Topping my list of things I never wanted to see again was a team-up book featuring Cable and Deadpool, the epitome of '90s kewl, with covers by Rob Liefeld. Both characters have had good stories told about them, though, and so I went into this book open-minded. What I got out of it was a fun, action-oriented book that is slightly on the goofy side, with a touch of mutant politics thrown into the mix. It's like someone threw Agent X and Soldier X into a blender, stirred in a new writer and came up with a book that represents some of the elements of each. The problem being, unless you go all-out political serious or all-out wacky humor, it's hard for either aspect of the book to really shine. The book probably leans closer to the Agent X side of the spectrum, and will make a decent replacement for those missing Gail Simone's hilarious take on the character.
Nicieza opens with a scene that could have come right from one of Simone's Deadpool or Agent X issues, actually. Nicieza immediately serves up pop-culture references (more than a few seem extraneous) and the goofy, off-kilter sense-of-humor that makes up Deadpool, and although no one could accuse the character of being particularly deep anyway, Nicieza establishes enough for even new readers right off the bat. The banter isn't always as funny as it wants to be, verging on the "trying to hard" comedy that grates on me in books like the new Alpha Flight or Ron Zimmerman's work, but it is for the most part worth a chuckle or two, and Nicieza definitely sets a light, comedic tone for the book early on.
The trouble comes in when he tries to insert Cable into that tone. Cable has always been a character defined by his lack of a sense of humor, and having him cracking wise or dashing off the Buffy-speak feels out of place. Nicieza had sort of a tough status quo to deal with in Cable anyway, though, given that he's been redefined so many times, and his last redefinition had more than a few stories that didn't make a lick of sense. Still, one can't help but get the feeling in reading this first issue that the billing on this title should have been Deadpool volume two, now with extra Cable. Tougher to fit on a marquee, I guess.
Maintaining this feel that this is Deadpool's book is the artwork, by Udon Studios' Mark Brooks and Shane Law. The artwork is terrific, bright and colorful, with a lovely mix of cartoony style and more realistic detail. Brooks does some very nice work with unusual angles, and his design of the One World Church compound is gorgeous, whether it's the lush, serene feeling of the outdoor aspect or the more sinister, technological interior. There's also a spectacularly chaotic shot of Deadpool in combat that hits all the right notes in terms of establishing the book's mixture of action and comedy.
This is an unusual book, pairing up two '90s characters but written in a style that is more wise-cracking and pop-culturally aware like a modern book. It's best described as cotton candy or popcorn, a fun and airy treat that is ultimately little more than empty calories, but which makes for a tasty treat when you're in the mood for it.
