The Death of Deadpool

[UPDATED 3.13.15:]

Marvel has announced via Nerdist.com that they will be killing off Wade Wilson, the Merc with a Mouth, in April's Deadpool #250.

Issue #250 because it's one of Marvel's milestone renumbering things where if you put all of Deadpool's series' issues together, that's the number you'd get.

In what may seem like a bizarre move, given Deadpool's current popularity and looming big screen debut, Wade will be following in the footsteps of Wolverine (R.I.P.) in an issue that sees him take on the entire ULTIMATUM organisation, when - following the events leading up to this issue - they come after him for revenge.

Speaking to Nerdist, Deadpool co-writer Gerry Duggan said, "The story that you’re going to get in Deadpool #250 is a story that we really have been building to since the first issue of Deadpool NOW. And it will absolutely feel – it will feel, I hope, readers will think that this is an appropriate end for this Deadpool.

"I will say, though, that the manner in which he dies – even us telling you that he’s dying, it’s not really a spoiler, because when you see how he dies, I think your head will explode. [laughter]"

The 96-page issue will also feature one of Deadpool's recurring 'lost' stories - in which Wade gets hold of the Infinity Gauntlet!

And...like Deadpool #27, wherein Wade tied the knot, a host of former Deadpool creatives will be returning for more strips to round off Deadpool's giant-sized swan song.

Marvel has also announced that a Deadpool vs. Thanos series is coming in the Fall. This doesn't necessarily mean Wade will be resurrected for it, though, as both guys have a thing for the female embodiment of Death - so the mini could potentially take place in her realm.

Now, just about everyone is thinking Wolverine's death is a "temporary setback" - so we'd presume it'd be the same for the Merc with a Mouth. And while killing him off now might seem like a weird move, it could be the event that takes his popularity to the next level.

Some Deadheads might be getting a sense of deja vu here, recalling Daniel Way's 'Dead arc', in which Wade tried to eradicate his healing factor so he could be with the female embodiment of death - but this proved an impossibility and Deadpool didn't die. For Deadpool #250, Duggan says Deadpool will die.

Speaking of the 'Dead' arc, this event brings me back to my own aspirations to work on the Merc with a Mouth. When that arc was announced, I 'remixed' an old Deadpool/Death fantasy sequence, removing the dialogue, adding my own, breaking it into four short funnies... creating an unofficial prequel to 'Dead'; and if you didn't catch that at the time, you can find it here...

(right-click on images and 'open in new tab' to enlarge)

The Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death thing, as well as being fun for me to do, was designed to showcase that I have the skillz to write the Merc with a Mouth (I've written a Deadpool pitch and hope to get to make it when I'm, hopefully, of a high enough profile for that to be a realistic proposition).

Since BDHD, I've also been developing my own Deadpool-parodying character, Wayne Winston, and he will be getting the spotlight in February's The Almighties #0 Variant Edition (homaging Deadpool's debut cover from New Mutants #98) - when Wayne gets shortlisted to join the team of comedic super-heroes I co-created with Mike Gagnon.

How do you parody a character that's already a parody? Watch this space and www.actualitypress.com for more on Wayne Winston... ;)

Bootleg Alcoholic Iron Man

[UPDATED 1.20.14:]

(Superior Iron Man #1 Rocket Raccoon & Groot Variant)

With Tony Stark having fallen off the wagon as the 'Superior Iron Man' - part of Marvel's Avengers & X-Men: Axis crossover event - what better time to revisit my 'What if Tony never stopped being a booze hound. Ever' ting - ?

Inspired by Deadpool #7 - in which Wade Wilson goes back in time and meets Drunk Tony - here's my follow-up to Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death - the Bootleg Alcoholic Iron Man covers gallery...

(Right-click on images and 'Open in New Tab' to enlarge)

And you can find more Marvel-parodying nonsense in my comic The Almighties here!

Deadpool - the story so far - Part 1

It's no secret that I'm gunning to work on Deadpool. Awhile back I re-read a stack of old Deadpool comics and wrote a pitch, which I'm waiting for the right time to make. If you're relatively new to the Merc with a Mouth, or would just like a trip down a very warped memory lane, marvel.com are currently rolling out Deadpool's history in bite-sized chunks. You can check out parts 1-4 at the links below and I'll be adding more as they come up at the site.

The History of Deadpool Part 1

The History of Deadpool Part 2

The History of Deadpool Part 3

The History of Deadpool Part 4

Weapon X, Cable, Siryn, The Great Lakes Avengers, Wade's now-team-mate-in-the-Thunderbolts (although they want to kill each other) The Punisher, Captain America, saving the Earth, and a rivalry with Thanos for the affections of the love of their lives--the female embodiment of Death--all feature in Wade Wilson's checkered past; and as the only one crazy enough to also make a bee-line for Death's affections, the Mad God of Titan made damn sure that the Merc with a Mouth got taken out of that picture--for good.

