Deadpool & The Mercs for Money, Vol. 0: Merc Madness

I have a saying when it comes to my taste in music that applies to other aspects of my interests. 'The worst Queen song is better than no Queen song at all.' I have certain things I like where even if it's the worst of the worst, I'd rather be entertained by it than just being bored. 

That's kinda how I feel about Deadpool's Mercs for Money era. It's perhaps the Merc with a Mouth's least entertaining period and yet, if I had to choose between reading a trade paperback full of these guys' exploits or watching paint dry, I'll take Wade Wilson and Co. every time. 

One of my biggest pet peeves with the Mercs for Money involves the line-up. There are essentially 7 members of the group, if you count Wade Wilson's leadership of the team. Living cartoon Slapstick is hilarious. Avengers reservist Stingray is a funny running joke on how that's not how the 'World's Greatest Heroes' do things. I've been a fan of immortal hit man Terror since I read his Christmas themed issue years ago and I love how he's kinda turned into a parody of Serpico and Donnie Brasco. Anti-heroes Solo and Foolkiller help to ground Deadpool into being a responsible leader. I'm not sure why you've got 2 moral anchors on the same team. It feels like overkill. And then there's Masacre...

Known as the Mexican Deadpool, Masacre speaks only Spanish. I'd have no problem with the character speaking exclusively Spanish if the writers/editors (or both) would translate what he's saying. But this was published during the Axel Alonso era of Marvel, which means these issues were released under the guidance of the worst editor the House of Ideas ever had. Each issue comes with a snarky editor's note telling readers to learn Spanish if they want to know what Masacre has to say; once again alienating readers instead of embracing all sides of the fanatic spectrum. So with not understanding what 1/7th of the team has to say and being treated like dirt because I know French and American Sign Language instead of Spanish, I don't feel as connected to the Mercs with Money compared to other Deadpool series. 

'Merc Madness' is a 5-issue series in which Deadpool's team comes into possession of a robot that might have insight into the future. Turns out this machine is one of those legendary Recorders and after going through a rip in the fabric of space, it was ingrained with unlimited knowledge of the multiverse. Naturally, Wade Wilson sees dollar signs; immediately putting it up for auction. This puts a targets on the backs of the Mercs with Money until they can deliver the Recorder to the secret hideout of the highest bidder.

Along with the main story like this trade paperback includes the one-shot Deadpool: Masacre. Apparently it's a Cinco de Mayo special issue (for those of you who like to collect holiday themed comics). At first, I'm apprehensive because if I know anything about Masacre, it's that he speaks untranslated Spanish. However, from what I can gather from intro at the beginning of the special, writer's Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn wrote the entire script in English, translated it into Spanish and then back into English in order to hilariously massacre everything in some odd Marvel version of the kid's game Telephone. 

As a result, you do get this hilarious Batman-like origin story of the Mexican Deadpool. Bloody too! However, based on how the editor's keep telling their readers to learn Spanish if they've got complaints about not understanding what the characters has to say, the idea behind this one-shot seems insensitive. Don't get me wrong! I love Deadpool's irreverence and I'm not calling for the character to be cancelled. It's just another example of how Axel Alonso was just as irreverent, crude and crash like the rest of us; he just couldn't care less what his white, older customer base wanted. Some might applaud that way of thinking. But as someone who majored on the business side of the culinary industry, I know that such alienation isn't how your run a multi-national company. Alas, Alonso had to offend somebody. He just chose to turn away the population who had the most spending power.

It's not my favorite Deadpool volume. But as a fan of the character, I'm going to keep it. Though I'm culling from my massive collection, this one will stay. How else can I say I have the entire gambit of Deadpool stories?

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Scotch McTiernan's Holiday Party #1

Thanks to my experience with their Halloween special, I was willing to give the Brian Posehn/Gerry Duggan/Scott Koblish holiday follow-up a try. I really wish I had saved my money.

The entire book is a stoner's Christmas Carol warning of the dangers of a 2024 Trump/Red Wave election victory. While I support free speech and I understand the fears of what MAGA candidates are going to do win OR lose after the November elections; it's just not appropriate for a Christmas themed comic book. (And if I am wrong about that- then at least put a warning label on the front cover!)

I'm okay with Christmas horror. I'm even okay with a little bit of Christmas dystopia. Usually with all those types of tales, there's at least a glimmer of positivity and hope. Not so here! There's not one single bit of joyful anticipation in this 2022 comic from Image. The writers are so angry that if this comic book could fester cancer from the bitterness, then the case would be terminal.

Maybe I should have realized from the shocks of the Halloween special that there would be no sacred cows here. Based on the cover, I didn't expect a reverent comic. Heck, I was expecting a lot of drug culture humor and Deadpool level violence. And I was OK with all that. Based on the cover, it all looked so cheerful and fun. I was instead sucker-punched with this woebegone tome. I really didn't expect this to be such a downer in expectation of what 2024 might bring. Hell, I wasn't even expecting the next election to even be a glimmer in the eye of the creators being published so far away from 2024.

