Double Dose o’ Deadpool!

New Comic Book Day (or Wednesday to the lay person) is always a day filled with magic and promise.  What will be waiting for me in my file?!  What surprises may I find on the rack that I wasn’t even aware were coming out?!  Most important of all – what lucky comics will be coming home with me?!?  Well this week ended up being exceptionally exciting.  Why?  It turns out author Cullen Bunn had two new Deadpool issues waiting for me!!  I picked up my file to find issue #4 of his brilliant Deadpool & the Mercs for Money series as well as the debut issue of Deadpool: Back in Black.  I can assure you, whether you’re new to Deadpool or you’ve loved him for years – this is where you want to be.  Do you hear that?  Yes, that’s the sound of me rejoicing.

Who feels like a little…TIME TRAVEL?!?

The idea of time travel has been a staple of the fantasy/sci-fi genre in general and comic books specifically for…well, probably since the first future time traveller went back in time and was accidentally discovered by a struggling author who then just pretended to invent it.  No matter how many times it’s used, I love it.  I’m ALWAYS a sucker for a good time travel story.  So, with thoughts of time travel on my mind, I figured I’d look at two recent time travel series I really enjoyed – Marvel’s Deadpool & Cable: Split Second done by Fabian Nicieza and Reilly Brown as well as IDW’s Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything put together by the team of Ben Bates, Dustin Weaver, Damian Couceiro, Ryan Browne, Nick Pitarra, Giannis Milonogiannas, and Sophie Campbell.

Top Five Wednesday – Father Figures!

As I was perusing the blogosphere this afternoon something exciting happened!  Thanks to Nancy over at Graphic Novelty 2 and Heather from Heather Hobbs – A Book Blog, I learned that “Top Five Wednesday” is not only a thing, but an exciting thing at that!  (It’s worth noting I’ve seen a lot of brilliant Top Five lists online…I’m sure a lot of them were on Wednesday too.  Buuuut I didn’t “get it” until I saw Nancy and Heather’s posts a few moments apart.  This is embarrassing…let’s not broadcast it.)  So I figured I’d join the ol’ group over at Goodreads myself and join the fun.  With it being Father’s Day this weekend, the post was to be on your Top Five Favorite Literary Fathers.  (Okay, okay, it’s technically Thursday.  But I just saw this now!  So shhhh…let’s not broadcast this either.  I promise next week the post will be written and posted on Wednesday.)  With that being said, let’s look at some great dads!

Deadpool’s Mercs are Worth the Money!

Ahh…summer vacation.  My final exams are all graded.  My grades are all posted.  And now my mind can gently turn from lesson planning and grading to the freedom of summer.  There are lots of novels to read, movies to watch, sun to bask in, and family and friends to see…but it also means there’s a lot of time for writing and comic reading!  Given how much fun I’ve had since I started blogging, I’ve decided to see how often I can post on My Comic Relief through the summer holiday.  I’ve no set goal in mind, only the challenge!  My question now becomes – is there a better way to ring in summer than with Deadpool’s Mercs for Money??  I say there isn’t!

A Bromance Unafraid of Going Deeper

First, no.  I know this post is partially about Deadpool but I’m not talking about going deeper in that way.  So let’s all be adults and move on alright?  It’ll only make things harder if we can’t let it go.  I’m talking about emotional depth here people!  Second, I’ve been avoiding Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness’ brilliant new series Spider-Man/Deadpool  since it was released.  Yes, it stars my favorite character of all time alongside the one who’s ended up symbolizing my return to the world of comics.  Yes, it’s getting rave reviews from critics and fans alike.  And yes, comic shops can’t keep it on the shelves.  But, as I wrote last week, I’ve been trying to avoid Peter Parker’s world since I’ve come back home to Marvel Comics.  Alas…I had to try it.  And now I’m ashamed I waited so long!

Deadpool and a Most Meta Trilogy Part III

Here we are!  It’s the end of the line!  Okay, I know Deadpool’s taken us to some emotionally heavy and intellectually intense places this week.  If you’re starting to feel a little fatigued, fear not!  This final graphic novel literally has Deadpool teaming up with a panda version of himself called Pandapool.  I guarantee it is even more adorable and awesome than it sounds.  Today we finish our philosophical tour of Deadpool’s most meta adventure ever as we look at the final volume of Cullen Bunn’s groundbreaking Deadpool Killology – illustrated by Salva Espin – Deadpool Kills Deadpool.  Like usual, this post is spoiler-free with regard to all major plot points.

Deadpool and a Most Meta Trilogy Part II

Yesterday, we explored Deadpool’s destruction of the Myth of Redemptive Violence and thus the very foundation for most comic conflicts and their resolutions.  But the Sassin’ Assassin is far from finished.  It’s time to embark on a Postmodern literary criticism like no other as Deadpool faces off against the literal (and literary) inspiration for comic book superheroes and villains!  He also tackles the very notion of originality, forcing the (again, very postmodern) question of whether or not original ideas can exist.  Cullen Bunn and Mateo Lolli helm this next level of Meta Madness in Deadpool: Killustrated, the second graphic novel in Bunn’s Deadpool Killology.  As with yesterday’s post, there’s no major plot spoilers here, just a discussion of the book’s themes and philosophy.

Deadpool and a Most Meta Trilogy

There are two things we can say with absolute certainty about Deadpool.  First, he is everywhere right now.  I mean EVERYWHERE.  With an amazing movie and a growing list of monthly titles it seems the Merc with a Mouth is trying to channel Spidey in popularity as well as the mask design department.  Second, he is the most meta, self-aware, fourth-wall breaking character in the entire genre.  To honor both of these hallmark traits I’ll be doing a trilogy of posts this week on the Sassin’ Assassin, the Regeneratin’ Degenerate, the man, the myth, and the legend (if only in his own mind).  Each of these posts will explore Deadpool at his most meta.  And he’s never been MORE META than he was in Cullen Bunn’s Deadpool Killology. 

Profile of a Pull List

There were two powerful and seductive forces that pulled me back into the world of comic book collecting.  Those forces are named Jeff and Kalie.  As I discussed in my first post, I stopped collecting comic books around the time I turned sixteen, as comic money turned into gas money.  For seventeen years I was only peripherally aware of what was happening in the lives of my favorite comic characters.  But those seventeen years would fall away (with surprisingly little resistance) last fall.  And again, all the credit (and/or blame) for my return to this wonderfully addicting and captivating world can be laid at the feet of Jeff and Kalie.