Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld has bid adieu to Marvel after working on stories about the antihero mutant character — brought to life on screen by Ryan Reynolds — for 33 years, the comic book writer said on X recently.

“After 33 years of not only introducing Deadpool but chronicling many of his most popular adventures, it’s time for the Deadpool Daddy to say farewell,” Liefeld wrote in a long note on Monday. “One of the fun parts about getting older is you can retire from things, so here I am,” he added.

Liefeld teased that his last Deadpool comic will be released during this summer. Mentioning that the Marvel crew responded with an “electric glee” about his last comic, Liefeld wrote, “So I worked up one last crazy Deadpool yarn for the fine folks at Marvel and they responded with electric glee and I started producing it last month for release Summer 2024.”

Deadpool follows the story of Wade Wilson, a former Special Forces operative-turned-mercenary, who undergoes an experimental procedure for curing cancer but ends up with an accelerated healing factor at the cost of severe disfigurement.

Adapted into several Marvel films, animated series and video games, the character first appeared on the big screen in the 2016 movie Deadpool where the eponymous character’s origin story was explored. Played by Reynolds, Deadpool has also made appearances in several movies from the X-Men franchise.

In his note, Liefeld promised that his last Deadpool story would be “wild” and “a collaboration for the ages”.

Explaining the reason for his retirement, Liefeld said, “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.”

Looking back at his years as a cartoonist, Liefeld wondered if he had not taken up the challenge three decades back to transform a title that was headed towards cancellation into “one of the better alternate universe tales”.

“I often wonder what my life would be like if I had not created and sold not just Deadpool, but Cable, Domino, Stryfe and many others to Marvel,” he wrote, adding that it “transformed” his young career, created opportunities and broke sales record for Marvel’s New Mutants and X-Force series.

Liefeld, who created the comics in 1990 with Fabian Nicieza, opened up about how writing Deadpool and introducing the Deadpool Corps helped him overcome his mid-life crisis back in 2009.

Reynolds will return as the titular character and Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as Wolverine in the upcoming film Deadpool 3. Directed by Shawn Levy, the film will also star Owen Wilson and Leslie Uggams.