It's kind of hard to summarize and review a Deadpool issue. I mean, between the fourth-wall breaking and the unclear continuity aspects, it's all just a little hard to process. It's also hard to rate it, because a lot of the factors I take into account in rating an issue -- like believability -- just kind of go out the window. So, in the spirit of Deadpool, we're going to buck format here. I'm not going to rate it, I'm not going to quote it, I'm not going to summarize it, and I'm not going to review it. You just get some thoughts, an internal monologue, if you will, just like Wade's. (Well, maybe not quite like Wade's. But, you know, close.)
It's hard to pull out particular moments, but I'll try. It's a fun book, from the debut of Lady Stilt-Man (heh) to Wade's promised "Mamageddon" yo-mamma joke. Wade's "I'm not gay, I'm NOT!" schtick actually never got old, nor did his frequent references to "special hugging." I also thoroughly enjoyed Geoff Johns' "approving" Wade's reference to his "Blackest Night" nail polish. All in all, it's exactly what you expect in a Deadpool issue: you get to kind of put aside your critical, fanboy brain and just have some fun.
One thing that made it slightly hard to do that, though, is the fact that this issue actually serves a purpose and furthers the plot. Kraven's wife hired Deadpool to distract Spidey so he didn't bump into Arana, he didn't battle Anti-Venom, and Ana had a chance to kidnap Spider-Woman. The overall importance of these individual events (or non-events) isn't revealed; we only learn that Kraven's wife and Ana knew they were important thanks to Madame Web, who they captured a few issues ago. At any rate, based on Wacker's comments in the letters page, this issue sets up "The Gauntlet" event. We've seen Ana and her mom engage a number of super-villains (such as Diablo in "Long-Term Arrangement"), so it's pretty clear that "The Gauntlet" is going to be just that. I'm not sure if it was really necessary to tie the Deadpool issue into "The Gauntlet," but I'll admit it's at least clever to have the purpose of a Deadpool issue to be a distraction since, after all, Deadpool is a distraction.
This actually sounded pretty good... I only started collecting/reading Spidey again at around issue #650 or so, so this was well before I got back on board. If I can find this issue cheap I may just see if I can snag this one.
ReplyDeleteOh, and totally agreed with you on how to review/rate a Deadpool comic book. For me, I always score a DP comic by how much it made me laugh/how wide the smile on my face was. If I got a few chuckles out of the comic, then it was a success. If it made me think too much, then I'd count it as a failure.