And the fact he had quite the career run from nothing gives him my highest respect.
There’s no rules in art except plagiarism. Lichtenstein literally used red stickers on his paintings.. I think people who paid tons of money on art school were just jealous when they couldn’t get paid work because they are a dime a dozen..Haha
@@brendanflynn5004He was at first but they're not at all similar now
literally the cringiest super hero and super heros blow in general lmao
@@ThePainkiller9995And yet here you are watching this 18 min video.
He co-created him. Most of the work came from Fabian Nicieza. Rob mostly designed the suit but not the rest and yet everyone credits him for making DP alone. Almost a Bob Kane-Bill Finger situation
I really appreciate you humanizing Rob and highlighting what made him successful. Since the 90, even during the hype, I never liked his art. But he is human. And I’m glad he’s continuing to grow.
He was just a new generation of artist like Kirby, Kirby drew weird and was sneered at by his peers but his pages had power just like Robs do in their own way, being a liefeld hater is low hanging fruit, guys a genius in his own way, end of the day it’s comics not life drawing
@@Matt_Wilson01 so, I actually didn’t like his art for personal taste. I had no idea if the backlash. I remember a few issues if his that got a lot of hype and I just did not understand why. Funny thing is when I learned of the hate, it deflated my disappointment with his work because I just didn’t want to be another hater.
Grifting made him successful. He blatantly stole everything.. half assed it, and had grunts fill in his lethargic shit drawings.
Liefeld is a yewish name. This is nepotism explained away by an idiot who insults your intelligence.
You know what, if he’s genuinely trying to repair those friendships he ruined, then that’s a lot of respect I have to give. It takes a lot of pride swallowing to try and mend a fence like that.
@@gezenewsmost people dont know whats good for them.
@Joeraffegames that's because so many people don't believe in forgiveness. they'd rather hold onto hate.
@@gezenewsSay what you really mean, you would rather others didn't try to mend their relationships. Not everyone is you though, and many people are open to forgiveness and redemption.
@@IYamJayJayyou don't know what's good for them either.
If only Ken Penders could do this.
I honestly have never had as much inspiration to continue drawing than watching your videos, would love more of these artists/writers stories.
I've heard Todd McFarlane speak before. His best advice to artists was, and I'm paraphrasing... if you're an artist then get your work out there. Don't worry about it looking perfect, just put yourself out there and sell it at a booth. The same with writing stories, don't worry about how good the writing or story is, just do it and put it out there. He explained that he's written plenty of bad stories and that all that matters is that you keep working towards your goals and put your stuff out there constantly. Those are the ones who get paid.
There's a thing I read once in that same vein, To be a great thinker, you must become a good thinker, to be a good thinker, you must become a thinker. To become a thinker, you must first be willing to produce mediocre and downright awful ideas. Only through doing do you begin to improve yourself.
You could also do the same for a career track that has better chance of paying off
This is very much the advice for content creation career. Even if it's shit, as long as you continue, you'll grow to become better. By putting yourself out there, there are chances you'll have a following of people that want to watch you grow.
I agree. That's great advice. You have to be willing to swallow your ego and learn "on the job." That's why so few persevere - it's really hard to do that, especially with how critical people can be.
Awful advice..no wonder there is so much fucking trash out there. Then anything that is slightly good is hailed as genius in a sea of shit.
Was watching this unironically because I’ve seen that captain America photo around and wanted to point and laugh. Turned out to be an amazing story of a young dude hungry for success, achieved accomplishments beyond his wildest dreams. Failed, but went through an amazing redemption arc. Awesome vid
I'm not super into his style, but it's so dumb that that Captain America portrait is always shown when talking about this guy. Like that's the ONLY thing he drew. A lot of his stuff was goofy and did make me roll my eyes a bit, but it was DYNAMIC. I can totally understand why he blew up in the 90s.
And the iconic Captain America drawing isn’t even that bad if you just move the head forward a little bit
As a fellow bad artist I'm happy to see that passion counts for alot.
🖕these dweebs. X-Force baby.
As an aspiring good artist, 1, this cracked me up, and 2, Keep practicing, keep learning, you'll get better
@@knightshousegames practice less improve more
@@noobmaster4412 This is... oddly - the right answer. 😂 To rephrase it - I would say you need to practice the right / correct things - and never overdo something to the point that irreversible bad habits start to form - always work on different pieces and with differing styles.
If there's 2 things that I, as a lifelong bad artist aspiring to become a good artist have learnt - is that firstly - you NEED to bring perspective in your artwork. I mean that in every sense possible - literal and figurative. Use perspective grids and principles when drawing - and take references from real life and the work of other artists. However - never copy artwork - look at a piece for some time - study it in your mind and let it internalize. Then put it down to paper on your own after a while and finish it. Then go back to the reference and look for mistakes. For difficult poses / perspectives, I sometimes make my own 3D models to create references that I can then use.
Secondly - always keep things fresh. Never work on the same piece / in the same style for extended periods of time... your own glaring flaws in anatomy and perspective will become completely invisible to you and you will feel that your piece is perfect... only much later will you realize that you have created an abomination (like the infamous Captain America piece) - so always schedule enough time to give your eyes and your mind a break and come back to your work later - hopefully after working on something else or interacting with real life for a while.
@@dhruvsharma6826 i mean sometime you just gotta go for it and do it and see how you actually do with art
When you get fame at a young age it will corrupt anyone. It's nice to know they both are chill about it now
I love how this video ends in a positive note in favor of Liefeld's. His art maybe ridiculous but we gotta admit that we enjoyed his comics when we were young. His drawings still brings me nostalgia together with his IMAGE colleagues.
I always loved his work, and I'm a Fine Artist.
