Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld has announced on Twitter that he is retiring from working on the Merc with a Mouth's adventures in 2024, 33 years after the character debuted. Before he departs the title, however, Liefeld has promised that he has "one last crazy Deadpool yarn" that will be released in Summer 2024, also saying, "Trust me, it's a wild one, and call it a collaboration for the ages."
Looking back over the origins of the character, who first appeared in The New Mutants #98, written by Fabian Nicieza, Liefeld pondered the road not taken, stating, "What If young Rob hadn't taken up the challenge of transforming a title that was headed towards cancellation is one of the better alternate universe tales. It certainly transformed my young career, creating opportunities and record breaking sales for New Mutants & X-Force."
Liefeld goes on to describe the introduction of the Deadpool Corps as "a great function of my mid-life crisis during 2009" before reminiscing about 2015's original graphic novel Deadpool: Bad Blood and pointing out that, "I'll complete this journey with over 1000 pages alongside my Mercenary Misfit."
Liefeld's reasons for retirement seem to be simply a desire to go out on top. "I'll be 57 at the end of this and my eyes are still functioning, the work continues to be strong, I want to go out with the best effort I can muster." He finished his post by thanking those who have followed his work over the years, celebrating "the world's greatest fans, who have always provided the best support a cartoonist could ever imagine. And that, is saying something!"
Rob Liefeld's final Deadpool work will be published by Marvel sometime in 2024. A new monthly run of Deadpool, written by Cody Ziglar and drawn by Rogê Antônio, begins on April 3 with Rob Liefeld supplying a variant cover for the issue.
Rob Liefeld is certainly responsible for some of the best Deadpool stories of all time.
