[David Finch's Variant Cover.]
As someone who's aspiring to work on
Deadpool, and who counts the Merc with a Mouth among his favorite characters, I used to give Wade Wilson a lot of airtime in my blog; but I was frustrated at not seeing the Deadpool I knew and loved - the character wasn't getting the depth, characterisation, and supporting cast that he did during the classic
Joe Kelly run; which is what got me really into Wade in the first place.
But then things changed with
Gerry Duggan and
Brian Posehn taking the reigns of the comic book, alongside the terrific representation of Deadpool - nailed by Ryan Reynolds - in the movies.
Posehn departed the comic series after a while, and Duggan developed a dark arc for the character: positioning
Madcap as his archenemy (Madcap's already screw-loose head being irrevocably damaged further while sharing headspace with Wade when they were temporarily fused together); and Deadpool going from hero to pariah when he acted on the orders of [the evil version of] Captain America, assasinating Agent Coulson; and going from having a pseudo family, with his true daughter as its lynchpin, to losing everything - and getting his memory of all of the above events voluntarily erased.
We then went back to 'business as usual' for Wade Wilson: Merc for hire, and it didn't do it for me.
Now, with Deadpool's new ongoing series, written by
Kelly Thompson and illustrated by
Chris Bachalo, Deadpool is getting a new direction with a new role - as King of the Monsters of Staten Island - promising
"some serious existential darkness between the jokes and violence," a new supporting cast, and the hope that the Deadpool I know and love will be getting a new lease of life.
Deadpool #1 opens with Wade being ripped in two by the current King of the Monsters - before we
flashback to the day before: Deadpool's Birthday, where we find Wade Wilson in a pretty sorry state... He's lounging around in his 'Super Secret Base'-turned 'Christmas Bar'/dump, wearing a Santa hat, surrounded by old takeways and other junk, with only a single, solitary Birthday card (from the dentists - reminding he's due a teeth-cleaning) and a kidnapped mailman for company.
Wade rejects a job offer call, before - perhaps due to the less than stellar time he's having, perhaps due to his conscience - deciding to take the gig: and ferries off to Staten Island where a gentleman by the name of
Blaylock briefs him on the job. Under the rule of a newfangled King of Monsters, the creatures of Monsteropolis are laying claim to Staten Island, and Deadpool is to put a stop to this by taking out the Monster King: which theoretically, without him to lead them, will cause the monsters to give up and go home.
Back to the present, where Deadpool is healing up while the Monster King's Lord Chamberlain
Bellus is encouraging Wade to 'get back on the horse' (Bellus likes neither the King nor Staten Island) - before Wade takes another hit, in the form of a boot in the face from hot British monster hunter
Elsa Bloodstone; seemingly just 'cos he's Deadpool. But from there, the two form an uneasy alliance to stop the Monster King - leading to Deadpool having the role of replacement King bestowed upon him by the monsters, and gaining a new sidekick in the form of
Jeff the baby Land Shark, when
Gwenpool drops her pet off with Wade to ensure he has a safe place in comics (in a nice bit of fourth-wall-breaking Gwenpool logic: she wants Jeff to have a home in a reliable series, whereas hers keep ending).
(right-click on images and 'open in new tab' to enlarge)
Kelly Thompson and Chris Bachalo's new status quo for the series is established, and they look to be a promising creative team. Beginning with Wade in an emotional hole's a good place to start; the gags, while not laugh-out-loud, are okay, and Thompson has his 'voice' down; though this is a certainly a more 'mature-readers'-leaning Deadpool than some takes on him, with a very similar feel to the expletive-firing Wade in the movies. The '£#$*'/censored out swearing is to the point of being gratuitous, and could do with being dialled down a bit - but that's a minor criticism of what is a strong take on the Merc with a Mouth from Thompson - and the writer's use of
Elsa Bloodstone's swearing is on point, nailing her British colloquialisms - while also establishing a good chemistry between she and Deadpool.
Art-wise, Chris Bachalo is a veteran whose quirky style works well with Wade - and
David Curiel's strong coloring suits it well, replete with stylish black, white & red flashback scenes; as does
Joe Sabino's lettering - my only criticism of the art being that the depiction of the dismemberments that take place can be unclear.
So, mild critisms only - I'm not sure how far the Deadpool-as-King-of-the-monsters arc will play, but I'm on board and looking forward to seeing where Thompson, Bachalo and crew go with it, and beyond.
