Deadpool #25 – Review

by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Mike Hawthorne (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: I suppose that even Deadpool had to learn in some ways that violence doesn’t always solve every problems. Most, but not all of them.

The Review: There seems to be a more seasonal approach to comic book storytelling with the big two in the past few years. With new number ones getting released to indicate a change in volume, a change in paradigm or one in term of creators, many books now emphasize the ever-changing or evolving status quo of their very storylines.

Deadpool by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn is very much in the same boat, yet does not seemingly boast about it more than it actually conclude a particular chapter and then moves on. With many of the subplots relative to certain characters and ideas introduced in the very first arc now done, this issue serves as a rather great conclusion to a certain analysis of the character and what he does great.

Where this issue does a lot of things right is with how Duggan and Posehn handle his relations with the other characters. He might have been a bit unsavory at times, yet how he departs from them, how he actually try to show he can change and make his life happier for their sake is a rather touching moment. With his evolution passing through his ordeals and through his various moments shared with them, the way he acts with Agent Adsit, Agent Preston, Michael and the others is a pretty touching element of the book.

Deadpool #24 – Review

by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Mike Hawthorne (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Agent Preston finally gets transferred out of Deadpool. The only thing she needs to do is get out of his head.

The Review: The more you read cape comics, the more you begin to learn to appreciate honest effort from any creative team. While it can be a hard task to differentiate those that actually care from those that only wants a paycheck, there are times when the work is clear-cut in its quality that it is immediately noticeable.

This issue of Deadpool is one of the latter, with both writers actually going around with plenty of elements firmly established from their run as well as previous ones to present not only a definitive version of the character, but one that has plenty of hidden depth to boot.

What Posehn and Duggan does impossibly right is making the character an actual person, one with regrets, feelings and genuine emotions that are both said and unsaid, leaving room for readers to interpret things as well as invest themselves in. With this issue being the culmination of several elements brought up since the first arc, the evolution on display here is superb, with all the horror, the thrills and the actions of Wade Wilson coming back to him, making him not only a sympathetic character, but also one that becomes genuinely likable in many respects. To transform this character from recurring and sometimes annoying joke to an actual person takes skill, which is very commendable for both writers.

Deadpool #23 – Review

by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Mike Hawthorne (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: I am *&/?$ tired of those (*$?%* Deadpool in my ($*$&% heli-carrier killing my (“*/&$ minions!

The Review: Deadpool is a character that had a particularly strange development as a character, both in-universe and out-of-universe. Starting up as a Deadstroke look-alike, he turned into something completely different after writer Joe Kelly cemented a whole new take on the character, turning him into something relatively unique by the time he had his own ongoing. In turn, this made him popular, which made him appear in many other series, receiving mini-series and other ongoing titles at the peak of his popularity, making him appear everywhere akin to popular characters like Batman, Spider-Man and Wolverine. However, while that was going on, not every portrayal of the character was actually decent or even close to what made the character popular to begin with, leaving him to be a rather unappreciated stain when he had been portrayed as a mix of comedy and misery that made him endearing and likable despite the kookiness of his actions and reactions.

Thankfully, it seems that both Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan do understand just what makes the character decent to begin with, with this issue being a splendid example of why. While this volume had its share of up and down, there is something inherently right in the way they handle the Merc with a Mouth that makes this series a delight for long-time fans.

An area where they excel here, in this particular issue, is the juxtaposition of humor and violence without sacrificing the effect of one over the other. In this issue, Wade Wilson deals with a heli-carrier full of henchmen and does so in a way that is brutal, yet also true to the character and to his development in this series. Through all of this, many of the characters reacts to the action, be it the minions themselves, agent Gorman, Coulson, Preston and Deadpool himself. Fine-tuning a balance between hyper-violence and jokes, both Posehn and Duggan adds a certain levity without diminishing the effects or either elements.

