New Beginnings - Return of the Living Deadpool #1

by Matt Puddy

Some time ago you may remember that last year I reviewed Night of the Living Deadpool by Cullen Bunn. Now in true Romero-esque fashion we have the follow up - Return of the Living Deadpool.

For those who didn’t read NotLD, the very quick and basic premise was that over the course of four issues Wade Wilson found out that everywhere had been infected and people were turning into brain hungry zombies. Fighting his way through them all and trying to help people could only go so far, until he found there was a cure. The way to administer the cure though was to infect himself and then allow the surrounding zombies to rip him to shreds and eat him thus saving the world in his own bizarre way.

So where can Bunn and Virella go with this then? Considering how things were left I have to admit that even I wondered, so reading this first issue was with some trepidation.

Carrying on the artistic theme of having a greyscale story with the only colour being Deadpool, the story opens with a young woman called Liz scavenging. A few years have passed since the original outbreak so lore and stories have spread, both good and bad. So when Liz comes across a ‘pool her reaction is not the expected. She tries to decapitate him and is equally shocked when the amnesiac ‘pool doesn’t try to kill her and surrenders. Dressed in nothing more than his trademark red along with his inane and random commentary on the world the pair head off to safety from the night's visitors.

All is still not what it seems though. Along the way elements of Deadpool’s memory are slowly coming back along with his deadly skill and penchant for quips and violence towards zombies amongst other things. This is cut short when they run across a new band of people. A very familiar group as well. They’re all Deadpool variants! The main difference being they don’t seem to have the humour but very definitely have the blood lust. For the problem isn’t really the zombies any more. The real problem is far worse. The “cure” did stem the zombie problem but at the same time created, introduced and wreaked havoc in the form of the Deadpool plague and the newer deadlier living hell.

As I said before the artwork follows the same path as NotLD and the same colour palette, which makes the Merc with a Mouth really stand out at centre stage. The now typical colouring of his speech bubbles adds further familiarity to it all. The characterisation is also a return to the more split-personality that readers previously knew, so all in all this version of Deadpool is well outside the current Marvel Universe.

Aside from that there isn’t really much more I can say without going over how I reviewed NotLD, as it’s very much just more of the same. If you liked that arc you’ll probably like this one too!

Bunn has created an interesting new problem tale out of what was initially a fun four part tale to begin with. Seeing how he wrapped up the first arc, it’ll be fun to see how he’s going to solve this situation especially as the previous cure only made things worse...

Deadpool fans will love this; even zombie fans will get a kick out of it too. All in all a fun little comic, but nothing revolutionary after last year's offering. Very much more of the same. Which is no bad thing in this instance.

Matt Puddy is waiting for the inevitable Fifty Shades Of Deadpool miniseries...

New Beginnings - Deadpool Vs Carnage #1

by Matt Puddy

So after fighting off the reanimated corpses of a town and essentially cloning his personality, or being forcibly made to attach to the body of a cerebrally affected wheelchair user, what does happen when you place a homicidal psychopath in the sights of another homicidal psychopath?

Cullen Bunn finds out in this new title with two of my favourites.

Leading up to this comic both characters have had a little bit of a make over. Carnage has been through the ringer having a new host in Superior Carnage, an offshoot of Dan Slott’s Superior Spiderman and Deadpool has just finished the short The Walking Deadpool (aka Night Of The Living Deadpool). In addition to that, psychologically there’s been change. I don’t think Carnage has been closer to Cletus Cassidy (if you can consider them two separate beings anymore) and Deadpool has lost the voices in his head and banter with the audience. So what is Cullen Bunn going to do.

Quite simply put the phrase “It takes a thief to catch a thief,” is particularly apt so long as you liberally substitute the word thief for alternatives such as unhinged loon or crazy murderer. After a fifth consecutive killing spree, Carnage is prime time news. Taking cues from where they appear, Deadpool takes on a quest from an imaginary higher power, feeling that he is the only one qualified (or deranged enough) to track down and finish Carnage off.

Let’s be honest here too, when Deadpool applies himself to a task we all know he will possibly pull it off. We also know that he will do it in his own emphatic style and kicks off his scrap with none other than a bloody big rocket. What ensues next could be akin to when he fought against Wolverine. Two “super” beings fighting and tearing strips off each other and the strips then grow back, only this time it has a dash of idiot and sprinkling of madman added to the mix.

In comic and comedic style, the fight carries on and Deadpool looks like things are going his way, until an extra unexpected symbiote also joins the fray.

