The Super Awesome Geek Show

I'm on the brand new episode of The Super Awesome Geek Show, talking the in-the-works 3rd Almighties comic and the team's new team member, the Deadpool-parodying Wayne Winston - as well the Free Comic Book Day Digital Geek-Girl comic, forthcoming new Geek-Girl Mini-Series and more!

Check it out here! :)

The Almighties amass!

[UPDATED 11/2/15:]

MAXI-TRON! MASON! MS. F! NITE FANG! and...uh...Stefanos are THE ALMIGHTIES!

"Get your coat, Evil - you're ^%£*ed!"

The acclaimed comedy super-team created by myself and Mike Gagnon are amassing again on November 4 with The Almighties #0 Wayne Winston Variant and a 2nd printing of The Almighties #1 - with a new cover parodying the infamous 'Batman slaps Robin' panel/meme.

You can download the Almighties' Free Digital Preview Comic at Drive-Thru Comics here, or read it online at ISSUU here!

And for more on The Almighties, check out www.almightiesamass.com !

Snake Oil Comics podcast

You can listen to me talking about my Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman and The Almighties - along with Jonathan Hickman's Avengers and Grant Morrison on the latest episode of the Snake Oil Comics podcast here!

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...

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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... ;)

First Almighties #0 Teaser - meet the Deadpool-parodyin' Wayne Winston!

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A message from the Future! About Deadpool! For YOU!

Following the success of Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan's run on Deadpool, in which S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Preston's consciousness was trapped in Wade Wilson's mind - in 2016 the powers that be thought it'd be a smart move to give another comedic writer, Tyler Perry, the chance to work his magic on the Merc with a Mouth.

It wasn't.

After years of raising my profile with my comics Geek-Girl, Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman, and The Almighties - showcasing that I had the skillz to give good MwaM - poised to make my pitch, my dreams were snatched away from me and then shattered in a mess of mixed metaphors when Perry did a switcheroo with Deadpool and Preston.

The writer/director/actor put Deadpool in the body of a generously-proportioned black lady and leave the mercenary game to 'devote more time to tacos' - and descended the Merc with a Mouth into sitcom Hell - taking his sales with him.

The book got canned before I ever got my shot at writing my beloved Merc with a Mouth.

Dream over?...

...Not on my watch, Poindexter!. I determined to travel back in time to the point where Deadpool was at his most accessible in a bid to get so many new readers to jump on Deadpool books that the numbers would be stronger than even Perry's woman-shaped-ham-fistedness could dismantle.

That time is 1.15.14 - which I'm calling Day of the Deadpool; when Night of the Living Deadpool #1 hits, Ghost Rider joins the Merc's team in the All-New Marvel NOW! jump-on issue of Thunderbolts, and the first part of Wade's Digital Comic Deadpool: The Gauntlet comes out in print for FREE at your local comic shop!

Whether you're a hardcore Deadhead or have never read a Deadpool comic in your life, I'm inviting you to check out Previews of all of these comics below and join the Day of the Deadpool Facebook Event; invite your friends whom you think might dig the Merc with a Mouth, and go get yer funnybooks and be at the page on 1.15.14 for more Deadpool nonsense including my Deadpool-parodying future-member-of-The-Almighties Wayne Winston - and just maybe some tidbits about Deadpool's looming marriage!

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

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

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

Join the Day of the Deadpool Facebook Event here! :)

The Almighties #0 Preview: Meet Wayne Winston!

[UPDATED 2/25/14:]

My Deadpool-parodyin' character Wayne Winston will be joining my comedic super-team The Almighties, making his debut late 2014 in The Almighties #0, and you can check out a Preview of that here!:

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

And you can get a bigger Preview of The Almighties #0 in free Digital comic Almighties Origins here!

Deadpool: 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' Part 1

*Contains Spoilers*

As anyone who regularly reads my blog will know, Deadpool is a character that fascinates me; a mixed-up mess of light and dark, the Merc with a Mouth wisecracks pop culture references with the same vigour as he shoots bullets, hacks with blades, and regenerates his own body parts from the near-constant battering/dismembering they take.

Wade Wilson's character and history are rich with mystery and contradictions; he 'volunteered' (even that is ambiguous) for Weapon X (the clandestine program that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton) in order to cure his cancer; but it didn't go entirely smoothly. The experiment left the already-mentally unstable Wade a physically-ravaged fruit-loop, and the program washed him out.

This is illustrated bleakly by Deadpool's new artist Declan Shalvey in Deadpool #15, the first part of the 5-part 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'--a story which sees Deadpool out to take on a mysterious outfit headed by a figure known as 'Butler', who--it turns out, for years--have been knocking him out and harvesting his regenerating organs.

This was preluded in Deadpool #14, but the feel of the art here is very different from Scott Koblish & Val Staples' colorful work there. As promised, Marvel NOW! Deadpool writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan's run on Deadpool has been getting darker--and things go a fair bit further down that deep hole in Deadpool #15.

