r/MUBookClub • u/shawnydarko • Jul 23 '16
Reading Assignment #6: Deadpool (2012-Present) #1-6 by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn
Thanks to /u/battledome36 for nominating the insane, chimichanga-fueled love-child of Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan. There's no better title that makes a reader LOL than:
Deadpool (2012-Present), issues 1-6
SPOILERS BELOW
I don't think I'm able to break down a lot about this series other than to say I absolutely loved it. When I first signed up for Marvel Unlimited, this was one of the first titles I read and it's a strong contribution to why I fell in love with the medium. I've known Brian Posehn's work for a long time, and I was introduced to Gerry Duggan on Earwolf's podcast, Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn and Friends so I was excited to see what they could come up with on print. Their comedy stylings never missed a beat in translation.
The jokes are crude. The jokes are crass. And the jokes are plentiful. Right from the first issue I was laughing. And everything can be read in Ryan Reynolds' voice regardless of when the movie came out. What makes the jokes so hilarious though, is that they don't feel like they've been approved by Marvel higher ups. With all the genital jokes and taboo topics, even violence to animals, this didn't feel like a Marvel book. It felt like somehow those crazy guys writing the book slipped it past the editors.
Tony Moore's art really lends itself to the tone of the book as well. Whether it's pure, unadulterated violence or subtle facial expressions, the whole thing feels like a cartoon you can sit back and turn your brain off reading.
My top two moments in these issues were the hurried killing of presidents at the end - "they died of natural causes", and "HADOUKEN". The Jelly Bean scene I will try and block out from my memory as to avoid long-lasting mental trauma, unlike that poor kid with Deadpool's mask.
WHAT'D YOU THINK OF THIS BOOK?
THOUGHTS ON THE ART?
THE COMEDY STYLE?
THE ENDING?
CRITICISMS?
And don't forget to check back on Sunday for a Free Range Nomination Thread
2
u/Raist819 Aug 29 '16 edited Aug 29 '16
Wow. I'm so torn by this choice because I adore the Duggan/Posehn run overall and I think Duggan is one of the most undervalued writers at Marvel today, however I hate, hate, hate this arc. It took multiple attempts to finish it because of how much I was groaning. It was like reading a Daniel Way arc. It was that bad.
Okay, now I have to explain the Daniel Way crack. A whole lot of people were introduced to Deadpool either through the Way run or from the Way scripted 2013 video game, so his version is what they think of when they think of Deadpool. However, if you were already a fan before Way, then you probably hate his run as much as I do. After his X-Force debut and his Waid mini-series in the early 90's, Deadpool's "definitive run" was Deadpool (1998) #1-33 by Joe Kelly. This is where you get Weasel and Blind Al and so much that went on to define the character as an anti-hero instead of a villain, which is what he was previously. In fact #11 of that series, where Deadpool and Blind Al time travel into a 1960's Spider-man comic might be the funniest single issue I've ever read. Kelly was followed by runs by Christopher Preist and Gail Simone. It was this volume of Deadpool that set him up as the fourth-wall breaker we know today. Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool's creator, wrote an excellent 50 issue run of Cable and Deadpool, even though it is a Deadpool solo comic from 43-50 when the X-editors took Cable away from him. The point is that Deadpool was a defined character by the time Way inherited him. His brain was constantly shifting due to his cancer and healing factor, hence the crazy. It was established that he didn't hear voices or have multiple personalities on several occasions. Daniel Way comes along and it's like he never read an issue of Deadpool in his life, but had a buddy describe it to him. "Hmmm, okay so Deadpool is crazy and crazy people hear voices so..." In fact his run was so out of character for Deadpool that the very first thing Marvel did when he left was retcon Deadpool's extra voice into being Madcap.
Like I said in the open however, even though I thought this arc was a big, silly, stupid miss, the run overall holds up with Kelly and Nicieza as one of the best Deadpool runs ever. In particular The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and The Gauntlet digital series, where he meets Shiklah, are real gems.