Deadpool Corps #1

The past couple of years, well, since right around Secret Invasion, we've been hit over the head, again and again, with Deadpool. I went into this book with low expectations. I wasn't sure if I needed to read the Prelude to Deadpool Corps to understand this, and I didn't know how many pages I'd get through before becoming annoyed. This issue featured two stories: One featuring the Deadpool Corps, and the other story featured Deadpool at a shrink.
 

The Good

I'll admit it. I like Rob Liefeld's art in this book. The ridiculousness of this story fits well with Liefeld's art. This book is packed with a lot of comedy, and there's a few times were I actually laughed out loud, and this is just the first story. The back-up story's art, penciled and inked by Matteo Scalera and colored by Matt Wilson was wonderful. It brought me back to the Cable/Deadpool series, but with darker colors and shading. The aspect of the art I liked the most about that second story was the hard jawlines all the "tough" characters had. It's the first time I've laughed at a jawline in a comic. I hope that was the artist's intention.
 

The Bad

Back to Liefeld's art, once again. No one ever just "stands." They're are always posing, or the character is in some sort of odd position that many people would never stand in. Also, everyone is ripped. Like HGH (Human Growth Hormone..steroids) ripped, even Kid Deadpool. Who are the non-overly-muscular people in the first story? The women and the dog. But the thing that bugged me the most about this book more than anything else. Every member of the Deadpool Corps (minus the dog) is interchangeable. There is no difference in dialogue, character, personality, or anything else between them. You could just imagine one Deadpool saying everything to himself if you'd like. The back-up story only had one problem, the humor. While the story was strong and enjoyable, when it came down to the humorous dialogue, it failed. And with the book over-all, sometimes I felt like I was being bombarded with jokes, they felt like filler more than anything. 

The Verdict

I didn't read one issue of Prelude to Deadpool Corps, and I pretty much understood everything going on in this first issue. If you like Deadpool and have been following him around for the past couple of years, you'll love the book. If you're interested in the series and just  want a fun read, you'll like this book. If you hate Deadpool, then don't buy this book. It's a lot more humor than action, so be prepared for that, and although many of the first story's jokes are a huge hit, there are many jokes that will make you do the old "facepalm." This book isn't going to get new Deadpool fans, but it will keep its current legion of fans very happy. The easiest way to make this book a 5 out of 5 is to have the writer of the first story, Victor Gischler, work with the artist of the back-up story, Matteo Scalera. Until then, for me, the average guy who kind of likes Deadpool, it's good, but not great.
 

3.5/5