After the initial introduction of Rob Liefeld and the various new characters that he helped to create, a certain momentum surrounding New Mutants was building up. The story arc was going somewhere big and I didn’t realize just how big it would be until I learned of the rumor that this now popular comic title was coming to an end. At first I didn’t understand why Marvel would cancel this awesome comic just when it was gaining notoriety particularly after Liefeld had turned the comic into one of the best comics out at the time. What I didn’t know was that there was a transformation taking place and what was occurring within the pages would very soon reflect outward as Rob Liefeld was at the helm. Within the story, Cable was teaching his students about being a mutant in a very different way the Professor X taught his own students, and how to deal with other mutants that were against them specifically the Mutant Liberation Front. Cable was teaching them about war. The entire group was changing into something else. It was turning into a force to be reckoned with. Hence New Mutants was stripped away and the team, as well as the title of the comic, became X-Force. I remember thinking that there was something so epic about the whole situation. To call this an event was an understatement to say the least and I was totally excited. I had never seen anything like this before and just like “Neo” in the Matrix said: “That’s why it’s going to work.” And it did. Back then X-Force 1 sold a record 5 million copies, but to get there Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza had to set the tone for the teams new direction. New Mutants’ final issue ended by introducing even more characters that would ultimately end up on on X-Force. The “big bad”, Stryfe, was coming along for the ride. The creative team also raised the stakes for the new team, as well as living up to the epic feel of the issue, by making a startling reveal: Stryfe was finally unmasked and he looked exactly like Cable. Brother? Clone? WTF? The first issue of X-Force saw the team taking the fight to the Mutant Liberation Front. It was like an action movie from cover to cover and I loved every panel of it. Though not particularly for what was there specifically but instead for the intent of it all. Rob Liefeld helped to make something new and exciting. Though primarily known for his art, he is still creative. At the core, these characters were more or less still mutants but it was how these ones were portrayed. They weren’t the X-Men. After this I wanted to create something that made others feel just what I was feeling at that time. My imagination was exploding with ideas. This period was definitely a high point in the overall growth of my creativity. I think it’s important for creative people to make note of what inspires them and use those sources of inspiration In the future as fuel for the creative process much like these particular comics were for me. That being said, I didn’t know at that time that Rob Liefeld would help to inspire me one more time…
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