Welcome back to the Marvel Rundown! This week, we take a look at Deadpool #1, the latest ongoing for the marvelous mercenary himself. This review is SPOILER-LITE, so feel free to jump on down to the Rapid Rundown for quick blurbs on Avengers #12, Immortal Thor #9, Sensational She-Hulk #7, and X-Men #33!
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Deadpool #1
Writer: Cody Ziglar
Artist: Rogê Ântonio
Color Artist: GURU-eFX
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Taurin Clarke
The Merc with a Mouth is back… this time with extra sad!
This is a far more serious Deadpool than it we’ve seen lately, likely owing to his (off-page) breakup with his paramour from the previous volume. I can’t say I’ve ever been the biggest fan of a quip-heavy Wade, so this works for me, but I’m interested to see the reaction from more devoted Deadpool diehards.
In any case, this is a great launch for this newest volume. Cody Ziglar has been killing it in Miles Morales: Spider-Man, and he brings that same energy (and manga references) to this book. Juggling plot points left over from past writers can be difficult, with some writers choosing to completely ignore them and carve out their own narrative entirely from scratch. Ziglar, thankfully, does not do this, opting to keep pieces from Alyssa Wong’s recently wrapped Deadpool series and bringing back Wade’s daughter Ellie, while also introducing Death Grip, a brand new ‘archnemesis.’ In a shared universe like the 616, I always appreciate writers at least trying to wrangle everything together without dropping plot points (though it goes without saying some always fall through the cracks).
Rogê Ântonio is a great fit for this title, juggling excessive gore and smaller moments with ease. The action here is fluid and dynamic, with poses that are truly iconic scattered throughout the book. While it definitely has something to do with Princess (Wade’s symbiote dog-daughter, don’t worry about it), the movement throughout flows from panel to panel, in a way that feels like liquid, bending and twisting in gruesome ways that are perfect for Deadpool.
Guru-eFX’s colors only help with this, using a dark red for both Deadpool and blood that you can clearly read as being slick on every page of the issue. These colors give fight scenes this grimy tactileness, making them even more violent to look at. Joe Sabino makes this an easy read, deftly placing text in a clear order across incredibly chaotic fight scenes.
Though I enjoyed this book, it’s interesting to point out that this is Deadpool’s fourth ongoing title in five years. Whether that’s due to sales or a changing marketplace is beyond me, but it’s strange to me that a mega popular character starring in their third movie has bounced between titles for so long (see Ms. Marvel for another interesting example of this).
In any case, Ziglar and Ântonio seem well equipped to handle this series, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes next, with the hope that this can go the distance.
Verdict: BUY
Rapid Rundown!
- The Avengers #12
- Every once in a while team-up books are called upon for the dreaded tie-in chapter to a line-wide event. This is one such tie-in chapter, but it couldn’t have come sooner as The Avengers just wrapped up their second arc in anticipation of this, the Fall of the House of X. This confluence of narrative threads could prove damning for readers failing to keep lockstep with all the titles involved outside of The Avengers. Helping us navigate these event tie-in waters is Jed MacKay who pens a tale of unstoppable force and penetrable defense as the Avengers take the anti-mutant hate group, Orchis, down laterally. After months of 1v1 matches with Avenger squaring up against yet another evil Avengers foil, the ultra violence leads to liberation instead of posturing for once. That’s great! An Avengers book is a tall task for any artist: there’s multiple characters per panel, huge new diverse environments page after page, and these prerequisites can often limit the storytelling to wide shots with head-and-shoulders conversations and the occasional splash where all 30 characters barely register. The Avengers is a tall task for any artist, but not for Francesco Mortarino. With color artist Federico Blee painting multiple stages of shading and highlight, the compositional focus could very easily tip chaotically into a visual mess, but thanks to Mortarino’s tight multi-character compositions, the result is a breezy, exhilarating ride. One ride that wouldn’t sing the way it does without VC’s Cory Petit finding excellent ways to stack balloons atop and across one another into a visual hierarchy that doesn’t sacrifice aesthetic nor function. For me, Avengers #12 is the rare tie-in that reminds me of just how fine Marvel’s Finest truly are. — BQ
