Deadpool # 1 - One of Us, Part 1

Believe it or not, I'm not the biggest Deadpool fan out there.  I like him but sometimes get annoyed by how he's written.  I don't think he's the ultimate fighter and shouldn't be portrayed that way.  I'm not saying he can't hold his own in a fight but sometimes I feel the writers exaggerate his skills. 

I really liked Deadpool when he first came on the scene.  Then he started getting annoying.  But he's supposed to be.  That's who he is.  He is like a crazed Spider-Man, in terms of the witty banter.  The problem is, Deadpool's banter doesn't always make sense to others besides himself. 

Deadpool is back to his usual business.  As he's shooting and killing, we do get treated to his inner conversations.  It almost makes you wonder how he manages to get anything done when he's so deep in conversation with himself.  This is what makes Deadpool who he is.  You almost have to wonder, who's more psychotic, Deadpool or the Joker.

This issue obviously is the beginning of a bigger story.  We don't have all the details as to how Deadpool arrived in the stadium.  Did he know the Skrulls were coming there or were they just lucky (or unlucky) that he was?  Can Deadpool change the outcome of the Invasion's success?  My question is, should he be able to?  This goes back to the exaggeration I mentioned earlier.

Daniel Way does a great job capturing Deadpool's multiple personalities.  Maybe I missed out but I only read a handful of Cable and Deadpool.  I just needed some time away from him.  This is looking like a good way to bring him back into my life.  Paco Medina's art is nice too.  How can you not smile at seeing the Pool-O-Vision in action?  This series has promise.  As long as it doesn't try to get too serious, I'll continue reading

Remember last year when I said, "Booster Gold is the best first issue to any comic I've read in years!"? Guess what, not anymore. Deadpool is nothing short of perfect for an opening issue to a series. There is, however, one thing I can say bad about this comic, it wasn't long enough. The actual story was 22 pages. Then there was 9 pages on the history of Deadpool. That's nice and all, but I'd rather have 9 more pages of Deadpool hallucinating as he fights Skrulls. The main reason I picked this book up, or ordered it two months prior, was because of the Wolverine: Origins run with Deadpool in it. Daniel Way's writing is witty, hilarious, and spot on for the character. The artwork fits in perfectly with the character and story. It was just such an awesome contrast between the super-serious Skrulls and Deadpool, who starts the book as a baseball mascot with two guns tied to his back. What makes me appreciate this book so much more is the fact that I'm pretty much a DC guy, and have read countless books featuring Deadshot, who all-in-all is kind of lame. Deadpool is another one of those characters making fun of the other brand for being too serious. DC did this with Lobo (Wolverine), but at one point Lobo became a serious character. Deadpool has stayed true to the wackiness and I actually laughed out loud, that rarely happens when I read a comic. If you're not reading this book, then you probably have no sense of humor, and I understand that. It sucks being boring, and you're fine with that. However, if you are reading this book, thank you.

As much as I hate disagreeing with my good buddy, inferiorego, I must confess that I was really quite disappointed in this issue.  I'm not a big Cable fan and I hadn't read any of the early Deadpool series, but from what I had heard, I liked the idea of the unhinged, possibly schizophrenic hitman, with the inner dialogues and hallucinogenic visions.  I quite liked his tussle with Wolvie in Wolverine Origins.  But there, as here, my worst fears were confirmed regarding writer Daniel Way.  Now it's not that I think Way is a bad writer, it's just that he's a minimalistic style of writer, he likes the visuals to tell the story.  There's nothing wrong with that but, for me, it leads to an unsatisfactory reading experience - you feel a little short changed.  I'm hoping it picks up.  Like the other reviewers, I picked this up with the hope of madcap, comedic adventures so more of that and I will be very, very happy. 

2 stars out of 5

I'm a huge Deadpool fan, don't get me wrong, but this first issue was a bit disappointing. I was looking forward to a brawl between Wade and that Super Skrull but instead, it does not happen. Let down. The ending, I actually liked because it puts a whole twist to Secret Invasion and paves the way for an interesting betrayal later in the issues. Overall, this was a decent first issue. Gets a 4 only because it's my favorite character's new monthly series and he deserves it.