Deadpool #15 – Review

by Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Declan Shalvey (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool, after realizing that some people kept picking some of his body parts, decide that he’s had enough of it and try to get help.

The Review: With the constant humorous shenanigans involved within the adventures of the Merc with a mouth, it’s always easy to miss out a very precise point about Deadpool: he’s probably one of the more depressing characters in superhero comics. There may be jokes and he may be goofy at times, yet it’s hard to realize that the character, because of his constantly regenerating cancer cells, is in constant pain. Combine this with the fact that he does a job he feels make him worthless, receive no respect from anyone and always seem to get the only friends he gets in trouble because of his low sanity, which is caused by his aforementioned pain. With these facts known, a lot of what Deadpool does do seem to have some kind of cold logic behind them that allow the character to be much more than a simple clown that utter popular references and jokes all the time.

This issue, it seems, is particularly aware of that aspect of the character as the humor is kept a very low minimum with the writers focusing on the character and the story instead of the silliness here. With such a wild change to a series that had been based on comedy most of the time, does the issue still manage to have a modicum of quality?

Deadpool #15 – Review

By Daniel Way (Writer), Paco Medina (Pencils), Juan Vlasco (Inks), and Marte Gracia & Antonio Fabela (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While Shawn Crystal’s work definitely has its merits, I’d be lying if I acted as though I wasn’t pumped for the return of Paco Medina and his art team.

The Story: After pondering life and death for a while, Deadpool decides to head to San Francisco…

What’s Good: Just when I think I’ve got Daniel Way’s approach to Deadpool figured out, he goes off and makes the character get all existential and, shockingly, somewhat sympathetic. It works FAR better than you might expect (and, as a philosophy fan, I find it to be pretty satisfying). The subject matches the setting (‘pool adrift at sea, talking to himself) so everything just sort of “clicks” in the right way. The character is still funny, but the philosophical back and forth he has with himself, a dead shark, and death finally gives the character some depth. Depth, I might add, that’s quite welcome in my opinion. The book eventually returns to it’s regularly scheduled programming once the character takes the advice of a bullet-riddled shark (obviously…). Hilarity ensues and you quickly come to realize that Way isn’t looking to abandon what made the series such a hit in the first place.

The artwork in Deadpool #15 expertly captures both tones that Daniel Way goes for. It proves that the art team has some serious range (and that the team is one of the best that Marvel has). The first half of the latest Deadpool is violent, moody, and appropriately bleak. The second half is bright, goofy, and sure to cause a reaction of some sort (San Fran ‘pool, ’nuff said).

What’s Not So Good: In all honesty, I’m not exactly sure I’m on board with the direction that Deadpool seems to be taking. It has potential because it’s always fun to see Deadpool interact with others in the Marvel U., but the recent track record of “X” crossovers is– well, quite frankly, shitty. I’d hate to see the series get dragged down like Dark Avengers has been.

Conclusion: While I’m not quite excited about the destination, getting there should be a pretty cool ride if Deadpool #15 is any indication.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny