No, this post is focused on the dickery that certain comic fanboys have perpetrated. I’ve reread some examples of this phenomenon recorded on the blogosphere and this is by far the biggest example of such dickery this year (thus far).
The above link makes the following type of reaction to interacting with comic fanboys at comic book conventions and signings all the more understandable (and visually apt). Okay, so she isn’t a comic artist, but I bet every comic book pro (writer or artist) feels like this on the inside when some creep pulls a stunt like this.
It occurs to me that Comic book pros are easier targets than say movie directors or actors, because of their convention appearances and lack of bodyguards to beat up jackasses.
Btw, I like Rob Liefeld. Sure, his art isn’t always consistent, but what he did for X-force has yet to be matched.
Rob co-created Cable. Pretty poppular character.
Rob created Deapool. This is one of the most popular characters of recent decades and Mister Liefeld deserves a lot of credit for that.
Which two characters have starred in a title (as DEMANDED by fans)?
Rob is a great creator. A much better creator than Artist. His work on the Youngblood books is way cooler than I could ever imagine the Titans (the original, intended home of his later reworked Youngblood ideas) being. Much better than the “Junior Justice League Sidekick” feel that The Teen Titans suffered from for years.
Furthermore, Die Hard is, and always will be, a cooler hero than Captain America. One (Die Hard) gave up his humanity for the greater good, the other (Cap) was a scrawny dude who became the world's most glorified and saluted steriod-user. Huh?
Rant over. Mesage to be taken away from rant: Don't engage in the other superdickery.
So ends the sermon.
That is pretty mean, especially considering that he's taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with fans. I can understand how they thought it was funny but it was pretty rude. It's bad enough comic creators (and actors) have to sit around all day and hear the same thing over and over again from rabid fans, but having to deal with people like this only makes it worse. I've never been to a con and I always felt weird about meeting creators. It's the same kind of feeling I get seeing an animal in a zoo. Yeah, they're getting fed well, but they don't look all that happy.
ReplyDeletePlus there just seems to be a general lack of human decency going around in the world.
Yes, it might be funny as You-know-I-could-have-done-this-when-I-saw-Liefeld-fantasy, but the actually did it. Most people will change their minds a split sec before they go through with it, but this guy actually did it AND then blog-bragged about it.
ReplyDeleteThis type of behaviour reminds me of similar transgressions by fans of Fantasy Novelist, George R.R. Martin, that have grown impatient with the time they have had to wait for the next instalment of his multi-part series of novels. A few comments were of the like: “I hope he doesn’t pull a Robert Jordan,” referring to the late Mister Jordan who died before completing the final part(s) of his multi-part fantasy novel series. Others were of the tone, “We’d better be reading the next one soon or else...”
Somehow, because a novelist/comic creator/comic writer/comic artist has a website or a blog or attends conventions or attempts any sort of interaction with fans, some ‘fans’ will think that:
A] Said novelist/comic creator/comic writer/comic artist is the equivalent of their employee/debtor who they believe they can speak to in any manner they please.
I think John Scalzi or one of his posters(http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/02/23/pissy-fans/) says it best when he says (in defence of Martin): The writer doesn’t really owe the reader anything beyond the book. And by this, he means that the writer doesn’t owe the fans (to the same degree that he/she owe his/her editor and publisher). They shouldn't expect as big an influence over the product as the editor or publisher.
My opinion: Fan-Creator-Interaction (via blogs and conventions) + Specific Fan’s lack of boundaries = Fan Uber-entitlement and dickery
Some fans need to realise that (any) Fandom has a ‘opt out’ dimension...If don’t like someone’s art, don’t buy his comic. If you don’t like how someone writes Legion, wait till that writer’s run is over. If you don’t want to wait between novels, wait for the series to be completed and buy/read as a set.
Back to Liefeld: Liefeld doesn’t draw Feet or Backgrounds, but those are hardly the most important aspects in most comics (unless you’re drawing Ironfist or Spiderman or Flash). The disproportionate anatomy issue has only really been documented when he draws Marvel...On the other hand, when you look at the way Liefeld draws the faces of heroes, you get the sense the being hero is tough and that they’ve been through a lot. I think that’s more important than feet. So, in that respect he is a great artist in the emotive sense.
First, the behavior of the fans in question is abominable and disgusting. Period. I completely agree it was out of bounds, classless, and utterly unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I completely disagre with your statement that he can draw emotive faces. He only has TWO standard faces he draws (one male, one female), and they're always wearing one of two expressions: grimacing in a rictus-like grunt or open-mouthed in screaming. If it weren't for the costumes, I wouldn't be able to tell who was who in a Liefeld comic most of the time.
Liefeld's art is slipshod, lazy, and all flash with no substance. His panel layouts are nigh-incomprehensible. His storytelling is abominable. Half the time I can't figure out what is even happening in his pages, which is the Prime Imperative of comic book illustration. His problems as an artist go way, way beyond just feet and backgrounds.
And he doesn't ever get BETTER, that's what astounds me. I looked at the preview pages for the upcoming Deadpool series and they have the exact same problems he had during his first X-Whatever runs. He's a hack, whose hackery unfortunately dramatically influenced the entire industry -- for the worse -- for well over 20 years.