He was nostalgic because he was the only option you saw. Imagine if a capable artist had gotten to live their dream and the comics you could have had. The joke is you're defending living in the "bad alternate reality." lol.
He was not the only option I saw. There are a lot of great artists back then. I ain't defending anything. And there is nothing "bad" in having a happy memory with Liefeld in it.
@@Mezuzah87 It's easy for you now to see they are "bad" because of how much we have today, that's like saying newton was dumb for taking so long to research calculus.
I just found out today how much liefeld influenced my style and taste, visually. Second to Todd. I had no idea.
My buddy Ben shared this and I think it sums it up perfectly: “I've seen a few quality defenses of his work. I don't think anyone ever doubted the was some skill there, but like this video points out he never had the chance to really grow his talent before he became wildly successful. It's a good lesson on how failure is a better teacher than success. Regardless, the closing video with him and McFarlane was quite touching.”
This!! He just went up, up, up. Never had a flop that he had to learn from and pick himself up out of. He never had a big fail during his rise that could have made him take a step back and say "okay, these are the critiques I'm seeing, this is what I need to work on" and he was so young, and full of that youthful hubris and ego. Failure, while it sucks when it happens, is the best way to make someone look inward and try to figure out what went wrong and how to improve. You can't grow as an artist, musician, chef, etc., etc. if all you ever get is praise. You're just gonna stagnate.
And then you can see as his art evolved he was gong for these really dynamic, perspective-focused poses and panels, but he didn't have the anatomical knowledge to actually back up those decisions. I love his eye for dynamic posing and lighting, but it's the execution that just doesn't work. I don't think he's a "bad" artist per se, more just one who never got any chance to grow. As an artist (not a comic artist but still) myself, I'm glad I had the failures I have, because while it feels shitty, it's always helped me take a closer look at my own work and adapt.
For me this is why l love animations and comics/anime as a medium you don't get these completely different or wacky styles in live action "not that live action movies are bad I still love them to" whether it's Mob Psycho, Chainsaw Man, Demonslayer, or Berserk I ALWAYS love seeing even the minor differences in artstyle compared to it's brothers in the medium I'm currently head over heels with Tokyo Revengers by Ken Wakui that shit pretty
As someone who's 23 years old rn, I can't imagine the pressure of having success come at you like that. I makes sense he made so many questionable choices, like betraying ImageComics and his friends, and Mcfarlane. But, considering McFarlane was older, I think that in the end he never really resented him, or at least that would've been inmature on his part, they had to know he was just some 23-25 year old who flew to the sun too fast.
Definitely an Icarus story like you said. Too much success, too fast is a curse. He blew up before he had the chance to fail and gain experience. That meant his first failure was going to be huge instead of just a learning experience. He is an amazing artist, he just seems like he never took a proper anatomy course to actually learn what muscles were where and was just going off of what he saw in ref images. I took an anatomy course at 33 and I was ashamed of stuff I'd been making for years that looked 'good enough' to check all the boxes but lacked the fundamental understanding of what was going on.
@@sun_beams exactly! Most of the times we want everything fast, but like you say, the gift of slow success is gaining experience through small losses
yea it's pretty normal at that age you're not really mature yet especially in a business environment. I kind of understand what he did and why he did it, and quite frankly I think that his proportion issues for his characters became more apparent than ever because he lost his friends and betrayed his partner
And this dude is writing comic books. Imagine athletes or musicians that young or younger. Being in the spotlight ain’t easy for sure
The reality is (if this story is true), it actually hit him already at 19, not 23.
Since that's when he became a pro, one of a relatively few chosen.
That was a huge thing.
Please we definitely need content on the other Artist's. This is amazing. You've covered some of child hoods and filled in the gaps before the internet.
I used to be a Rob Liefeld hater, but this story is so charming! I’m really happy he was able to achieve his dreams and help his family :)
Remember that there's the who clean up the work, the penciler along with the inker
Same here
How is being insanely lucky charming?
@@fuzzypanda1684 It wasnt luck he worked extremely hard to become successful and he was talented while passionate about his comics. He made his comics successful with his powerful and entertaining artstyle
@@doggyhotpot I'm not saying he wasn't talented or hardworking. But I am saying that he was very lucky, had many things fall perfectly into place, met a lot of the right people at the right time, and benefitted from a lot of lucky breaks.
Rob Liefeld seems like a good guy! I used to hate on his art too but his love of comics is real and you can’t hate on that. And he created Deadpool and Cable
While your comment on Rob Liefeld is coming from a good place, there are exceptions. For Steve Ditko. I co created Dr Strange, and Spider Man, and The Question (idk about that feel free to correct me). The dude was an unhinged Libertarian Bircher. Rob L is no Steve Ditko, and that’s a good thing.
@@sawtooth808 Imagine calling a shut in comic artist unhinged. Rob Liefeld did a kickstarter comic roughly 10 years ago and never fulfilled it. He owes fans money and is a thief.
Co-created Deadpool with Fabian Nicieza and Cable with Louise Simonson.
Deadpool… a smart mouth anti-hero with super healing
sounds like a lot of existing characters.
example - wolvervine - a gruff smart mouth hero with super healing
@@phillipcummings3518the dude clearly states that he hates him because of his politics. These kind of people are a cancer to fandom.
As much as people hate on him, the dude has a crazy work ethic. The reason he kept getting work and kept making $$ despite his art being subpar is he got results and hit deadlines whereas other people struggled to do that. Sometimes just being consistent, showing up, and being reliable trumps all the talent in the world.
The difference between an amateur and a professional is consistency.
