Rob Liefeld retiring from Deadpool; final issue out this summer

Last Updated on March 5, 2024

Rob Liefeld, who co-created Deadpool, will officially retire from the character, announcing on social media that his days leading the Merc with a Mouth are coming to a close.

Taking to X earlier this week, Rob Liefeld wrote, “I am retiring from Deadpool. It’s official. Yup, after 33 years of not only introducing Deadpool but chronicling many of his most popular adventures it’s time for the Deadpool Daddy to say farewell. One of the fun parts about getting older is you can retire from things, so here I am.”

So where does that leave Deadpool? As far as Rob Liefeld’s involvement, his final installment will arrive this summer. But Liefeld didn’t intend on drying out his ink at the age of 56, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “About 10 years ago, I really felt like I was in a groove, and in my mind, I was going to do this till I was 70…But the eyes and the hands, and the aches and the pains — they have a different timetable, I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older. The last year’s worth of work was the hardest to produce.” While Liefeld has had some feuds and choice words for studios within the comic book industry, fans should take note of just why he is stepping away, at least as he tells it.

As far as this final edition of Deadpool goes, Rob Liefeld noted that this “last grind” is “trust me, it’s a wild one, and call it a collaboration for the ages. It’ll be fun!” After noting some of his achievements throughout the years, Liefeld also wrote, “In 2015 I started Deadpool:Bad Blood, getting Deadpool his first original graphic novel, and his only chart topping, #1 ranking to date, an achievement that got me a round of congratulations from Marvel brass that pumped my chest out farther than Captain America’s! No other auteur has combined to write and illustrate more Deadpool work, I’ll complete this journey with over 1000 pages alongside my Mercenary Misfit.” No doubt Rob Liefeld’s contributions – which also include creating Cable and Avengelyne – can’t go unnoticed.

Details on Rob Liefeld’s final Deadpool work have yet to be unveiled, but we can expect it to arrive sometime around the release of Deadpool 3, which comes out on July 26th. How meta would it have been if Deadpool killed off his creator in the final act?