Showing posts with label Salva Espin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salva Espin. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Deadpool Kills Deadpool #4 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my incredibly delayed review of the final instalment of Deadpool Kills Deadpool! I honestly don't know why on earth it's taken me so long to finish this, but it's finally done and I'm sorry for the wait! Prepare to see Deadpool like you've never seen him before, as Sharkpool, Duckpool and...Grootpool!

Synopsis:

Picking up where the last issue left off, Deadpool & Pandapool engage in battle with the Deadpool versions of M.O.D.O.K, Howard the Duck and Devil Dinosaur, defeating and killing them in a surprisingly short amount of time (at least Deadpool didn't keep Duckpool as a snack for later...or did he?).

With their villainous counterparts dispatched and disintegrated, the two interrupt the fanboy Watcher from a fourth-wall-breaking speech. Deadpool comments that the multiverse has a twisted sense of humour with the kinds of characters he is in other universes, but the Watcher offers an alternate theory. If Deadpool is really the progenitor of all things, then perhaps Dreadpool is creating these alternate versions to bolster his ranks. Wade refuses to believe this though, remarking that he's only good for one thing, "killing chumps". The Watcher then prepares to re-power the Nexus of all realities, which will unfortunately require him to sacrifice himself. Before dying, he urges Wade to save all of creation...and kick his own ass!

With the Watcher now gone, Deadpool & Pandapool enter the Nexus, arriving at the reality in which Dreadpool resides...with an army of rogue Deadpool as their greeting party. It's not the end for our hero and his animalistic counterpart however, as the army is suddenly shot to pieces around them by several "heroic" Pool's, including Grootpool, Knightpool & Squirrelpool. Not wanting to waste any more time, Deadpool demands that they cut to the action montage, which is exactly what we get.
As Deadpool and his good "selves" cut through the bad ones, the members of the group are whittled down, one by one (even Pandapool *sob*.), until only Deadpool is left standing to confront the instigator of this mass suicide...Dreadpool! The two remaining versions of Wade Wilson battle, with Dreadpool attempting to convince his other self about how they are all slaves to "the continuity". Deadpool responds with a question. If they really are the source of everything, then why don't they just fix the universe instead of trying to kill it? Dreadpool answers that Wade's subconscious won't let them as he hates himself too much and therefore has created this "hell", whereas Dreadpool embraces the coming oblivion and therefore won't allow himself to regenerate. He then questions how Deadpool's outfit could look so clean and unblemished considering he started this journey with a chainsaw through the gut?

Talking of which, Dreadpool suddenly buckles over, probably due to the large knife in his chest. As Deadpool pulls it free, he asks his evil self a question of his own. Did he stab Dreadpool in the heart while they were wrestling, or did he make the knife appear with his mind? He also tells Dreadpool that just because he can keep himself from healing doesn't mean he controls reality necessarily. It likely just means he's stubborn. While he says this, Dreadpool's chest wound begins to heal, as does his severed hand, as he finally realises with horror the amount of lives he took in an attempt to free them. Deadpool tells him that what's important is that he sees the error of his ways, so in time, he may be able to make amends for what he's done...right before he abruptly slices off Dreadpool's head and douses his body in universal acid. The universe may have forgiven Dreadpool, but Deadpool definitely hasn't.

With his mission complete and now seemingly the last Deadpool in existence, Wade leaves the "Deadpool Tower" (it's better than "the meat church"), contemplating whether there are perhaps more versions of him out there somewhere, as well as how the hell to get back home. As he leaves, a lone figure observes him, stepping out of the shadows to reveal itself as a fused Evil Deadpool and Gimppool, who remarks that he needs to think of something really evil to inflict on his heroic counterpart next...

Thoughts:

After such a crazy, madcap, multiversal and hilarious adventure, there was always the potential for this to go out with more of a whimper than a bang. But thankfully, Cullen Bunn delivers the latter. There's plenty of violence and humour as well as a thoughtful quandary (I like using that word) posed about the "progenitor" concept.

One of the things Bunn does very well is how he uses Deadpool's fourth-wall-breaking ability in service of the plot in addition to the jokes. The self-aware action montage, while being fun with a capital F, is also a smart way of cutting through any action that might bog down the narrative. That way we can literally "cut" to the real meat of the issue. The showdown between Deadpool & Dreadpool is tightly plotted and there's some interesting commentary on the nature of comic book continuity contained within the dialogue, though it's not . But the comic never forgets it's identity as a Deadpool comic, punctuated nicely when Deadpool lops off Dreadpool's head after giving a cheesy speech.

