So, It's Come To This - In Defense Of Rob Liefeld

The other night, I got involved in a spirited Twitter discussion about Rob Liefeld. This surprised me, because I am on record as not being much of a fan of his work. I've also been known to make fun of him, as this ably demonstrates. But as I more or less said on Twitter, Liefeld-bashing is old and tired. Most of it doesn't even rise to the comedy genius of my own effort there, and that's not me saying my work is brilliant.

No, Liefeld's work doesn't seem to merit anything more than childish, simple-minded snark when people choose to critique it. I tend to think that's because it's the sort of "critic-proof" output that causes reviewers to just throw up their hands. Understand, I find most (all?) of it to be terrible. But people who are going to buy a Rob Liefeld comic know what they are getting by this point. A Rob Liefeld fan will most likely not have expectations dashed, because his output has been pretty consistent over the years.

So, why the hate? Well, it's easy. Liefeld's books are clearly poorly-drawn. Yet, he is very well-known and has a loyal fanbase. He seems happy and successful and has made plenty of money in the comic book industry. Though he has been known to make statements that got people aggravated at him, he has always been very polite and appreciative of his fans (unlike some comic book creators). That gets translated into an unreasonable level of anger and scorn from a fandom that steadfastly refuses to leave adolescence behind in terms of people skills.

What makes it even easier for overgrown children to hate Rob Liefeld is that he is the Fun House mirror reflection of themselves. He is a fanboy who is Living The Dream. He has a seemingly endless array of characters at his disposal, and some of them have become pretty popular (Cable, Deadpool). You could say that he's recycled more than a few of them, and that's of course true. But he's far from unique in that respect. His boundless enthusiasm for what he is doing is obvious, and compensates to some degree for the shortcomings in his work.

Let's stop for a moment and consider Shaft, the archer from Youngblood. For some reason, it never occurred to me until yesterday (or I had forgotten) that he is blatantly derived directly from Speedy, Green Arrow's former sidekick. This is likely due to Youngblood having been a Teen Titans proposal at one point. Heck, Shaft even has red hair like Roy Harper!

Shaft interests me for another reason besides his obvious ancestry and name possibly inspired by the Richard Roundtree movie. It's because Rob Liefeld created an archer character, but had no apparent interest in researching archery. I don't think Shaft has ever held his bow correctly. But that's OK, because his bow famously doesn't have a string either! So how does Shaft fire his arrows? He just does.

Shaft is a microcosm of the Rob Liefeld Appeal. Superhero comics by their nature are exaggerations. Reality is distorted for dramatic effect. While I don't know how much art training Rob Liefeld has had, it seems pretty obvious that his fundamentals are weak. No matter. He takes the exaggerations of superhero comics, processes them, and exaggerates them further. It doesn't have the slightest connection to reality, but that doesn't interest him. He just wants something cool.

I have to admit, I found Liefeld's early 90s work sort of appealing on a theoretical level. He had lots of intriguing ideas, and a boatload of character types. It was just in the actual execution that I was always disappointed, and as he went even further afield, my minimal interest waned. However, there were plenty of people who got a lot of joy and inspiration out of those comics that always left me wanting more.

Rob Liefeld has done something really extraordinary, when you think about it. He was never a talented artist, but he made up for it by being creative and enthusiastic. He carved out a place for himself in a comic book industry that desperately wanted to show him the door more than once. He made a long-lasting impact through his ability to make up characters that connected with people. And he's still beloved as a person by his fans, in contrast to some comic book creators who seem determined to alienate everyone who ever loved their work.

Rob Liefeld is Every Fan. He's the guy with too many comics, a notebook full of original characters, and the dream to make those two things meet. Unlike most fans, he succeeded. And whether they realize it or not, that's reason enough for many people to think it's funny to try to tear him down.

Critical appraisal is fine. Disliking someone's work is fine. But the "Rob Liefeld is a hack" joke stopped being funny at least ten years ago. Let it go. Because if the best thing you've accomplished in your life is making fun of Rob Liefeld, guess what? He wins.

Your Guide to Return of Jetman

As I promised, here are navigational links to the main pages for Return of Jetman now that the sites has switched URLs.

Episode Guide

Profile Guide

DX

FAQ

Glossary

Legal Page

I haven't decided yet if I will link the individual episodes and profiles here, especially since they are all listed on these pages. I guess we'll see.

Five Years

When I celebrated the fifth anniversary of the fanzine OWARI in 2000, five years felt like a lifetime. Today, five years feels like nothing at all.

Yes, five years ago this evening, I launched this blog to pretty much no fanfare whatsoever. It has grown in ways I couldn't have imagined that night, and this is a good thing. Certainly, it has gotten the word out better than I ever did before.

Posting has slowed down a little in recent months. That is at least partially by design. I have found my enthusiasm for this blog has occasionally gotten the best of me, and I have spent almost too much time working on it. I've tried to temper that enthusiasm and mix in shorter posts and even more breaks in posting. The hope is that will ensure that most entries have at least SOME value.

Alas, I know there are still plenty of times when I strike out here and don't meet my goals of quality. That is why I appreciate those of you who have stuck around and continue to favor this blog with views that, while modest, still surprise me every day.

Thanks for five years of Christopher Elam's OWARI.

