Deadpool #4
Marvel Comics
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Chris Bachalo
I’ve been kind of losing interest in this series. The first issue intrigued me with its premise, with Deadpool as king of an island of monsters, how could it not? Sadly issues 2 and 3 started putting me off with a combination of meh writing and weak art. I was thinking of dropping this series once I’d seen the end of the first arc. That ending just came out and I’m happy to say it’s changed my mind.
This latest issue kicks off exactly where the third ended, so exact that it’s actually used as a joke. It’s a great way to immediately grab the reader’s attention as we see Wade continue to fly through the air towards Kraven the Hunter. Most of this issue is taken up by the fight between the two but it’s such a relief. The last two issues dragged on too much so it’s an utter joy to finally see some quality action. It is quality action too. A major complaint I’d had about the last 3 issues is that Bachalo seems to struggle to draw action scenes. His art style tends to make it difficult to understand what’s going on in them. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. It’s still a flaw present in this issue but it’s far less severe. I can’t say whether this is down to Bachalo improving or simply a happy accident but his work here is pretty solid and I’m almost disappointed that he doesn’t seem to be working on future issues of the series.
The writing is pretty awesome too. One of the things that tend to put some people off of modern Deadpool is the overuse of comedy. Deadpool is, of course, renowned for his sense of humour but some writers take it too far and ignore the emotional depth of the character in hopes of cramming in more jokes. In this issue, Kelly Thompson manages to avoid this trap and gives us one of the best representations of Deadpool I’ve seen in a long time. Through his exchanges with Kraven and the aftermath of their battle, we get some good glimpses at Wade’s human side. He’s an insecure yet caring man who hides his pain with humour and tries to do his best in life. A lot of people just see Wade as a fool because of this, Kraven represents that and here we get to see Wade prove that’s not the case. It’s brilliant.
Naturally, any book looking into Wade’s use of humour will have some comedy and this issue doesn’t disappoint. There’s plenty of jokes in this issue whether it’s a Star Wars reference or a dig at Captain America. One of the things I loved was the way onomatopoeia is used. Normally when you see sound effects used in comics it’s things like “BAMF”, KA-BLAM”, “BOOM”, etc but it’s different here. Thompson uses the onomatopoeia as if Deadpool himself is making them. Rather than a simple “SWISH” when Wade stabs Kraven we’ll see something like “STAB, STAB, STABBITY STAB STAB”. It’s something new but it totally fits with Wade as a character and it gave me a good laugh. I’d love to see more of this type of thing throughout the series.
Overall this issue was extremely impressive. I’d been losing faith in Thompson and her ability to write a good Deadpool but this issue renewed that faith. I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt based on this issue and keep collecting this series for now. I didn’t like issues 2 & 3 much but after reading this ending I think this arc was good overall. If you’re a new reader looking to get into Deadpool then I’d highly recommend snatching up these first 4 issues. Even just on the strength of this one, it’s well worth it.
Deadpool #4
This is a great issue. I'm surprised to be able to say that after the last 2 but it is. The story in it isn't anything amazing but it doesn't have to be since it's just a big fight. The art is way better than it has been in the past issues and there's some great character work done with Wade and Kraven here. It's definitely worth picking this one up.
-
Story
-
Character
-
Art