I've mentioned previously that Cullen Bunn's imagination when it comes to conjuring up alternate Deadpool's has been one of the series biggest strengths, but here he puts all his previous efforts to shame (well, Galactipool was pretty awesome), with many of the laugh-out-loud moments being the sheer sight of these Deadpool's. I almost wish there was a  There's even a Deadpool modelled after his DC counterpart Deathstroke, though he's kept partially in shadow. Salva Espin maintains his excellent work on the series in this final issue, packing it full of scenes both hilarious and action packed (often all at once), especially during the action montage.

I'm somewhat divided about the ending though. The final twist came out of nowhere and still has me scratching my head, not to mention that it ends teasing the next storyline Cullen Bunn is penning for Deadpool, rather than closing the "Killogy" out in a more meaningful way. That being said, it's possible that Night of the Living Deadpool will directly follow on from this and perhaps explain Evil Gimppool, so it's difficult to consider these as actual plot holes when there's potentially more to come. On the more positive end of the spectrum, after all the bloodshed and the nihilistic philosophy of Dreadpool, ending this mini on a more optimistic note is very much appreciated. To quote the Eleventh Doctor (or Twelfth, or Thirteenth? I can't keep it straight anymore thanks to Moffat!) "There's an awful lot of one, but there's an infinity of the other". It's totally plausible that there are still some other Deadpool's out there somewhere in the vast tapestry that is the multiverse and hopefully we will see them in the future. Cullen Bunn & Salva Espin have crafted a hilarious, violent and totally insane series with just enough heart in it to make you care about these larger than life versions of the same character, some classic Deadpool humour and some totally bonkers set-pieces...

Score: 4.0/5.0

Sunday, 8 September 2013

Deadpool Kills Deadpool #3 Review!

Hello everybody, Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Deadpool Kills Deadpool #3.

Synopsis:

Continuing on from last issue, Galactipool has arrived to consume this version of Earth. Despite this literally enormous threat, the Watcher chooses now to recap the story to us before Deadpool yells at him to focus (who'd have thought Deadpool of all people would have more sense than the Watcher?).

The Deadpool's soon start fighting again, with Deadpool curb-stomping the crap out of Evil Deadpool and Pandapool taking on the Deadpool versions of Wolverine & Spiral. Lady Deadpool is saved from Galactipool by the Watcher, who confesses that she's his favourite (I'll bet she is.), Cesspool, who she was fighting beforehand, isn't so lucky.

The Corps retreat to an underground cellar, with Pandapool pausing to bisect Spiral-Pool with one of the hatch doors (Ooh, that's gotta hurt!). Inside, Lady D & Wade arm themselves with several pieces of weaponry specialising in killing Deadpools, with Wade lamenting how much of a waste that is.

Outside, they are attacked by Wolvie-Pool, who Deadpool dispatches by tossing a grenade containing hundreds of ravenous insects that eat him alive (Okay, now that's just nasty!). Deadpool then notes that when Lady D showed him the cellar, she said that he'd need it, not they'd need it. Lady D responds by giving the Watcher an almighty smooch and then retreating to the Bea Arthur, activating it and ramming it into Galactipool's giant head, sacrificing herself to destroy him.

The Watcher answers Deadpool's question of what they should do next, saying that they must travel to their Dreadpool's homeworld. He's interrupted however by Evil Deadpool, who has survived along with Spiral-Pool and doesn't intend for them to go anywhere. Enter Galactipool's gored head to put them both out of commission.

Their enemies dealt with, the Watcher teleports Wade & Pandapool to this worlds version of the Savage Land, with the intent of discovering the Nexus of All Realities. Unfortunately, this worlds Nexus has been burned out, with the only other alternative being described by the Watcher as "more costly than even I imagined".  As Deadpool moans about how the important stuff always comes with a cost, the group are besieged by more Deadpool's serving Dreadpool, Deadpool versions of Devil Dinosaur, M.O.D.O.K and Howard the Duck (what a duckin' cliffhanger!)...

Thoughts:

Once again a very good instalment. After two issues of utter insanity, Cullen Bunn changes gears and gives us a rather melancholy issue that meshes well with the established tone, though of course there's still plenty of crude humour and gore.

With so many different versions of himself dying him, it's nice that Deadpool goes through some self-introspection in this issue. His desire to be a hero is what balances his more extreme qualities and reminds us that he is somewhat of a protagonist. Seeing him start to question whether he's capable of such helps to boost sympathy for his character and make the conflict deeper than it was previously. Lady D's death is undeniably the saddest of all the Deadpool Corps as she's arguably the most well developed of all of them besides Kidpool. I'm still wondering if they'll stay dead, but if they are, then we're in for quite a somber ending.

