We can't be beholden to the past.
— Rob Liefeld
So much of our society has gone completely digital. Today, you can attend school, buy TVs, plan a vacation, and pay your bills electronically. Why not bring comic books into the digital realm?
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.
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.
Captain America and the Avengers were my favorite characters as a kid.
We've had a steady diet of that PG-13 entertainment. It's the best vanilla you can buy. It's delicious, but it's getting kind of samey.
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.
A fixer-upper is good for your business if you are the guy who fixes it up.
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.
I grew up on R-rated action films, and you didn't blink.
I love drawing Ryan Reynolds in his Deadpool costume. He looks amazing and is the true embodiment of the Merc with a Mouth!
Our style, in one word, the Image guys, our approach to the page was bold.
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.
My characters came with a lot of gear, a lot of weaponry.
I'm very invested in 'Youngblood' at all stages.
I love 'Captain America.' I love those fight sequences, but I've seen them multiple times.
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.
You can't rewrite the history books; you can't eliminate the impact of my work and my characters.
If you spend 90 seconds with Ryan Reynolds, you know he's Deadpool. There is no one else on the planet that has any business being that character, ever.
I'm just a guy drawing comics. Guys knocking other guys through buildings. Guys flipping tanks over on each other. I'm just trying to be true to what I liked as a kid.
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.
'Deadpool' was 'Alien.' It's brilliant. It completely works. It's a masterpiece. 'Deadpool 2' is 'Aliens.'
Long before it was 'Raided' and 'Lost' with Indiana Jones, the Ark of the Covenant was originally stolen from the Israelites by The Philistines; The Ark of the Covenant was the nuclear bomb of its age: when activated, it was devastating.
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.
Deadpool was introduced as a mercenary and a bounty hunter... because I was so crazy for Boba Fett when I was a kid.
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.'
We've gotten into this 'family friend' space, and 'Deadpool' trashes it.
'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.'
I had seen this comic called 'Invincible' created by two people I had never heard of before, Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, and I was a huge fan. 'Invincible' probably had five or six issues under the belt, and the book was so impressive to me, I was surprised that I had never heard of them before. It's like they came out wholly formed.
Marvel comics took a chance on me in my youth, allowing me to create so many toys in their sandbox.
'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.
I am a lifelong Moebius geek. The European approach is perfect, the art is beautiful, and the storytelling is fantastic.
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.
'X-Force' #1 sold 5 million copies. By default, the second issue dipped and did 1.3 million copies. But the cover of 'X-Force' #2 is Deadpool. It's not X-Force, It's Deadpool.
The Internet snark has zero effect on me.
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.
I root for 'Spawn' and every other comic-book movie. I hope all of them are successful because, any time one fails, it makes it that much harder to get one made.
All comic-book artists secretly want a successful television or movie project because of the wider audience.
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.
Here's the deal: 25 years' worth of Deadpool. This movie comes out 25 years to the day we published him at Marvel, and you couldn't get a better gift if you're a 'Deadpool' fan.
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.
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.
The Tony Stark I grew up with wasn't as snappy and as quippy as Downey Jr. made him, but now I only think of his performance.
I am a huge fan of all things Mondo, and when the opportunity to illustrate a Mondo print celebrating the 'Deadpool' film presented itself, I leapt at the chance!
'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.
If you only see 'No Country for Old Men' and 'Sicario,' you've seen two great, totally separate Josh Brolin performances.
Trust me: I was the most bullish on 'Deadpool.' When I was day one on the set, I said, 'This is going to open at $75 million,' and they all said, 'Shut up, Liefeld; you're jinxing us.'
I've always had a fortunate knack for grabbing young talent and giving them a break.
The '90s was a great period for the fans that were collecting at that time. Comics sold at an all-time high and reached the largest audience in our modern age, and the energy in our business was fantastic. Any bad feelings from fans of that era were a result of the poor delivery of the product we sold them.
I've seen every Ryan Reynolds movie. I'm a fan.