Deadpool #22 – Review

by Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Mike Hawthorne (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool needs to get to the man who has put a bounty on his head. Thankfully, he has help from some special agents…

The Review: Being purely objective and detached from anything is a difficult task. To try and let go of personal experiences and opinions is almost impossible, as it permeates the very being you are as well as your beliefs. Reviewing comics is something that is supposed to be done in a purely objective manner, which is what I try to do each time I open an issue and analyze it.

Lately, it had been a bit difficult for me to properly review Deadpool, for a very specific reason. The story arc The good, the bad and the ugly was something that no one really saw coming in terms of quality. It was a great arc that went ahead with a tone and some themes that were generally very surprising for a Deadpool story, being rather serious instead of silly on many occasions. Thus, it kind of made me analyze this series based on the merits of this arc more than the merits of a singular issue, which made the latest two issues a bit less-appreciated from my part.

Thankfully, both Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn went ahead and cranked the action and humor up a notch in this issue, proving that they can return to the previous tone of the series without throwing away what they wrote some issues prior. Overall, I’d say it’s an improvement, but there are still some little issues all along, like most comics out there.

Deadpool #21 – Review

by Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Scott Koblish (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool now has a price on his head, courtesy of a branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. Guess who’s unhappy about it?

The Review: This book is problematic for me right now. While it had the tendencies to diverge from pretty good to rather forgettable, the very last arc proved that it could actually exceed in quality the range previously established. With The good, the bad and the ugly being over and setting for a better take on the Merc with a Mouth, this title now has to live up with the fact that it proved it can actually be excellent. Still, with the last issue being somewhat problematic, can the duo of writers provide a good tale featuring the regenerate degenerate?

They do provide the entertainment that is the bread and butter of this series in this issue, yet not in the grandest or most ridiculous of ways. While this issue doesn’t do anything bad per se, it does not do anything spectacular either, giving this issue which works quite well in the grand scheme of things, yet does not rise above the other issues of this series.

What it does right, still, is in how both Duggan and Posehn are able to spin the many plates of the general story in the series. The return of Dr. Strange, the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. did not pay Deadpool back in the zombie presidents affair, how agent Adsit is aware of Agent Preston and her situation and many other smaller threads are mentioned and updated here, providing for some nice touches for those who were following the series so far. With the story in itself being the natural evolution of several of those subplots, it’s nice to see that both writers do have a general direction for the title as it provides for plenty of opportunity for more shenanigans down the line.

Deadpool #20 – Review

by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Scott Koblish (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: As it turns out, Deadpool went on some very trippy adventures in the 60’s.

The Review: I have a big affection for what some might call the Marvel age of comics, better known as the 60’s. Titles like the old Fantastic Four from Lee and Kirby, or Amazing Spider-Man by Lee and Ditko were full of imagination, with a certain detail for fun that isn’t always present in every comics on the stand. A lot of what we currently enjoy in the Marvel universe comes from these times, which makes them something to be enjoyed.

However, while I do enjoy them tremendously, I can still see a lot of what is wrong with them when being more analytic with modern eyes. A lot of their stories are set in a cold war mindset that pits evil communists as foes, most of the women characters are either useless or damsels to be saved, logic is usually pretty optional. Most of them are rather silly when looked upon.* This, of course, make them rather ripe when it comes to satire, with so many things to make fun of that perhaps a whole mini-series could be dedicated to the subject.

This, of course, is exactly why this issue is, on a basic level, utterly disappointing as both Duggan and Posehn simply don’t seem to understand a lot of the potential for comedy here. A Jack Kirby inspired issue of Deadpool could very well be something beautiful, like an homage and a parody at the same time that could hit all the right notes. However, this issue has but too many flaws to actually be entertaining.

Deadpool #19 – Review

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

The Story: Deadpool finally gets a chat with Butler as he wants to get answers about a great many things.

