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Rob Liefeld Leaves DC Comics

The creator is "finally off the DC treadmill."

For those of you that have been thoroughly enjoying Rob Liefeld's take on New 52 characters like HAWKMAN, DEATHSTROKE and GRIFTER; we have some bad news for you. Earlier today the creator took to Twitter to reveal that he would be leaving all three titles and that he had "just sent [his] thank you's to DC personnel. Officially got off the DC52 treadmill this morning…"

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If you're going to quit your job, that's certainly one way to go about it. According to Liefeld, although he had a "great time at DC," and "believe[s] in what DC is doing," he had to "preserve his sanity." Sounds like being responsible for three ongoing titles was getting to be a little bit difficult, no? Or perhaps it was more than just that. According to the creator, DC's editorial was making last minute decisions to his books that were, well, testing his patience. He got into more detail over twitter citing that his decision to leave all three titles and the company in general, was primarily due to editorial decisions.

== TEASER ==
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This does make me wonder just how much of the books we are reading every month are heavily influenced and changed by DC editorial. How much creative control do the creators actually have? How many of the issues we read are changed at the last minute, and to what extent? Are some of the books we are reading changed entirely? It does make me question the integrity of the publisher a little bit. I mean, if so much of a book we are reading is altered from the original script handed in by the book's writer, can they really say it is still written by the creative team on the cover? Then again this is only one perspective from one specific creator. Still, it is something to think about.

Liefeld revealed that Scott Clark will be taking over writing duties on DEATHSTROKE and Marat will continue work on GRIFTER.

223 Comments

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jobbernos

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Edited By jobbernos

@WanderingHands said:

Good RIDDANCE!!!

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redneuro

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Edited By redneuro

lol you'd think this guy would realize just how much is up agains't him and think twice about making these types of comments.

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knighthood

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Edited By knighthood

@zzax said:

First Morrison now Liefield! DC is getting better without having to add a single new person. Addition by subtraction in my opinion.

Holy crap! I didn't know Morrison was leaving too. Yes!

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knighthood

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Edited By knighthood

All the sudden I'm interested in Deathstroke, Grifter, and Hawkman again. No kidding.

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ahgunsillyo

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Edited By ahgunsillyo

@Ravager4 said:

@ahgunsillyo oh thank god, I was afraid another one of my favorite female characters got butchered

Yeah, that tends to happen, for some reason. A bit regrettable, but it seems rather inevitable at this point with characters from either publisher. Well, at least Rose got her eye back, I guess?

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DocFishstick

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Edited By DocFishstick

never liked him

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rav4

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Edited By rav4
@ahgunsillyo oh thank god, I was afraid another one of my favorite female characters got butchered
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ahgunsillyo

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Edited By ahgunsillyo

@Ravager4 said:

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@Mr_Wayne69 said:

@ahgunsillyo said:

Thank you. In leaving, he is also preserving OUR sanity.

I don't know how much longer I could have stood seeing all the characters in his books having the same exact black borders around their eyes.

YOOOoooooOoooooo!!! I never noticed that before. Thanx!

Oh god, is that supposed to be Cheshire?

My dear Jade, what did he do to you?

Luckily, that is apparently a new character named Niko that Liefeld created for the new Grifter book. The solicitation for that issue actually does say that Cheshire is in it, but that doesn't seem to be the case in the final release, so maybe that's one of those "last-minute editorial changes" that Liefeld experienced. They likely originally intended for it to be Cheshire and eventually decided against it for some reason. Maybe they in charge didn't agree with how that character was being used in the storyline, or they wanted to use her elsewhere, or maybe it was something else entirely. Judging from your reaction, though, it sounds like her sudden and inexplicable exclusion from this book was for the better.

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rav4

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Edited By rav4

@Mr_Wayne69 said:

@ahgunsillyo said:

Thank you. In leaving, he is also preserving OUR sanity.

I don't know how much longer I could have stood seeing all the characters in his books having the same exact black borders around their eyes.

