Rob Liefeld was one of the head honchos behind the creators who fled Marvel to start the independent giant that is Image Comics. He grew to fame creating such characters as Deadpool and Cable and drawing New Mutants and later X-Force. Once Image started up he came out with Image's first title, Youngblood under his imprint Extreme Studios (he also had Maximum Press which was outside of Image Comics).
After a few years at Image Comics he was kicked out after he broke one of the few rules of Image, not trying to steal each other's talent. He had his eye on the very talented Michael Turner and decided to make him an offer to see if he'd leave fellow Image owner Marc Silvestri. Once he was out on his own he decided to form his own company, Awesome Comics, alongside Malibu Comics founder Scott Rosenberg.
Besides his attempt at poaching talent at Image, the other accusation against Liefeld has been plagiarism. From his early days at Marvel until his time at Awesome, many of his characters bore more than a striking resemblance to other characters. For example: Deadpool was said to be based on Deathstroke the Terminator, his group of immortals called the Externals were thought to be a rip off of the popular Highlander film series, a Superman-inspired Supreme, a Wonder Woman look-a-like in Glory, and Agent America who looked a lot like Captain America (this character was later turned into Fighting American after Marvel brought a lawsuit, Fighting American was a pre-existing Jack Kirby character that Liefeld bought the rights to).
The final range of debate over Liefeld is his particular art style. There are numerous complaints but some of the most prominent are:
1) Limited facial expressions, generally ranging from barely-restrained anger to a look that is regularly described as "constipated" by less charitable commentators
2) Distorted proportions such as tiny heads, wrists, and ankles and oversized breasts and muscles, as well as the occasional swipe with female face and breasts layered onto an obviously male figure
3) Conspicuous panel-to-panel inconsistencies in costumes, backgrounds, and even the number of digits on characters' hands
4) Poses that appear to be both illogical (in the context of the plot) and anatomically impossible, or at least uncomfortable.
5) Skewed perspective: often a picture will be begun in one perspective then be finished in another.
6) Disproportionate facial features. Eyes are frequently asymmetrical, often drawn on a skewed axis on the face; noses are often misplaced; and grimacing characters regularly display impossible numbers of uniformly-shaped teeth.
Despite all this controversy, Liefeld remains one of today's big names creators if for no other reason, he draws a crowd. He is, after all, a self-proclaimed "most hated man in comics."
After a few years at Image Comics he was kicked out after he broke one of the few rules of Image, not trying to steal each other's talent. He had his eye on the very talented Michael Turner and decided to make him an offer to see if he'd leave fellow Image owner Marc Silvestri. Once he was out on his own he decided to form his own company, Awesome Comics, alongside Malibu Comics founder Scott Rosenberg.
Besides his attempt at poaching talent at Image, the other accusation against Liefeld has been plagiarism. From his early days at Marvel until his time at Awesome, many of his characters bore more than a striking resemblance to other characters. For example: Deadpool was said to be based on Deathstroke the Terminator, his group of immortals called the Externals were thought to be a rip off of the popular Highlander film series, a Superman-inspired Supreme, a Wonder Woman look-a-like in Glory, and Agent America who looked a lot like Captain America (this character was later turned into Fighting American after Marvel brought a lawsuit, Fighting American was a pre-existing Jack Kirby character that Liefeld bought the rights to).
The final range of debate over Liefeld is his particular art style. There are numerous complaints but some of the most prominent are:
1) Limited facial expressions, generally ranging from barely-restrained anger to a look that is regularly described as "constipated" by less charitable commentators
2) Distorted proportions such as tiny heads, wrists, and ankles and oversized breasts and muscles, as well as the occasional swipe with female face and breasts layered onto an obviously male figure
3) Conspicuous panel-to-panel inconsistencies in costumes, backgrounds, and even the number of digits on characters' hands
4) Poses that appear to be both illogical (in the context of the plot) and anatomically impossible, or at least uncomfortable.
5) Skewed perspective: often a picture will be begun in one perspective then be finished in another.
6) Disproportionate facial features. Eyes are frequently asymmetrical, often drawn on a skewed axis on the face; noses are often misplaced; and grimacing characters regularly display impossible numbers of uniformly-shaped teeth.
Despite all this controversy, Liefeld remains one of today's big names creators if for no other reason, he draws a crowd. He is, after all, a self-proclaimed "most hated man in comics."