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DEADPOOL #67
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
"Buddy Picture"
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Alvin Lee, Rob Ross, Eric Vedder, A-Zero, Ken Sui-Chong, TR2 & the RealT of UDON
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
"You Can Call Me Al, Part One"
Writer: Ron Zimmerman
Pencils: Al Rio
Inks: Sandu Florea
Colors: Avalon Studios
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Buddy Picture: Hoo boy, do we have an interesting combination here. Zany title character, humor writer and a disco super-heroine. Doesn't sound as though the Dazzler will fare that well, does it? But Simone doesn't go for the easy joke, doesn't walk down the predictable path. Instead, she capitalizes on a joke she started in the previous issue, and it makes for another entertaining read. And just as Simone's work on this title keeps getting better, so does the art from the crew at Udon.
Deadpool is hired to protect a pop-music star, and since he's still got a shruken Rhino hanging around his pad, he decides to bring the humiliated super-villain/key chain along for the ride. It turns out someone wants to kill Alison Blaire, whose singing career has been jump-started thanks to nostalgia. Meanwhile, Sandi decides to get to the bottom of Deadpool's unusual behavior and faulty aim.
The collaborative effort from Udon on the art and colors pays off. There's a cartoony tone that's inherent in the manga style that suits the goofiness of the title character and the circumstances of the plot, but there's also a depth and texture that reinforces the darker elements of the story. Udon's Mini-Rhino is hilarious to look at, and there's a strong sense of motion and action that keeps the story moving along at a brisk but entertaining pace.
I have to confess... I hope we see more of L'il Rhino beyond this issue. The gags, the banter back and forth... this stuff stands out as Simone's funniest work on the title yet. Had me grinnin' from ear to ear, she did. The incoherent Ratbag has been a fun sidekick, sure, but Simone has happened some real character chemistry here. "Happy-Trail or Fun Ball?" Heh.
The real strength of this issue, though, is the fact that Simone doesn't go for the obvious jokes or characterizations. The Dazzler is quite together here, and not at all the butt of the joke. And as for Sandi, the title character's buxom assistant, I love that she's not a bimbo, not just a display rack for a set of breasts. She's the one who moves the larger plot of the "Healing Factor" story arc forward here, and now, I find I want to know more about her character.
Call Me Al: With that Jay Leno silliness behind him, Zimmerman can now focus on the task of telling an actual story as opposed to crafting a forced media event. The problem is that for anyone who read Zimmerman's contribution to Spider-Man's Tangled Web, the first part of this story seems to tread territory that's all too familiar.
After a run-in with the Punisher, Kraven, son to the original villain who hunted Spider-Man, gets a mysterious message to meet someone at his favorite watering hole, a bar where super-villains are known to gather. As he waits, Kraven vents to the bartender and his girlfriend, Timby.
Al Rio normally boasts a cheesecake style that reminds one of the work of J. Scott (Danger Girl) Campbell, but here, his work seems much more like that of Paul (Negation) Pelletier. Ultimately, though the story is told clearly, the visuals aren't particularly remarkable either. The same can be said for the script for this opening chapter. Though I appreciate Zimmerman's consistency and continuity, this comes off as being rather repetitive in light of "Double Shot," Zimmerman's story in last month's Tangled Web.
Note: Since the backup story appears in several of this week's Marvel Comics releases, it does not factor into the rating for this review.
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