No Caption Provided

YOOOoooooOoooooo!!! I never noticed that before. Thanx!

Oh god, is that supposed to be Cheshire?

My dear Jade, what did he do to you?

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Mr_Wayne69

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Edited By Mr_Wayne69

@ahgunsillyo said:

Thank you. In leaving, he is also preserving OUR sanity.

I don't know how much longer I could have stood seeing all the characters in his books having the same exact black borders around their eyes.

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No Caption Provided

YOOOoooooOoooooo!!! I never noticed that before. Thanx!

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Mr_Wayne69

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Edited By Mr_Wayne69

Liefeld didn't add anything to DC that someone else couldn't easily fill.

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laflux

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Edited By laflux
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moywar700

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DarthShap

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Edited By DarthShap

@robertliefeld: Get over yourself you pretentious prick @Ssnyder1835

@Ssnyder1835: Nice! Your Twitter feeds the best thing you've written all year :-)

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blackadamFTW

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Edited By blackadamFTW

Yes, yes, yes!!!!

This makes me so damn happy...

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minigunman123

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Edited By minigunman123

Rob Liefeld: Editors suck.

Me: You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? :)

In all seriousness though, now I can be happy that I'm subscribed to Deathstroke again. I'm soooo happy now... it was AWESOME and getting better and better before Liefeld, then he bombed it, now I'm not so sure that it'll be as great as it was pre-Liefeld-era. As DarkKnightDetective said, I can start reading Deathstroke again. :|

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uncaringmachine

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Edited By uncaringmachine
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Hatutzeraze

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Edited By Hatutzeraze

Directing anyone to make Lobo without the biker look seems dumb. The biker look is Lobo's "S" in the middle of his chest. It's the absolute minimum you need for it to be Lobo.

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Adnan

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Edited By Adnan

People know he was only doing the covers and co-plotting Hawkman and Grifter, right? If you didn't like them before, I don't see how you would like them now unless whoever is brought on to replace him implements a big change of direction...

Anyway, something interesting on his twitter:

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I was never a big fan of Lobo to begin with so what was going on with him didn't bother me too much. How do Lobo fans feel about this?

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doordoor123

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Edited By doordoor123
@Death Certificate said:

Is that from a Justin Beiber concert?
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doordoor123

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Edited By doordoor123
@Mediumflyer7 said:

Sorry I'm confused. Did he quit because DC changed his story last minute and got pissed off. anyway, very good news.

He quit because DC editors made his books better. I was surprised that both Grifter and Hawkman were bearable. 
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LordRequiem

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Edited By LordRequiem

@lykopis: Two words coined from internet usage. Neither being real words. That is the standard of language I must deal with these days.

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sesquipedalophobe

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Who will draw awkward, late-eighties androgynes using invisible StairMasters now?

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johnkmccubbin91

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Edited By johnkmccubbin91

@Gambit1024 said:

@johnkmccubbin91 said:

Why does everyone hate him. OK he's not my favourite writer or artist but he has done some good stuff. I haven't read any of his DC stuff as I wasn't getting any but the one issue of Hawkman I read was good. I liked his work on Deadpool, X-Force and Captain America years ago. I understand he's not great but I just wonder why everyone hates him?

The reason I don't like him (aside from some of his really bad art) is that he's a jerk. He accused a lot of talented people of being hacks, while he himself shouldn't be the one to point fingers in that department.

Forgot about that. I have to admit I have seen some of this and it is wrong, I remember he wrote of working on Infinites cause of something to do with inker.

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DoomDoomDoom

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Edited By DoomDoomDoom

Thank gawd! Wonder who gets Hawkman now..

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hpwaz

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Edited By hpwaz

So now Rob is calling out one of his editors by name, and mocking the size of the guy's "pecker"....what a class act

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the_fallen11

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Edited By the_fallen11

SPOILERS: the ComicVine community does not like Rob Liefeld

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ThreadPool

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Edited By ThreadPool

*and then everyone woke up* Wait!!! This isn't a dream?!?! Hit the bricks Liefield. I'm sure you can find some other place that will allow you to draw oddly shaped weapons and completely ignore human anatomy.

