Deadpool #18 – Review

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

The Story: Cap, Wolverine and Deadpool infiltrates the main camp in order to save the family of the metahumans in custody of the North Korean government.

The Review: There is a lot to like when one looks at the current Deadpool ongoing. With a good balance between action, humor and some tiny bit of darkness, both Posehn and Duggan have captured a bit of the Joe Kelly era of the character, the most iconic of them all. However, with the current arc called The good, the bad and the ugly, both writers seemed to be able to surprise readers with a voluntary twist in how things are usually done with the characters, giving something different for the Merc with a Mouth.

While the previous issue wasn’t as great an example of where this arc succeeds at showing the many nuances of Deadpool as a character, this issue is a shining example of how the character can be efficiently handled. They do so by creating a crescendo of real horror, letting the super heroics fade away until the ending hits both the character and the readers like a gut punch. By letting the rather darker and much more miserable side of the character be on the page, they are able to put forward a more nuanced take on Wade Wilson that makes him more enjoyable to read. Duggan and Posehn treats the titular character like a three-dimensional being, which really do help this arc so far.

Both writers do also seem to make a better use of Captain America and Wolverine in this issue, showcasing their history and how it can be compared with Deadpool’s own. While Captain America is left on the side in terms of introspection, Wolverine is more present in this issue as Duggan and Posehn seems to understand how he works and how he sees himself. The interaction he has with Deadpool along with the mutated refugees are pretty well done, as they are able to show the compassion and the tragedy in a man that is quite intimate with violence and all that it entails.