The Review: It’s always a nice thing to see a character get the respect he or she deserves. It’s never uncommon to see a certain creative team that doesn’t seem to ”get” a character, pushing for a divergent version that plays on some of the more popular themes while never really touching the others. While there are always many ways to interpret a character, there will always be some version that are more memorable and thus stay with the readers as a ”better” version.

Deadpool is perhaps one of those characters upon which many writers have pushed for one side more while never really focusing on the others, with some liking the humor and others being more in love with the mercenary aspect of the character. However, it seems that in this story and arguably in their whole run, both Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn have managed to bring back an ensemble look at this beloved character, with hints of Joe Kelly’s characterization for good measure.

With ”The good, the bad and the ugly”, they had actually done the hard job of selling to the readers a much more humane Wade Wilson and make him interesting beside the silly pop culture reference. In this story, we get to see him as a credible force, a human being, one capable of compassion, cruelty and many other emotions without resorting to cheap ploy or jokes, creating something much better in the process. This is not just a clown, but a person we are rooting for and this is not something every Deadpool comics can manage.

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.

Deadpool #17 – Review

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

The Story: With Captain America and Wolverine now rescued, it’s time for them to get out of there, but not without causing a whole lot of damage before they go.

The Review: It was too good to be true. A Deadpool arc which features a more serious take on the character, focusing on his psyche and just how dark the character truly is could not keep the excellence forever. The psychological take on the character and the way his legacy was twisted up, despite his best attempts at not making it so was just too much for its own good, as the arrival of Captain America and Wolverine detracts from all of that.

Now, before I go too far in the negative intro to this review, I wouldn’t say that this is a bad comic. There are several aspects of the issue that were handled with obvious care and an obvious desire for fun, like the action. The big battle that Captain America, Wolverine, Deadpool and the captive of the meta human camp is actually filled with all the violence, gore and bombastic hyperbole of super heroic action that one could very much expect from a book featuring the Merc with a Mouth. The pacing is also well kept as there is enough variety in the action to allow it to be properly exciting throughout the issue.

What’s much less exciting is how the story and the whole take on Deadpool seems to return to utter goofiness. While the crazed take on Wade Wilson can be easily explained through the fact that this is the way he acts around those he respects in some weird way, it still feels a bit too fast as Poshen and Duggan abandon the introspective take on the character almost completely in favour of the action. The plot progression is also affected by all this, as this issue mostly revolves around the action and not on the direct conflict with Butler and the mystery of what he said to Deadpool. It’s a bit strange to say, yet it feels like the inclusion of Captain America and Wolverine, two popular characters, didn’t do much good in this particular story except provide more material for super hero action.

Deadpool #16 – Review

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

The Story: Deadpool and Agent Preston tries to go away from Butler’s hold as they discover the type of experiments he is doing in his camp.

The Review: It’s not always easy for writers and readers to accept a mood-change. Sometimes, a political book tries to incorporate a bit of action to pepper things up, to disastrous results. Other times, it can be the opposite, as a book change just a bit to let some new ideas flow into it, to freshen things up before it gets repetitive or simply stale.

The latter is what’s happening to Deadpool, who tells a story that is far more character-oriented, with a darker take on things than is usual for the Merc with a Mouth. Humor has always been a regular thing in the book featuring Wade Wilson, yet there is so much pop culture references and poop jokes that can be thrown at the readers before it gets rather tiring. Thankfully, both Posehn and Duggan understand this very well as they focus on some darker ideas, while providing just enough levity to satisfy some of the Deadpool fans.

The opening page actually sums this issue and the very recent take quite well, as Wade tries to cheer himself up, slicing a turkey as if it was a happy family reunion. However, as the page progress, it is revealed to be merely a figment that even his imagination doesn’t seem to accept. His humor is gone, revealed as his way of escape from all his pain and the uncertainty of his life. This take continues toward the issue, as Deadpool himself is unable to continue due to the reveals given to him by Butler himself. Not wishing to go on like this, Agent Preston takes over for him as their interaction and their reaction to what is happening cements the psychological Duggan and Posehn are trying to do.