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Delphic

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Edited By Delphic

@laflux said:

@RazzaTazz said:

I read yesterday that Wonder Woman and Superman are to start being a couple, then I read the final issue of Voodoo, then I read that she was going to continue in a Liefeld led book, then I read that Liefeld is leaving DC. I will take my small victories where I can get them I guess.

you know its stunts like this which really make question where DC is going atm.

Oblivion...That's where it's going. X_X

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RazzaTazz

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Edited By RazzaTazz

@laflux: I am pretty loyal to DC, but I am starting to think the same myself.

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laflux

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Edited By laflux

@RazzaTazz said:

I read yesterday that Wonder Woman and Superman are to start being a couple, then I read the final issue of Voodoo, then I read that she was going to continue in a Liefeld led book, then I read that Liefeld is leaving DC. I will take my small victories where I can get them I guess.

you know its stunts like this which really make question where DC is going atm.

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deactivated-5d1828448d5f0

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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

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GhostRider29

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Edited By GhostRider29

Isn't he the reason why The Grifter sales dropped in the first place? Why would I miss him? Lol

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lykopis

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Edited By lykopis

This thread is turning into a Gif/Meme fest and a carcass feeding party. Liefeld is maybe smart to get out of an industry (temporarily) that holds up its writers/artists as scapegoats for editorial goof-ups. I'm sure he has some interesting stories to share but it appears most don't care to listen.

Just sayin'.

(insert mob mentality celebratory gif here)

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pingclang

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Edited By pingclang

I feel like a parade of butterflies and jolly gnomes is marching in my stomach making me vomit rainbows. This will be a day remembered forever in the history of DC, nay, the history of mankind!

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RazzaTazz

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Edited By RazzaTazz

I read yesterday that Wonder Woman and Superman are to start being a couple, then I read the final issue of Voodoo, then I read that she was going to continue in a Liefeld led book, then I read that Liefeld is leaving DC. I will take my small victories where I can get them I guess.

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Bernicky

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Edited By Bernicky

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs

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Green ankh

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Classic Liefeld. Always blaming someone else.

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Edited By Jonny_Anonymous
@Om1kron Well Brubaker, Morrison and Robinson all just joined Image for that reason
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kapitein_zeppos

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Edited By kapitein_zeppos

Rob Liefeld wasn't without talent, it's just that he didn't have all that much.

I browsed through the latest Deathstroke and wondered why they had this Gopher that looked a bit like Lobo. Then I realized it WAS Lobo ...

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HombreArana

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Edited By HombreArana

But without all the pouches, where am I going to keep all my things?

Won't someone please think about the pouches!!!

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dondasch

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Edited By dondasch

Don't let the door hit you on the way out Rob

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FullmetalChobit

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Edited By FullmetalChobit

@icysloth said:

Now if we can only get Nocenti to quit Green arrow.

THIS!!!

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Mucklefluga

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Edited By Mucklefluga

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Death Certificate

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borges

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Edited By borges

Even the way Liefeld types annoys me. 

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htb106

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Edited By htb106

So Liefeld leaves DC but he's still on his way to ruin everyone's idea of comic book movies...

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fluffypigeons

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Edited By fluffypigeons

who was he????

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Om1kron

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Edited By Om1kron

@Babs said:

@WanderingHands said:

Good RIDDANCE!!!

This has to be an Inferiorego alt

People who actually like comics don't like Rob Leifield... I for one dont, not sure if anyone else caught the post by image comics, inc today as well on facebook which makes this even more hilarious.

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SC

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Edited By SC  Moderator

Marvel and DC have been heavily editorially mandated for years now. Unless your name's like Morrison or Bendis (and even then) sounds like you pretty much just have to set your scopes to the designated fields. That being said as far as how this effects some writers and others...