An amateur going from 100% to 60% to 100% again is far worse than a professional staying at a respectable 80%.
he cost marvel money from me, when he took over the title i preferred i stopped buying. the art went to crap he ruined characters for his own agenda and doesnt deserve a second thought
This is all on a dice roll. Don't count on it.
@@mouserroh shut up
JESUS CHRIST!!! I can't believe I lived enough to see people _praising_ Rob Liefeld for his "crazy work ethic" and for "hitting deadlines". What a crazy timeline we're living in!
Thank you for this. Mr. Liefeld’s is one of struggle, success, failure and redemption that many can relate to and understand.
The idea that rob liefeld is somehow an inherently bad artist is insane from the perspective of someone who’s never been able to draw a straight line in his life (myself)
I know, I'm looking at his art in this video, and basically drooling at it. The only bad one I saw was the Captain America one.
Yes. This guy talks like making comics is easy.
There’s levels to it. There are people that can’t draw art, people that can but do it poorly, people that can and do it well, and people that can and are great artists. As far as traditional comic artists, Alex Ross is one of those that I would put as the few that are great.
Ah yes. The old "You have to be Gordon Ramsay to know if something tastes bad or not." complete BS of an argument.
@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 nobody in this comment thread brought that up, what are u talking about
Two life lessons to extract from this story:
*Talent without discipline doesn't take you as far as you want.
*When you get the opportunity to stay in this world longer than most people, it's time for you to let go of pride, past errors and resentment and find a peaceful life.
Awesome video! Thank you!
Another great story! Very well written, love these!
Ayo I’m surprised to see you here. I do agree with what you said though. Also, I’m first
@@GAME_0VER-AKA-DEATHnobody asked
@@rexparker0623he was just surprised that they commented and you are just being a dick for no reason
The kid who got hired just by one look at his drawings and the video title is “How this terrible writer made millions”
@@MateoMansit says "terrible artist" with quotations
Definitely, we need Jim Lee's story. Please, make a video about him!
This dude influenced so many kids. I remember creating my own characters as a teen and putting pouches on them and giving them swords all because of him. His characters were just so damn cool lol.
Same!
Agreed. I loved it
Me too, lol.
Same and I grew up in the 2000s!
I’m not a fan of his artwork. But, it’s respectable that he took care of his sick dad. I’m sure he’s a good person. When people make fun of his work just take it as a grain of salt.
Dawg has better lines than you. Horrendous anatomy tho.
when he used the destruction of a title to get his own title pushed 'good person' went out the window
He made a name for himself by oversexualizing comicbook characters who were mainly targeted towards children at the time. How tf could he be a good person?
@@monojojo7840 This is a bit silly. Every comic artist from that era (before and after too) sexualized characters. It was the norm - he was not bucking trends, he barely knew them, simply copied what worked. You think he's a bad person because of the industry that spawned him? That seems like a targeted attack for no reason.
@monojojo7840 I was gonna say "lots of characters in cartoons in comics I digested as a kid had sexualized characters, so it wasn't just him," but now I realize he's probably the reason behind that.
When we were kids you 'knew' bad guys were bad but the way he drew Sabretooth and Juggernaut just made them so much more compelling than their dimensional character. Drawing intention isn't easy. The sneer of the face, the curl of the claws and tension of muscles. I can only wish I had that kind of attention to detail.
Yea I remember other artists giving him crap for the crappy "thumbnail" drawing. Poking fun at the impossible proportions. Made perfect sense when I first heard of this artist.
The things you need to know about Liefeld are 1. He hates drawing feet. Mostly hides them off panel, behind furniture, or inside energy effects. 2. He's a great splash artist. He excelled at covers, adverts, and splash reveals, particularly in his early work when he still had an editor willing him to improve. 3. He approaches multi panel layouts as if every panel is a splash. Sometimes the result is great to look at, sometimes it's confusing, rarely does it tell a story. 4. When he was "writing" his comics he would just draw splash filled pages until he had 30 or more, then pick 22 that he thought sort of told a story, and left the scripter to dredge something together out of the mess. 5. Everything else is subjective. It's art. You know what you like.
lmao this is hilarious to read but true!
Why feet exactly? and I thought Hands and eyes are the hardest to draw at all but he seems to do fine with those, but feet?
Yeah I’m tired of trying to have this constant objective view of art, especially music. I feel like music reviewing is often treated as a real science atm, people actually rate albums and genuinely believe that it’s not subjective and it blows my mind and goes again the philosophy and psychology behind why we’d create and how we enjoy art so much it scares me a bit about how much consumerism has affected how we engage with it. Ramble over but art being subjective is what makes it so special
@@Sinistralitee from personal experience hands are wrongly viewed as being the hardest to learn. Sure their extreme versatility and gesticulation makes it tricky if your inexperienced, but all the parts of a hand are very distinct and distinguishable and track well with itself and the limb it is connected to (in general, a hand always in some way follows the same direction the remaining arm is in)
The issue with feet (for me) is that that they have all the intricacy of hands, but squished into a significantly smaller area and with the proportions extremely Inverted (compared to hands). Feet are also typically under pretty extreme foreshortening (perspective distortion) aswell, often more than hands. That further exarbates the issue of having to draw an equally (if not more) complex Anatomical machine that is often under more extreme conditions, that don't aligning aswell with the limb it's connected to and that has differing proportions than most of the other parts of the body (a person's bodyparts are typically long, a foot is on average visually stubby)
@@Sinistralitee To add onto what the other person said, different artists find different things trickier to draw because we all see things a little differently (including colors), and comprehend and learn techniques a little differently. It's possible he found hands and eyes incredibly easy and important so he worked on those more but he considered feet unnecessary and he met his deadlines faster when he pretended they didn't exist. Feet probably weren't the only thing that he struggled with but they were easy to hide and he wasn't incentivized to keep at it because page quantity and speed was valued over art quality by the big publishers in the comic book industry.