- The Immortal Thor #9
- How many ways are there to say that Al Ewing is one of the best writers in all of comics? His ability to imbue the Marvel universe with mythic grandeur is constantly awe-inspiring. Immortal Thor combines the cosmic odyssey of Ewing’s Defenders and the deep character focus of Immortal Hulk into something altogether unique. Ewing’s use of Darrio Agger, a cackling caricature of capitalism, has cemented the character as one most important villains of the last decade. By aiming the god of thunder at the head of corporate exploitation of the planet, the script combines timeless myth and timely social commentary. I was not wowed by artist Ibraim Roberson’s art in the last issue, but here he shines with inventive action and panel layouts. Matt Wilson’s colors and Joe Sabino’s letters add a flash of pop art flair that evokes the Silver Age roots of the character even within the grounded scenery of Roxxon boardrooms. Can anyone argue this isn’t the best Marvel comic right now? —TR
- Sensational She-Hulk #7
- Jennifer Walters aka the She-Hulk remains one of Marvel’s best characters because she’s the polar opposite of her cousin. Where Bruce Banner’s super power ruin his life, Walters’ only makes her way more fun and occasionally absurd. She’s the rare superhero whose superhero exploits only get better when they intermingle with her personal life. Rainbow Rowell and her various artistic collaborators quietly made She-Hulk one of the best Marvel books doing just that. Rowell writes a book in such an effortlessly fun way but it’s fun with grounded emotional stakes. Jen has weird superhuman clients at her law firm, she gets to punch things, and occasionally worries about her friends and love life. Case this issue. Jen and her current beau Jack of Hearts, while on vacation in space, run into Ganymede an ex-flame of his. The couple debate what this means and Jen tries to leave to no success. Flying cars can apparently get speeding tickets in space. Then Ganymede gets hired by a former enemy of Jen’s and the two fight. It’s a funny issue with Rowell tying Jen and Jack’s relationship drama with the comedy of Ganymede getting hired by clearly a space hilariously scuzzy space warlord. Jen wanders around a space casino in the back half of the issue just wanting to eat chicken tenders. It’s fun and funny stuff.Rowell also makes Jen and Jack’s relationship drama believable. She’s spent the last six issues with the characters figuring out this relationship with each other. Sometimes it’s in ways where they deal with personal baggage and sometimes it’s because Jack absorbs radiation and Jen’s powers come from radiation. Ig Guara meanwhile handles all of the things Rowell’s script throws at them with gusto. He gets to draw funky aliens, and a space resort, and characters in all kinds of formal wear (or the occasional comfy clothes). But Guara’s real strength in this issue is getting the emotional moments. He’s really good with the body language and composing the page around that. Sensational She-Hulk really is a book that is both about the super and the human. —DM
- X-Men #33
- Fall of the House of X continues with this latest installment centering on the mutant vs. human war and how the Shaws factor in. Joshua Cassara’s excessively heavy inking undermines Marte Garcia’s amazing coloring abilities. It’s hard for the art to truly shine. Gerry Dugan largely falls flat in his scripting here, though the pacing is engaging and admirably constructed. There’s also some strange choices in the background details: why is Sebastian Shaw getting dressed by two lithe women while a muscly man dresses Shinobi? Why does Callisto pulling out a knife get a “POP” sound effect? You do start to wonder what the production schedule was here. After all, the entire event feels rushed. While I have no doubt everyone did the best they could, I wish they’d had more time to polish this.—LI
Next week: The rip-roaring return of the master of magentism in Resurrection of Magneto #4!
I’m not a “devoted Deadpool diehard” like you asked for in your review but the best Deadpool writers are the ones who recognize that, at heart, Deadpool is lonely, depressed, and somewhat suicidal (also, he loves kids and kids love him). His quipping to hide the pain and his need for validation and acceptance (e.g. his excitement when getting to join any X-Men or Avengers teams) are pretty key to making him more than a one-note character. Both Daniel Way and Gerry Duggan were terrific at adding on this extra layer of characterization that many others miss. I went into this new series with middling expectations but found that Zigler seems to “get it”. I hope it keeps up.
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