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?

Thunderbolts #14 – Review

Charles Soule (Writer), Jefte Palo, Terry Pallot (Artists), Guru eFX (Colorist)

The Plot: It’s Frank Castle’s turn at choosing the mission the team has to do as he explain just what he has in mind for this team to do. Lucky him, the Avengers are in space…

The Review: Following characters isn’t something that is logically sound when one thinks about it. While a reader might want to know everything that happens with a certain character he or she grew to like, it does not mean that person will get quality stories featuring the beloved fictional being as not every writer know how to handle things the way those people like it. The more a character is popular, the worse it can get as you can get characters that get poor or uneven characterization, resulting in frustrating experiences for the aforementioned reader.

While I do rather like characters like Frank Castle, Deadpool, Venom and Elektra, the main reason I gave this title a shot to begin with was to see Red Hulk, a.k.a General Ross in action, a character that Jeff Parker made me like immensely in the solo title he once possessed. However, I only did so recently as Charles Soule, the current writer of Swamp Thing, went in with another artist to give a new direction and a shot in the arm to this title that needed it. Does he succeed in keeping the characterization and giving some quality to this team now that he is actually writing them all in action for the first time?

He is quite competent actually, as not only Soule understand the dynamic between each characters and how their personalities might clash, but he does so in a way that is entertaining. This result in a team that is barely functional (as exposed by Deadpool nicknaming the team ”The Selfish Avengers”), yet it is one that is professional enough to get their task done. The military tone and their awkward morality comes in play here, as it creates a vibe that is different from a lot of the team out there, one that is not unlike Remender’s Uncanny X-Force. It’s not quite there in terms of quality when it comes to comparison, yet the characters are well-written, especially Frank Castle and Red Hulk. The only one I could have any disappointment about would be Flash Thompson, who comes as rather gullible and without any real personality, going with the flow without doing anything much.

Deadpool #14 – Review

Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Scott Koblish (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: The White Man comes back from to this era to enact revenge against Power Man, Iron Fist and Deadpool. Chaos ensues.

The Review: It’s always fun to see a writer try to come up with strange ideas, seeing them try to follow it up as their stories goes on. Innovation is hard to come by as well as clean fun sometimes as a lot (though not all) of writers goes for the easy road when it comes to conflict or setting up threats.

However, while it’s nice to see new things, those can fail just as much as older and more familiar ones if not handled right. Unfortunately for this comic, the White Man and pretty much everything that entails that characters soon becomes rather boring, verging on the annoying at times.

What makes the issue disappointing isn’t mainly the villain, but rather the fact that it tries too hard at some points and not enough in others. The way Duggan and Posehn tries to show the difference between the 70’s and today through the characters, the comic itself and how the comic is written is admirable, yet it never do enough with the concept. It’s funny to see the difference with how people see media nowadays and how communication methods changed through the years, yet the characters themselves merely mention it with close to no humour or focus on that simple fact.

Deadpool #13 – Review

Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Scott Koblish (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool ”works” with Heroes for Hire in order to fight the White Man.

The Review: As we prepare for the next arc, we have the chance to read another ”inventory issue”, featuring a satirical look on a whole generation and age of comic. Like the issue making fun of the 80’s, this one give us a vision that is both filled with humor, yet also with an interesting point-of-view of how the era was in terms of comics and popular culture. With this issue focusing on the 70’s, there is a lot for the duo of writers to cover, however do they manage to strike gold like they did in issue 7?

In some minor ways, they don’t really give us a tale as complete and satisfying as the last ”inventory issue”, yet they do manage to cover a lot of ground on how comics in the seventies were written, complete with a plethora of in-jokes and fourth wall comments.

