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So, Deadpool, the Marvel comics character who I keep mentioning despite the fact that people who read this blog probably have no interest in comics (ah, but it's daily, there's the rub). Deadpool who now has possibly three ongoing (as in, not limited, running until they stop making money) series, and who is essentially a kind of fourth-wall breaking, wise-cracking mass murderer who brings an occasionally much needed dose of post-modern levity to comics that can often take themselves too seriously. There's gonna be a movie so I guess comics fandom has reached tipping point in that respect, but three series? The Daniel Way series is good, the Merc With A Mouth one is not, and the other one gave me, so far, a story by a writer I like featuring two characters I like which nevertheless... kinda sucked.
But even though the Daniel Way series is good, nothing in this Deadpool renaissance has matched up to Gail Simone's run or Joe Kelly's original run that made Deadpool the lunatic comic relief he is. And interestingly Kelly had been back working for Marvel recently putting far too much energy into writing Amazing Spider-Man. Far too much energy because while he shoots ideas off well enough his scripts have been like trying to follow a madcap, zany comedy where everyone's timings are just a split second off and none of the cast has any chemistry. In fact reading them reminded me a lot of watching the Hitchhiker's Guide movie in that way. I wanted to like him on Spider-Man, but... his issues so far have invariably had some moment that made me want to cover my face, and the "banter" comes off like irritating twonks trying to talk over each other.
That said...
His latest issue is a one off Spider-Man vs. Deadpool and it's absolutely astounding. Kelly, with fantastically loose art from Eric Canete, doesn't hit a duff note for once. The banter, the set-up, the action, the "yo mama"-off... nothing is a let down. It throws in references to DC stuff without being stupidly insulting, which I really like. And throughout it all Kelly's work serves the book too, setting up the upcoming big Spidey storylines excellently. I loved it so much, I wanted to blog about it.
Check out this ridiculous way of laying out the plot:
And this?
It's cheap, but "That's how I defenestrate" is the perfect example of a Joe Kelly line that would have sounded lame in some of his recent work, but here it actually made me laugh out loud it fit so well.Chumples? Not so sure about, but still.
To be honest it is kinda hit and miss, but Way's Deadpool is still making me laugh out loud at least a couple of times each issue. This one involves a scene in which Deadpool has secret plan that he has kept hidden even from one of the voices in his head (the comic has been admirably keeping solid with the set up that Deadpool has two other voices in his head that comment on most of his actions, making him a kind of one-man-three-way-buddie-team). And this:
By the way, for non-comic readers out there, you should remember who Deadpool is coz I think they're still going ahead with the Ryan Reynolds Deadpool Movie. Reynolds as Deadpool was awesome at the start of the Wolverine flick although, as every comic geek knows, they completely departed from the character at the end. They'll go back to the original take for the movie I would imagine, yet in the same way that there's never been a truly great Punisher movie, I can't imagine they'll ever make a Deadpool movie that's as bat-shit crazy as it should be. It'll probably just be a regular action movie with more wisecracking and jokes when it should be like Crank meets Spider-man with more killing.
I would imagine that there'll be a bit of muscle behind it as well, since Marvel is currently going with three monthly Deadpool titles, which is just a terrible idea. I love the character but there's no way he can support that kind of attention. This is good enough for me.
After issue number 12 of Daniel Way's Deadpool I thought they might be shutting it down. After all there's another Deadpool book on the stands now and it seemed an absurd enough way to wrap the series up. But NO! Oh joy unbounded, it continues!
And it's looking less and less like a tongue-in-cheek hero book, and more and more like a flat out comedy book. Man, it makes me remember when Evan Dorkin wrote Agent X... Sigh...
