Marvel NOW 1st Impression: Deadpool #1

FIRST IMPRESSION

MARVEL NOW


DEADPOOL #1
Written by Gerry Duggan & Brian Posehn
Art by Tony Moore
Colors by  Val Staples

Review by Broken Infinite EIC Himself, Frankie Rodriguez

 INTRODUCTION:

       So yeah. Deadpool. Marvel's undead whore. Well, he's not undead but he kind of is. More or less, Daniel Way had closed out the run on the character and that Deadpool book ended. Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth ... who got that moniker cause he could not shut up ... REALLY, he can't. His own inner monologue is loud.

   He debut back in the early 90s in the penultimate issue of the first volume of New Mutants as well as the first Volume of X-Force and was a creation of Rob Liefield. After some time, the Merc with a Mouth struck a cord with people that he ended up with his own mini series. Then had more minis. Then his own ongoing ... three times ... one of them with Cable from the aforementioned X-Force.

  What we seem to get is that there is a weird balancing act between him being a deadly merc and his own brand of comedy. Oh ... Deadpool slept with  Banshee (aka Siryn aka Teresa Cassidy) on more than one occasion.  Why did I mention that? Cause it is a fun fact and it's freaking Deadpool.

  Anyway, on to the show.


FLIPPING THROUGH:

    We start with a ... Satanic SHIELD agent raising a zombi-fied Harry S. Truman, one of the former Presidents of the United States, out of his grave. He said he did it to put this country back into shape. WHAT?

    You raise the dead cause you don't like the politicians of this era and you want the country to get better? How absurd. That's just . .. *thinks about it for a minute*

    Anyway, who should arrive but Captain America. Yep. Not Deadpool. But Cap.We find that SHIELD has intel that more than just Truman is out of his grave and they don't want the Avengers beating up Undead Presidents.

  Yes. I said that correctly. Beat  up zombi-fied dead presidents. We then see our star, cutting through the guts of a giant lizard monster ...

Oh my god.

   DEADPOOL'S KILLED GODZILLA!!!

   ONORE!!!!

*pauses & calms down*

     Anyway, after having a "secret" team up with Thor ... who is acting like they had a bad one night stand he never wants to have be known by the public (like the people you see in "Cheaters" or down low men), Deadpool is hired by SHIELD to quietly take down the former Presidents.

   Let me repeat that.  DEADPOOL ... is hired to take down zombi-fied presidents of the US . ..  QUIETLY.

  Well, this will not end well. After an interesting battle with FDR, Deadpool's chase leads him to Independence Hall and ....I'm not telling you the rest.




ART:

    Tony Moore brings his wonderful a game into this book. Deadpool looks really messed up ... like always but I think this time really highlights that Wade is a living zombie look with flesh on him that is healing ... all the time. Cap and thorn looked like the larger than life heroes they are. The areas were well drawn.
Val Staples' colors are really vivid but fit the moods and settings of the seen. Moore's pencils and inks are enhanced well by Staples' color work.

  Really, a great look book.


WRITING:

    Let me get this out of the way. I don't really read Deadpool much. The last two Deadpool issues I picked up were a part of Cable & Deadpool, written by Fabian Niceaza, and were tie ins to Civil War. So, this is out of my comfort zone. And I will say, I liked it but I didn't love it.

    Duggan and Posehn have great comedic timing and it shows with Wade and the Dead Presidents. Irony, puns and physical comedy all utilized well. But there are a couple issues I had with this first issue:

  As a jump on point it works but there feels to a disjointed feel to this issue. The serious scenes in this a few and while important, felt a bit shoehorned in. The book definitely has this tv pilot feel to it. It opens with a bang, we get the main character, we get into the new status quo and the plot of the story with it ending in a cliffhanger that is perfect for taking a commercial break.

  And while that is good, this is still comic book and there felt like the disjointed scenes mixed with some odd choices for gags (THERE IS NO EXCUSE EVER TO JUSTIFY US SEEING DEADPOOL'S ASS! SERIOUSLY! READERS DO NOT NEED TO SEE WADE'S FLESH TORN & SCARRED ASS! EWWWWWW) So the tv style set up kinda of worked for it and worked against it too.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

    The book is fun. The book is insane. The plot is interesting yet crazy enough that it feels the comedic side of Deadpool. But what irks me is that while I understood the politics of choosing Deadpool, I am not sure as to why they are having Deadpool do it ALONE. That just seems to make less sense. Sure he's got SHIELD agents going with him but I still think that this was odd that Deadpool was their only heavy hitter on the job.

