SoraRabbit Short Hop 028: That Time SoraRabbit Read More Liefeld Comics Part 2
Welcome back to our long, painful journey through 90s X-Men comics with our (least) favorite artist, Rob Liefeld. If you recall last time, I fully set the stage and explained why I’m doing this. Basically I’ve given myself the task of reading every X-Men and X-related title ever put out by Marvel. I started with 1963 and as of the writing of this I’m all the way up to 1991. This means getting through Liefeld’s run on New Mutants and X-Force. You can see the start of this struggle here:
SoraRabbit Short Hop 011: That Time SoraRabbit Read More X-Comics
SoraRabbit Short Hop 024: That Time SoraRabbit Read More Liefeld Comics Part 1
If you can’t tell by the into, I’m not a fan of Liefeld. The reasons are better stated in the previous posts, but I find his work lazy, sloppy, and at times, laughable. That last is the main reason for these posts, so I can give us all a good chuckle as I suffer.
Anyway, this post will chronicle the end of The New Mutants and some bonus material. This means we’ll retread the issues I already covered in the first post above, but I found new atrocities to report. With all that set up, let’s gooooo!
Nice, Rob. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #96, cover date December 1990. Writer: Louise Simonson. Art: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Jubilee is running and we have to look at her crotch while she does it.
Thoughts: I decided to start with an easy one. What the frick is up with this angle, Rob? It’s not an upskirt if she’s wearing shorts. I think he was trying for a dramatic action shot but it just ended up as a confusing, awkward mass of limbs. I think all the multi-colored bits are smoke from her firework powers? Smoke is colorful blobs hanging in the air, right?
Also, notice her hand is cut off. It, of course, stretches into the next panel because Liefeld overused that artistic choice. I also kept all the white space to remind you of how much wasted space he leaves in his wake. Making the panels smaller means you don’t have to draw as much!
Weird fingies. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #96, cover date December 1990. Writer: Louise Simonson. Art: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Um… honestly can’t recall. Something about a President’s suite and they’re doin’ stuff. I’m sure it’s all very dramatic and compelling.
Thoughts: Sunspot makes plans through clenched teeth. Since when did he have a deformed hand? Gambit’s big fingers are obscuring a chunk of the panel. See how disruptive it can be for the characters to cross panels? And what is going on with that dollar bin Stormtrooper in the back? What a weird hat for your soldier to be wearing. Kind of looks like an old-timey train conductor hat.
Flying! (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #96, cover date December 1990. Writer: Louise Simonson. Art: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Jubes will watch the Magistrate. Boom-Boom will deal with Ric.
Thoughts: I don’t know why they’re flying. I don’t know why Rictor crashed his groin into Boom-Boom with vibrant impact marks. I’m not sure why he’s spitting, but it probably has something to do with the groin thing. Jubilee looks like a peacock with her coat all bunched up like that. Everyone’s got their deformed fingers splayed. Boom-Boom’s calf muscle is insane and her foot is almost non-existent. And check out the well-defined booty on Ric. I’m jealous. He also has two right feet. And finally, so much white space in this baby blue room.
I hope I die with half this much grace. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #98, cover date February 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Mmm, poison.
Thoughts: I included this page in its entirety. It’s got all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect. Pupil-less eyes, extra lines on the face, screendoor background, waaaaay too many teeth. Emmanuel Da Costa’s mustache keeps changing size and shape. His cup has a rounded bottom and couldn’t possibly be set down without falling over. That’s how real human people drink, right? He put little liquid drops in his mouth… what attention to detail! Whatever he’s drinking is gray, probably just straight unmixed poison? I do appreciate that Rob tried to go artistic with this and didn’t just make it two panels: drinking, lying on floor.
Check your posture, Ric. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #98, cover date February 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Rictor wants to leave to save his true love Rahne/Wolfsbane because back in the 90s, Ric wasn’t gay yet. Iceman wasn’t either. I think only Northstar was gay at that point. Marvel used to be pretty skittish about LGBTQ+ characters. Thankfully, they outgrew that. Or maybe Ric’s bi? I dunno… there’s a huge gap I haven’t read yet. All I know is he has a boyfriend now.
Thoughts: I mainly got this panel because of their unnatural stances. Ric’s too-long arms and legs just look silly. His legs are spread so far. His calves are bulging. Boom-Boom’s calf is back to normal, but I can’t figure out what’s up with her stance… she’s falling, or crouching with one leg out super far, or in the process of jumping? Maybe an awkward superhero landing? I have no clue and I’ve stared at this panel for several minutes. I also included a bit of the following panel where Boom-Boom’s fingers are clipping through the vase.
More arm fun. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #98, cover date February 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Deadpool appears and picks an ill-explained fight with Cable. Something to do with a dude named Tolliver and none of it makes sense because explanations are for wimps.
Thoughts: I know I harped on this a lot last time, but Rob again forgot which of Cable’s arms was metal. He’s got a real problem with forgetting the details of characters he designed. I think that’s why Cable’s battle suit in X-Force has two metal sleeves. Check out Deadpool’s weapons. The barrel of his gun is super thin and so are the hilts and handles of his swords. On the bottom panel it looks like his spine has snapped. And his crotch is concave. Eww.
Sigh. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #98, cover date February 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Deadpool and Cable continue to fight.
Thoughts: Yeah, I’m gonna keep pointing this out. He forgot the damn metal arm again… in the same page!!! HOW?! How can you be working on a page and forget such a major detail from one panel to the next? Everyone makes fun of how Liefeld draws feet, but I think his fingers are much worse.
