How To Torpedo Friends And Napalm Bridges: Rob Liefeld Loudly Quits DC Comics

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Earlier this evening, an monumentous event happened in the comics world that can only be adequately described by the chroniclers of the two extremes of human morality and mortality: King James and Dante:

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

– King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)

Try not to suck any dick on your way across the parking lot!

– Dante, Clerks

In short: Rob Liefeld has left DC Comics, in a fashion in which we all wish we could leave our employers: by apparently screeching, “Fuck you, I quit!” and telling the world the boss sucks on Twitter.

Liefeld has, for good or ill – yeah, mostly ill – been involved with DC’s New 52 since literally day one, starting with Hawk & Dove art duties, and gradually branching out to writing on Hawk & Dove before taking over art and pencils on The Savage Hawkman, Deathstroke and Grifter. The man was a regular presence at DC’s SDCC 2012 panels, hyping those books and the things he had planned. At face value, Liefeld seemed to be psyched to be working on DC New 52 books…

…and then today happened.

 

Look: it’s no secret that we are not fans of Liefeld’s art or writing here at Crisis On Infinite Midlives. And when it comes to the DC books he was drawing, well, we’re not gonna miss his subtle, weirdly anatomied footless hand. However, we do respect a man willing to torch almost every professional relationship in his life on what is, at least at face value, a principle.

However, shed no tears for Rob Liefeld. In the midst of the wave of mainstream publicity he got from being involved in the New 52, Liefeld relaunched most of the properties he owned in his old Awesome Comics imprint – including Prophet, Glory and Supreme – with interesting creative teams and completely new directions… meaning for the most part that while he’s drawing a check from them, he’s not drawing them to get that check. So they’re readable.

The point is: Liefeld rode the New 52 to renewed prominence, which allowed him to reboot his all-but-abandoned creator owned properties with talented people driving, and now he’ll live on that fat cash while we don’t have to see Deathstroke fight Lobo anymore. It’s win-win… provided he never, ever wants to work for DC Comics anymore. Because he left with a smile, a nod, and a Twittered middle finger that would make Johnny Paycheck embarrassed.

For the record, here’s the remainder of the pretty much complete Twitter stream of Liefeld burning every bridge he can get his mitts on at DC Comics (You can get anything we missed direct from the source). So here’s hoping that his old Awesome Comics properties keep stacking bank… because if they don’t, Rob’ll be praying that Eclipse Comics gets an angel investor so he can fuck up Miracleman or something, rather than trying to figure out how to make a rare Quarter Pounder With Cheese.

 

 

 

 

Okay… so any news as to what you’re up to now, Rob?

 

Well, at least you went out with a modicum of class, without naming names, right Rob? Rob? You there? Is this thing on?

Wait, what?

 

@yourpalsmitty being DC Comics Associate Editor Brian Smith, whose last retweet under that account was:

 

Good luck, Rob. And stay classy, you flatulent motherfucker…

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