By Daniel Way (Writer), Paco Medina (Pencils), Juan Vlasco (Inks), Marte Gracia (Colors)
Some Thoughts Before The Review: Given how the recent “X” crossovers have turned out, I’m a bit concerned about what’s going to happen to Deadpool now that Wade is headed towards becoming one of the X-Men. Now, granted, I do realize that the Deadpool “X” arc isn’t a true crossover so it might not be such a bad thing for the series. One thing’s for sure though: If any series can enter X-Men territory and come out unscathed, it’s Deadpool.
The Story: After initially getting rejected by the X-Men, Deadpool finds himself being cautiously welcomed back by the mutants. Meanwhile, the X-Men deal with a strange media circus that’s being caused by a young mutant’s father.
What’s Good: I hope this makes sense…Deadpool #16 is, in reality, only half of a Deadpool comic. The other half is an X-Men comic that Daniel Way wrote with his Deadpool pen. Is that a bad thing? Surprisingly, it’s not.
As expected, humor is a large part of what makes Deadpool #16 such an entertaining book. While the story is certainly strong enough to move things along (especially in regards to the Domino and Dagger scenes), there’s no question that bringing the funny is what Way does best when it comes to his Deadpool series. Way gives the X-Men humorous dialogue whenever Wade is somehow involved in their conversations and uses the mutants in a way that makes Deadpool come across as far more sympathetic than usual. However, that’s not to say that Wade’s being soften up by Way. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Merc with a Mouth is as unpredictable and crazy as ever throughout Deadpool #16. Case in point: I doubt you’ve ever seen pancakes used in such a way.
Paco Medina is quickly becoming one of my favorite Marvel artists. Since he started on the Deadpool series, I’ve wanted to see what he would do with other characters. Now that I’ve seen him handle the X-Men, I can’t help but wonder why Marvel isn’t putting him on more books. With the help of Juan Vlasco’s inks and Marte Gracia’s vivid colors, Medina’s pencils are stylish, clean and a little sexy, and loaded with the type of personality that needs to be seen more often.
What’s Not So Good: While Deadpool #16 looks great and proves to be extremely entertaining, some of the storytelling is a bit clunky. While the family issue between a mutant and her father that takes up a chunk of the book eventually becomes relevant, it takes up more page space than it’s worth. Also, a scene that meshes Deadpool and Domino’s encounter with Domino’s status report to Cyclops doesn’t really flow all that well. It comes across as far more convoluted and complicated than it should.
Conclusion: Deadpool continues to be one hell of a fun series. If you aren’t reading it than you’re definitely missing out on one of Marvel’s best monthlies.
Grade: B
-Kyle Posluszny
Filed under: Reviews, Marvel Comics Tagged: | X-Men, Marvel Comics, X-Men, Comic Book Reviews, Utopia, Weekly Comic Book Review, WCBR, Daniel Way, Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco, Marte Gracia, Wade Wilson, Deadpool, Merc With a Mouth, Domino, comic reviews, Dark Reign, weeklycomicbookreview.com, Kyle Posluszny, Deadpool #16 Review, Deadpool #16