Seems like he went through a lot of the same things many young people do when they first achieve success. He just did it on a bigger scale. Glad life worked out for him. I have always enjoyed his art style, I like the imperfection of it personally.
Drugs that what happen
There’s no arguing with the style and art which lands with people. I hated his art, but if most people felt the same as me, he wouldn’t have had a fraction of his success. May we always make room for artists who aren’t our cup of tea and hope there’s always going to be new talent showcased to see if it strikes a chord with the readers.
I remember thinking the New Mutants art was pretty cutting-edge and I liked it. I was a big fan of Buscema before that, loved Byrne's work (but not his faces so much) and also Ron Lim in the Infinity stuff. But his work did stand out as being pretty different, while also appealing to me.
@mookiewilson4166 This proves that you actually have no taste in good art. :)
I think his art from the early 90's with the New Mutants and X-Force was pretty descent. But yeah, it only kept getting worse and worse
Seems like one of the main criticisms people level against him is that he just draws stuff that looks cool to kids, and the grown men making those criticisms assume he is the one who is wrong and not themselves for still being obsessed with comic books at the age of 47.
I’m with you on the style. I just couldn’t get into image (including spawn). When valiant hit the scene with shadow man and Turok dinosaur hunter though, I was hooked. Can’t deny the men over at image for have the balls to leave marvel though. I was too young to pay attention to drama though.
To say he "couldn't draw" isn't really fair. He obviously could. Sure, he wasn't the best by a long shot but he did ok and creativity goes a LONG WAY
He got better over time for sure.
That sideways comic sounded so dope, it was literally playing with the dimensions when changing realities.
I guess it was too meta for em at the time
when have corporations had artistic vision lol
The two of them reparing their friendship is truely beautiful. Cause thats what true friendship is. Being able to say "sorry dude, i was young, i was stupid and i was a dick, I'm sorry" and the other one accepting it. Leaving the company a friend started to go back to the company ypu wanted to run away from together is a bit of a dick move. But not it's also just human to not pass on 3 million bucks
This is probably the most fair look at Liefeld's art I have ever seen. You are able to show the criticisms against him in an objective way without being one of those people that takes glee in bashing him, while also pointing out his good qualities. This is a great video!
Man, why you gotta make me tear up at the end?
I'm mostly a painter who doesn't really care for comic book art and never heard of Liefeld this was a fascinating video to watch. The anatomy in these is certainly weird at times but as compositions I actually really like them in a way I don't for a lot of other comic art. That Captain America drawing is a hoot though!
If you find something to like even in Liefelds art, you will love the good ones!
I blame the editor as much as Liefeld for letting that drawing get published!
@@psychedelictacos9118 I'm not an expert on the subject, but I have read that the infamous Captain America drawing was never published.
Check out the actual comic for more hoots. Liefeld is one of the all-time great American cultural surrealist-satirists. There's an incredible bistable illusion on the very first page of issue one, Captain America is standing there and you can't tell if he's facing you or has his back to you. Liefeld is a genius, it's not enough to simply say he is a great, we must say that he is a great genius.
He becomes increasingly lazy with his art, (In fact, that's not uncommon in the industry) and when yours bases are not solid enough that happens.
These guys absolutely wrecked shop in the 90s, all of us kids were studying their art like our lives depended on it, which they sometimes have. The drama and unpredictable events that happened leading up to Image and all that was so crazy. I had no idea Rob was so young during all that!
Yeah,Rob was a youngster,19 yrs old as a pro artist,trying desperately to help/feed his family.He had to grow-up fast,real fast,life doesn't play games,but,at least he was getting paid to do something he-LOVED-and had-GREAT-success and broke comic sales records.Instead of bashing his art ( which is the norm on the internet ) I SALUTE him for his success in the comic field.
@RepentandbelieveinJesusChristGay!
@@volumedealer2716no u!
@@billdecompsa4705 i didn't roam around the roman countryside with a bunch of dudes washing men's feet
Unbased
At 2:45, Liefeld's art had this "energy, dynamism, and intensity which makes it stand out". And that's why Liefeld was extremely popular in the 90's (with his art helping to sell MILLIONS of comics, far more than the vast majority of other comic artists). Your average person does not give a damn if something is slightly out of proportion or whatever, they just want something that's exciting that leaps out from the page (so to speak) and creates excitement. Liefeld delivers on that and that's why he was (and still is at times) far more popular than most artists. Not saying everything he draws is great, but most of his stuff looks cool and FUN and EXCITING. That's what most people want and it's the reason why a lot of modern comic artists are failing hard and not selling comics... their stuff might be in better proportion, but it's boring as hell and very generic to the point where most people don't even remember who the hell the modern comic artist is and it's so bad no one wants to pay money for their art. With Liefeld, love him or hate him, you are going to get something that's going to get a reaction from someone and it's NOT going to bore the person viewing it. And in my humble opinion, 90% of Liefeld's art looks really FUN and EXCITING and it's always a joy to see his art (just wish he were better at keeping deadlines. That's been his biggest problem... he sometimes takes forever to put stuff out).
You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.
Sam Keith who made the maxx I feel like fits a lot of that description as well, from a technical standpoint sure there's flaws you could point out but from an energy standpoint he definitely delivered on conveying that
Slightly lol
Rob has real passion for the story and comic book universe its contagious in the quick clipo f him his passion is obvious and inspiring
T. MacFarlane , R. Liefeld and M. Silvestri were the reasons I wanted to be a comic book artist when l was a kid...this video brought back a lot of memories😊😊😊
I inked for Marvel for a number of years, and I did a page or two of Rob's pencils. A VERY well-known comic artist was visiting, took a look at one of the pages, noticed a head that Rob had drawn, and simply said, "Rob should know there's a skull in there." And he redrew the head! Note: I made him write a note to Bob Harris in the border that he's done this instead of me, so I wouldn't get "in trouble."