If one side of Deadpool is the cartoony, gag-spewing 'Bugs Bunny' part, this arc is clearly going to be visiting his more disturbed & disturbing side. In this first chapter alone, Wade cuts a hole in his own disfigured leg to implant a mysterious chip there; takes up temporary residence at a murder scene (revealed here to be a regular activity); and loses himself in action movie-type fantasy--belying that Deadpool is out of his depth against his unseen new foe. Throughout the issue, while Wade's humor is there, it plays second fiddle to something seldom seen from the seemingly unkillable Merc with a Mouth; fear.

As someone who has been a huge fan of Deadpool for a long time, I've followed him through the various takes on the Merc with a Mouth, hungry to get deeper into his mind. There are big questions unanswered about Wade Wilson; and while retaining some mystery is important to the character's appeal, it's an area I want to touch on if I land the opportunity to pitch for Deadpool myself at some point. My pitch is already written and waiting for when I'm hopefully high enough profile to make one. It's now made malleable by 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,' and I'm intrigued to see what impact the arc will have on my own ideas.

Meanwhile, I haven't forgotten that Wade's 'lighter' (albeit unhinged) side is also one of the reasons we love him, and that's something I'm gonna be spoofing when my Deadpool-parodying character Wayne Winston joins my Marvel-spoofing super-team The Almighties. How do you parody a character as crazy and comedic as Deadpool? The answer isn't what you'd expect... That's a ways off, though; Deadpool #15 is out now, and you can check out a Preview here!

Interview with Make Mine Marvel

I recently did a live interview with Make Mine Marvel Facebook Group and some of their members. Here's the edited version... ;)

Shaun Chillz Murdock (Make Mine Marvel): Seems odd saying Welcome Sam, as ya such a familiar face to us all. But welcome on and thanks for taking time to chat with us!!!

Josh Miller (Make Mine Marvel): Howdy, Sam my man.

Shaun Chillz Murdock: So Sam what was it about comics that made you want to be a comic writer?

Sam Johnson: I was into comics as a kid, then as many do, left 'em at some point in my teen years... What Rob Liefeld was bringing to New Mutants caught my eye one day; and this was around the time I was deciding what I wanted to do, which was always gonna be writing-based...

Some Image studios ran Talent Search contests when I was back into comics, I entered them and decided this is what I wanna do.

Josh Miller: So you are clearly a Dead pool fan, what about that character draws you to him?

Sam Johnson: He's nuts, he's funny, dark, has depth, works in a grey area. What other supertype has voices in their head? COME ON! And it's 'Deadpool,' Josh, come on, let's get it right.

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM:) Ignore Josh, he's still trying to figure out how to use a touch screen phone lol

Josh Miller (MMM): it separates the words on its own!!

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM): Speaking of Deadpool, I heard you had some scripts for the Deadpool Team-Up series??? Can ya tell us about that??

Josh Miller (MMM): I know you love dead pool, is there any other character you have submitted work for?

Sam Johnson: I haven't submitted anything for Wade, I have a pitch written and I'm waiting for the right time to hopefully happen. I'd need to be much higher profile than I currently am to be a realistic consideration, but I've got series in the works, which is what I need to have to achieve that (as opposed to stuff in anthologies and one-shots, which is what I've had so far).

Jake Zimmanck: What up home boy...my usual question, you like Batman???

Sam Johnson: I quite like Batman, Jake, but I've never connected with DC the way I do with Marvel--except with Doom Patrol. Grant Morrison's weirdness on Doom Patrol is my biggest inspiration, that affects most of my creations to varying levels; the biggest one being the series I'm currently trying out an artist for. Peter David and Bendy [Brian Michael Bendis] are also influences on that.

Jake Zimmanck: Is it Deadpool being as crazy as you that drew you to him??

Sam Johnson: Lol, Jake, there's some similarity but not too much, I hope.

Tara Palin: I have a question, what do you expect from, if ever it happens, the Deadpool film?

Sam Johnson: If they go with this script they keep on about, I expect great things. Whether Ryan Reynolds' opening for his new movie is gonna be another spanner in the works with it, though, I don't know...

Dionisis Tavakis: I think with the right script Ryan Reynolds is perfect for the role.

Sam Johnson: I'm down with that, and I dig his enthusiasm for the character.

Jake Zimmanck: Ugh, why am the only one that hates Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool?

Tara Palin: I love Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool but he needs the costume. Deadpool is not a looker so I can't take him seriously.

Sam Johnson: No, well if they go with what Reynolds has been saying, it'll be the Wade we know and love, scars an' all.

Shaun Chillz Murdock(MMM): Better be!!!! The [X-Men] Origins [Wolverine] nonsense was a joke.

Sam Johnson: I think pretty much everyone feels that, Shaun, I'm sure Reynolds included.

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM): I know cause I'm cool lol, but tell us a bit about your own stuff!! Loved Almighties by the way. Classic humour very much suited for the merc with a mouth (you listening Marvel!!!!)

Sam Johnson: The Almighties was a lot of fun and we're working on two new Almighties one-shots, and speaking of Deadpool, one of these will see the introduction of my DP-parodying character Wayne Winston.

Tara Palin: I like Geek-Girl, it [the mini-series] will be worth the wait. When you created her, who or what was you inspiration, because she is pretty fit?

