(Crickets) There’s tons of instances of that kind of annoying “comedy”.

For example, in this book Deadpool’s trying to get Preston out of his head and into a Life Model Decoy from SHIELD but it turns evil and tries to kill him so he beheads it, saying “You won’t beheading into this body”. Puns are the lowest form of humour, they really are. But then again, how often do you see Fin Fang Foom in a Marvel comic these days? At this point I hope they just drop it altogether. That gimmick was fresh in the second volume when Deadpool went back to Iron Man’s Demon in a Bottle storyline and wreaked havoc, but every time Duggan/Posehn have gone back to the well with this idea, it’s been increasingly unfunny and dull. The opening issue of Deadpool on vacay in Wakanda presented in a ‘60s Kirby art style (which is “funny” because Deadpool was created in the ‘90s) was just boring. Giving him a tragic backstory and “feelings” is just wrong and I hate that that’s now canon for this character going forward. I won’t go into specifics if you haven’t read it, but it’s a bit like trying to make Bugs Bunny seem more “realistic” – you just shouldn’t do it! Deadpool’s at his best when he’s being the over-the-top cartoon he is. They made him Sadpool! Which is horrible for various reasons not least though because Duggan/Posehn don’t make the tragedy seem the least bit convincing or meaningful for Wade. The worst part of this series happened in the last volume, the after-effects of which are still being felt here, which was: Duggan/Posehn tried to make Deadpool into a real character. Oh, and the script is full of puns galore because they’re so darn funny… Guess how well that works out for Gorman? Meanwhile, Agent Preston is STILL in Deadpool’s head and Brian Posehn/Gerry Duggan are still doing the “fake old Marvel comics starring Deadpool” schtick. Into its fourth volume, Marvel NOW! Deadpool feels like a sitcom that’s been on for a bit too long, with rigidly-defined characters/catchphrases and everything feels a bit stale and predictable.ĭeadpool’s after the millions of dollars that rogue SHIELD agent Gorman stiffed from him, but Gorman’s put out a hit on Deadpool to keep him from getting him.

Deadpool, Volume 4 by Brian Posehn