Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2

By Mike Benson (Writer), Carlo Barberi (Pencils), Sandu Florea (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I gave the first issue of Suicide Kings a “C-” grade. While not all bad; with the standard setup, inconsistent artwork, and generic plot not exactly winning me over… I wonder if the second chapter of Mike Benson’s mini-series manage to?

The Story: Now a (framed) wanted terrorist, Deadpool finds himself running out of options as he’s targeted by the Punisher. Meanwhile, Tombstone decides to have a little fun threatening Conrad.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Simply put, Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2 is meant for a specific audience. While it’s somewhat dark, fairly edgy, and pushes the boundaries of what a non-MAX Marvel title can do, the second chapter of Suicide Kings also comes across as desperate to be those things. And as such, it’s a prime example of immature maturity at it’s finest. The violence and gore is excessively over-the-top. The sexuality is both juvenile and at times, gratuitous. As for the darker aspects? They fall prey to some comic book silliness.

Both the writing and artwork are at fault, but in truth, I really don’t mind a whole lot. Despite the faults mentioned above, some occasionally sloppy visual storytelling, and an odd take on the Punisher, I found the book to be quite a bit of fun. It’s silly, it’s gratuitous, and yeah, it’s pretty juvenile. But it also looks nice, has some entertaining action, and carries a “so what if I am” type of charm that just works for some weird reason.

Conclusion: It’s tough to grade a book like Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2. There’s a lot that’s wrong with it, but there’s also something about it that’s quite right if you are up for the type of crazy that it offers. I think it deserves a…

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny