Category Deadpool

Oct 10 2018

Deadpool 5 Sacrifices Character for Laughs

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Every creator has their own take on a character — it’s why we keep returning to the same stories of caped mystery men and women after all this time. Working within the familiar realm of the Marvel Universe, they can forego some of the basic elements of a character’s world. However, there are times where creators might rely on that familiarity a little too much, neglecting to fully establish their version of the character/world. Such is the case with Deadpool 5. Continue reading →

Aug 6 2018

It’s Wade Wilson’s World in Deadpool 3

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Deadpool is a mercenary, assassin, sometimes hero, and fourth wall-breaking jokester. But after nearly 30 years of quips, kills and general raunch Deadpool has become something else entirely: a lens to see the Marvel Universe through. Deadpool has a funny effect on the characters and setting surrounding him — he Deadpoolifies everything he touches. Continue reading →

Jul 9 2018

Deadpool is Back to Merc’ing in Deadpool 2

By Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Deadpool is often characterized as the bane of the superhero community’s existence: he’s the last guy that they want to ask for help. That said, the Avengers set must derive some guilty pleasure when they get to cut loose and rip Wade Wilson’s regenerative body apart. At least, that’s what I gather from Skottie Young and Nic Klein’s Deadpool 2. Continue reading →

Jun 11 2018

Deadpool 1 Honors the Past and Embraces the Future

By Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

“Honor the past, celebrate the present and embrace the future.”

Traditional

Gerry Duggan’s Deadpool is dead, long live Gerry Duggan’s Deadpool! Duggan wiped the slate clean for future Deadpool creators by having the Merc with the Mouth wipe his own painful memories from his mind. Surprisingly, Skottie Young makes note of this mind wipe in Deadpool 1 — both in dialogue and in the opening credits pages.

Deadpool is still breaking the fourth wall, still has a big ego, and in light of his memory loss, he’s just going to have to assume that his recent comic book run was “pretty big.” Continue reading →

Jan 4 2018

Best of 2017: Best Covers

Best Covers of 2017

You know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but that doesn’t mean you can’t judge the cover on its own merit. This year found us marveling at covers that weren’t just carefully designed and lushly colored, but that actually did a great deal of storytelling, cramming all of the drama, excitement and emotion of the whole issue into one succinct image. Some did it literally, some did it metaphorically, but all moved us in some way beyond simply broadcasting which of our favorite characters would appear in the issue. These are our top 10 covers of 2017. Continue reading →

Sep 19 2017

Loneliness Kills in Deadpool 36

by Patrick Ehlers

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Despite writer Gerry Duggan’s insistence on filling out the supporting cast of Deadpool over the last five years, Wade Winston Wilson is a solitary creature. He’s his own worst enemy and his own best friend. Issue 36 shows a Deadpool at the end of his rope, pushed to an unfathomable level of isolation. This is where artist Matteo Lolli truly shines, showing Deadpool as a man apart from those he once called friend and family. Continue reading →

Sep 5 2017

The Bitter Taste of Regret in Deadpool 35

by Michael DeLaney 

This article will contain SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Releasing the same day as Secret Empire 10, Deadpool 35 is the first book that shows us a glimpse of the Marvel U the post-Secret Empire. It’s also the issue where Deadpool admits something that we’ve known since Steve Rogers ordered him to kill Coulson: Wade is heading for a fall. Continue reading →

Jul 27 2017

How Lettering Sells the Loss in Deadpool 34

by Patrick Ehlers

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Comic book creators have so many tools at their disposal for exploring sadness. There’s the acting of the characters, the framing of a panel, setting, color and even dialogue if it comes down to it. Throughout their run with The Merc With the Mouth, writer Gerry Duggan and artist Matteo Lolli have utilized every one of these tools to convey the extreme despair at the center of Wade’s life, and his climatic battle with Preston is no exception. The sky turns red, and all other color disappears, in the abandoned town of Pleasant Hill, setting a strong emotional tone for the battle. The previous issue saw Preston turning off her emotions (literally — she’s a robot and can just mute those things), but Lolli’s insistence on her steely visage actually ends up communicating more about the fatalism driving Wade’s fall from grace. Continue reading →

Jul 18 2017

Killing Has Consequences in Deadpool 33

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli continue to propel Wade Wilson’s emotional journey forward in the face of all of the changes that Secret Empire has wrought. Deadpool 33 is bookended with Wade Wilson dealing with aspects of his Hydra-ruled life, but the substance of the issue comes in the form of a flashback. Continue reading →

Jun 16 2017

Selling Out (and Feeling Guilty About It) in Deadpool 32

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Writer Gerry Duggan has made me recognize Deadpool as a (misguided) hero with heart. So when Hydra’s new America debuted in Secret Empire, I was shocked that Deadpool was working for the bad guys. Deadpool 31 showed us that Wade’s idolization of Captain America put him down this path. In Deadpool 32 he’s struggling with the guilt of that choice. Continue reading →