On the comedic front of things, a lot of what is presented here works rather well, as both Duggan and Posehn use a lot of the blacksploitation that was the butt of the joke and the common theme used in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire. Here though, they amp it up to eleven as a lot of the jokes involve racism, the comic code authority, the disco era along with what was popular in the 70’s. With jokes like Deadpimp, the way Iron Fist used his power, the enemy being literally called ”The White Man” and many more, it’s really a diverse selection of comedy gold we have here. However, there are some small weaknesses here and there on that front as some of the jokes are used perhaps too much, like how Luke Cage keeps denying Deadpool the satisfaction of being in his business, the joke about the name of the villain and the fact that some writers usually took way too much time describing how Iron Fist used his powers. It’s all fine, yet it lowers the effectiveness of these jokes in the process.

Deadpool #11 – Review

By: Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Mike Hawthorne (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool tries to kill another person on Vetis list, who is a shapeshifter. While he does so, he encounters other super beings from New York, mainly from Daredevil’s corner.

The Review: Well, this escalated quickly. As the last issue was unfortunately lacking in the charm that had been established in the series so far by giving us less focus on the story, both writers did so once more in this issue. This time, however, a lot of the humor fall a little flat as the writers just don’t really take full advantage of each situation they are in, trying to rush through many characters and jokes possible without letting the reader settle into the humor or the situation.

That’s not to say all the jokes are bad here, as there are some comedy gems, like how Daredevil perceives Deadpool in a way that parodies Mark Waid take on the blind superhero or how Deadpool has to fight a man that misunderstand how the merc with a mouth interpret who he is chasing. There are some moments that genuinely made me laugh and that were both referential to other works or to the general spirit of today.

Deadpool #10 – Review

By: Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Mike Hawtorne (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: As Michael makes his way in hell, Deadpool teams-up with the Superior Spider-Man to take out the next person on Vetis list.

The Review: On the review of the latest issue of Deadpool, I had said that the duo of Posehn and Duggan had made something quite unusual for a comic featuring the Merc with a mouth. Indeed, they had toned down the humor significantly in order to make their plot progress in a faster pace as they explored the titular character a bit further than usual. It was unexpected, yet it did lead to a quality comic.

Here, though, their approach is the exact opposite, as the humor takes precedence to the plot in this issue featuring a team-up of some sort to Spider-Ock. While we do get some tidbits of progression in the story, the focus is clearly on the jokes even with all the action set up here. However, does that make this issue a bad comic?

Deadpool #7 – Review

By: Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn (Writers), Scott Koblish (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: We get an ‘’inventory issue’’ where Deadpool makes a deal with the devil to make sure Iron Man drink, all of this during the bronze age of comics!

The Review: There was a particular issue in the older volume of Deadpool Adventure, written by Joe Kelly, where Deadpool voyaged through an older issue of Amazing Spider-Man with his friend Blind Al, giving wild commentaries on the way the comic was written. It was a particularly hilarious issue that brought to light just how comics were written back in the days, comparing it to the comics of those years with snarky comments. I’m mentioning such a thing because this very issue is very close in spirit to this issue in particular (Deadpool #11 of volume 1 if you must know), with some good clean fun with the bronze age of comics.

Deadpool #6 – Review

By: Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Tony Moore (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool needs to bring the fight to the last presidents remaining to save America, but also to avenge agent Preston.

The Review: Color me impressed. If there was one title I was planning initially to completely skip in the Marvel Now! initiative, it was Deadpool.* Sure, there was Tony Moore on art, but there also was two unknown author bringing some kind of zombie president story that did not interest me in the slightest. Six issues later, I’d be hard pressed not to say how much I enjoy it. To me, this is one of the best take on Deadpool since a long time, for many reasons.

The first one is very simple: they treat him like a character. Handling the finale of the latest issue with panache, we can see that Deadpool is actually sad and angry about Preston’s death, the one agent of S.H.I.E.L.D who believed that he could do the job. Here, most of the action is motivated by his desire to honor what happened to her. Sure, it does not mean he stops the unending barrage of jokes, but there is a certain dramatic tension present here that is pleasant to read. There is more purpose here than money, both for the plot and the character, which gives us more of the Deadpool I grew up to love, the Kelly/Remender/Priest version that just wanted to belong, to be appreciated.

