I find that I tend to give credit to and enjoy books that successfully modernize titles that I enjoyed during my childhood, or that I laud new titles that bring something marginally original to the field. This issue of Deadpool does neither of those. It breaks all of my and the rules. In my review of Agents of Atlas#1, I talked about info dumping, and at the very beginning of this issue of Deadpool we see that not only can you commit this minor lit-crime, but also that it wouldn’t even seem right if it was left unbroken. It’s almost as if it’s not even just for the readers, but Deadpool himself needs them to remind and adjust to the task – the issue – at hand.
In a very Payback-for-principle manner, Deadpool literally attempts to stroll into Avengers tower to find Norman Osborn, the patriarch of the current Dark Reign storyline; a coronation that Deadpool played a pivotal role in. In the previous issue, Deadpool informed Osborn of his displeasure, and we saw Osborn’s reaction that would lead (we thought) to a Deadpool/Thunderbolts brawl. One could be disappointed that the showdown that seemed eminent in the last issue has been delayed, but Deadpool is the quintessential example of a title and character whose journey is truly more interesting than the destination. He is the meandering and maundering merc with the mouth- he doesn’t have the time or inclination to keep to suffer our schedules. What I love most about the character is that this is one of rare titles that defy synopsis. It’s not about what happens, it’s about reading the comic. I have to come clean and give credit where it’s due: I have never been what I’d call a Way fan, but the guy is simply holding it down with this series. I loved Joe Kelly’s run on the character, and it’s a tough standard, but I think Way has found a vehicle that allows him relevant and irreverent at the same time. The art by Paco Medina is growing on me. He sells the transitions from hallucination to reality, and what I’ve failed to mention in previous reviews I’ve done of this series is that even when completely masked, Deadpool conveys expression– there are great examples of the use of hand/arm movement that communicate emotion. Sure, some will be disappointed about the delay of the confrontation, but taken on its own merit the issue made me feel like we actually gained another issue to look forward to next month (or at least in Thunderbolts#130) while getting a fun read now.
This is my favorite issue of Way’s run thus far, and from a pure fun factor, one of the most entertaining issues of any title I’ve read in some time. Every issue of Deadpool is a book about a deadly assassin, but yet it is still able to cast a convivial atmosphere. His delectable wit and seemingly (sometimes) on-call fantasy are in fine form here, and with the captions – and this may sound odd – what it reminded me of was when I was reading Spidey comics in the 80’s and early 90’s. Certainly, there is that complete lack of ground or semblance of normalcy, but with Deadpool we are in a constant version of that escape that Parker experienced when he was just web slinging around the town. From climbing beanstalks, to flexing Iron Man’s breastplate, the beauty of Deadpool is a cartoony spontaneity that interacts with a familiar – if not admittedly realistic – setting, done well enough to question which truly is more real. As ridiculous as he sounds and is, his reactions strike true – “Those are Awesome!” Way and Deadpool never let us get so engrossed in minutia that we forget about that aspect of comics. Perhaps the most, and in some sense, the lost element in comics and its readers. It’s a perspective that we shouldn’t lose flippantly.
The trial period is over for me. Now I find myself worried about when they may break up the creative team on a book I’m really digging. Good thing I have that showdown to look forward to, to keep my mind off of it.
- Jay Tomio
Jan-ken-pon is the time traveling, force-walking, multiverse crossing column of Jay Tomio, owner of 1/3 of everything you see currently on screen, and the editor of Heliotrope. Some call him the Bodhisattva.
