Tag Archives: Gerry Duggan

Oct 31 2017

Violence Can be Funny in Despicable Deadpool 288

by Taylor Anderson

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

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Deadpool has always had an interesting relationship with violence. Its titular hero is one of the more bloody characters in the Marvel pantheon, yet he’s also one of the funniest. This means that at the same he’s committing atrocities, Wade Wilson is also cracking jokes. This relationship is easier to write than it is to draw. After all, how are you supposed to draw someone being killed and have it be funny? Scott Koblish seems to have figured that out, turning a bloody issue into one that somehow retains its humor in spite of (if not because) of its violence. Continue reading →

Oct 19 2017

The Art Makes the Issue in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 12

By Taylor Anderson

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

Going to a comic convention can be a dangerous thing. No, I’m not talking about the festering cesspool that is the men’s bathrooms at C2E2 — I’m talking about artist alleys at present at all cons. With so many talented artists in one place, it’s easy to spot at least twelve pieces of art that catch your eye, which are a feast for the senses but a pain for your wallet. The thing is , it’s just hard to say no when you see a piece of artwork that appeals to you. Luckily, sometimes a monthly roles around that’s as easy on the wallet as it is on the eyes, as is the case with Guardians of the Galaxy 12. Continue reading →

Oct 13 2017

Despicable Deadpool 287: Discussion

by Patrick Ehlers & Taylor Anderson

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

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Patrick: There’s a principle in screenwriting called “save the cat.” That phrase refers to the act of unambiguous good a character needs to perform in order to win the audience’s sympathy. To use the idiom’s namesake as an example, as long as our hero has rescued a cat from a tree branch, any other morally dubious behavior can be forgiven. One shred of evidence that he’s a good guy is enough to trick our brains into believing that he must actually be good. This may sound like kind of a hack technique, but writers use it all the time, particularly since the rise of antiheroes. Our boy Wade Wilson gets them all the time — the audience can recoil at 95% of his actions, just so long as he protects a kid, helps and old lady, or saves a cat. Despicable Deadpool 287 throws that convention out the fucking window. This isn’t the hero Deadpool, this is the cut-throat, single-minded, merciless merc with the mouth. Continue reading →

Sep 21 2017

A Universe Made More Mysterious in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 10

By Taylor Anderson

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

Anyone who knows anything about science fiction writing knows that world-building is key to creating a good story. Without an established universe full of wonder and mystery even the best plots will fall flat. All-New Guardians of the Galaxy has been tiptoeing along this line ever since its relaunch ten issues back, but has survived based on the inherent likability of its characters. In issue 10, however, Gerry Duggan finally begins to unveil mysteries of the universe and the result is an entertaining and engrossing issue. 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 11 2017

Groot Roots in All New Guardians of the Galaxy 9

By Taylor Anderson

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

The origin story is a quintessential tale for any hero, whether they be major character who headlines movies or one that would only be familiar to the most knowledgeable comic book reader. Many of these stories are so well-known that many people know where Superman or Spider-Man got their powers from even if they’ve never picked up a monthly. But not all heroes enjoy such clarity when it comes to their origins, and such is the case with Groot. There seems to be no consensus on where Groot came from, so in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 9 Gerry Duggan figures he may was well take stab at telling the story of Groot’s roots. 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 →

Aug 22 2017

Heroism and Revenge in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 8

by Michael DeLaney

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

A ship in peril! A hero on a quest to save his friend! A space raccoon who is dying of an alien disease! All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 8 is a heroic race against time as Star-Lord tracks down The Raptors, who have infected Rocket with a deadly pathogen. Continue reading →

Aug 9 2017

Drax’s Confession Sets the Tone in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 7

by Michael DeLaney

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

In Gerry Duggan’s All-New Guardians of the Galaxy the one formerly known as “Drax the Destroyer” has enacted a strict no destroying policy. This has likely frustrated Drax’s teammates and readers alike, but in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy 7 we find out why he’s done this — and I can’t say I blame him. 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 →