But what if Deadpool and Death could get it together? (which would mean the unkillable Wade being dead) If you never checked out my Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death, you can find 'em below...

(Right-click on images and 'Open in New Tab' to enlarge)

And look for Bootleg Alcoholic Iron Man coming here soon!

[UPDATE 6/23/13:] You can now check out the rest of Deadpool's Story So Far here!

Bootleg Alcoholic Iron Man teaser

Inspired by Deadpool #7...

...And if you never caught my original Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death, you can find it here, and you can find more Marvel-parodying nonsense in my comic The Almighties here!

Seinfeld's Elaine Benes Ziggy rip-off Cartoon returns!

I'm a big Seinfeld fan, and The New Yorker recently recreated the cartoon Elaine subconsciously copied from cartoonist 'Ziggy' and opened it up to a caption contest. Here's my entry:

The Winning Entry goes up at The New Yorker on August 20th.
And if you'd like to see more shorts with my words, check out my complete Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death here!

New Deadpool Writers

At San Diego Comic Con 2012, as well as the announcement of the forthcoming Deadpool Video Game, there was this:

"It's been an incredible ride. The most fun I've ever had on a series. I've been able to write every kind of story with Deadpool. I think we really go out on a high note." - Daniel Way.

"For people who have enjoyed Daniel's Deadpool run, you'll really enjoy his next project. He gets to do what he does best." - Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor in Chief.

"This is not the end for Deadpool." - Arune Singh, Marvel Director of Communications.

After writing the entire run of the current Deadpool series, Daniel Way announced that he is going to be leaving the building with October's Deadpool #63.

Who's gonna take over? Watch this space. But though it's a cynch that someone's already lined up to follow Daniel Way, while Way launched the series and was in it for the long haul, it's anyone's guess how long his replacement will stay--hopefully they won't still be on the book if and when I develop Alzheimer's ;)--so it's time to take my Deadpool Strike Plan, that begun with Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death (which you can check out here), to the next stage...

Co-scripted with Mike Gagnon, who contributed to Deadpool Corps: Rank and Foul, our first big run of The Avengers-parodying The Almighties #1 sold out, though you can still get it Print on Demand at www.thealmighties.com, and with its "Deadpool meets Family Guy via South Park" humor, The Almighties should be a good next step in showcasing that I've got the skillz to write the Merc with a Mouth. So this is going to be winging its way to the relevant people...

[Update: 8/2/12:] Meanwhile, Marvel has revealed that the team taking over the book after Way as it gets relaunched as part of Marvel NOW! will be writer/comedian/actors Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan, and The Walking Dead co-creator/artist, Tony Moore.

Moore--whom I believe did his last work for Marvel on the new incarnation of Venom--is an interesting choice, and might suggest that things are going to continue in the darker direction they've been going in for Wade with the recent 'DEAD' arc and the new Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe mini-series. Posehn & Duggan's previous comics work was The Last Christmas mini-series for Image Comics. You can read their interview with Comic Book Resources about that here, and based on this image alone, you can see why they could be a good fit for Wade Wilson:

I remember Daniel Way tweeting that he thought Posehn would make a great Deadpool writer awhile back, so wheels have obviously been set in motion since then. Having he and Duggan on the book could be a boon for Wade's popularity and introduce new people to him, including some of the elusive people-that-don't-normally-buy-comics market. I'm very intrigued by this line-up and looking forward to seeing what they bring to the Merc with a Mouth. All the best with it, guys!

[UPDATE 8/9/12:] You can now check out an interview with Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan and Tony Moore - talking with IGN about their plans for Deadpool here!

Deadpool and Death

In Deadpool's 'Dead' arc - written by Daniel Way and illustrated by Carlo Barberi and Ale Garza - now out in Hardcover, Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool: the Merc with a Mouth sets out to find the serum that can beat his super-charged healing factor - so he can die - and be reunited with the love of his life, the female embodiment of Death.

Deadpool's X-Force teammates, his sometime sidekick Hydra Bob, Wolverine's son Daken, The Kingpin, Typhoid Mary, The Hand and more are embroiled in possibly Wade's most messed-up scheme ever, as he tries to smoke out the one thing that'll offer him the sweet kiss of Death!

I'm gunning to work on Deadpool, and wanting to have a little fun in the build-up to 'Dead' whilst showcasing my Merc with a Mouth-writing skillz, I took an existing Deadpool/Death fantasy scene, removed the dialogue and broke it up/remixed it into short funnies with all-new words - to create my unofficial prequel to 'Dead.' For those that haven't caught it yet, you can check out my complete Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death here!

