The last issue of Deadpool ended with Deadpool passed the hell out in a tank of water with more tubes running through his body than Lindsay Lohan during her third stint at detox. (Only by a few though, in Lindsay’s defense.)
Turns out the mean men at Weapon Plus have been capturing Deadpool over the years, stealing his organs, and pumping the poor guy full of all sorts of psychoactive drugs. (And not the “feel good” kind you hear your Uncle Cheech talking about at family shindigs, kids.)
As a result, the lines of reality and bat-shit insanity are even more ambiguous than usual for the Merc with a Mouth: Can Deadpool break free from his captors? What do they want with his precious innards? And how do Wolverine and Captain America figure into the whole thing? Is it good?
Deadpool #16 (Marvel Comics)
Remember the days when Deadpool wasn’t just an inept lunatic? When he could subsist for more than a few panels without breaking into some debilitating hallucination or trance-like inner monologue that would make his chances of winning the fight slim to none for comedy’s sake?
Adventures in Poor Taste remembers. Apparently, so do Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan. For those who originally wrote the writing duo off as “some schmoe who wrote some Simpsons comics and that stand-up comedian who… wait, why the hell is he writing a comic book again?” that’s a good thing, because Deadpool #16 definitely shows that the two aren’t a pair of one trick ponies.
That is, the second installment of “The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly” story arc has some serious gravitas. Our boy Wade Wilson hasn’t been this brutal in a long time. Faces are stabbed. Blood gets spewed. Limbs get mangled. You think it’s scary when that big green guy gets angry? Well what about when Mr. Jokey joke-maker gets all heated?
“Don’t… wake… Daddy.”
Just wait until you see what Deadpool uses for a silencer. And how he dispatches of some of the guards. Not for the weak-stomached.
Declan Shalvey’s art is magnificent. His pencil strokes are thick and sexy, his details razor-sharp, and his backdrops haunting, ethereal, and atmospheric. His talent is evident in every raw sinew that swells from beneath Wade’s boiled flesh; in the dynamic choreography of each ruthless fight scene; in the anguish or hatred evoked in every facial expression. The dude’s quickly becoming one of my favorite artists: His work reminds me of a more refined John Romita Jr., only far less distorted and caricaturish and with a style that is very much his own.
9.0
- Story arc that’s compelling and feels important.
- Beautiful art by Shalvey.
- Deadpool ain’t nothin’ to f*ck with.
- They keep saying they cured Deadpool’s cancer? I thought it merged with his healing factor?
Is It Good?
Sick of hearing how Joe Kelly was the definitive Deadpool writer because he balanced the Regeneratin’ Degenerate with commensurate degrees of comicality and serious ass-whuppin’ ability?
Nab this issue now.
It rekindles fond memories of Deadpool’s run in with former tormentor Dr. Killebrew from Joe Kelly’s run and it’s a welcome change of pace to see Deadpool in situations again where the stakes are high and where he needs more than just his flapping gums and pissing into the wind demeanor to get himself out.
This feels like the first real story arc by Duggan and Posehn that holds some true gravitas, as it delves into Deadpool’s dirty past and features enemies that possibly know him better than he knows himself. Looking forward to the next three installments.
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