From a fan point of view I think the character mix is good, normally I wouldn’t complain especially when Shriek (one of the lesser known symbiotes) arrives, but my issue was with the portrayals that I’ve come to associate with them all. Deadpool still feels a little neutered without his internal and multi-personality filled monologue or crowd baiting banter.

Carnage on the other hand was more crazy loony mad than the crazy scary mad I’ve come to know from the recent Carnage storylines. It almost felt like he played up to what Deadpool can be. Even Shriek had lost her clinical edge, but then again that could be a natural evolution of character progression. Storywise though it is very amusing and hits a funny bone straight off. This does put it predominantly in Deadpool's court and I think fans of him will appreciate this more than maybe Carnage fans.

Artistically Salva Espin has also hit home with a very comfortable Deadpool style, with punctuated characters that stand out and colouring from Veronica Gandini that makes the frames stand out, including the almost trademark coloured speech bubbles. There’s even a cheeky little visual gag when Wade is growing his fingers back. The cover art (Glenn Fabry & Adam Brown) was almost made to feel too clean, concise and detailed as a result. It’s great to see the effort put in where the stitching and fabric can be seen on Deadpool mask, but is that too much for this title?

Put it all together it’s a fun comic and one Deadpool fans should love. The Carnage lover in me doesn’t find it gritty enough especially when comparing it to things like Carnage USA (Wells/Crane) from a couple of years back but then again maybe Cletus needs to be a little relaxed once in a while.

Matt Puddy has his nose back to the grindstone.

New Beginnings - Night of the Living Deadpool #1

by Matt Puddy

Hot on the heels of his Deadpool "Killology", Cullen Bunn returns to the Merc With A Mouth with a loving homage to most of the mainstream zombie movie ideals. Entitled Night of the Living Deadpool, the cover points directly at George Romero, whilst inside there are nods and winks to the current king of the block, The Walking Dead.

This is the first part of a four part series where ol' Wade Wilson finds himself in quite the predicament. After being rudely awoken by screams after overeating in Chimichanga’s, Deadpool is left in a small dilemma. Having been in a food coma for the past few days, the world has simply passed him by. However in that time - here come the first shades of The Walking Dead or of course 28 Days Later - the world has descended into a post apocalyptic zombie filled zone.

Now for the normal person this may be a shocking revelation but in true Deadpool style he can’t believe it and thinks it’s all some sort of prank. It’s only when he starts to move through the city that he comes face to face with the recently deceased that it all finally hits home. It takes an attacking horde and a pickup truck with a mounted machine gun to round it all up, adding the punctuating note that Deadpool may actually be the last remaining superhero in the world.

There are some interesting changes to the genre norms that I noticed that Bunn has made. For instance the zombies have a semblance of cognition and even talk a little, begging for him to finish it. 

Ramon Rasanas has given us the artwork and I really like it. It has two really strong aspects that grabbed me. Firstly it has great line work with a lot of detail in pretty much everything. Secondly the art style has more than a cheeky wink to The Walking Dead. The zombies are arguably reminiscent of Tony Moore's in the early days of the Image zombie comic, while the monochrome presentation is reminiscent of Cliff Rathburn's grayscales and tones throughout the same series. It is further enhanced by the colouring - or rather lack of - using only red for Deadpool himself, other than a few full-colour flashback sections.

This is another good example of how Deadpool is best used - parody and comedy. He was created for that exact reason after all. I can understand why this will probably work best as a limited series, but at the same time I’m a little sad that it won't last a little longer. Deadpool fans will most likely lap it up and with the ongoing popularity of the zombie genre there could also be a few zombie fans who pick it up as well.

Matt Puddy is hungry for BRAAAAAINS!

Free Comic Book Day - extra freebies!

Not long now folks, Free Comic Book Day is almost here! In addition to all the list of lovely free comics we showcased the other day, we'll also have some extra freebies on the day!

Free Comic Book Day brings out some of the finest cosplayers in the area and with this year's event falling on Star Wars Day as well, I'm hoping to see our best turn out of costumes to date!

Anyone who comes to Proud Lion's Free Comic Book Day in costume will receive a free Iron Man 3 HeroClix miniature (seen right)!

We'll have free variant covers from Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse, Dynamite and more featuring Buffy, Angel, Red Sonja, Witchblade, Darkness, Danger Girl, Army Of Darkness, Godzilla, Cyberforce and both Marvel and Ultimate Marvel heroes!

We also have first prints of Deadpool #2 and A+X #1! All extra comics are courtesy of Diamond UK in conjunction with ourselves.

