Okay, I’m looking at Rob Liefeld inconsistencies today. It really ticks me off, the sheer laziness of it all. Here’s a fight scene from New Mutants 98. The first page sets the baseline look for Cable.
Next page, Cable’s put a spikey bracer on his right arm. The flesh and blood one.
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| Steve Buccellato somehow missed the color on Sam's outfit. |
And now, the bracer’s off again as he punches Deadpool with his right human arm. Which switches sides with his cyborg arm exactly one panel later. It’s not even the colorist’s fault (and there are plenty of coloring issues, I’ll get to those later), since Liefeld clearly drew the wrong arm with body hair for that second punch.
Here’s two pages of Thunderbird with completely different pairs of shoes:
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| The usual detail-less Liefeld feet. |
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| Really? Boots with fringe to go with a suit? |
This next sequence combines Liefeld’s storytelling sloppiness with my other biggest pet peeve with him - his inability to draw a sword with any kind of proper perspective.
A quick recap of the discontinuities (I know you can see them for yourself, this is for my own outrage):
Pg 1 Panel 1: 2-bladed sword in right hand
Pg 1 Panel 3: 2-bladed sword in left hand (yes, I know he could have switched hands, but given his history, I’m pretty sure Liefeld wasn’t considering that when he drew this.)
Pg 2 Panel 1: 1-bladed sword in right hand
Pg 2 Panel 3: No swords to throw Thunderbird
Pg 2 Panel 4: Sword back in right hand (I’m not even keeping track of the spikes on the hilt. They come and go.)
Pg 3 Panel 1: 1-bladed sword in right hand, left hand has drawn a 2-bladed sword from thin air.
Pg 3 Panel 2: Sword in right hand disappears.
Pg 3 Panel 3: What appears to be his left hand is now empty.
Pg 3 Panel 4: Both hands confirmed empty.
Pg 4 Panel 1: 2-bladed sword back in left hand!
Pg 4 Panel 4: Swapped over to right hand
Pg 5 Panel 1: Back to the left, down to 1-blade. (You could argue that the second blade on the sword is hidden due to the perspective of the blade, but I respectfully submit that perspective has never prevented Rob Liefeld from squeezing a second blade on to a sword.)
Pg 5 Panel 2: Transferred to right hand
Pg 5 Panel 2: Transferred to right hand
Pg 5 Panel 3: Sprouts a second blade
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| He just draws parallel lines that terminate in the vicinity of the hilt. |
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| I'm using "vicinity" very loosely. |
At least we can recognize Shatterstar’s weapons as swords. I can’t tell if the script was written before or after the art was drawn, but regardless, someone completely dropped the ball here:
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| Those are sticks, but I can see how Nicieza could be confused by Liefeld's art. |
Sometimes I wonder if anyone is paying attention to anything:
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| Serious, WTF is Brad Vancata doing with the colors on Boom Boom's outfit? |
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| He's taken flesh, a leotard, and tank top and colored it a hideous mono-purple. Didn't even bother to give it gradations! |
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| Marc Pacella may have a worse sense of anatomy than Liefeld. Anyway, note Cable's pike threat. |
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| Either Nicieza forgot what he wrote in the previous issue and is just repeating himself, or he remembered and chickened out. Either way, poor form. |
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| Her lips aren't sealed!!! |
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| His eyes aren't webbed! |
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| That's how you show webbed eyes. |
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| Let's take a moment to appreciate McFarlane's awesome art. |
After reading so many issues of X-Force with it’s shoddy writing, penciling, and coloring, this issue came as a stark reminder of how much better comics can be. Look at the clean art! The personality of the characters screams at you from the page! There’s humor in the action, movement and flow that doesn’t look like a posed pinup! Sorry, writing like Fabian Nicieza. The man loves his exclamations, even in narration.
Okay, I’m done. I’ve reached the Greg Capullo run, and for that I am truly grateful - A person who respects anatomy and draws a damn fine comic book. It makes such a difference.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No (Yes for the Spider-Man and the Capullo issue)
Would read again: No (Yes for the Spider-Man and the Capullo issue)
Rating: Fine (Pretty good for Spider-Man, Nice for Capullo, Disliked for 8-13)
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