Sounds like John Byrne haha
Do you know how some writers get into that industry?
@@jd6473 Never met the man. This artist is *hint* based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. As am I.
@@theiscarface Wish I could help you. I started out as a self-published artist/writer (Fish Police), them, with the help of the above-mentioned artist, got my first inking job at Marvel. But that was all 30+ years ago and I have no idea how the industry works now.
@@SteveMoncuse I know you're trying to avoid naming names out of respect, but I've gotta ask; does this unnamed artist's name start with an "S"?
This video is amazing. The part at the end where liefeld and mcfarlane are back to joking around and being friends after everything they've gone through warmed my cold dead heart. Props to you for giving a fair and balanced assessment of an artist who until now i had only known through listicles and memes. You earned a new sub.
No artist creates more controversy than Liefeld. Love him or hate him, we're still talking about him.
O… kay? That’s not really a measure of him as a person or artist.
Arguably to some that’s the ONLY measure of art/artists.
@@Circuitssmith I'd actually say it is. It just shows how much of an influence and impact he's had on the comic scene that he's still talked about to this day.
@@insantic2197
Not to engage in hyperbole, but Hitler is an example of notoriety and influence not indicating quality of work or of a person. Hitler was not a good politician, he was successful by destroying politics. Liefeld is not a good artist, he became successful by destroying art.
@@Circuitssmith Don't agree with this take. There are tons of mediocre content out there, that doesn't make headlines and doesn't create a single blip in the radar. He obviously had some talent as an artist, at the start I think he was innovative, but he seemed to stop growing, and stopped improving on his own art at some point.
The truth is I know and I'm able to recognize Rob's mistakes and failures but I had loads of fun with his run on the Hawk & Dove and The New Mutantes so here goes a big thank you and hug in appreciation for his work .
THANKS ROB LIEFELD AND A BIG HUG!!!
Thanks for the great content and keep up with the good work matttt.
It's honestly very heart whelming to see that Liefeld and McFarlane made amends
It didn't last long, because Rob is addicted to shittalk.
Do you got proof for that? Because I don’t have the same common sense as you, nor others like me though
@@johnnymeeks is that directed at me? Rob is very active in a handful of Facebook groups, and any time the subject of Todd comes up, Liefeld takes a lot of petty snipes at him.
Why? He made millions before he turned 25 due to nothing other than incredibly good luck. Then he also manages to patch things up not only with his friends but also the community? That's just ridiculous. The least that could have happened in exchange for his incredible success is him being ostracized from the community. But when you have infinite luck on your side, nothing bad will ever last.
"heart whelming"
Do you mean heartwarming?
Don't care if he is a good artist or not. After learning he was working on three jobs so he can provide for his father 's treatments and care giving, he has earned my outmost respect.
In the 70’s at that, back when shit was crazy cheap. In modern day you can do a lot with three jobs. Just goes to show honestly.
Mine too.But,I knew about Rob's father,I bought the dvd on the formation of Image Comics many years ago.I too wanted to be a pro artist,but,my famiy's fiancial situation was brutal.I lived in a very,crime infested neighborhood in Philly with my 5 sisters and mother ( my mother worked )so I joined the navy at 18 and used my signing bonus to get them outta of that war-zone. LOL.We nick-named our neighborhood-LITTLE-BERUIT !!! LOL. Yeah,it was THAT bad !!! This was during the early 90s,Philly had 700 murders a year and that doesn't include robberies,thefts,shootings,etc,etc,..it was a hot mess.You'd come home from work and your apt was ranshacked,your belongs gone.I saw people get robbed in the daytime,stabbed,shot,etc,etc,..had to get outta there-ASAP.
I don't have a problem with Rob. He had a hard life as a kid and he's sorry for the mistakes he's made. All is forgiven.
Many had hard lives as a kid, myself included. He just wanted enough and got lucky at the write time. In 1987 I didn't have his confidence and his study of influences.
Show me a person who hasn't made mistakes,bad decisions in their life,there isn't one.Rob had TOO much success at an early age and a lot of it was over whelming for him.Glad he's in a better place now.And McFarlane was getting on Liefeld in that one segment,but,he's one to scold,he's done some pretty shady stuff also.Neil Gaiman ring a bell ???? LOL.
He’s still drawing shit comics to this day.
That has nothing to do with why he was a successful artist when he wasn't that good...
@@bryna7 Rob Liefeld's strength was knowing how to shake up tradition by introducing characters into Marvel that specifically questioned the moral center of the established books. Cable, Domino and Deadpool along with many others basically rebelled against the teachings of Charles Xavier as well as the traditional format of comics in general, thanks Deadpool, which to teenage brains was like adding sugar crust to bacon. However Rob's downfall is that without a established heroic base like Marvel's Xmen or the Avengers his characters are all sizzle and no steak. His characters in Youngblood weren't rebelling against, well, anything so they were about as exciting as a firework released the day after July 4th. To this day I don't know what Youngblood's purpose is and what themes they stand for? Are they young people standing against old???
Comics actually helped me through a hard time, now I’m back in my comic book phase and I’m drawing like crazy
Such a nice story of reflection and how society puts so much pressure on people that they sacrifice friendships. I am so happy that the two artists came back together as mature adults. What a wonderful experience it must have been for Liefield. I don't understand the deep passion that people have for the comic industry as it only hooked me for a two year period when I was very young. The guy was lucky, passionate about comics and has a vivid imagination. Thanks for the mini doc as I found it interesting and of course recognise the cultural importance of comic books in America, pre internet.