Deadpool #54 Review

So, thanks to Hydra Bob, Deadpool's succeeded in getting injected with the serum that's taken out his healing factor and he can now fulfill his wish to get offed. The complications: Bob got the serum from Tombstone (who had it made in order to kill Deadpool as payback for putting him in the slammer) by promising Tombey that he could be the one to kill Wade Wilson. Only, getting gunned down by a second-rater like Tombstone isn't the spectacular ending the ego-crazed Wade desires, he wants to go out in style--possibly by being destroyed by his team-mates X-Force after playing them and massively pissing them off.



'Fine.' Except, if Tombstone doesn't get to be the one who puts a bullet in Deadpool's head, he's gonna make damn sure he puts one in Bob's.

Wade got into his crazy scheme in the first place after his 'friends' temporarily killed him--briefly reuniting him with the love of his life, the female embodiment of Death--before his healing factor brought him back; Wade surmising that what his friends wanted for him was for him to be with Death, and deciding that this was what he wanted for himself now.



Only, that whole thing--? Kind of a subjective call. Those 'friends' are gone, the only one that wasn't party to it is the only one that's stuck around. Hydra Bob. Wade hadn't thought about anyone else, he hadn't considered what would happen to Bob if he carried out his plan. And he doesn't want his one true friend Bob to die...


*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

We hit the ground running in this concluding chapter of DEAD, as the bulletproof Tombstone comes gunning for Deadpool before Wade's had the chance to come up with a plan to save Hydra Bob's ass. Of course, if he really cares about Bob, he could just take the hit from Tombstone, but with Hydra Bob having shown Wade he does have a true friend, maybe Bob's actually given him something to live for. After all, this whole thing kicked off when Deadpool returned to Earth after saving a planet--to no kudos--looking for some love from his buddies and getting a barrage of gunfire from them instead.


So, now mortal and vulnerable and without a plan, Deadpool goes on the lam with Bob and Tombstone pursues--before being met with a 'temporary fix' that'll buy them some breathing space.

Bob's scared to the point of bordering on suicidal, and in a tense conversation with Wade, Deadpool's twisted mind kind of has a reboot. This was all a game to Wade--who saw the way he played his team-mates X-Force, Daken, Kingpin and co. off against each other as a grand game of Chess--his ultimate challenge--and attaining the lethal serum as the lynchpin of that. But getting it didn't turn out to be so tough for Wade, Bob did the work there, really--and now that Deadpool is mortal as a result of it, there's no challenge. Dying would be easy. And with Death a woman of VERY high demands, dying now wouldn't be worthy of her.



So Wade doesn't want to die now--but there's the small problem of both Tombstone and X-Force being out to kill him. So Deadpool and Bob are going to flee via Grand Central Station (one of the places X-Force have deemed to look for him at), so they need disguises...

But then, upon seeing his newly scar-free face in the mirror--a result of the serum--Deadpool realizes they don't need disguises--no-one now knows what either of them look like without their masks...



Despite this, tension holds as Wade and Bob hit Grand Central Station, only to be met by X-Force--and things don't look good for either of them.

I won't say exactly happens, but--*BIG SPOILER ALERT*--everything gets resolved and tied up in a neat little bow and Wade Wilson is now a blue-eyed pretty boy, complete with stylin' hair (that's come from nowhere) and comes out of DEAD mortal, and with a new lease on life.

Ale Garza's art isn't as strong here as it has been in previous issues--on occasion, I mistakenly thought there were two pencillers involved--and it would have been nice to have regular Deadpool artist Carlo Barberi back for the conclusion of the story he helped kick off--but Garza, inked by Sean Parsons, does a decent enough job.

In the writing, Daniel Way requires you to read between the lines and put things together in terms of the characters' motivations, which asks for a high degree of trust that he knows Wade inside out, given that they're certainly not the most logical or linear of motives.

We have a decent conclusion to the big arc here, though I would have liked to have seen some Deadpool on Death action (not in the biblical sense, that would be gross). If, like me, you find that amiss, you'll be able to find it in my unofficial Prequel to DEAD, Bootleg Deadpool hearts Death, here.



Way will be staying on board as Deadpool: the pretty boy years begins in issue #55, meanwhile, I'm continuing to work on showcasing my MwaM-writing skillz (for which Deadpool hearts Death was the last thing)--having fun along the way--should a vacancy come up at some point. ;)

And you can get a first look at my new thing here:



Meet Wade Wilson, Blind Al and Weasel parodies Wayne Winston, Nigel and Rodent--who will be making their debut in an upcoming Abnormals Special, taking on Grant Springford's little demon Nasty--dynamically illustrated by Sgt. Mike Battle's Graham Pearce.



Stay tuned ;)