Category Archives: I Hate Rob Liefeld’s Art

Rob Liefeld even SOUNDS bad

Yesterday's OnomontoPOWia entry will take place today due to my being sucked into some sort of time vortex. I hate it when that happens.

I've done a pretty thorough job of plumbing the depths of the suckitude of Rob Liefeld's "The New Mutants" number 94, but when considering the scope of this man's craptacularness you can't limit yourself to sight just because he's a visual artist. Oh no. Talent this awesomely bad can, through the magic of comics, extend itself into sound as well, I assume so that blind people can be offended by him too.

OK, that was pretty harsh, I withdraw that last comment even though it pains me to use the words "Liefeld" and "draw" in the same sentence.

Anyway, here's a panel from that issue, with Wolverine retracting his claws so he can beat on Cable with his bare hands. I admit that changing the normal "Snikt" of the claws popping with "Snakt" for them pulling back in is pretty clever, but as usual Liefeld manages to take a good idea and make it worse through sloppiness.

newmutants-94-snakt.jpg

The lettering is uneven at top and bottom, the letter spacing is off, and the color looks like whatever comes out of Stretch Armstrong. I took the liberty of editing out the onomontoPOWia and replacing it with something more modern; granted, Liefeld didn't have the benefit of computer-assisted lettering, but basic draftsmanship should have enabled him to do a more creditable job than he did.

newmutants-94-snakt-jeff.jpg

I also took the liberty of changing the color from a warm pinkish to a cool blue. Partly this is to reinforce the idea that the claws are metal, and partly it's to set the sound apart from the muddy background of warm browns and oranges.

Rob Liefeld, now offending two of your five senses. And that's assuming "taste" only has to do with the flavor of your food and not matters of cultural appeal.

(All images and characters from “The New Mutants”, Vol. 1, No. 94, ©1990 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Louise Simonson, writer. Rob Liefeld, penciller. Hilary Barta, inker. Joe Rosen, letterer. Brad Cancata, colorist.)