People who weren't there probably won't be able to properly fathom the impact McFarlane, Liefeld, Larsen, Lee had back then. Before them I didn't even know who artists were, for the most part their styles were indistinctable from each other, with some exceptions. When these guys hit the scene, wow, you could tell right away who they were for their distinctive styles, and they made comics so visually exciting and impactful, something completely new and groundbreaking.
💯
Yup...probably the most exciting times ever in the industry.....from 'The dark knight returns' to the creation of Image and comics exploding all over the place. The 90's get a bad rep but this pathetic industry as it truly is now, could only wish for these days to return. Back then they were fun.....now you have woke sorry excuses for comics.
@@PainInTheS I prefer Rob over modern comic art like Derek Charm's Squirrel Girl. Who cares about correct anatomy when the art looks like generic skinny fat geeks that you see on the street? Manga is rarely anatomically correct but they outsell the hell out of comics & have far better writing too. One Piece is ugly but the world building is as deep as Lord of the Rings. As much hate as Image gets, they release stuff like Invincible which has ok art but much better writing than anything from modern DC & Marvel. Invincible followed the Manga ethos of the story carrying serviceable art.
That they become superstars it's true but they also got a huge hand from Marvel's incredible marketing machine in that and it is mentioned in the video too.
To say though that, before them, artists were indistinguishable from one another is an atrocity cause people like Kirby, Ditko, Romita Sr., Neil Adams, Miller, Mignola, Golden, Steranko and so many more have styles that are immediately recognisable and have all had a huge impact on the medium.
Anyhow, after the Image guys left Marvel learned their lesson and made sure to never pump artists to that level of stardom ever again: the stars were the characters and so it has remained.
@@HeyThreshold I meant that I didn't know who they were and that I wasn't able to distinguish them. I'd buy a Spider-Man comicbook for Spider-Man, not for any artists. But when I got a Spider-Man comicbook by Todd McFarlane it stood out and I wanted to know what was going on with that, because it looked so striking and fresh. The same goes for Liefeld and the others, Keown's Hulk stood out for me too. The first Image titles were exciting, but they kinda lost the appeal after a while. A lot of the Image stuff isn't very good, unfortunately.
As a 8 year old in the mid 90s, this was the coolest art I had ever seen.
...cuz you didnt compare it to the better stuff
@@robi6317 I was 8
The secret was all the pouches 🤫
@robi6317 as a kid, excessiveness is damn cool, because it stimulates the imagination with more material to work with, as adults it might look stupid but 20 guns on someone’s back was the most badass shit ever when you didnt know how unpractical it was
and then you grew up
Damn i didnt know there was a comic artist lore like that💀
I remember Liefeld being an inspiration. If you were even a decent artist, you figured "if he could make it so can I". I had no idea about his dad. I'm glad he was able to help his family.
Me too.I think that's what drove him to success at an early age ( he had to become man of the house at an early age ) he dared to succeed.Rob didn't have time to wine and moan about becoming a pro comic artist,he made it happen.Did he stumble along the way and make mistakes ??? YES. Like we've all done in life,do and say DUMB &&&&. LOL. He did more than the average person ( and had more success )before he turned 30 than most people.Owning and running your own business at 25 is a HUGE responsibility,now it's the norm,but,back then it the exception.Instead of fitting the norm on the net ( which is bashing Rob ) I chose to focus on his success and i salute him for it.
@powerbadpowerbad
Having that kind of motivation keeps you hungry and keeps you grinding for sure.
@@apg897 AGREED.Rob had to grow up fast and become the bread winner and man of the house also.No time to lag around,he had the role of being the father then.Nothing but respect for Rob from me.
Don't like his personality, but I like his dedication
@@Username-qu1jtWtf is wrong with his personality?
It’s ridiculous to say he couldn’t draw. He had his own style and had a unique vision. That’s the heart of art.
Not to mention that there’s stuff out there with absolutely abysmal art in a traditional sense like Japan’s original One Punch Man webseries and Mob Psycho 100 but fans eat it up because ONE, the artist of said works has immense passion for creating comics and it shows through it’s comedic yet deeply personal stories, ofc learning fundamentals help but a comic is nothing without passion.
Exactly. Style is so much more important than technical skill. There are a ton of isekai mangas out that have incredibly perfect drawings that are super boring and generic. One Piece looks like a toddler with parkinsons drew it and it's the most sold manga in history.
Well... yes: you can learn technical stuff, or even style with some effort. The complaints are that he *didn't* learn any of the technical stuff: in fact he got worse and worse. And it doesn't explain the failure to ship, either. Not that I hate the guy or anything!
wrong, anyone can draw, he's just bad at it. he just does designs, which is nothing
He was clearly not perfect in terms of anatomy, but I don't think anyone in their right mind is saying he couldnt draw. Don't cover up for bad anatomy etc though with "style" and "vision" - thats not a good thing for anyone to do. Take your losses and learn from them, dont take your losses and pretend theyre wins.
Looking at all his art in this video he's actually insanely talented. The only frame of reference I've ever had for what Rob Liefeld art looks like is the infamous Captain America drawing. Most of his art seems to actually be insanely good.
no, it's not
@@thewkovacs316 let's see your art then lmao
his work is mid when he's at his best
His layouts are good, but WAY too busy, just way, way, way too busy. Even if his anatomy was correct, he detracts from his own dynamic placement of characters with way too many details.