Deadpool #5 – Review

Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writer), Tony Moore (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool needs to go in space to kill zombie Ronald Wilson Reagan who is planning to launch nukes on the entire Earth. Seems like sky was not the actual limit.

The Review: Well, this was a crazy issue. Enraged Russian chimps, a zombie Reagan, cultural references, jokes, gore, action scenes, Mexican food, magic and a whole lot of shenanigans, what’s not to like here?

Well, since this is a mostly humorous book, there can be flat jokes, which the series has unfortunately seen its share of. Here, however, there are a lot less of those, with some great gems that are quite hilarious (the first two pages alone are very funny indeed). There are some stinkers here, but overall, the humor has greatly improved.

What has improved, in an actually surprising way, would also be the plot as in the middle of the issue, the jokes takes a second seat as the story gets front and center, focusing on what is happening with the zombie presidents and how the relation between Deadpool, Agent Preston and Michael is now. This was something a bit unexpected and frankly, it was also more than welcome. A little dramatic twist here and there truly does help the book liven up a bit, showing that there is a character here under all those references and jokes.

Deadpool #4 – Review

By: Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Tony Moore (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool battles even more zombie presidents. Can you believe it?!

The Review: Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn have a really tough job writing this series. Not only do they need to write humor and action, but they also have to write Deadpool, a character that has been everywhere for a few years and has gone into a lot of different directions with a plethora of writers.

He is a tricky character that can be written in many ways, but I do believe there are two distinct schools of Deadpool writers: the funny version, like Daniel Way in the beginning of the previous volume and the various mini-series with Deadpool as a central character. There also is the more characterized way, like Joe Kelly, Fabian Nicieza or Rick Remender. One makes more use of the character as a constant joke, with the humor being the complete focus of the book, while the other does not forsake the humor, but also show us that Wade Wilson is also a character with desires and certain empathy.

Uncanny X-Force #29 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Julian Totino Tedesco (art), John Lucas (interlude inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The future X-Force tries to keep Psylocke alive to stop their Minority Report-styled universe from ceasing to exist.

The Review:  In most comics, the bad guys’ plans require killing the good guy.  I loved Remender’s creative reversal of this dynamic; here, the bad guys are desperately trying to keep Psylocke from killing herself.  It makes for some really great situations.  For instance, there’s a wonderful scene where the Punisher tries to get Psylocke to do what he wants…by pointing a gun at her.  Psylocke rightfully laughs at this and it shows that even the characters struggle to deal with this wacky reversal of the usual state of affairs.  There’s just something so wonderfully goofy, in a very dark way of course, about a hero desperately trying to die and diving into things with reckless abandon to accomplish this end, while the villains try to save her.

This also leads to a great little interlude where Psylocke meets Warren in the afterlife (maybe?).  Remender leaves it perfectly in the air as to whether this really was the afterlife, but it’s a highly effective scene and leads to more fantastic character work, and character development, for Psylocke.  Remender is really doing some of the best work with Psylocke that we’ve ever seen.

Remender also once again shows a fantastic handle of Deadpool.  There’s a couple of pages that are utterly hilarious here, with one visual gag involving the Punisher that is guaranteed to get a laugh.  Deadpool is, again, never over the top but adds a nice touch of zaniness to an otherwise unremittingly grim comic.  The gag with the Punisher is definitely one of the best Deadpool scenes from Remender yet.

Uncanny X-Force #11 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Mark Brooks (penciller & inker), Andrew Currie (inker), Dean White (colorist), and Cory Petit (letterer)

The Story: X-Force heads off to the Age of Apocalypse to acquire the celestial life seed.