 Moore and Staples make a great art team. It is great to look at. And everyone looks distinct . You can't mix up characters here and it is a more unique style.

   Writing wise, it seems that there seems to be lack of balance still between Deadpool's deadly Merc Persona and his comedic rantings. Still, Duggan and Poshen make this an enjoyable read. Yet, it does not make me go "OH MY GOD! I NEED THE NEXT ISSUE."

I give Deadpool #1 a 3 out of 5. A Decent start to what could be a good storyline but ... still on the fence about getting next issue and my other points. Still, a fun read.

Marvel NOW First Impression: Red She-Hulk #58

FIRST  IMPRESSION


MARVEL NOW


RED SHE-HULK #58
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Wellington Alves, Carlo Pagulayan & Val Staples
 Marvel Comics


 INTRODUCTION:

         Over the course of the last decade, creators have worked hard to change the Hulk and help him sell better by changing things up ... to make him and his cousin Jennifer, no longer the only Hulks around. Hulk found himself to be surrounded by a new Hulk family: a son and daughter who were both Hulks, his close friend Rick Jones who became A Bomb but more significantly, his former father in law becoming the Red Hulk and his thought to be dead wife Betty, was changed into the Red She Hulk.

  Betty, as we came to find, was quite okay with becoming a Hulk. She actually finds it invigorating. Betty had embraced herself as the Red she Hulk and decided to be adventurous.Since then, she's been estranged with Bruce, was recently a Defender and just became the star of the Hulk book, written by Jeff Parker. He has decided that it is Betty's time to shine as part of the new Marvel NOW intitiative. So, let's find out what happens.


FLIPPING THROUGH:

  We are treated to the military having their own set of super soldiers who will follow orders and be government agents. During the test in a restricted, government location, Red She-Hulk thought it was time to have some fun and crash the test. She wanted information on this program called Echelon.

 We soon come to find out 2 things: 1- General Fortean wants to capture her, even asking Captain America for info. 2 - REd She-Hulk wants to take down Echelon and she is getting all the intel she can on them to do so.

  Her investigation brings her to a lab in Arlington , VA where she stops a doctor from being raped by one of Echelon's guinea pigs ... VIOLENTLY.


ART:

    Pagulayan and Alves do a stunning job with this first issue of Red She-Hulk. Betty looked smart, beautiful while her Red She-Hulk persona seems to be fun . . . and dangerous. Everyone had a great, distinct look. Emotion was easily conveyed. The panels were fun and full of kinetic action.

     Staples colors were amazing. They really helped the characters jump out, look distinct and complemented the art of both artists extremely well. Kudos to the art team with a good, strong showing.


WRITING:

    Parker gives us a strong impression with this first issue. There is a lot of mystery in the air with this first issue of Red She-Hulk. Echelon and General Fortean are being built up to a big threat to the heroes and villains at large.Parker definitely leave us with a strong impression that Betty is not playing around with her new mission to take down Echelon ... especially considering how the soldiers are getting their powers.

   You get the feeling that Betty is not going to stop till she takes down Echelon and that Fortean could end up like her father was towards Bruce before her. Yet, there is only one misstep with this issue was good set up to mysteries and the threat that Echelon will be but for Betty ... it kept her a mystery. And while that can be somewhat good, it made me feel like we are watching Betty more than getting to know her. And she is gonna be the star of this book but we got Red She-Hulk smashing with little reasons behind her own motivations.

  That seemed to be what bothered me but otherwise and great job by Parker cause it definitely makes readers wanting more.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

   Red She-Hulk #58 is a good jump on point. We get a dynamic new star with a strong mission and the determination to see it through. We get interesting and appealing new villains to work with. The art is superb.  A feast for the eyes and fits the book. There is tension, there is mystery and a lot of things get smashed. The whys have not been revealed but this does help set up an exciting start to Betty's adventures.


I give Red She-Hulk #58 a 4 out of 5. It was good. It made me want more but us getting to know our star a lil more would have been good for a jump on point. Otherwise, a strong read.