Finally, we'll have some fantastic homemade Star Wars chocolate sugar cookies on offer. We'll be asking for a donation to charity for these, collecting for local charity, Winston's Wish.

See you Saturday!

Ben Fardon loved Iron Man 3!

New Beginnings - Deadpool #1 (MARVEL NOW)

We recently saw him tear the Marvel Universe a new one but this week due to the Marvel Marketing Machine, we have Deadpool relaunching from issue #1 as part of Marvel Now.

Many of you will know the Merc with a Mouth as he has now spanned (just) over 20 years of comic service, especially due to his wise cracking and loud approach to life. He’s the joker in the pack but with a killer edge. Although he may be completely unhinged and schizophrenic, he’s still completely deadly with a healing factor to boot.

Now all of the above is known to fans and regular visitors to the MU but in the case of this issue, brought to us by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn, there is no back story. This is an issue one which takes great strides from the word go. The reason why? Well it’s all explained on the back page in typical Deadpool crayon signed style. This is NOT a reboot. (which I've been teling people for weeks now! *head desk* Relaunch, not reboot! BF)

Hitting the ground retrospectively running we are quickly given the reason why we need Deadpool.

After a madman (in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform) is found to be resurrecting dead presidents to revive a failing America (which is ironically timed almost perfectly with the American Presidential Elections), Captain America is openly seen decapitating a former head of state. The resulting media backlash means it is decided that things cannot continue. You can’t have the most famous boy scout killing historical figures and founding fathers, even if they are zombies hell bent on destroying the nation. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Preston is tasked with finding a way to covertly fix the problem.

The answer virtually falls into her lap.

After finishing off a giant lizard in grotesque style, Deadpool is faced with a wheelchair bound necrotic FDR. Without being able to resist his natural urges, Wade can only engage whilst letting the jokes fly at the same time. In beating FDR he earns himself the job of clearing up the rest of the undead former Commander-In-Chiefs, because he’s not the hero they want but he is “the scumbag they need”.

The writing is a lot of fun and displays the flair for humour that you would expect from two comedians.  Brian Posehn is an actor, writer and comic that many of you will recognise as Brian Spukowski from The Sarah Silverman Program. His co-writer is Gerry Duggan, a film and TV writer who works on Attack Of The Show.

A lot of it is very tongue in cheek but I do miss the monologue that follows Wade as he engages with everyone, including the reader. This seems to be played down a lot and reserved for people in the comic. He certainly doesn't break the fourth wall. He also seems a little more with it than the normal Deadpool rather than the borderline psychotic we saw in arcs such as the Dark Angel Saga in Uncanny X-Force, but then this is clearly artistic license being exercised. Underneath it all he’s still the confused killer we love, and I’m sure more will come through in time. Rumours are he'll have new voices in his head soon enough.

I’m usually fairly set on how I feel about the artwork in comics but this time Tony Moore has me stumped a little. Overall it is consistent and follows the same set of personal rules of drawing throughout, but what I find odd is that some things have fantastic definition and linework - leading to depth and detail - while others simply don’t. A good example is the second page where the fifth panel loses all detail and looks almost 2000AD-esque. This keeps happening throughout and occasionally goes the other way too where the definition smooths out all the lines (third page with Cap) and an almost Ramos-style (*shudder* BF) comes in. Big jaw, soft lines and smooth skin...

It doesn’t take anything away from the story but I didn’t feel it enhanced it as other artists have done for me in the past.

That said this is still a cracking issue and a great story to pick up. A good start in my eyes for Marvel Now.

Matt Puddy is wondering what to expect from Bendis' X-Men...

The Mane Event - Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe

Every so often Marvel decides to have a little fun and shakes things up by having a prominent character in their roster strike out and do something wild, albeit in a short set of enclosed comics. This time it's the turn of the Merc with a Mouth – Deadpool – as brought to you by Cullen Bunn.

The first thing to point out is that this is not designed to be a kids comic. Yes, Deadpool is wise-cracking, joking and schizophrenic throughout, but Marvel have gone to the effort of trying to make this quite graphic. Therefore also attached a large parental advisory notice to the front of each of the four issues.

The story opens in the first issue with a Watcher, and a slightly unfamiliar one too meaning that this may not be the version of the Marvel Universe we know, who is stood at the precipice moment in this reality. Narrating the carnage and devastation we see the downfall of the Fantastic Four played out for us.

