Longtime comic book creator Rob Liefeld has released an Ethereum NFT artwork via MakerPlace

Comics creator Rob Liefeld, who co-created Marvel characters like Deadpool and Cable in the early 1990s and then left Image Comics as co-founder, has long been controversial in the industry. His distinctive art style during that period and his rapid rise, coupled with several controversial remarks at times over the years, have earned him admirers and detractors alike. In that sense, Liefeld told Decrypt this week, he is the same as NFT right now: both love and condemnation. Following his successful drop of Bloodstrike NFT, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld explored the impact that NFT has on the comic industry. 

Liefeld: ‘The Walking NFT’

It’s quite uncanny how a man can be extremely controversial for the entire duration of his career. As Liefeld would put it, “I’m like a walking NFT.”

NFT hits home with Liefeld because he is currently exploring the wonders and potential of the NFT space.

He recently launched “The Defiants”, a comic book IP through MakersPlace, an Ethereum NFT marketplace. He is now back with a drop of his newest artwork based on the comics ID, “Bloodstrike.”

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Image Comics, which Liefeld co-founded alongside industry luminaries like Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and Jim Lee (WildC.A.T.S.). As a result, Liefeld has revived his Bloodstrike action team for a series of digital illustrations and remastered artwork from the original 1993 debut comic book.

Although he said the original artwork was missing and perhaps stolen, he worked from scans of a black-and-white variant version of Bloodstrike #1 from 1993 and digitally enhanced the pieces, and had them recolored. The NFT drop also has a single-edition illustration up for auction.

Liefeld said that he didn’t make any major changes to the original work as director George Lucas did with the “Star Wars” movie re-releases in the 1990s. “I didn't alter it, I didn't put a new scene in,” he said. “It’s not quite like that. But I gave it a fresh coat of paint”, according to Bitcoinist.com. 

For Liefeld, the Bloodstrike drop which runs until this afternoon was an opportunity to revisit notable characters from his past in a new way, marking the image’s milestone.

Liefeld is not alone in exploring the NFT space. Fellow comedians like MacFarlane and Jose Delbo have released NFTs, publishers Marvel and DC Comics have created collectibles based on their massive superhero properties, and Archie Comics recently launched a virtual campaign to contribute to future comic books.

Liefeld previously planned to dive into NFTs in early 2021, but withdrew, citing market conditions and environmental concerns. He later partnered with MakersPlace, a carbon offset initiative for Drops to directly counteract the environmental impact of mining on Ethereum, and when the market was particularly hot in January, he expanded his Defiant Drops launch.