January through October of 2024 is going to have enough fear and loathing on its own. I just don't need it during my holiday reads. That's my time to delight and wonder. The team of Duggan/Posehn/Koblish stole that from me with this book. 

Grinches....

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 2 out of 10 stars.

Scotch McTiernan's Halloween Party #1

I'm rather familiar with Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn. Both were the writers of an epic run of Deadpool stories that saw the Merc With a Mouth gaining a daughter, taking on a zombie horde of dead presidents and the return of the demonically funny Madcap! With their stories, I've learned to expect the unexpected and that there are no sacred cows! But man, was the opening to the book a real punch to the face.

This Halloween special starts off with a maniacal clown about to kill a whole bunch of party goers. Yet, the fiend is beaten to the punch by a mass shooter and then another mass shooter and another. The whole opening sequence of this story was meant to ask the question 'whose is the real monster- those of our nightmares or the regular man on the street?' But with the gore and blood and language and that poor dead bunny rabbit, I was so dumbstruck and shocked; it was like a climate activist had come into my comic book collection and poured tomato soup over everything.

After the initial shock, things got less in-your-face but the wildness and impulsiveness factors never dwindled. When  the 'hero' of this story, Scotch McTiernan, finally appears, the theme of the story has already changed. Over the course of this special we go from biting social commentary to 80s action hero satire to a parody of the 1982 classic E.T., and then things wrap up with a skewering of the religious right while channeling The Most Dangerous Game and Suicide Squad.

In the 1990s, Frank Miller created a character named Lance Blastoff. This souped up rocket man was gritty, grim, bloody as hell- oh, and irreverent. Nothing was safe from Frank Miller's take on the overly testosteroned super hero. Critics claimed that Miller created the character as his form of nose-thumbing at activists who saw mature comics as something to be banned and abhorred. For a while, Miller's character was used in campaigns and fundraising comics produced by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and it seemed the more they did, the wilder Lance Blastoff got. I get the same vibe here with Scotch McTiernan. Only I don't think Duggan and Posehn are doing it for the CBLDF...

Scotch McTiernan first debuted earlier this year in a book called The Secret History of the War on Weed. I didn't know that it was a book meant to celebrate 4/20 Day. Regardless, it wasn't on my radar and if I had known that the former was based on that April tribute to pot, I probably wouldn't have placed a request on this special. Yet Duggan, Posehn and their Deadpool favorited artist, Scott Koblish, were listed as the creators and that was good enough for me. 

Now that I've completed this book, I've got a couple of decisions to make. Do I want to own The Secret History of the War on Weed since it is a 'holiday' book? And do I want to own the forthcoming Christmas special that Duggan, Posehn and Koblish have lined up about Scotch McTiernan? I'm going to say yes to both. However, I'm also going to be wearing a whole lot of armor when I do. Those first 6 pages of this Halloween special are going to haunt me for decades and the horror had nothing to do with the creatures of the night. 

The opening of Scotch McTiernan's Halloween Party will hit you like a ton of bricks. While those elements of this story, which as a teacher hits very close to home, are temporary, the irreverence and insanity that turned me into a Deadpool fan never wanes from this comic. Maybe if Wade Wilson was doing all of this craziness and not just some random dudes with guns and body armor, I wouldn't be so unsettled. If so, I might have really enjoyed the last 3/4 of this book much as well.

This is definitely not a Halloween special for kids! Mature readers only!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Last Christmas

After a zombie apocalypse, the survivors of the world try to continue living life as close to normal. Christmas is one of those traditions hanging by a thread and it still manages to keep Santa busy. Instead of a teddy bear, kids might now ask for a .357 Magnum with 100 rounds in order to survive another year. But, it's still business as usual for St. Nick. That is until the zombies finally invade the North Pole.

Santa and his elves are able to repel the attack, but not without some causalities. As a result, Mrs. Claus is brutally murdered and it sends Santa down into a deep depression. Every year to mark the anniversary of his wife's death, Santa tries to do himself in. But he can't die as the children of the world still believe in him. But years of not showing up has caused that number to shrink until there's only one kid left who believes- and he wants a bike for Christmas.

Seeing his way to finally die, Santa heads down to San Francisco to meet with the last kid who believes. In his sleigh is a very special present. Only, it's not a bike and it's going to help Kris Kringle finally go out with a bang. 

This Image series from Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan is wild. The same duo who brought us an insane run recently on Deadpool, this comic book is NOT for kids! I'm serious. Just because it stars Santa and some elves, in no way should a child under the age of 12 read this book. Heck 12 might even be pushing it. 

This 2006 miniseries from  is full of sex, suicide (attempts), gore, murder, and about as much potty humor legally allowed by Marvel during a Deadpool run of issues- multiplied by a factor of 50! It's all rendered in disgusting detail by the team of Hilary Barta, Rick Remender, and covers by Geof Darrow!

