A couple of days ago we brought the news that Rob Liefeld had walked from the reboot of its superhero line of comics. Kicking off in June The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield would reimagine Archie’s iconic library of superheroes reintroducing the properties to modern readers. Liefeld was an architect behind Shield, what seemed like one of the major characters of the series.
Liefeld was upset and felt that a cover “spoiled” part of the plot of the series. But it seems like there’s more to it.
He has made it clear on Twitter that he’s absolutely done with the series “activating the release” in the contract.
Fun facts. SHIELD #1 had a June 30th release date. I exited the project on May 8, activating the release in my contract. I have turned in all the final art files for work I produced that was paid for. As I do on any project, I work out of order and sequences are incomplete.
Again, I appreciate that Archie representatives solicited and ultimately recruited me over many months in order to do this work. I was excited to expose these characters to a new generation. Despite “Creative Differences” I offered to complete the issue but this has been rejected
And that as they say, is that.
It would seem based on that there were far more issues behind the scenes than just a cover. “Creative differences” are mentioned but no specific details.
When asked if he’d sign copies of SHIELD #1, Liefeld responded:
Oh man, good question. TBD. I’d have to consider the final product when it arrives. What I turned in was not a completed sequence of pages.
Archie has released a statement concerning the situation on Twitter:
Archie Comics is pleased to inform our fans and retail partners that the release of The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield #1 will proceed and hit its originally scheduled release date of June 30th in the direct market.
A new writer is being brought in to script the issue based on Mr. Liefeld’s artwork. Please stay tuned to our social media pages and website for more updates as they become available.
Archie Comics would like to thank our retailer partners and the fans for their patience and understanding as we worked on reaching an amicable conclusion to this project.
We look forward to everyone enjoying The Shield #1 upon its release in comic book shops on June 30th, featuring an assortment of incredible variant covers from talented artists across the comic book industry.
We encourage any retailer partners with questions or concerns to reach out to Archie Comics directly via email and we will be happy to help them in any way that we can.
The whole situation seems to be an odd one with Liefeld initially stating he was angry over a cover that “revealed” things already revealed and he himself shared. But, he also hints at “creative differences” that would indicate there were other issues. He also has stated he’s quit but also he offered to complete the project but was rejected. Overall, who knows what really happened and we’ll have to wait and see what the end product is like.