@@shevrett2658no emptier attack like an ad hominem attack. "No power" - Leech.
Idc how bad he draws, he's an inspiration and he worked hard no matter what. He literally became famous and i bet he inspired many ppl at least but i just feel bad for him bc of other ppl getting on him.
That last part made me tear up. Nothing like coming of age with your buddies and feeling like you can do anything
As someone who was teen in 90’s and comic nut, I can confirm this is 💯 accurate about how game changing it was, those x-force books were like 🔥 back then, the day #1 came out we were waiting in line for comic shop to open, lifeild, and McFarland completely changed the “style” of comics, and the influence is still felt today, it was huge point in comic history aesthetic wise
I remember all that! It was a special time for kids to collect comics! McFarlane art was pure excitment!
I prefer the Kubert brothers actually. But then again i'm partial to x-men
I remember. Sad we don’t have anything like that anymore. Kids are missing that excitement and don’t even know it
I also remember. Funny thing is that one of our comic collector friends loved Liefelds style, while the rest of us already hated his barrel chested footless abominations right away. I remember lots of making fun of his artwork.
Same! I was a teen too and when his stuff came out it blew me away. I used to draw and even mimicked his tattered signature box. I do remember getting and not liking that Captain America issue but it wasn’t about the art, it was more about the story direction they were going in post onslaught with all most their comics.
That clip at the end made me smile. Great ending to the video. Whatever Rob's faults, ego, mistakes he's made etc, It's good to see that him and Todd are friends again.
Well, the common ground of both Rob and Todd being driven to provide for their family and loved ones is certainly the one thing that is worth repairing their friendship over.
He knew how to draw and genre demanded him to throw away any realism. He went all in.
Rob found his way back from the looks of this story, nobody's perfect and I got to be honest, I think the money and success really went to his head at the time, he was in his early 20s after all,and believe me those years are when you feel on top of the world when you achieve something big. The dude was and is passionate about comics but maybe just a little too passionate. Still it's good to know things mostly worked out.
Could really happen to any of us. I'm really happy he didn't ignore the wisdom of making mistakes.
Same thing has happened to rock stars, game developers, etc. Even good and honest people can get greedy and overly ambitious.
The ending scene with them sort of reconciling made me tear up. Still goes to show they still care for each other despite past mistakes and grievances.
They lived the confrontations they draw so to speak~
at the time he was one of the HOT talents... everyone loved his work, it was new and different. What hurt him was that he didn't grow or change in his style. After awhile, we all out grow it and what we used to enjoy, no longer has the same spark. My favorite part of this video is that Rob and Todd were able to rekindle their friendship.
bad take. I hated all this stuff as a kid and still hate it and still love all the McFarlane, Jim Lee, Bachalo stuff.
@@cleverclover7good for you?
I can't belive Rob drew Hawk and Dove without anyone's assistance. It's just too good.
The founders of Image....with their crazy over the top styles were the main reason I began to draw when I was younger. Love or Hate his art, there is no denying his impact on comics. His reimagining of the New Mutants was a refreshing break from the stale Marvel mold at that time. The covers to X-Force #1 and Youngblood #1 are iconic to me.
Yeah, you can learn something from Liefeld, sign up for art classes.
This was a very well made video. I'm 39 so I was a kid at the exact time that all of this went down. My older brother got me hooked on comics and those X force books ABSOLUTELY popped! I was too young to understand the weird anatomy but those character designs grabbed you. I'm sure Gen Z doesn't understand just awesome those shoulder pads and pouches were to 8 year olds in the early 90's, I still remember it like it was yesterday when my brother brought home the first issues of Young Blood, Wild Cats ,Savage Dragon and Supreme, and I was completely enthralled with all things image. It's really such a "You just had to be there" period in time, to truly understand why Rob Liefield was sooo successful and sooo awesome.
As a child I absolutely LOVED the pouches. In my head each one had a purpose and held a mystery utility item. I would spend hours imagining what went in those pouches and what their niche uses were.
Edit: I would literally add pouches to belts and wear them like bandoliers and fill them with knick-knacks like rabbit's feet and compasses.
I'm 25 and wore the shit out of cargo pants. I understand the pouches.
Same here. I was 10 when xforce started. I loved his comics without even knowing they were his. I was a kid. That's the whole damn point of comics. They're supposed to be entertaining... for kids. Who cares about anatomy and pouches? They made millions off of his drawings and no one cared at the time about the anatomy and perspective.
Even Snake eyes had pouches and stuff! that shit works! :D
I'm right there with you. I saw his face in the thumbnail and said "is that Jeff Scott Campbell, no Adam Hughes, noo that's Liefield" and had to click. I'm amazed at all the faces I recognized in this, from Jim Lee, Erik Larson, and Joe Chiodo in the studio to Lynch in _youngblood._ it's been 25 years at least, and i guess i picked it all up reading _Wizard_ and i don't know what else, but all those old pictures were of people I didn't remember that I had idolized as a kid.
Rob was promoting his new label at the 2006 SDCC. He was doing free bust drawings. Line was long and I was all fired up when I got to him. Chatted him up with a lot of energy and positivity and history and he was stoked on it. He made an amazing Thor for me and even inked it which he had not done for anyone else. It's perfect and I have it framed. He's a squirrelly dude but he is kick ass too.
Those Marvel years of McFarlane and Liefeld were my formative days of Comic Collecting. As a young teen, these guys inspired me to want to draw. As Matttt said, what those artists were doing on those pages were just insane, and not just them. It seemed like every comic had a brilliant dynamic style to it. They were really modern gold years which were tarnished by faux collectability and Limited editions that sold millions and were worth nothing in the end.
