SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL #1
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Jason Keith
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: January 6, 2016
Spider-Man! And Deadpool! They do whatever Spiders and Assassins do! That’s the best I could come up with…
Peter Parker and Wade Wilson travel to hell and back and have a heart-to-heart (of sorts…). While Wade’s intentions are maybe as good as they possibly can be, they are still rubbing Peter quite the wrong way. From the looks of our Spider and Assassin, tension will continue to be part of the equation.
Spider-Man/Deadpool #1 was definitely a ride. In principle, Deadpool has a cool concept. He can heal, he breaks the fourth wall and makes random pop culture references. However, I can understand how difficult it is for some characters in the Marvel Universe to relate to him, particularly Spider-Man. He means well, but the endless quips make for a tedious friendship and, unfortunately, a tedious issue. The abundance of speech bubbles made for a hard read, but also reminded me why reading Wade as a character is generally difficult for me. There are some gems in this issue, like Wade’s alignment app, but teasing them apart from some of my reservations through this read was not always easy.
Joe Kelly perfectly captures how Peter feels about Wade, as their bickering lasts throughout the issue. I could feel Peter’s mounting frustration myself being put into various shades of anger throughout this story. Kelly also bring out Wade’s personality without pumping the breaks, which was not my favorite, but demonstrated that this writer has a definite grasp of these characters. I’d like to see how Kelly works with other characters in the series moving forward and how they mesh with our red and black duo.
Spider-Man/Deadpool #1’s art was definitely fitting for a title involving these characters, particularly Deadpool. It’s very vivid and action oriented, never missing a beat from panel to panel. Ed McGuinness’ pencils give form to not just our titular heroes, but a few not-so-human characters throughout the issue, while Mark Morales’ inks add just enough levity to balance the issue’s rather black tone. Jason Keith brings it all together, using rich colors that aren’t drowned out by the constant activity throughout this issue. The art definitely keeps pace with the story, which is helpful considering that teleportation is a device through the issue.
I’m not quite sure where this series is headed, but Wade seems to have some machinations at play. The set up seemed strange to me, essentially creating Spider-Man/Deadpool #1 as the antithesis of a buddy comic. However, if you like seeing an agitated Spider-Man, or just love Deadpool in general, I’d say this issue and series is worth a go. Some of the jokes weren’t bad and had great timing. There’s a lot of action and there may be some surprises in store as the series moves forward.
The Verdict: 7.0/10