Like I said there's still a good deal of humour and violence to behold. I'm digging Bunn's knack for coming up with different incarnations of Deadpool so much that I almost wish the series would continue for longer so we could see more of them. Salva Espin fills the panels with some over-the-top, chaotic and sometimes gruesome images, with Veronica Gandini offsetting the dark material with some bright and beautiful colours. I'm very much enjoying this series and here's hoping the conclusion will be just as good...

 Score: 4.5/5.0

Thursday, 8 August 2013

Deadpool Kills Deadpool #2 Review

Galactuspool hungers...for chimichangas!!

Hello everybody. Donlinedude here and welcome to my review of Deadpool Kills Deadpool #2.

Synopsis:

In an unnamed, dystopian reality, Dreadpool (the Deadpool from Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe & Deadpool Killustrated) addresses a huge crowd of other Deadpool's from various realities. He thanks them for supporting his "grand design", but informs them that there is a traitor in their midst who is feeding information to the "resistance". The traitor is revealed as Beard of Beespool (Seriously?), who is promptly killed by none other than Evil Deadpool!

Elsewhere, in the middle of multiversal space on board the Bea Arthur, The Watcher recounts the events of  Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe & Deadpool Killustrated to 616 Deadpool. He explains that Dreadpool came to the conclusion that he and all forms of Deadpool are the source of all reality since Deadpool is the only one to realise that the world is fictional, and therefore all forms of Deadpool must die. The conversation is interrupted by Pulp-Pool (he seems to like doing that) who warns everyone they're in for a rough landing.

The Bea Arthur crash lands in the middle of an amusement park, though no one is harmed. While disembarking, Deadpool talks to Lady D about how the Watcher "seems a little "fanboy" about us". Of course, the Watcher overhears them, responding that he was assigned to watch over the various incarnations of the Merc With the Mouth and developed an appreciation for all things Deadpool, which has led to him breaking his sacred Watchers oath of never interfering (which makes him practically useless to the team).

The group head inside a circus tent to rendezvous with the rest of the resistance, only to discover nearly all them dead. Kidpool pulls a sword from one of the bodies, knowing some of the Pool's can still heal. Unfortunately it's a booby trap, setting off a time-bomb. Deadpool, Lady D, Pulp-Pool and the Watcher only just escape before the bomb explodes, seemingly killing Kidpool. Deadpool and the gang are then confronted by Evil Deadpool, a Deadpool ridden with various mouths known as Cesspool and Deadpool versions of Wolverine, Deathlok and Spiral.

However, salvation is at hand in the form of Pandapool (yeah, you heard me right), who leaps to the rescue, utterly destroying Deathlok-Pool and allowing Deadpool and his team the chance to recoup and take on their alternaverse selves. During the battle, the Watcher is revealed as a double agent, since he can't decide which Deadpool he likes best. Deadpool is enraged by this and yells at him about it, stopping when he notices blood raining down.

Turns out that Wolviepool decapitated Pulp-Pool, turning him into a human fountain. An angry Deadpool attacks Evil Deadpool, swearing that he's going to kill him. E.D replies that he ready to die before he got here, revealing that this was a suicide mission. Looking up, Deadpool and the others bear witness to the coming of Galactuspool!...

Thoughts:

Wow, what utter madness! This issue cranks the insane-o-meter up to eleven and then breaks the lever so it's permanently stuck at eleven. Cullen Bunn really lets his imagination take hold when it comes to the various Deadpool's shown in this issue. I cracked up at the sight of Pandapool & Galactuspool and was pleasantly surprised at the reappearance of Evil Deadpool. The only criticism I have is why so many Deadpool's are on Dreadpool's side? Surely they don't all want reality to end? Hopefully this will be explained next issue.

The fact that there are now two warring factions of Deadpools means this series can fully live up to it's title, and it certainly does that here. While I kind of saw Pulp-Pool's death coming, the death of Kidpool was both surprising and kind of saddening, though I'm not sure we should count him out yet since we didn't actually see him die. The Watcher was also very funny, and his being a raging fanboy for all things Deadpool was given a plausible enough explanation (For a Deadpool comic anyway).

Salva Espin renders the sheer madness of this issue spectacularly. The designs for all the Deadpool's look brilliant and the action scenes just pop. Considering this series has a parental advisory, this issue is actually light on extreme violence, at least until the end. Overall this issue is very fun and I can't wait for the next part.

Score: 4.0/5.0

Saturday, 13 July 2013

Deadpool Kills Deadpool #1 Review *Updated*

*Update* After reading #2, I've realised that I wrongly identified the all-black Deadpool seen in this issue as Dreadpool (the Deadpool from Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe). Since explaining this in the review of #2 would be rather awkward, I thought I'd update this review instead. I'll now refer to the all-black Deadpool as "Gimp-Pool" since Deadpool jokingly referred to him as a gimp. Also, Since I haven't read Deadpool Pulp, I didn't realise that the Deadpool who I said looked like Iron Fist is the Deadpool from that universe. Sorry for the mix-ups and I hope you enjoy the updated review...
 
