The Good
There are a few things I enjoyed about this issue. First off, I like the art; I think it really fits the tone and the mood of the character in this comic. I found that it was really entertaining. This isn't a serious book, so seeing Deadpool drawn as this elongated, rubbery looking character was actually really cool. I thought Filipe Andrade did a really fantastic job.
In great DEADPOOL fashion, this is a funny issue. What was great about this comic is that it wasn't just Deadpool that was entertaining and funny, but the supporting characters have enough of an entertaining (and equally obnoxious) sense of humor as well. I thought that the characters really meshed will together and that overall, this was a good read. I think one of the things I really liked about this issue is the portrayal of Deadpool as an actually rather intelligent character. A lot of the time we get the sense that Deadpool is this really lucky and really goofy guy, but he's also not stupid. His intelligence isn't something we always see and it really felt like Way played to the character's strengths in this comic.
The Bad
I sort of wish that Daniel Way had gone into more detail about Alison Kemp's story. I think that she is a character that had a lot of potential to do a lot of cool things and she could have been a character with a more interesting backstory, but we didn't get to see much of it. Based on this issue, it feels like DEADPOOL as a series just ends very abruptly. It doesn't feel like a definitive end to his story, which is disappointing. This issue not only marks the end of thise story arc (which in my opinion could have been fleshed out in more than just a couple of issues) as well as Daniel Way's run on the character. After, what, five years on the title; Way's DEADPOOL doesn't actually feel like it's over, and I think that's a pretty big problem. I get that the character needs to move on in the hands of another creative team, but there could have been a much smoother transition than this one, I think. This issue just sort of ends and leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions.
Alison Kemp seems like she really could have been developed into this interesting character. For a woman who is so accomplished (having climbed the ranks of Interpol as she states in the issue), I would expect her to have been swayed by more than just a short blurb of a speech by Deadpool. That's not really giving her character a whole lot of credit, unfortunately. She had (maybe still has) potential to be interesting, but the fact that she is so impressionable makes her look really weak.
The Verdict
This issue wasn't great, but it wasn't bad, either. I think Way does a good job keeping Deadpool funny while trying to talk some sense into Alison Kemp's character. I think that the pacing is pretty good; it doesn't feel too rushed and the art is really appropriate for the tone of Way's writing. However, there was a lot lacking in Alison's character. Like I mentioned above, if we are to believe that she's this really accomplished character, then it's strange to see her so easily swayed by Deadpool's speech at the end of the issue. Furthermore, it doesn't feel like a definitive end to his story arc or to Way's run; at least not like it should. I think overall, this story could have ended and Way should have used another issue to close the chapter on the character he's been writing for so long; but that's just my opinion.
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