Sam Johnson: Yes, she is pretty fit, Tara. GG was one of a bunch of ideas of mine for an Image 'Who Wants to Create a Super-heroine' contest, I think it was as simple as thinking up concepts for that.

Josh Miller (MMM): Have you got any feedback from writers and artists about your work?

Sam Johnson: Yeah, Mike Carey dug Geek-Girl, Troy Hickman dug The Almighties... I'm a bit of a reviews whore, so it's generally more reviews than feedback, as such, Josh. The Almighties went down very well.

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM): Mike is great!!! Looking forward to picking up his novels. And that's good to hear, man.

Josh Miller (MmM): When will we see more of your work?!?

Sam Johnson: Almighties Origins should be the next thing, it may just be a little free download but it'll also set up the new Almighties #1. Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman has her own mini-series in the works, having appeared in a bunch of anthologies. If you're not familiar with her, you can read her debut free here.

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM): Any idea on [Almighties Origins'] release date? Any plans to parody any other characters?

Sam Johnson: Late 2013. The new Almighties #1 will actually be moving on from 'parody' to 'comedy', though. The main reason Diamond didn't go for the first one is that parody books are a tough market, and I want the new #1 in Previews and in comic shops.

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM): You still reading comics?? What's your favorite run at the moment?

Sam Johnson: Deadpool. I didn't care for the Dead Presidents arc, but since #7, writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan have found their 'Pool-voice, and Mike Hawthorne was a good addition to the art crew. Also, Thunderbolts. I've been impressed with both of new writer Charles Soule's issues so far!

Shaun Chillz Murdock (MMM): Agreed, same here, man!! Dead Presidents was ok. Been great chatting with ya. Ya know ya always welcome sharing any links etc here. Always grateful for the news on your Marvel NOW! [Facebook] page.

Sam Johnson: Cheers. Thanks for having me and to everyone for stopping by.

Josh Miller (MMM): I enjoyed the dead presidents lol but have a good one, Sam.

Sam Johnson: Cheers. Peace, out!

Jake Zimmanck: Thanks again, Sambo, you're the man, I appreciate all of your promo skillz. Much love, bro.

Deadpool Preview 2013

[UPDATED 3/7/13:]

What with the Dead Presidents arc being a 6-parter, there hasn't been anything fresh to get excited about around the Merc with a Mouth for awhile. Well, here's the beginning of something new; one of the series of Marvel teasers for books that are getting a new artist for their second arc. Although this teaser is illustrated by Arthur Adams(!?), judging by new Deadpool artist Mike Hawthorne's previous work for indie titles such as Queen & Country and Fear Agent, as well as DC's Un-Men, it looks as though he could be a good fit for the darker turn writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan have hinted Deadpool will be taking.

New to Marvel, the artist has also worked on G.I. Joe and Conan, so should be a dab hand at continuing the balls-to-the-wall OTT action current artist Tony Moore (who'll be back) is delivering, too...

(Mike Hawthorne Deadpool artwork)

During an interview with Comic Book Resources, Marvel Editor in Chief Axel Alonso has been hinting at what's coming up for the Merc with a Mouth in his team book, Thunderbolts, and Deadpool co-writer Gerry Duggan's also been talking up what's in store for Wade Wilson in Deadpool, when Hawthorne comes onboard, with both Marvel.com and Comicbook Alliance...

Ladies first...

"Writer Daniel Way is building some fascinating subplots [in Thunderbolts], and the budding romance--if that's the right word--between the Punisher and Elektra is just one aspect of that. This is a very volatile team, filled with deep fissures and unexpected bonds. Does [team leader] General Ross have a contingency plan for the Punisher if he steps out of line? Can Venom abide the methods of his teammates? And Deadpool--readers are going to look at him in a whole new light. Let's just say, Wade isn't going to like Frank and Elektra's relationship at all." Axel Alonso.

Over in the main Deadpool book, 'Dead Presidents' reaches its climax in issue #6, and co-writer Gerry Duggan has been chatting about what's heading our way with Deadpool #7 onwards...

"Deadpool leaves the first arc... changed," says Duggan--and issue #7, a flashback issue guest-starring Iron Man, "introduces us to a new villain, and makes him an old one at the same time. The idea for a comic that was written and drawn back in the day but not printed until now came from editor Jordan D. White, and we were thrilled with it. We’ll probably use this one-shot issue format between larger arcs moving forward. It’s fun, it’s different, and it allows the regular artists to have a one issue cushion to spend more time on their pages; but the primary reason to do it is that it’s fun."

Duggan says that Deadpool #8 will contain the beginning of a mystery that forms the basis for the story at the end of his & Posehn's first year--which will feature some big guest-stars. The issue sees a demon introduced in Deadpool #7 approaching Wade Wilson in the belief that, following the events of #7, he has some leverage over the Merc with a Mouth...

Further down the road, Deadpool #10 "will have the biggest star of the Marvel Universe," Duggan continues; "and then the third arc is titled 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'; a fun story that will leave some ripples in the Marvel Universe pond..."

Coincidentally, my Deadpool-parody character Wayne Winston will make his debut going up against a demon--Grant Springford's Nasty; but more on that another time...