DEADPOOL ASSASSIN #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Mark Bagley, John Dell, Edgar Delgado, and VC’s Joe Sabino
Edited by Devin Lewis and Laura Amaro
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: June 13, 2018
“Guys, guys, guys! This is gonna be a lot easier if you stop shooting me and just take these lethal sword strikes like professionals!” Deadpool swings into action, taking leads from his old friend Weasel, in this first issue of Deadpool Assassin!
I’ve been wanting to read a Deadpool comic since I watched Deadpool 2, and Cullen has done well with the series so far. While there aren’t as many jokes as I expected in this issue, it is a bit of a set up issue, so that’s understandable. What the reader does get is great, from Deadpool yammering on about his avid and obsessive watching of ninja films to Deadpool’s dream of owning a nudist island. The idea of an existential crisis for the merc with the smirk sounds fun, and while he does feel like he’s just going through the motions of one in this issue, I’m curious to see if the idea will become a much deeper concept in later issues.
I will say that if there is anything I wasn’t exactly pleased with in this issue, it’d probably be the weaksauce response Weasel had about married life. If he’s too much of a whiny insecure baby man to deal with the thought of being married and the action feels more like he’s chained to some awesome human being rather than being a cool partner in life forever to them, then maybe he shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. Furthermore, why marry someone who you can’t be fully truthful towards, why marry someone who wouldn’t want to know about your past and present job in the mercenary industry? Making her seem like an embarrassment and a nag just feels juvenile on Weasel’s part and makes me think his wife obviously deserves better.
Bagley’s penciling and Dell’s inking really creates fantastic scenes. The action sequences are well done. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone who isn’t fine with some gory instances, but I think that the graphicness of it really establishes the kind of life Deadpool lives and works well with the comic overall.
I especially love a panel during a particular ninja fight later on in the issue. The awkward twisting of Deadpool’s body as a minion with iron fist tech punches his back into pieces really shows how much Deadpool can take and how terrible his healing factor is when thinking about it in a realistic perspective. It would suck to deal with the pain of that blow.
Dell and Bagley’s work wouldn’t be as great if not for Delgado’s coloring, though. I especially feel that things like Deadpool’s fantastic yellow penguin tank, pink shorts, and blue crocs attire would not be as spectacular if not for Delgado’s coloring.
If you like Deadpool as a character and are fine with some gore, read this comic. It’s set up the premise well and I’m intrigued to see how it follows through.
The Verdict: 8.5/10