Winding back, we see Deadpool taken to a mental institute and it's here that the deadly mercenary tips over the edge as an almost naive plan formulated by Psycho Man backfires spectacularly. Instead of brainwashing Deadpool, he unwittingly unleashes one of his suppressed personas upon everyone, or at least opened the door wide enough for that part of Deadpool's fractured psyche to step out of the shadows and influence Wade into his crusade to assassinate the supers of the world. It’s a simple yet strangely satisfying premise and the first issue establishes it completely and succinctly.

The remaining issues are more a case of following the trail of destruction. The middle pair are very specific to individual targets and to my adoration exploits a commonly ignored aspect that all villains shy from. When you have a gun at point blank range, a monologue after pulling the trigger is far more effective than after. After this you are led to wonder at Deadpool’s methods and tactics. Some of his approaches border on both, for example how would you try to kill a god like Thor? Is he strategically gifted? Or insanely creative in achieving his goals? I would suggest to read and decide yourself on that one.

My criticism of the story though would definitely have to be the length. At only four issues I can understand that stretching it out any more would make for a dull and repetitive tale that is meant to be very tongue in cheek, however, as it is also so short it means that towards the final issues things start to feel rushed without actually hitting a deep story. All you have is Deadpool and a voice in his head. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that this was not meant to have some hidden meaning and will not set off some sort of new regime, but on occasion it did feel a little thin. Even the ending was humorous but no real surprise - a canny reader can make an educated guess by the end of issue #1.

Throughout the mini-series Dalibor Talajic provides the artwork. It’s not my favourite style but it is fitting in the way that it’s not crisp and clean, it doesn’t have smooth edges and the depth of detail that reflects the story in some ways as well as augmenting it.

I think that Deadpool fans will like this as you get to see him doing something he’s joked about for years. For a new reader it would come across as confusing but still entertaining. One for the collectors shelves too as a pack.

Matt Puddy is wondering what comes next and above all eager for his next comic fix!

Proud Lion Recommends Kevin Smith's Green Hornet, Prelude To The Deadpool Corps and Stephen King's N

Four new titles for you to check out this week.

First up is Kevin Smith's Green Hornet.

In 2004, Kevin Smith was working on bringing a Green Hornet film to the big screens.

Eventually the project was put on the back burner and by 2006, Smith was no longer involved.

A new film adaptation is due later this year, directed by Michel Gondry and starring Seth Rogen, along with Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz and Edward James Olmos.

Dynamite Entertainment have given Kevin Smith the chance to reinvigorate his vision for the masked vigilante, by adapting his screenplay into a comic miniseries with art from Jonathan Lau.

The first issue sets the scene, re-introducing the original Green Hornet and Kato as they decide to hang up their masks. We then jump forward to meet Green Hornet's son - a man far from ready to take up his father's mantle.

It's a wordy and oddly paced first issue, as Smith's comic scripts sometimes are, but the art is wonderful and I have no doubt that the focus of the series will be the new Green Hornet, who has yet to make his mark.

I don't often recommend titles where the first issue make me feel that I have to see issue #2 before I can have real faith in the series. But as a fan of Kevin Smith's work, I remain hopeful that this title will flourish in the subsequent issues. Definitely worth a go.

Next up is a title taking a healthy swipe at the Green Lantern Corps. In recent issues of Deadpool, Merc With A Mouth, the crazy assassin for hire crossed the multiverse with the undead head of his Marvel Zombies double. On their journeys, they met several other alternate universe versions of Deadpool, including Lady Deadpool with whom our own DP shared a somewhat ill-advised smooch.

Well now Deadpool has been asked to save the universe and he's assembling a motley crew of himself to help him. Prepare to meet Lady Deadpool, Headpool (the zombie head), Kidpool and Dogpool.

I kid you not.

If you want something wonderfully daft, give it a go!

Finally we have a new Stephen King adaptation. Following on from the Dark Tower series and The Stand, Marvel have picked N and short story from King's recent collection of short sotries, Just After Sunset.

With art from former Daredevil penciller, Alex Maleev, and a script by Marc Guggenheim, N is a four issue miniseries. Marvel fist adapted the short story as a series of motion comic webisodes. Having been viewed over a million times, the webisodes are now expanded and adapted into comic books.

The eponymous title character suffers from OCD and paranoid delusions, according to his psychiatrist. N believes a monster called Cthun is trying to break through from another reality, using a stone circle near the town.

Fascinated by his patient's claims, Dr Bonsaint travels to the field to investigate and discovers more than he bargained for. Mental health isn't contagious, he knows that. And yet he discovers that in his own professional opinion he is also suffering from OCD and can see demonic faces in his dreams.

Dreams that warn him that Cthun is now free.

Sleep well...