I love drawing Ryan Reynolds in his Deadpool costume. He looks amazing and is the true embodiment of the Merc with a Mouth!
Rob Liefeld
Even if it flops, when you're sitting at the drawing table, you dream about seeing your work on the big screen, no matter what.
Mercenaries, to me, were always able to switch sides because they're motivated by cash. Deadpool has always been a shifty bastard.
I truly believe there's all the Deadpools that have existed, and there's Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, who is now the Deadpool for the world. He owns that voice.
I'll be on the street and go up to people - 'Have you read a comic book before? Well, here's one.' You've got your pro-life people, your pro-choice people, your feminists. I'm a comicbooks activist.
The funniest is the moms who get really angry with me, and they bring their kid who's dressed like Deadpool, and he's 9 years old, and they're scolding me that their little kid can't enjoy Deadpool.
All comic-book artists secretly want a successful television or movie project because of the wider audience.
When I took over 'New Mutants,' writing and drawing, and I figure this is a big deal, I'm 23, 22 at that time, and I am nervous because I've had nothing but success. And now they're giving me the entire platform to create. And I figure, if I fall flat on my face here, it's going to hurt. It's going to set me back.
Late '90s, early 2000s, Rob was in a definite fog.
I never thought we'd live in an age where we'd get to 2008's 'Iron Man,' which I think is a perfect movie.
Ryan is Deadpool. Look, Ryan Reynolds, he's gone through that same career arc; the guy is ridiculously talented. He has a huge, huge passion for 'Deadpool.'
Everyone at ComiXology has been very supportive and enthusiastic about getting 'Youngblood' as well as the rest of the Awesome/Extreme catalogue online. Hopes are high that this relationship leads to more online comics.
I grew up on R-rated action films, and you didn't blink.
Certain things work on paper held together with staples. Comics use bright colors to make things leap off the page, but movies are a different medium.
When you hold something you created, drew, and conceived, and now here it is in 3D plastic - it is a rush.
People have debated both sides of the Liefeld influence, good and bad, and I maintain the sales and the results of that time bear out that people love that stuff.
Women love the bad boy.
Give me a celebrity, I'll give you your haters. Some people shine, and some people don't like when they shine. Ask Barack Obama - he'll tell you.
I was given a chance to re-haul 'New Mutants' and take it from the dog of the 'X-Men' office to 1 million copies with its final issue.
My role as an artist helps me tremendously in breaking down each story. Pacing, layout, movement - having drawn a few thousand pages, I understand the language of comic books very well.
I'm capable of a ton of work. My Kirby gene has been fully activated. And by that, I mean the capability to draw many pages.
I've loved Hawkman since I was really young.
If you were to Google 'SWAT' right now, or Google 'Military,' you would see guys covered in pouches. That's a sign of gear! We've got stuff in here. We carry stuff. And it's an aesthetic.
I've been as much a DC guy as anything else my entire fan life.
Marvel comics took a chance on me in my youth, allowing me to create so many toys in their sandbox.
Watching people like Brandon Graham, Erik Larsen, and Joe Keatinge produce stories for my characters was a revelation... Like, 'Why are you doing work for hire when others are working on characters you own?' 'Bloodstrike' and 'Brigade' is me re-focusing my focus!
I know, for some people, 2016 was entirely miserable. And I'm like, 'Does it have to end?' Because over here in the Liefeld corner, it's been phenomenal.
Deadpool exploded for the youth around 2010 with 'Marvel vs. Capcom.' He was the most popular character. He does kicks, then mocks you as he hits you and dances around you when you hit the ground.
I am a lifelong Moebius geek. The European approach is perfect, the art is beautiful, and the storytelling is fantastic.
As to Batman, turns out I really prefer Robin over the Dark Knight.
A fixer-upper is good for your business if you are the guy who fixes it up.
'New Mutants' #100 went out the door with over a million copies. It is the highest-selling last issue of any comic ever. And that's when I knew that I spoke fandom. I spoke their language.
I wanted to launch 'Youngblood' with an exclusive relationship with ComiXology because I believe that they can provide the extra push that a launch like this requires.
I started thinking, 'What if Superman or Batman really existed?' Superman would be doing Nike commercials. The members of Youngblood take the genre of super-heroes and turn it into a business.
'Deadpool' took seven years to get to the motion picture screen, and I use that as my measurement. That tested me and my patience more than anything I could've imagined because the screenplay was so good.
Anything that is good influences the next thing. It's inevitable. I believe that Hollywood influences the comics, and the comics influence Hollywood - it's a cycle.
'New Mutants' is the absolute definition of a broken down jalopy, and I took it on, and I just remade it... That's why I was so cocky and confident: because I was like, 'I just turned around this broken down comic book with products of my imagination.'
My kids love going to the comics store with me, but they have insatiable appetites for new apps, and I truly believe we have to be online in order to reach their generation.
The mutants I like - Wolverine. The action heroes I like, they have weapons; they are more visceral. So I filled the comic with characters like that, and we got big results.
Unapologetically, absent me, there is no Deadpool. Period. I am the name, the costume, the look, the origin, and the attitude. Great one-liners are the result of other writers. But there's no Deadpool at all in existence without me.
I've seen every Ryan Reynolds movie. I'm a fan.
As a kid, my favorite book, up until 'X-Men,' was 'Avengers.' What does Captain America have? He has a shield. What does Thor have? He has a hammer. What does Hawkeye have? He has a bow and arrow. That's why Cable came with weapons. That's why Deadpool had swords and machine guns and pistols. It's like, let's weaponize these dudes.
'Deadpool Bad Blood' is a book that long-term fans of Wade Wilson can appreciate it along with newcomers and movie fans. We gave this book everything we had, and I think it shows.
Carter Hall is a cross between Indiana Jones and Robert Langdon from 'Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels and Demons.'
I've always loved both Marvel and DC equally, but I don't have a career without DC giving me the original 'Hawk and Dove' mini-series.
Everyone has embraced the family-friendly Disney approach, which is great. I see all of those movies, and I take my kids. But I grew up on 'Predator,' 'Alien,' and 'Terminator.' People forget, but those were R-rated movies. So 'Deadpool' put its money where its mouth is, and it changed the game.
As I get older and more mature, my artwork changes accordingly.
Dave Cockrum's work at Marvel and DC defined my childhood and inspired me to be a comic book creator. Without Dave, there is no New 'X-Men' resurgence, there is no Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, Lilandra, Star Jammers, or the Imperial Guard. His influence on generations of fans cannot be measured.
We can't be beholden to the past.
In the late '90s, the magazine formerly known as 'The Wizard' came after me strong and hard. I was the brunt of jokes for an entire staff of angry fanboys; as much as can be poured on was poured on. But I kept focus, as anyone in that situation should.