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed this book. It was off-the-wall and that's my field house. But I also know that this is not a holiday comic for just anyone either. This is the type of Santa Claus that should only be enjoyed by mommies and daddies. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool, Volume 8: All Good Things

 After the tragic ending of Deadpool’s time as Zenpool, the Merc With A Mouth decides to run away from his family and friends and problems. Accepting a gig as a soldier of fortune from the Trapster (AKA Paste Pot Pete) (or Pete, for short), Wade Wilson ends up in the deserts of the Middle East, protecting some Roxxon oil claims from hostiles. But when it is revealed that the hostiles are actually refugees trying to protect their way of life, Deadpool has a change of heart and attempts to save the day.

     Oh, and this volume contains the death of Deadpool!

   What?! That's not a spoiler! The death of Deadpool is listed on the back of the book! Google it!

    Besides, this is Deadpool we're talking about… nothing ever is as it seems- or is it???

    Lot's of insane Wade Wilson fun. That means gross humor, surreal experiences, and lots and lots of death. Gory, funny death…

    Probably the best Deadpool storyline since his encounter with the zombie Presidents in issues 1-6.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool, Volume 7: Axis

Move over Gwenpool and Dogpool, there's a new member of the Deadpool family- Zenpool!

  After the Freaky Friday events of AXIS, Wade Wilson has finally found inner peace. While his daughter and the criminal scum of the Big Apple are enjoying this new version of the Merc With a Mouth, not everyone is so pleased. His wife Sheklah thinks he's become a wimp (he has.) The Avengers think he's gone nuts (he already was.) And the now evil X-MEN want him dead! (who doesn't?)

 But the big question is this- will Wade Wilson be able to remain at peace with himself with the ever nagging knowledge of all the bad things he's done over the years.

   Just when I think that I've seen it all about Deadpool, he never ceases to amaze me. The writing duo of Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn have really elevated Deadpool to new heights over the past couple of years. I know that their run has been panned just as much as it's been praised, but Deadpool is more popular than ever and I think those two have a little bit to due with it.

     A crazy fun read that has everything going for it but bad kharma.

  Worth Consuming.

  Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool by Posehn & Duggan, Volume 3

    Deadpool's search for the daughter he didn't know he had continues. But before Wade can enact some blood-soaked revenge on those who've manipulated his past the Merc with a Mouth, he's got a little trip to take- down the aisle to holy matrimony. Though, based on who Deadpool's mystery bride is, should I say it's unholy?
    Before the 'I Do's', Deadpool is thrown the most epic bachelor's party aboard the USS Essex. After the 'I Do's', Deadpool and bride go on a honeymoon to Japan. Needless to say, neither locale will ever be the same again and probably had to be condemned afterwards.
    Deadpool's extensive and often confusing origin are explored in length in this omnibus edition. During an Original Sin crossover event, Agent Preston is shown visions of Deadpool's missing daughter while her partner Agent Adsit is shown a harrowing account of the death of Wade's parents. Meanwhile Deadpool is sent back in time to the 1950s in order to save Nick Fury from being assassinated by a time-travelling Adolf Hitler!
    Folks, you can't make this stuff up- that is unless you're authors Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan. The duo has often been criticized for being too zany in their stories. But zany and bizarre- isn't that the essence of the anti-hero?
     An insane collection of Deadpool tales that shed about as much light on the troubled mutant as it does muddy the waters a little bit more. But that's okay as I don't think we're ever supposed to really know Wade Wilson. Deadpool has got to have some surprises least he's just not that entertaining to read.

   Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

   This omnibus edition collects the following: Deadpool #26-34 and Annual #1.

Deadpool by Posehn & Duggan, Volume 2

 Still possessed by the spirit of slain SHIELD agent Preston, Deadpool seeks to find the answers behind her death and the discovery that someone's been harvesting Wade Wilson's organs for decades. Their search will take them to some of the furthest reaches of planet earth, including North Korea, a duplicate helicarrier made by an evil spy organization, and Wolverine's bedroom! Plus, go back to Deadpool's early days as he team's up with the Heroes for Hire in the 1970s and takes a much-needed vacation in 1960s Wakanda.

   The team of Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan continue to take the Merc with a Mouth to new levels- of insanity, action, and lots and lots of gore. I see lots of critics of modern day Deadpool on social media with fans saying he's too goofy, too weird, and too over-the-top. Yet, Deadpool continues to be a fan favorite, so Posehn, Duggan, and the editors at the House of Ideas are obviously doing something right. 

   Along with the outstanding writing, Scott Koblish does a fantastic job on the art adding lots of great Easter eggs throughout. Added to the mix are the awesome regular covers by Mark Brooks (issues 21-25.) I just loved this whole thing- especially the epic parody of Aliens! Game Over, Man!!!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.