Rob Liefeld’s Famous Captain America Art Headed to Auction

Just as Rob Liefeld has announced a New York Comic Con-exclusive variant that pays homage to it, the original art for Liefeld’s Heroes Reborn ad featuring Captain America is headed to auction. The image, which has become a meme representing the excesses, absurdities, and ultra-stylized art of 1990s comics, features the Heroes Reborn version of Captain America, standing in profile with his face turned to the audience. The gigantic proportions of Cap’s chest and shoulders have made it a target for the internet, but in a funny way, it’s likely that “meme-ification” has made the image much more famous than it otherwise would have been.

The cover is featured over at Heritage as part of a comics original art auction. Other artists featured in the event include Jim Lee and John Romita, Jr. There is no starting bid or projected value assigned to the lot yet, but that’s not surprising since bidding doesn’t even open for two weeks. Liefeld confirmed for ComicBook.com that he sold the art in 1999, meaning that this is at least the second time the image will have hit the market.

“I just wanted to draw a big, bold Captain America. Here’s the deal: They blew that up at the Heroes Reborn conference in New York City at Marvel Comics,” Liefeld said when the Whatnot variant was announced. “Jim Lee and myself flew out to New York. That was the image and people kept saying ‘Oh, look at that Captain America.’ I didn’t hear anything negative about that image until the 2000s. It was like somebody decided, ‘I’ll meme it. I’ll do it!’ I don’t mind it either. It doesn’t shake, rattle or roll me.”

(Of course, an old video of Liefeld in an episode of Panels to Pixels suggests that Jim Lee actually said something about it before it got to Marvel, but Liefeld didn’t have time to adjust it.)

Here’s how the auction describes the piece:

Rob Liefeld – Captain America “Heroes Reborn” Promotional Illustration Original Art (c. 1996). 

This is it… the most infamous comic illustration ever created! Love him or hate him, Rob Liefeld has made a name for himself in the comics industry as a superstar artist and creator throughout his 35 years in comics. Liefeld worked on Captain America for the “Heroes Reborn” event, which marked his return to Marvel after leaving the comic giant to form Image Comics. His art style has been the focus of debate for fans over the years, with this promotional illustration for the title being an overwhelming favorite of people’s love/ire. The piece spawned countless memes and populates any Google search involving “Liefeld” or “Captain America”. It is unlikely that any other piece in comics history has been more talked about or gotten more attention, especially since the age of the internet! Ink over graphite on Image Bristol board with an image area of 9.5″ x 15.25″. Rough upper right side edge, whiteout corrections/touch-ups, blue pencil in the lower right corner, and light handling wear. Signed by Liefeld in the bottom left corner and in Excellent condition.