Deadpool #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Skottie Young
Artists: Nic Klein, Scott Hepburn
Colorist: Ian Herring
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Review by Michael Farris, Jr.
Deadpool is back as the Merc with a Mouth, but the mercenary business is a little slow these days. Is it because there aren’t enough contracts to go around, or is it just because everybody hates Deadpool? After taking out a biker gang leader, Deadpool ponders this conundrum with Negasonic Teenage Warhead and comes to the conclusion that a) He needs to take on a big contract to get his name back out there and b) Stuffie Undies need to be a thing. Also, in order to get people to stop hating him, he works on creating a sympathetic back story. Fortunately for him, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers have a huge problem coming from space, and Deadpool might have the only weapon that can stop it. But they do really hate him.
From cover to cover, Deadpool #1 might have been one of the best Deadpool comics I’ve read. All of the humor is on-point, from Deadpool laughing hysterically at an Oscar-bait tear-jerker scene to a Monopoly brawl between Starlord and Rocket Raccoon. While Wade is trying to come up with a sympathetic backstory, you’re treated with spoofs of other comic origin stories from both the Marvel and DC universes, with the final Batman spoof taking a hilarious and cleverly consequential twist.
I also appreciated the banter and chemistry between DP and NTW (obviously riding on the coattails of the movie success, as Deadpool hints at). Negasonic presents a perfect no-nonsense counterbalance to Deadpool’s antics.
And if they story doesn’t grab you for some crazy reason, perhaps the artwork will. Never before has gore, cracked bones, and Wade Wilson’s marred body looked more beautiful. It felt like watching a grindhouse movie shot by Oscar-winning cinematographers.
Verdict: Buy it.
I usually wait for trades, but this is one I’m going to rush to buy the single-issue and hold on to tightly. I loved the story, the the artwork blew me away (without killing me). I can’t wait to see what Skottie and the rest of his DP’ers do with this much-loved character…at least for people outside the Marvel universe.