Side note for the writing… Deadpool can talk fine with a broken jaw? Also, at this point, no powers had been revealed for Deadpool, Cable, Domino, or Gideon. I mean, Gideon had a brief thing stating he could adapt to other’s powers, but it wasn’t really explained or even mentioned again. Back in the heyday of mutants, everyone’s power sets and limitations were laid out on their introduction. Here everyone’s powers seem to be super strength and above-average agility.
NEVER? (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #99, cover date March 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: NEVER!
Thoughts: I included a nice big splash page this time. I guess Feral didn’t need to be taught the “Cable Kick”, she just already knew how to do it masterfully. Whenever someone gets kicked in the face in Liefeld’s art, their heads rock back too far for a human neck to support. I love when a character’s leg is longer than the rest of their body.
I’m not sure why he had to create a new character for this when Feral is basically a meaner version of Wolfsbane, but the editor probably barred him from using Wolfsbane so she could be in the all-new X-Factor comic. Liefeld has been quoted as saying he created Cable and Deadpool because he wasn’t allowed to use Wolverine and Spider-Man. I’m also assuming he created Shatterstar since he couldn’t use Longshot.
Anyway, Feral’s tail is insane and continually changes length and thickness. Check out how wildly long and thin it is in that top panel. I guess she can retract it? It looks to be over ten feet long in that panel. If she couldn’t retract it, it would be dragging behind her and constantly getting slammed in doors. How would she even control it? Is there bone in there or just muscle? I have so many questions about Feral’s freaky-ass tail.
Mmm, a steaming plate of steam. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #99, cover date March 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Cable has a lunch date to recruit Warpath.
Thoughts: Having dinner in front of the screen door. Cable’s lost his lips and pupils again. He’s wearing a suit so we don’t have to worry which of his arms is metal today. The scar over his right eye has grown in this scene, though. And look how damned happy that waiter is to be serving them a plate of steam! He’s got his other arm up like he’s saying, “TADAHH!”
Ah, the 90s. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #99, cover date March 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: The two female members of the New Mutants aggressively flunk the Bechdel test. In leotards!
Thoughts: Pure eye candy, this scene exists for no other reason. Well, that and to fill pages. Stories are hard. I would like to again point out that Boom-Boom’s figure was much more… petite… before Liefeld joined the creative team. She blossomed between issues! I’m not sure why she’s standing on her tippy toes to dry herself off. Domino lost the marking over her eye. And her abs have abs! Impressive. Look at her weird-looking feet in the first panel. And are they sharing a towel? That’s not sanitary.
Kicky kick. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #100, cover date March 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: CABLE KICK!
Thoughts: Speaking of legs being longer than the rest of their body… yeesh. Cable Kick! Neck snap! I wanna also say dislocated jaw? His mouth is gaping and still downturned. Looking at how short Domino’s hair is in this panel, how is she able to wear it in a topknot while working out?
So awkward. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: The New Mutants #100, cover date March 1991. Writer: Fabian Nicieza. Art and plot: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Sam and Boom-Boom share a tender moment although they have had no other romantic feelings before this moment. Shoehorned!
Thoughts: I didn’t want to include the full page, but Boom-Boom’s height is inconsistent from panel to panel. As I mentioned last time, Sam is generally the tallest member of the team (Well, until Warpath joins… he’s a tower of meat) and Boom-Boom used to be average height. Sometimes Sam is a foot taller than her, sometimes they’re the same height. If you noticed in this screenshot, she is standing on her tippy toes at a super awkward angle with her crotch pointing at him and her legs tilted. If she were to stand up, she would be maybe a foot taller than him.
SKRANG. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
Taken From: Deadpool Teamup #1, cover date August 2024. Writer and Art: Rob Liefeld.
Context: Um, Deadpool and lots of peoples. In space I guess?
Thoughts: Here’s your bonus panel. I only read this because I’m currently in the process of reading all of Deadpool and I’m a completionist. Recently Rob Liefeld has returned for three limited series and this is the third. His art is somehow a bit better, tolerable even, but still not my bag. I can tell he took his time with this stuff. To my utter shock, I didn’t find much to complain about. It’s still got his marks— the backgrounds are drab and sparse, the people ugly. If Woverine were to retract his claws they should be jutting out of his elbows or up into his biceps.
The worst part is the writing. With the New Mutants and X-Force he did the plotting while the actual script was done by Nicieza. But here he scripts as well and ugh. The stories make no sense. The narrative jumps all over oscillating between not enough information and long infodumps. This one is generic fantasy-themed, something about dragons and another dimension? I had to start over halfway through one issue in Badder Blood because he completely lost me and I had no idea what was going on. The second reading didn’t help. Dreadful.
Anyway, here’s the cover of the first issue, showcasing all the “team-ups” that will happen. Deadpool’s belt is on crooked and his thighs are different lengths. I thought his leg was broken, but it’s just bent at the knee. And the team-ups? We’ve got a super-flat Wolverine. A generic Colossus/Silver Surfer ripoff with a dumb helmet. A grotesque, lipless Hulk. Can you imagine what his feet look like? Don’t try… they look like monkey hands. So gross I couldn’t even include it in this post. And there’s also some guy in black and red armor. I don’t know who he is and couldn’t care less.
As a closing note, the biggest problem I have with this cover is that Spider-Gwen is on it. This is deeply troubling to me, as she’s one of my favorite Marvel characters and one of the reasons I got back into comics after years away from the medium. I’m sure a future bonus panel will be his depiction of her when she shows up in the series. I’m… dreading it. Man that is an ugly Spider-Gwen.
Aww, he’s got the shout lines and everything. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
And that’s all I’ve got for you today! That takes us up through the ending of The New Mutants. Next time we’ll dive into the glory (quotes heavily implied) of X-Force. It’ll be fun! Thank you for joining me again and I look forward to bringing you more “art” appreciation!
KRUMP. (Credit: Marvel Comics)
