Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7 – Review

by Nick Spencer (Writer), Rich Ellis (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)

The Story: How does one become a super villain? Beetle sure seems to know the answer as we see her secret origin.

The Review: In ensemble books, there will always be characters delegated to the background, some that will receive less spotlight than others. It’s something that is fairly common, with books like Hickman’s Avengers and even some issues of Morrison’s JLA run being culprits when it comes to putting a certain focus on certain characters over others. Writers can usually overcome this by either pushing forth with some stories or a single issues featuring them heavily, to balance things out for readers who might start to question the reason behind the inclusion of one of the cast members.

In this month’s issue, Nick Spencer does this by putting the spotlight on the new Beetle, who had been some kind of mystery in the issue of Superior Spider-Man in which she was first introduced. Mostly there to add some tension and to provide humor, we didn’t know much about her, as she shared the same fate as Overdrive in mostly being there without being particularly active, with being reactive being mostly the case as far as character work goes. She wasn’t absent so much as merely there most of the time.

This issue changes this sad status, however, as the rather big reveal of the last issue is not only fleshed out, but it also acts as a character piece revealing just how Beetle grew up to become a member of the Sinister Six. This is told via the relationship between father and daughter, as a very different Tombstone is shown here, presented as a loving and rather doting paternal figure instead of a relentless mob boss. The way both Janice and Tombstone interacts is rather fascinating, with the certain cruelty he is known for mixing with his attitude toward someone he genuinely cares about. It is both funny and rather cute to read at the same time.

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #5 – Review

By Mike Benson & Adam Glass (Writers), Carlo Barberi (Pencils), Sandu Florea (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Suicide Kings is a fun Deadpool team-up story. It’s a bit mindless and rather unnecessary, but at least it’s entertaining.

The Story: Deadpool and Spider-Man take on the Wrecking Crew before going after Tombstone.

What’s Good & What’s Not So Good: The problem I face when reviewing every issue of a mini-series is that I end up saying the same things over and over. With that in mind, please excuse me if what I say sounds a bit familiar. Onto the review… Deadpool: Suicide Kings #5 effectively brings a rather pointless Deadpool story to a close. It’s rather funny (I can’t believe Marvel let a “shot in the eye” joke into the book – by Spidey no less!) and filled with enough action to satisfy ‘pool fans, but the faults that have been there since the first issue are still present. Also, as I’ve come to expect, every positive thing is weighed down by something negative.

Mike Benson and Adam Glass employ the “see what sticks” approach to humor that Daniel Way uses, but it’s not as effective in Suicide Kings as it is in the ongoing Deadpool series. While a good portion of the humor hits solid enough, you can’t help but feel that Benson and Glass are trying just a bit too hard throughout most of the script. On the art side of things, Carlo Barberi and his team once again do solid, but frustrating, work. The notable negatives: the action can be hard to follow, character proportions are all over the place (Spidey’s head changes size on a few occasions), and ultimately, Barberi’s pencils make me think of what Paco Medina’s work would look like if it was a lot less polished. The notable positives: the color work is nice, the gore is surprisingly brutal, and the facial expressions give the book a lot of personality.

Conclusion: Deadpool: Suicide Kings #5 delivers pretty much what I’ve come to expect from the mini-series. That’s good in some cases and bad in others.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #4 – Review

By Mike Benson & Adam Glass (Writers), Carlo Barberi (Pencils), Sandu Florea (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Deadpool: Suicide Kings is a fun, tasteless, gratuitous romp through the seedier side of the Marvel Universe. It isn’t high art or anything, but it’s entertaining.

The Story: Deadpool (obviously) recovers from a bullet to the head and finds himself teamed up with Daredevil and Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Tombstone asks The Hood for some help and Punisher finds out that he didn’t quite make a kill-shot.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: One thing you need to know is that I laughed out loud at the very first page of Deadpool: Suicide Kings #4. So, needless to say, Mike Benson, Adam Glass, and Carlo Barberi start things off on the right foot. The rest of the book is pretty good as well. I like that The Hood is brought into the storyline, especially because, on his own, Tombstone just doesn’t seem all that threatening to a guy like Deadpool. In addition, I think all the guest appearances help to keep Deadpool from being his own worst enemy. Too much ‘pool is a bad thing sometimes and the balance that comes from Spidey and the others really help to keep the Merc with a Mouth in check.