The Review:  Somehow, Rick Remender has become the 90s guy and in a totally good way.  Once again, by revisiting the Age of Apocalypse this month, Remender finds himself making a distinctive callback that often deplored time and manages to make it cool again.  Well, almost.  A picture of Scott Summers with longhair still makes the character look ridiculous and full of 90s “attitude,” but I digress.

In venturing to the Age of the Apocalypse, Remender really succeeds in conveying the fact that X-Force are in a different world, a different reality.  Part of it is that unabashed acknowledgement of this being a relic of the 90s, as it makes the comic feel as though a group of 2011 characters ventured into an older comic world.  Beyond the metatextual stuff, however, Brooks and White also illustrate the setting brilliantly, making it look like a grimy, war-torn dystopia out of Ridley Scott’s nightmares.

Remender also shows that he recognizes the benefits of working in an alternate reality, as it allows you to ignore the rules that Marvel continuity usually forces upon you.  Hence, we have X-Force meeting up with a team of mutants largely composed of characters that are deceased in their home reality, characters that had strong ties to them.  While that works well as far as the interpersonal dynamics of the book go, it’s also just really cool for the reader to see these mutants out and about and kicking ass.  Hell, one of them is actually a villain that seems to have taken Wolverine’s hero role in the Age of Apocalypse, which is even more amusing.  And then there’s the last page, which is sort of an “oh no you didn’t” moment where Remender really shows the amount of fun he’s having with a reality where dead suddenly isn’t dead.

The character-work is solid as well.  Dark Beast is just as much of a dick as you’d expect and his dialogue is characterful and enjoyable.  Deadpool also continues to be fun under Remender, staying fun but never over-the-top.  It’s also amusing to see him occupy yet another uncharacteristic role: we’ve seen him as the team’s moral compass and now we’re seeing him as the pessimistic realist.  Deadpool.

Uncanny X-Force #6 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Esad Ribic (pencils), John Lucas (inks), Matt Wilson (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Fantomex fights to keep the World safe from superpowered Deathloks, but will X-Force bother to save him?

Review:  In some ways, this latest installment of Uncanny X-Force is a disappointment.  A big part of what made Rick Remender’s title, for me, so special was the team dynamic and the relationships among this small band of five.  Yet, this month, instead of an X-Force book, we get, for the most part, a Fantomex/Deathlok team-up with action scenes all over the place.  That’s well and good, Fantomex is as fun as always and the action scenes are drawn in exciting and intense fashion by Esad Ribic, but it’s not the book at its best.

That being said, amidst this Deathlok story, there are some really cool ideas.  For instance, what would a world look like without superheroes?  According to Remender, pretty damned awesome.  The future these Deathloks come from is one without superpowers and, as such, it’s a utopia.  It’s a really neat move by Remender, as seriously, how many times have we seen a burning, future dystopia due to a lack of heroes?  It’s one of the most well-worn plot points in superhero comics and for Remender to reverse this entirely is not only brilliant, but it also puts X-Force into yet another moral conundrum.  After all, in fighting the Deathloks, they are preventing a lot of deaths, but they’re also possibly stopping utopia from being reached.  And when Remender reveals just who hope is pinned on and who the rebel is in the future, well yeah, that just makes that conundrum all the wonkier.

Interestingly though, the opening scene of the book is probably the strongest, even though it has nothing to do with Fantomex, Deathloks, or the World.  It’s a conversation between Psylocke and Captain Britain that is really well-written and a great piece of introspection for the character, showing Betsy’s increasingly tragic situation regarding her role in X-Force.  The twist at the end of this scene is wonderfully sad, even pathetic, and the whole scene shows Remender’s strengths as a writer.

I think this fantastic opening may also play a role regarding my comparative disappointment with the Fantomex/Deathlok stuff.  All the bluster and action just felt a little shallow compared to this awesomeness.  That being said, Fantomex is pretty darned funny and is as charming as ever, so the comic never drags.

