Deadpool is one of those cult Marvel characters that every Marvel comic nerd loves, but is pretty much unknown to the mass market reader. Being a big X-title fanatic, you'd figure I'd know a ton about this character, but besides the occasional appearance in X-Force when I was reading it in the early 90's and the current Cable/Deadpool series, I haven't had any exposure to the character.
Since this was Deadpool's first solo title, I assumed it might be a nice introduction to the character and work as a springboard to understand why this character is as popular as he is with the underground crowd. After reading this mini I'm assuming the reason everyone loves him is because he's so stymied with Marvel 90's continuity.
Honestly, I felt like I was dropped into the middle of an ongoing series there was so much continuity referenced and used as plot points that I felt left out at almost every turn. Characters would appear and it would be expected that a reader should know who he or she is and why he or she is doing what he or she is doing. I never knew what anyone's motivation was outside of a supposed hate for Deadpool and wanting to get at the contents of a Mr. Tolliver's will.
The story basically revolves around that one premise. A Mr. Tolliver has died and a bunch of mercenaries want to get what was in his will. This leads to lots of fighting and plenty of quips from Deadpool, many of them feeling very dated. There's also plenty of stilted dialogue between the rogues gallery that is on display here, and it got very annoying, if not boring, at times.
For wanting to learn about Deadpool and possibly his origins, I obviously should not have chosen this mini. If you're not versed in mid-90's Marvel continuity, particularly of the X-Men and X-Force, then I wouldn't expect to get a lot of out of this. If you do want to read it, I'd probably just scan it for the Deadpool comments and then move on to something not tied so tightly to other complementing titles.
Since this was Deadpool's first solo title, I assumed it might be a nice introduction to the character and work as a springboard to understand why this character is as popular as he is with the underground crowd. After reading this mini I'm assuming the reason everyone loves him is because he's so stymied with Marvel 90's continuity.
Honestly, I felt like I was dropped into the middle of an ongoing series there was so much continuity referenced and used as plot points that I felt left out at almost every turn. Characters would appear and it would be expected that a reader should know who he or she is and why he or she is doing what he or she is doing. I never knew what anyone's motivation was outside of a supposed hate for Deadpool and wanting to get at the contents of a Mr. Tolliver's will.
The story basically revolves around that one premise. A Mr. Tolliver has died and a bunch of mercenaries want to get what was in his will. This leads to lots of fighting and plenty of quips from Deadpool, many of them feeling very dated. There's also plenty of stilted dialogue between the rogues gallery that is on display here, and it got very annoying, if not boring, at times.
For wanting to learn about Deadpool and possibly his origins, I obviously should not have chosen this mini. If you're not versed in mid-90's Marvel continuity, particularly of the X-Men and X-Force, then I wouldn't expect to get a lot of out of this. If you do want to read it, I'd probably just scan it for the Deadpool comments and then move on to something not tied so tightly to other complementing titles.
Ratings
Art: 3
Story: 2.25
Overall: 2.5
Art: 3
Story: 2.25
Overall: 2.5
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