Hello Everybody & welcome to my review of Deadpool Kills Deadpool #1. Prepare to see the word "pool" a lot!

Synopsis:

In a messy, dilapidated kitchen. Headpool (the disembodied head of the Deadpool from the Marvel Zombies universe) is placed into a microwave by Gimp-Pool (who...looks like a gimp). Headpool assumes that this is some sort of sick joke (this is Deadpool we're talking about) until Gimp-Pool activates the microwave and watches as Headpool and eventually explodes inside it. His work done, Gimp-Pool teleports out of the kitchen.
Meanwhile, in the 616 universe, Deadpool (the one who has his own series) is fighting Ultimatum in New York City, partly in a bid to impress either the Avengers or the X-Men. Naturally the goons are no match for Deadpool, but the giant robot is considerably more challenging. Thankfully, a ship with the Deadpool logo on it's front smashes into the robot, destroying it. Wade recognises the ship as the Bea Arthur, which belongs to the Deadpool Corps. Reuniting with Lady Deadpool, Dogpool & Kidpool (as well as a WWII-style Deadpool & Deadpool from Deadpool Pulp.), Deadpool is told by Lady Deadpool that they have all been targeted. She doesn't have time to explain as they need to go.

Deadpool protests however, saying he wants to stay and take the credit for defeating Ultimatum when the Avengers or someone else shows up. Kidpool bluntly tells him that the Avengers aren't going to give him a medal or anything. Deadpool already knows that, but he still feels sad about it. WWII-Pool begins to give him a cheesy pep talk, but is cut off when he is struck by an energy beam that also kills him. Gimp-Pool has arrived, armed to the teeth!

He fires at Deadpool, who dodges and strikes back, damaging the glider and causing Gimp-Pool to crash. Deadpool prepares to attack with his sword, but Gimp-Pool quickly "bodyslides" out of harms way. Deadpool is then impaled by Gimp-Pool's chainsaw-sword (somebody likes Gears of War). Gimp-Pool is about to kill his mainstream counterpart when Dogpool intervenes. Unfortunately, Gimp-Pool is quicker than Dogpool and fires his huge gun at Dogpool, killing him.
While Kidpool mourns Dogpool's death, Deadpool call Gimp-Pool an ass for killing the dog and uses the teleporter to "bodyslide" Gimp-Pool in two, after which Deadpool picks up the huge gun and shoots the remaining half, theorising that it's some sort of anti-regeneration ray. Lady Deadpool repeats that they have to go, warning Deadpool "there will be others".

Onboard the Bea Arthur, Deadpool tries and fails to comfort Kidpool over Dogpool's death, eventually resorting to "are you gonna be all right?" Pulp-Pool interjects that none of them are going to be alright if they don't do something, saying that all the Deadpool's in the last dozen realities they visited had been murdered. Deadpool finally loses his patience and asks that someone tell hims what's going on. At that moment, A Watcher appears to answer him. He tells Wade that "the
crusade to obliterate existence has begun...and Deadpool is the progenitor of all things!"...

Thoughts:

Despite not reading or very much caring about the previous two entries in the "Deadpool Killogy", I couldn't resist the idea of an epic, multiversal adventure starring Deadpool & his many different incarnations, especially if Cullen Bunn is on hand to provide the story.

This first part can be summed up in two words, grotesquely fun. There's a lot of violent scenes that more than earn this title a Parental Advisory warning, but what's great is that they aren't always used for comedy. These scenes show just how dangerous Gimp-Pool is to his dimensional counterparts, and the fact that they're mostly played straight made him all the more intimidating, even if the character was a little over-the-top evil. Speaking of Gimp-Pool, I couldn't help but be reminded of Rorscasch from Watchmen every time he said "Hrr".

This issue features the welcome return of the Deadpool Corps, who, despite losing three of their members, look set to bolster their ranks over the course of this mini-series. The dynamic between the team is as surreal and funny as it was in the DP Corps series, to the point where there is some small feeling of sadness when Headpool & Dogpool bite the dust. The 616 Deadpool gets the biggest laughs of the issue, my personal favourite being his first line to Gimp-Pool.

Salva Espin draws this issue very well. The fight scenes, violent imagery and the varying Deadpool's are rendered brilliantly by Espin's pencils. The colours by Veronica Gandini are vibrant and bright, adding to the insanity of this story.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this opening issue and (now being something of a Cullen Bunn fan thanks to his work on Venom) I'm eagerly anticipating the next instalment. Go Deadpool Corps!

Score: 4.0/5.0