Deadpool / Wolverine #1 //Review
There are a couple of guys who are working a S.H.I.E.L.D. records stroage facility out in the middle of nowhere. There’s some speculation as to whether or not they’ve gotten the job as some form of punishment or torture or something. And here are two guys who have to take inventory. One of them is about to find out that it’s a really ba idea to open a crate clearly marked “DO NOT OPEN.” He’s not going to make it past the first few pags of Deadpool / Wolverine #1. Writer Benjamin Percy and artist Joshua Cassara open a new series with everyone’s favorite couple of badasses. Color comes to the page courtesy of Guru-eFX.
Elsewhere there's a funeral going on in Northern Minnesota. There’s a man there who had been a part of the Nordic mob. He’s dead now, though. So why is Deadpool showing-up for the funeral? Turns out his teeth are all that remains of an ancient artifact that are worth a lot of monet to the right people. Somewhere in Canada, there’s a short guy in the Killer Rack bar who gets into a bit of a fight. He’s alone and there are some pretty dangerous people. He’s worse. He’s about to run into the one person who might be just as bad as he is. Wolverine is about to meet-up with Deadpool.
To his credit, Percy doesn’t try to do anything twith the script that’s anywhere near as weird and twisted as the film that would have inspired this comic book. The basic concept for the story is smart and well-articulated from the beginning. Though there ARE elements of originality that shine out from the edges of the story, there isn’t any attempt to go for anything to bizarre. That being said, Percy lacks the punchy wit that Deadpool has become known for. Wolverine isn’t written with quite as much intricacy is the best writers have managed with Logan over the years.
Cassara’s art is tough as nails Action shoots across the page with slices, punches and quite a lot of impact. Depth and detail are rendered with great force by Guru-eFX. The overall visual feel of the story feels lean and sinewy with just a touch of the humor that could have hit the page given the nature of the action that usually follows the two title characters around. Things could have been amped-up a BIT more to a bit more of a sense of style, but visually the first issue of the series comes across with impressive poise.
Honestly it’s not a bad opening for a series that can’t help but be compared to the recent movie that met with crazy amounts of success at the box office. The overall momentum kicking-off the series feels strong enough to maintain the enrgy it needs moving forward for many, many issues. If it’s going to be ble to make it in the long run, though, it’s going to need to find a voice as clever and distinctive as the recent movie without feeling like it’s trying too had to BE the movie. That’s going to be a difficult balance to maintain.
