CREATOR LIEFELD HAILS DEADPOOL
Reynolds’ portrayal of character is his favourite
Writers don’t always agree with Hollywood’s interpretation of their creations.
But you would be hard-pressed to find anyone more enthusiastic about the 2016 R-rated blockbuster Deadpool than Rob Liefeld, the man who created the anti-hero superhero nearly 30 years ago. Enthusiastic may be too soft a word. He is downright giddy.
In fact, he cheerfully admits that his excitement may have rubbed a few people the wrong way when he visited the Vancouver set of the film back in 2015.
“I would watch (the dailies) and I would tell the director and the writer and everyone: ‘This film is going to do so well!’ ” says Liefeld, in a phone interview from his home in Orange County, Calif. “I’d give this ridiculous number of how well the film was going to open. I’d say, ‘This movie is doing $65 million the opening weekend.’ In February 2015, that was a big number. They’d be like, ‘Shut up, Liefeld! You’re jinxing it. You’re out of your mind. You don’t say that to people on a movie set!’ ”
Deadpool, as it turns out, grossed more than $150 million on its opening weekend. In fact, it broke records and offered a good dose of vindication for star and producer Ryan Reynolds, who had reportedly spent more than six years attempting to convince Fox to shoot Deadpool as an R-rated film.
Big things are obviously expected with the sequel as well, which will be released May 18.
“Ryan owns this brand like nobody else,” says Liefeld. “I mean, he is Deadpool. It is just a thrill to go on that ride with him. Yes, absolutely, 100 per cent, without a doubt, he is my favourite incarnation, version, option of Deadpool. Period. Following it up is a tall order, because Ryan is a producer on the film as well, as he was with the first one. He put in so much (attention) to details, built the cast out and gave people the characters they were clamouring for in Cable and Domino. He didn’t veer off script. I was fortunate to see the film a few weeks back and, I’m telling you, at the five-minute mark, the 10-minute mark, the 15 minutemark, you’re going to be wondering, ‘Do I buy my tickets right now while I’m sitting here so I can walk right back in?’ “
Yes, Liefeld is nothing if not enthusiastic. Sure, he may have a bit of a bias toward the character, but he insists his cheerleading is genuine.
“In my old age, I’ve learned if you don’t like it, just be quiet,” he says. “You don’t have to diss them. Just be quiet and move on and minimize the damage and move onto the next. But this thing is a big, old party.”
It perhaps flies in the face of the reputation Liefeld has earned over the years for being combative. When Deadpool fever was in full pitch back in early 2016, the New York Times did a profile on him in which he was described as one of the most controversial figures in the comic industry. It wasn’t just his unique style as an artist, which has received criticism in the past, but also because of what the Times called his “contentious exits” from Marvel, DC and even Image Comics, which he helped create in 1992 with Calgary native Todd McFarlane, among others.
Still, his approval of Reynolds’ interpretation isn’t really that shocking. Part of the charm of the Deadpool movie was how true it stayed to Liefeld’s original vision of the warped character, who began life as a supervillain. Liefeld introduced him in 1991 in New Mutants #98 as part of a major overhaul of the title, which was apparently on the verge of being killed by Marvel before the writer-artist took over. That revamp also found Liefeld introducing new characters such as Cable and Domino as part of X-Force, both of whom will make their cinematic debuts in the Deadpool sequel. Josh Brolin and Zazie Beetz have been cast in the roles, respectively.
The oft-repeated creation story behind Deadpool is a complicated one. He was inspired by Wolverine, Spider-Man, Boba Fett and even the 1980s Ivan Reitman film Twins with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The irreverent character had a substantial following long before he became the star of his own film, but his popularity has understandably skyrocketed since Reynolds donned the costume to play the severely scarred and foul-mouthed anti-hero.
All of which makes Liefeld one of the more high-profile comic artists appearing this weekend at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Liefeld and artist Jim Lee are this year’s star attractions from the comic-book world.
It will also be Liefeld’s first visit to Cowtown. Not surprisingly, his first introduction to Calgary was through comic books. It was an issue of The Uncanny X-Men in 1979, which involved the mutants battling Canada’s “fighting-mad” superheroes Alpha Flight. The action opened at the Calgary Stampede, which made a strong impression on a young Rob Liefeld.
“I was like ‘Calgary?! Canada?!’ ” he says. “When I was 13, it was like ‘Wow!’ When you’re a kid it sticks with you. So now I’m going to visit for the first time. Very excited.”
The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo runs until Sunday. Rob Liefeld will appear Friday and Saturday.