Deadpool has been brought out of retirement in order to eliminate Hammerhead, the Maggia crimelord who has been in self-imposed isolation. Secluded within the heavily fortified office building known as The Tower, nothing gets in or out without Hammerhead’s distinguished associates catching wind of it. Well, except for perhaps the world’s greatest assassin, our very own Merc With a Mouth, Deadpool.
Deadpool MAX #1
WRITER: DAVID LAPHAM
ARTIST: KYLE BAKER
LETTERED BY: VC’s CLAYTON COWLES
PUBLISHED BY: MARVEL COMICS
Bob, The Not So Happy or Lucky Sidekick Is Back
Bob is having a rough time of it lately. Longtime fans of Deadpool will recognize Bob by name but certainly not by action. Let’s be clear: this is not Deadpool’s happy-go-lucky pal that has appeared recently as a goofy sidekick in a pirate outfit. The Marvel Max version of Bob is now working for an unnamed governmental organization and his assignment is simple. Action Officer Bob is tasked with the unenviable position of being Deadpool’s handler. In the grand hierarchy of the organization, Wade is the perfect killing machine and poor Bob is just perfectly expendable.
Lapham Out Garths Garth
Writer David Lapham is out to show us that he’s even more twisted than Garth Ennis, and that’s saying a lot. First Lapham ups the shock ante by following up Ennis’ Crossed with his very own Crossed: Family Values. Now another Marvel character with a penchant for killing is taking on the mob in his own Max title. Ennis followed a similar path with his legendary adult take on Frank Castle in the Punisher universe. This time Lapham takes a page from the same gore-infested, kink-glazed book of depravity.
Frankly, I can’t get enough.
Kyle Baker’s unique visuals add to the dark and twisted charm of the book. His doughy depictions of anatomy mirror the outrageous nature of the tale. Baker has shown himself to be one of the most adaptive illustrators in comics. When coupled with the appropriate source material, Baker’s art can act as the perfect complement. His style within these pages reminds me of Paul Pope, Tim Sale and some Darwyn Cooke thrown into the mix.
If you maintain delicate sensibilities, I suggest you steer far from this book. Leave a wide birth in the comic aisle of your LCS, otherwise you may get caught in the wake of its wonderful smuttiness. As a point of reference, you really won’t believe the punishment that Bob endures in order to make his assignment a success. Talk about dedication to one’s craft!
BOTTOM LINE: A Polarizing Provocative Poke
With the ongoing deluge of Deadpool-related titles, Marvel is pushing the boundaries of overexposure. I can’t help but think that Lapham’s take will prove to be quite polarizing. Boundaries are certainly crossed and good taste is given a provocative poke in this unusual and entertaining series launch.
Any comic that has one of our protagonists nearly killed over crumpets gets my vote of confidence. Deadpool Max #1 earns an anything but respectable 4.5 out of 5 stars.
[rating:4.5/5]
2 Comments
Normally, I don’t mind depravity, even for it’s own sake, but in this instance I actually did not enjoy it or really find it interesting or important to the plot. Bob’s being raped repeatedly and suffering massive indignities to get his job done and in the end, he doesn’t get to dole out the comeuppance, nor do they actually draw it out long enough or even really show the passage of time during said abuse and draw the story out long enough to make that final battle/resolution hold any kind of impact. I unlike you, thought that the art was hideous. I know art is entirely sujbective to the viewer, so no slight on you for liking it. I just felt that his “doughy” (as you called it) way of drawing people seemed lazy and shoddily/too quickly drawn and in every single panel people looked distorted in entirely different ways. It was ugly, but I felt that the writing wasn’t terrible. The way the plot gets laid out is a little tired, reminiscent of Memento and things like that, but it wasn’t a straightforward obvious script. For me though, even decent writing won’t help a title that I feel visually assaulted simply by looking at it. I’d give it a 1 star out of 5 personally. The odd thing is that I love The Boys, so maybe if the art had been different and there had been a couple slight tweaks here and there, I might have liked it. Oh well, as is said around Major Spoilers, your mileage may vary, and obviously mine has varied quite a bit.
I can totally see why this book wouldn’t be to your liking, Damascus. This is a very polarizing take on DP, without a doubt.
I don’t really see Bob as having been the victim of rape. He’s ‘sleeping with the enemy’ in much the same way countless other espionage tales have depicted. This isbjust a bit more extreme and is mano-a-Mano.