Rob Liefeld Announces His Retirement From Deadpool

Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool has announced that, 34 years later, he will no longer work on the character for Marvel Comics.

Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool with Fabian Nicieza for Marvel Comics in New Mutants #98 back in 1990 has announced that, 34 years later, and with the new Deadpool 3 movie coming out, he will no longer work on the character. He writes;

“I am retiring from Deadpool. It’s official. Yup, after 33 years of not only introducing Deadpool but chronicling many of his most popular adventures it’s time for the Deadpool Daddy to say farewell. One of the fun parts about getting older is you can retire from things, so here I am. So I worked up one last crazy Deadpool yarn for the fine folks at Marvel and they responded with electric glee and I started producing it last month for release Summer 2024. I often wonder what my life would be like if I had not created and sold not just Deadpool, but Cable, Domino, Stryfe and many others to Marvel. What If young Rob hadn’t taken up the challenge of transforming a title that was headed towards cancellation is one of the better alternate universe tales. It certainly transformed my young career, creating opportunities and record breaking sales for New Mutants & X-Force. Creating and introducing the Deadpool Corps., featuring Lady Deadpool & Dogpool was a great function of my mid-life crisis during 2009. In 2015 I started Deadpool:Bad Blood, getting Deadpool his first original graphic novel, and his only chart topping, #1 ranking to date, an achievement that got me a round of congratulations from Marvel brass that pumped my chest out farther than Captain America’s! No other auteur has combined to write and illustrate more Deadpool work, I’ll complete this journey with over 1000 pages alongside my Mercenary Misfit. So, I’ll finish this one last Deadpool story, and trust me, it’s a wild one, and call it a collaboration for the ages. It’ll be fun! In case you are wondering, why now? That’s easy, I’ll be 57 at the end of this and my eyes are still functioning, the work continues to be strong, I want to go out with the best effort I can muster. The hand-eye coordination won’t be there forever. I’ll elaborate more on this on my next Robservations podcast and look forward to taking this journey with you, the world’s greatest fans, who have always provided the best support a cartoonist could ever imagine. And that, is saying something!”

Liefeld has always held Deadpool in high regard and considers it one of his proudest creations. Reflecting on his journey, he mentioned how transforming a title that was heading toward cancellation turned into one of the best alternate universe stories. Deadpool opened doors for him, leading to opportunities and record sales for New Mutants and X-Force. Liefeld’s impact extended to creating the Deadpool Corps, including Lady Deadpool and Dogpool, during his midlife crisis in 2009. His work on Deadpool: Bad Blood resulted in the character’s first original graphic novel and topped the charts. Liefeld expressed gratitude for the Marvel Brass’s congratulations, which made him feel even more triumphant than Captain America! No other author has contributed more to writing and illustrating Deadpool, and he will complete this journey with over 1,000 pages alongside his Mercenary Misfit.

Excelsior, Mr. Liefeld. May your retirement be as epic as a double-page spread.