Deadpool #2

Marvel Comics

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Chris Bachalo

Deadpool: King of the monsters! It’s catchy, right? Shame Godzilla beat him to that title. It’d have been great for a series like this. Still, issue two of Kelly Thompson’s new Deadpool series has just released and it’s given me some mixed thoughts.

At the start of this issue, we see Deadpool trying to attend to his royal duties by advertising Staten island to the public. It’s interesting since Wade seems to be doing his best for this island of monsters but most of the jokes have been done before. At the same time, we see Elsa Bloodstone discussing Wade’s situation with an employer while Captain America makes an appearance on the island. The Cap/Deadpool scenes are the highlight of this issue. I don’t want to get too into spoilers beyond what was in previews and the obvious stuff you can figure out from the last issue but these scenes were Wade at his best. The only downside to them is one obvious joke recycled from the Marvel films. After this we see Kraven show up after his appearance the last issue. He’s not bad in this issue but I’d hoped that Kraven would’ve had more of an impact on the story.

Chris Bachalo is still good on the artwork for this issue. I’m finding that the art quality still drops during action scenes so I’m a little worried about the series going forward. Deadpool books naturally feature a lot of action so if Bachalo continues like this it could become a major issue. Hopefully that won’t be the case since I really enjoy his art during the calmer parts of the story.

 I think the major problem with this issue was just the humour. Most of it just seemed to be lazy internet memes and movie references. I prefer Wade to have a more organic sense of humour so the jokes here just didn’t appeal to me. Part of this might be down to age though. Humour is subjective and I know plenty of younger people who this kind of comedy would appeal to. Thompson seems to be writing this series to be easily accessible for newer, younger Deadpool fans and if that’s her target audience then she’s doing a good job. It just means that if you’re an older fan or just aren’t a fan of this kind of humour then this book may not be for you.

Overall issue two was a decent read. The artwork during action scenes and busier panels needs improvement. Hopefully it will become better as the series goes on since I enjoy Bachalo’s cartoonish, blocky character designs. The story is still very interesting. Thompson has legitimately got me curious about where she’s going to take these characters and the monster island situation. The fact that she’s managed that in just two issues is impressive and might be enough to keep my interest even if the humour seems aimed at a younger audience. Despite its flaws I still recommend picking this issue up. The interactions between Captain America and Deadpool alone are worth the price of the issue.