Hm
So...this story kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I'm by no means a fan of Liefeld, and I was pretty horrified at Heroes Reborn when I read it, but it crosses the line to me to try to demand (even jokingly) an apology from a comic creator. It smacks of fan entitlement. If, IF, an apology is owed to anyone, it'd be the owner of the property. Or possibly the original creators, though I think that's a stretch too.
Criticism is fine, and justified, but entitlement really isn't. Comic creators don't owe us anything, and if we don't like what they make, we have means of expressing that.
It's a shame, because I do think buying the "How to draw comics" book and giving it to Liefeld is a pretty clever way of expressing criticism of his work. It's hilarious, and if that were the be-all and end-all of the story, I'd laugh and approve.
But coming as it did AFTER the initial demand for an apology just smacks of harassment to me. I'm sure he got the message the first time.
Stop making me feel bad for Rob fucking Liefeld, guys.
(Found via blog@newsarama)
I'm by no means a fan of Liefeld, and I was pretty horrified at Heroes Reborn when I read it, but it crosses the line to me to try to demand (even jokingly) an apology from a comic creator. It smacks of fan entitlement. If, IF, an apology is owed to anyone, it'd be the owner of the property. Or possibly the original creators, though I think that's a stretch too.
Criticism is fine, and justified, but entitlement really isn't. Comic creators don't owe us anything, and if we don't like what they make, we have means of expressing that.
It's a shame, because I do think buying the "How to draw comics" book and giving it to Liefeld is a pretty clever way of expressing criticism of his work. It's hilarious, and if that were the be-all and end-all of the story, I'd laugh and approve.
But coming as it did AFTER the initial demand for an apology just smacks of harassment to me. I'm sure he got the message the first time.
Stop making me feel bad for Rob fucking Liefeld, guys.
(Found via blog@newsarama)
posted by kalinara @ 7:28 PM
9 Comments:
At August 11, 2009 8:35 PM,
SallyP said…
Liefeld is certaily not one of my favorite artists, but still, this was pretty outrageous...not to mention incredibly rude.
Making a video about it, smacks of hubris.
At August 11, 2009 9:53 PM,
Canton said…
Ugh. This isn't even criticism. This is a "You Suck" message writ large. Yes, it's creative, maybe it's even brave, but it's still nothing more than trolling in person. Twice.
At August 11, 2009 10:09 PM,
kalinara said…
Canton: I think it might read/seem more like criticism if it were just the book.
But on top of the previous confrontation and with the written message...it's definitely trolling.
They're lucky there were no harassment charges.
At August 11, 2009 11:41 PM,
notintheface said…
I like making fun of Liefeld as much as the next guy, but this was fanboy dickery at its worst.
If I were Liefeld, my response would have begun with "Yeah, I've got your apology RIGHT HERE.." and gone downhill from there.
At August 12, 2009 1:59 AM,
Anonymous said…
Could be worse...could have been John Byrne. *eeps at the thought*
At August 12, 2009 6:59 AM,
Saranga said…
That's an awful way to act. How unbelieveably arrogant and what an utterly rude thing to do.
I think it would be out of order even if were just the book to be honest.
At August 12, 2009 8:34 AM,
Jer said…
Stop making me feel bad for Rob fucking Liefeld, guys.
This is it in a nutshell. The abuse heaped on this guy because he was a no-talent hack who made good just wows me. I'm not going to say that I don't laugh at a good Liefeld gag (especially if it involves his inability to draw feet or hands), but really getting into his face about stuff is way over any kind of criticism line. And you're right - it does smack a lot of the worst kind of fan entitlement.
Even the gift of the "how to draw" book strikes me as a bit too far. (Though I will admit that I would have found it hilarious if it had been a "how to draw feet" book. Because I'm just that kind of an ass.)
At August 12, 2009 8:44 AM,
Unknown said…
Yes, but John Byrne can actually draw...
At August 14, 2009 8:42 PM,
K. D. Bryan said…
I'm also not Liefeld's number one fan or anything but that snotty little fanboy is clearly King Jerkass of Asshole Mountain. Jesus, what an entitled little tool.
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