Deadpool: Wade Wilson’s War #1 – Review

By Duane Swierczynski (writer), Jason Pearson (artist), Paul Mounts (colors) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters and production)

The Story: Deadpool (outside of the normal Marvel Universe continuity) testifies before a Senate hearing about a secret black-ops mission he participated in 25 years ago. This goes about as well as you’d expect.

What’s Good: Well, this is only a four-part mini-series and not a new monthly book, that’s something good (and more on that later.) The actual content itself…none of it is really “good,” but it’s also pretty benign and inoffensive. “Bland” is the operative word to describe this issue. And since that’s more than I can say for a lot of Deadpool chaff on the stands right now, I’ll count that as a positive.

The story is mildly interesting, and might actually get better in the next issue now that the pieces are set up and in place. Swierczynski’s writing is okay; he gets in a couple of fun jokes and moments, but nothing that any casual fan of Deadpool hasn’t seen or heard before. None of it is bad; it’s just that none of it is really good either. The art is very similar: competent, with a couple interesting gags and panels (I really like the smiley face badges on ‘Pool’s class-A uniform) but nothing that will stick in your mind after you finish this book and move on to the next one in your stack.

Deadpool Team-Up #898 – Review

By Mike Benson (Writer), Carlo Barberi (Pencils), Juan Vlasco (Inks), and Marte Gracia (Colors)

The Story: Deadpool and the Luchadore wrestling-masked bounty hunting Zapata Brothers team-up to cash in on a bounty the brothers got screwed over on and Deadpool got whacked with a shovel for.

What’s Good: Did you enjoy what Mike Benson and the rest of the creative team did with the Deadpool: Suicide Kings mini-series? If you did, chances are you will find quite a bit to like about Benson’s Deadpool Team-Up story. While Benson focuses more on the Zapata Brothers than Deadpool, his script succeeds because there is a nice balance between highlighting the shady figures that use bounty hunters and the odd, funny lead characters he writes about. Is Benson’s story perfect or even special in any way? Not really. But that doesn’t mean that Deadpool Team-Up #898 isn’t an entertaining comic worth checking out if you are a Wade Wilson fan.

The highlight of the second issue of Deadpool Team-Up is the dialogue. What makes it stick out is that Benson does an impressive job of capturing a “realistic” dialogue flow. The conversations have a natural feel to them in regards to the back and forth between the colorful characters. In addition, Benson has quite a knack for writing shady characters. The writer is clearly comfortable handling the seedier side of Deadpool’s world. Now that’s not to say Benson’s script is all serious business or anything, but the fact that Benson gives Deadpool Team-Up a somewhat dark edge is a positive.

The artwork by Carlo Barberi is flawed, but as a whole the visuals tell Benson’s story well enough. One thing worth noting about it though is what a great team Juan Vlasco and Marte Gracia make. Their work on the Daniel Way Deadpool series is always consistently impressive and that carries over into Mike Benson’s Deadpool Team-Up book. Vlasco’s distinct, yet complimentary inking helps Garcia’s vibrant colors really pop off the page. In that sense, the latest Team-Up is a slick looking book.

What’s Not So Good: The biggest problem with Deadpool Team-Up #898 is that it follows the impressive Fred Van Lente installment of the new series that came out a few weeks back. Van Lente’s issue of Team-Up is smarter and more satisfying all around than Benson’s in almost every way. That said, Benson hits the important notes and I’m sure that some portion of Team-Up’s audience will prefer the second issue of the series over the first.

If you read my Suicide Kings reviews, then you probably know what I’m about to say regarding Carlo Barberi’s artwork. While it certainly works and is solid enough all around, only a few panels stand out as impressive. The problem is that some of the action is stiff/ awkward and body proportions are all out of whack from time to time.

Conclusion: Deadpool: Team-Up #898 doesn’t stand up all that well compared to the series debut. It’s still entertaining and worth a look though, especially if you liked the tone and style of Deadpool: Suicide Kings.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny