Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Dalibor Talajic
Despite the issue number, this is actually the first in a new regular series of Deadpool Team-Up. The numbering will actually count down, with next month being #898. This begs the question – what happens after issue #1?
The Story
To start of Deadpool’s newest ongoing series, the book starts with a heavy-hitter all star, literally. Hercules and Deadpool run into each other after being caught in a trap designed by two foes.
The team-up format works well for Deadpool. Deadpool’s game is in good form, complete with his pop-culture references and fourth-wall realizations. The episodic sitcom-esque storytelling fits him. For such a strong comedic personality, it helps to have other characters to play off of. It worked well in Cable/Deadpool, and it seems to be off to a good start here.
This book is for Deadpool fans. Simply starting at such a high number instead of a 1 is sure to scare off people not already used to the wackiness that is Deadpool. With that said, there’s still a short origin recap for Deadpool. You have to wonder who that’s for if the audience is supposed to be familiar with the character already. Hercules has one too, which makes sense. Being a Deadpool fan doesn’t equal being a Hercules fan or knowing Greek mythology. This may make the book a good one for a fan to start a friend off on, but hardcore Deadpool followers will probably just see a wasted panel.
The dialog can be a bit hectic to keep track of at times, but that’s usually on purpose with Deadpool talking to his thought boxes. At one point though, the dialog makes even less sense than usual, as if part of a conversation was sloppily edited out. That will take readers out of the story and confuse them.
One stray narration box makes its way into the story early on for no reason. It is actual plot narration for scene transition, not one of Deadpool’s sentient thought boxes. It’s really out of place and wastes reading time.
For a first issue in a new series, slip ups aren’t surprising. This one does waste space with sloppy dialog and wasted back story that another revision probably could have fixed. Otherwise, while not a masterpiece, it’s a solid Deadpool story.
7/10
The Art
The job gets more or less done. There’s some advanced aging that is pulled off well. The clothing is well done, and you can even see the stitch line in the middle of Deadpool’s mask. The Deadpool boxers are kind of neat and should probably be in Marvel’s online store if not already, not to mention Disney Stores around the country. Otherwise, it’s not all that special, but it’s not bad either.
One concern I tend to have with Deadpool art is when Deadpool doesn’t seem as disfigured as he’s implied to be. This book is no exception. Deadpool is scarred and hideous over his entire body, but what is shown doesn’t look that bad. The scarring is nothing more than small groupings of dots and splotches scattered about his body. It wouldn’t be a big deal if Hercules isn’t as shocked as he is when seeing Deadpool’s grotesque foot that didn’t look too grotesque.
Aside from that, there are some occasional line connection issues. Deadpool’s finger eventually merges with his mask in one panel. Occasionally, the stitch line on the mask doesn’t finish or just disappears. Just a bit more attention to detail in some panels could have fixed these.
6/10
Deadpool Team-Up #899 is a decent start to a new comedy series with everyone’s favorite merc with a mouth. This issue has issues with wasted space and simple mistakes. Hopefully issue 898 will learn from this and give the script and art one more glance.
The Review
Story 7/10
Art 6/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10