Mike Benson and Adam Glass are clearly having fun writing Deadpool. The characters’ interactions with Punisher, Daredevil, and, in particular, Spider-Man are genuinely funny and go a long way towards elevating a storyline that’s– let’s face it, pretty generic and predictable. In addition, Benson and Glass seem to pace the storytelling much better in Suicide Kings #4 than they have in any of the other issues of the mini-series. Everything just seems to move forward at a pace that feels much better than it has in the past.

Carlo Barberi once again puts in some nice work for Suicide Kings. He handles the extremely violent action scenes well and his character work is lively and expressive. His storytelling, however, leaves something to be desired. While it gets the job done, a few scenes are awkward or look really rushed. The flaws are unfortunate because when Barberi gets it all right, his work is perfect for a book like Suicide Kings.

Conclusion: Flawed but a lot of fun, Deadpool: Suicide Kings #4 is worth picking up if you’re sick of all the “serious” Marvel stuff.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #3

By Mike Benson & Adam Glass (Writers), Carlo Barberi (Pencils), Sandu Florea (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: So far, Suicide Kings has been generic, dumb, immature, and gratuitous (in terms of both violence and sexuality). That said, it’s also been funny, enjoyably crazy, and sure of its target audience.

The Story: Thanks to some mad videogame skills, Deadpool is able to find out information regarding who exactly placed the ad in Black Ops Magazine. Daredevil and Deadpool plan to investigate, but first they must deal with the misinformed Punisher…

What’s Good: My guess is that, by now you’ve already formed some sort of opinion about the Suicide Kings mini-series. Chapter three isn’t going to change any minds. The nonstop humor hits more than it misses, the colorful, lively (surprisingly violent) artwork is a nice fit, and the storyline proves a decent enough excuse to throw a number of Marvel characters into Deadpool’s twisted world.

What’s Not So Good: Interestingly enough, each negative I need to mention is directly related to a positive. Very noticeably so. While the humor often hits, Deadpool is so chatty throughout the book that it borders on annoying (I feel for the characters of the Marvel U. now). The solid artwork occasionally looks either completely awkward or oddly static (though Daredevil’s one fight offers the best (worst?!) of both worlds).  And the storyline?  Though completely acceptable, it is utterly forgettable.

Conclusion: In ways both good and bad, Deadpool: Suicide Kings #3 pretty much maintains the status quo for the mini-series. As a result, there isn’t a whole lot I need to say about it. The series isn’t getting any better, but, thankfully, it also isn’t getting significantly worse…

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

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

Deadpool: Suicide Kings #1

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

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’ve made no secret about how much I like Deadpool. In fact, I’ll pick up pretty much anything the character is in. To me, more Deadpool is a good thing (unless, of course, he gets in the way of the story or is written as though the person writing him is trying too hard…I’m looking at you Duane Swierczynski). So, needless to say, buying Suicide Kings was pretty much a no-brainer for me. Especially since I found Mike Benson’s first crack at Deadpool, the Games of Death one-shot, to be a pretty entertaining read.

The Story: Deadpool, as usual, takes a job thinking he is going to get paid the big bucks. As it turns out, his employer isn’t exactly being all that honest with him. Soon Deadpool finds his face all over the news for performing an act of terrorism.

What’s Good: Mike Benson does a better job of handling Deadpool in the first issue of Suicide Kings than he did in Games of Death. It goes a long way toward making the book an enjoyable read despite the extremely standard set up and the fairly standard execution. Also good about Suicide Kings is a good portion of the artwork. It manages to successfully straddle the line between silly and serious that suits the Merc with a Mouth extremely well.

What’s Not So Good: Well…you read the plot summary above (I hope). Fact is, if you’ve read a Deadpool story before, nothing about the storyline is going to surprise, shock, or even feel remotely original. Sure it is delivered decently enough, but I feel like I already know how the entire mini-series is going to play out. Another negative about the book is that from time to time the artwork makes the characters look very poorly proportioned and quite inconsistent.

Conclusion: Suicide Kings is the start to a serviceable Deadpool story, but don’t go into it expecting anything new. Enjoy it if you are a fan, but it’s far from an essential read.

Grade:  C-

-Kyle Posluszny