New Rob Liefeld DC Comics (Deathstroke, Grifter, & Hawkman)
knightwingbk
Posts: 59
Anyone pick these up or check them out? I picked up Deathstroke and Grifter and enjoyed them. I don't think they will be best-seller books, but Deathstroke definitely improved. I'm interested in the Lobo storyline, and Liefield's art is not too bad. He fills the pages here rather than have a few panels per page and a lot of negative space. Grifter I have been enjoying, and really didn't understand Liefield's comments on Wordballoon that the Daemonites looked like fetuses. The new warrior elite, don't look that much different. What did they look like in Wildstorm's heyday? Anyway, Grifter still read the same as it did before, didn't feel like a new direction other than the introduction of Deathblow and Cheshire. I guess all in all it's not a bad thing that the book feels good from issue 8 to 9 with a new writer and scripter. I'm looking forward to Hawkman and Joe Bennett on Hawkman again. I loved his stuff on the old series.
Comments
I'll definitely check out all three books, esp. Hawkman.
Ummmmm.... Anyone?????
We'll see what tidings Liefield brings.
Thanks, @Zhurrie.
I'm not sure it's possible to approach a figure like Liefeld, or his work, without taking his (questionable) aesthetics into account.
There is no doubt that endlessly repeating the negative characteristics of his work has no functional value anymore.
But if, in his new work, he continues to employ the same problematic aesthetic that historically caused controversy, then this factor bears mentioning in any analysis of said work.
Plus, his work is doo-doo.
I enjoyed Deathstroke before Liefeld and I'm suspect about jumping on this book at all just because of his art and writing. I'll probably give his first trade a go but I don't have high hopes. I enjoyed what was happening before. Liefeld, please draw feet and cut down on the pouches.
and @JohnathanConstantine, I wouldn't wish for feet, you may get them and they are terrible. Be happy when he obfuscates hands and feet as much as possible, or when a character is not standing with arms bent to each side dual-wielding guns or swords.
I actually bought a copy of this because it may be one of the worst covers ever, and certainly one of the worst Batmans:
I met him once (to sign my Hawk & Dove trade, natch!) and he was very nice to me, even posing with a book the CGS crew made back in the day. I have several friends who reported he wasn't as nice to them (sad, because they were fans...note the "were"). I generally give people an opportunity to piss me off before I write them off. Liefeld hasn't done that to me, so he's alright in my book.
It is a shame he doesn't particularly see a need to develop as an artist, but there, too, if your line is as long as his usually are at the conventions, I can see where the root of that feeling lies. It was kind of a telling commentary on what fans value when his line was snaking around a corner, but I could walk right up to Neal Adams and shake his hand, ask for pointers, etc. But people like what they're going to like, and heck...if all of them lining up for Liefeld means I can spend time with Adams, more power to them! :)
Is that what you're expecting? There are LAWS to the universe, man! It's not possible for him to bang the infinite typewriters hard enough to come outta this with the works of Shakespeare.
That is certainly not a good cover but I do fail to see what makes it one of the worst ever. In fact compared to some Liefeld covers it's not even all that bad.
Firstly, this cover is objectively not on the same level of quality as 99% of other comics, and secondly, even if it was, if 99% percent of all comics were poorly drawn and badly composed that wouldn't automatically effect the standard of what's good.
In other words, the argument that there is nothing wrong with a work based on the fact that it is semantically comparable to the majority of other works similar to it is an erroneous conclusion.
(and as a side note, Zhurrie, when using comicbookdb to find Liefeld covers, I noticed that the Shadowhawk #1 cover in your avatar was actually drawn by Valentino and Liefeld, which I found kinda amusing.)