15:24
"He ROBS, he LIES, and he FAILED" From his name, Rob Liefeld lol
He seems like someone who's career went full circle. Im glad hes still drawing comics, you can tell he is really passionate about it.
I once heard that those who compete will always fell behind those who create.
I really respect Liefeld for his creativity, but maybe his folly was that he tried to compete with McFarlane, while McFarlane just created the best thing he could
I'm glad they got back together as friends, recognizing your mistakes in your youth lets you become an adult no longer burdened by them, but grow because of them.
He was never a bad artist he was just pushed to fast to soon he just wasnt given enough time to learn and improve and grow as a artist.
Agreed, he was cool to me.
Yeah, he was actually pretty good when he started, and not just in a "for somebody with no formal training" sense. But as he pushed further and further into the unconventional page layouts and energetic poses without regard for the anatomy...he'd gotten so big, so fast that nobody was going to tell him the parts he was doing wrong and he'd have little reason to listen to them if they did. After all, if he's getting this popular and this rich by "doing it wrong", why should he want to do it right?
Hell no, he's always been amazing, look at the anatomy in his first comics. This is just an artstyle he thinks looks cool, and to some extent I agree, I like big buff Captain America if we look past the fact that's not "realistic"
so.... a bad artist? 😂. that's not anyone's fault but his own too. He could've taken some time and actually tried to learn but he didn't. he had mcfarlane by his side and other legendary artists by his side
@@xaevius5319 Cultivating a style doesn't make you a bad artist, in fact, it makes you a good one
This was a very balanced take on his work, because we have this stereotype of Liefeld - "Liefeld, you're not an artist", as sung by an early famous comic youtuber - but the reality is more complicated than that. Liefeld's life story reads like a classical tragedy: he loved comics and revolutionized comicbook making, but he couldn't deal with his shortcomings in a healthy way (even at the later career) and fell because of his hubris, but still he's still living on, doing comics.
You mean the Flying Fedora by day Lightbringer by night?
No matter what ended up happening, he's a success story. To have a genuinely selfless goal and to meet it is very admirable. It's nice to see someone going after their goals full force and not using victimhood as an excuse.
His legacy will always be the guy who over exaggerates proportions, he was a bit too obsessed with making statements rather than allowing the story to be told.
I always remember seeing his work on X-Men and then the jump over to Image, I cannot lie I was drawn to his covers.
However when I flipped through it was just a mess, the art style is way too busy to understand what's happening in the story.
Clearly he wasn't able to maintain that amount of detail throughout a long lasting run.
But those early days were wild, a handful of comic book artists essentially became well-known celebrities in pop culture.
I couldn't see that happening for any new talent in comics nowadays, though maybe its for the best because every single one let their ego take over.
It warms my heart to hear that there are still people in this world they are willing to sacrifice everything to take care of their family and especially their parents.
Its good to know Rob figured things out, and repaired his friendship with McFarlane. Good friends are hard to come by
I'm not a comic book guy; I found this short doc very interesting and entertaining. Great work! Was shocked to see you're a relatively new creator. Keep it up! Great script and editing skills here.
Liefeld brought energy to comics. For all his faults he had real passion for comics. People who bash him only know him from the same 3 Google images. He's a million times better than 90% of the art in modern comics.
This almost dead industry could only wish for a Liefeld now to save their sorry behinds. 🤣
@@PainInTheS he’s literally still pencilling comics, and he isn’t saving anything.
@@joeracer302 Yeah blabla.....read it again, now with 'comprehension' turned on. 😆
I honestly find it inspiring how he made it in the industry with his drawing skills. It gives me hope
His drawing skills WAS great when he first started out, it's just that he progressfully got worse later on down the line.
Watching him and McFarlane together at the end made me unexpectedly happy. They should just get together one day and create a one-shot flashy comic without thinking about money, just good old cool poses and wild action tropes.
Agreed 😎👍🏻
Yes!
I honestly met Liefeld one time at a convention right after the launch of Image. I wanted to be a comic artist so bad and he told me to learn the basics before showing my portfolio again. I was pissed mad and hated the guy but he was right. I chose writing over being an artist.
Ironic, meanwhile he unlearned the basics after showing his portfolio.
@@PosthumanHeresy That's probably why he would say that, he doesn't want other artists repeating his mistakes and never improving.
@@PosthumanHeresy Don't most people learn from their mistakes?
@@cyankoopa8111 Idk, did America learn from the mistake of George Bush? Or do it again but worse?
@@Corthmic But he did master the basics before showing his portfolio. His portfolio actually looked good! Like, I've seen Jim Lee's art from the same age as Rob Liefeld's portfolio is from. Jim Lee's art at that age is garbage compared to Rob. Jim Lee!! Rob Liefeld could have probably been the greatest comic book artist of all time, but he just... kept getting worse? His art "progression" from his teens to Youngblood looks like he's suffering from a degenerative neurological condition. It's uncanny how absolutely backwards it is. Like, it's not a one-of-a-kind thing, but I've only ever seen this with smut artists before. And Frank Miller.
My friends father owned a comic book store in Sacramento, California during this time. The hype was real, trust me 🤣There were some unknown artists at the time drawing on the floor, it was amazing time for them. The two standouts were Tom Coker and Melvin Rubi. Tom's art style was abstract while Melvin's was detailed. Both actually made career out of it! This vedio brought back all the memories thank you!
Was that comic book store on Broadway by Tower Books?
@richhughes6180 No. I remember that one, though. It was on 59th Street right behind what used to be Florin Mall. It was called the Comic Box.
Vedio?
I use to shop at the comic Box.
@MovieGuy666 Yeah, it was the hangout for a lot of us. Now we're all in our 50s 🤣