It has been quite a while since we here at ScienceFiction.com talked about everyone’s favorite assassin, the Merc with a Mouth, the mutant known as Deadpool. And since ‘Deadpool’ #6, which happens to be the last time that I reviewed this book, Wade Wilson has defeated the resurrected undead Presidents of the United States, acquired the consciousness of Agent Preston in his mind, and outsmarted a demon who held a grudge after our hero didn’t take care of Iron Man like he was supposed to. Well, technically he did, but that demon wasn’t satisfied with the results.
Anyway, now Deadpool is ready to team up with the Heroes For Hire, Power Man and Iron Fist, in another adventure from “back in the day” where we see the team take on a pimp named The White Man. (Yup, the choice of name confused the hell out of me too.) Similar to issue seven where the tale was told and drawn in a very vintage manner, this book is probably going to set the stage for the next arc in Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan’s Marvel NOW series.
First of all, this issue is straight up ridiculous. But then again, when it comes to a Deadpool book, that’s probably a good thing. And the majority of that came about because of what the heroes were wearing. For starters, I don’t even need to go into detail about Luke Cage’s tiara. Next, the afro over Deadpool’s mask is pretty hilarious. And finally, when Iron Fist and Power Man are trying to go undercover at the bodega, Danny Rand is still wearing his Iron Fist get up. Little details like that are scattered all over the issue and with each new discovery comes chuckles and head shaking.
But despite the initial reaction to the campiness of the issue, artist Scott Koblish’s work in this issue is amazing. Combined with Posehn and Duggan’s script, it’s one awesome visual gag after the other. A prime example is the sex scene between Deadpool and Carmelita. I looked over that series of images quite a few times before turning the page because I was too busy laughing. Sure, call me immature if you want, but that page was awesome.
Another shining star in this issue is colorist Val Staples. While I’m not sure if he’s responsible for the aged look of the pages and the stains on the edges of the comic, which is a great touch, he definitely is behind the crazy good color job that makes this modern comic look like something Marvel would have put out in the 1970s. It’s really cool to see these old school methods utilized in the comics of today every once in a while to remind us how far we’ve come.
Overall, ‘Deadpool’ is still as wild and crazy as ever. Though he’s not re-killing dead presidents anymore, he is teaming up with some great heroes and the gags haven’t gotten old yet. After all the seriousness of books like ‘Avengers’, ‘Thanos Rising’, and ‘Indestructible Hulk’, it’s nice to have a book on your pull list with the purpose to consistently make you laugh.
Final Score:
DEADPOOL #13
Written by GERRY DUGGAN & BRIAN POSEHN
Art by STEVE KOBLISH & VAL STAPLES