Cigarettes and TV Phones

Though I am no fan of cigarettes, I kinda enjoy the strange parallel world posited in Viceroy commercials of the late 60s/early 70s. Oh, if only the cigarettes tasted good all the time!

Bonus points for the futuristic "TV Phones" in this ad.

Packet Man

I was listening to my Digital Underground collection today, and marveled at something that's not immediately obvious unless you know the story of Digital Underground in any depth. I wrote about that over here, so go read it if you need a refresher.

Back? OK, "Packet Man" here basically involves two members of the Underground interacting with each other for most of the song. Shock G is the titular "packet man" (with the "sex packets"), while Humpty Hump is his new "client." Their back and forth dialogue is seamless and they obviously have a lot of chemistry with one another.

Shock G and Humpty Hump are the same person.

I defy you to listen to this song and tell me it is anything less than uncanny. Digital Underground is really terribly underrated in this regard.

A New Year, A New Phase for Return of Jetman

Well, I promised it would happen today, and so it has. A few hours ago, I cancelled the last few days of the Return of Jetman domain name. Now, the site should be accessed via http://returnofjetman.blogspot.com/.

Despite the advance notice, I am sure there will be people who will find the 404 error at the old address and believe that it's gone. If you encounter them, could you point them in the right direction? I'd owe you a solid.

I still think I'm gonna post individual page links, too. But that can wait for now!

The Gift

As we put 2013 in our rearview mirror, there are a lot of things we could discuss here. There was good and there was bad, just like every year. But there is one story that will forever color my memories of 2013, and today, I want to talk about it.

For me, Monday, April 15th was just a day off. I got some DVDs in the mail that I had been wanting for some time, and planned to spend the day watching them. I was only vaguely aware that the Boston Marathon was even taking place. But that all changed most horribly that afternoon.

For my own reasons discussed previously, this really hit home for me. And then, a couple of nights later, I accidentally stumbled across the Twitter account of one of the survivors. I sent her a message of support, but didn't stop there. I kept reading and learning about who she was. As I did, she became real to me.

You see, the thing about "big" stories is they happen to someone else. There's a disconnect because, well, you don't know them. But reading that Twitter, and seeing a small part of the bigger story of her life, it flipped a switch in my brain that turned off that disconnect. I decided that I couldn't help everyone, but maybe, just maybe, I could help her.

That survivor was Sydney Corcoran, as you have probably guessed. We've gone from being random strangers to friends in that time. Along the way, I have made other friends because of Sydney: Alexis, Katie, Tyler, Alyssa, Michelle, Kassandra, Sarah, Thais and Rin (and apologies to anyone I inadvertently left out). There have also been friends I only know through online aliases: Cellmate, Splendid, Silver, Hedge, Ladybug and probably dozens of others. It has been heartwarming to get to know and come to care about people that were not even on my radar a year ago.

But with this all comes a degree of guilt, because of why. It's all the result of a tragedy and a crime, and that sometimes gives me pause. As much as all these people mean to me now, I would gladly give it all back if it meant that the bombing never happened. Life doesn't work that way, but it's something that weighs on my mind from time to time.

I have felt like darkness has nearly consumed my soul on more than one occasion the last couple of years. I am down, though not as badly as I have been in the past. I am not sure which way is up and which way is straight to the bottom. Mostly, I have been muddling through as best I can and trying to survive.

The thing is, Sydney has given me a reason to smile that I wasn't sure I still had. I have exulted in her triumphs. I have offered a virtual hand through the setbacks. Mostly, I have just tried to be there for her. And I can't very well do that if I'm busy feeling sorry for myself, can I?

Sydney and her mother Celeste, and indeed, her entire family, have gone through so much in 2013. They have let me, a person they've never even met, tag along in a small way. It is an honor that I find humbling to this day, and I don't take the trust they've placed in me lightly.

All of this was born out of tragedy. If I'm being honest, I've crossed paths with some horrible people during this year - folks that either lack empathy or are disturbed in ways I'd rather not contemplate. But they are in the distinct minority. I have encountered far more decent, kind, and just all-around AWESOME people through this whole experience. And I can honestly say they have changed my life.

I have seen the worst of human behavior this year. I have also seen the best, and it was far more impressive than the worst could ever be. I have seen compassion, and shown compassion. I have seen the triumph of the human spirit against incredible odds and heartache. Where there were once strangers, there are now friends. And an anonymous person in a photograph became like a sister to me.

"The Gift" of 2013 was not the horrible nightmare of the Boston Marathon Bombing, but rather, the response to it from all over. It reaffirmed my faith in the basic goodness of most people. And, perhaps, it taught me a lot about myself, and reminded me of some things I was in danger of forgetting.

And Sydney? Well, the road for the Corcoran family is still a long one, but they have come so far already. This Boston Globe story (complete with video and photo gallery) may just bring a tear to your eye. I know it did for me.

Thank you, Sydney, for...everything. I hope my being a part of your life has helped you as much as you being a part of mine has helped me. You were already remarkable, but now I have no doubt you are going to have an impact on this crazy world of ours. You're clearly here for a reason, and I'm excited to see THAT story play out, too. You'll always be my gurl.

Sometimes, it feels impossible to make a difference. I was just a dude on Twitter with a blog. But in the end, that was enough. I made a difference. Now, to make a bigger difference in 2014.

I'm out. Thank you and good night.