Deadpool's first key appearances finally collected in one volume
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From a creative standpoint, the late nineties are often cited as the low point for Marvel's long enduring X-Men franchise. "Super-deluxe-mega-crossover-events" had taken control of the editorially driven storylines, and anatomically incorrect "dynamic" artwork had long since become the standard that all of the X-titles would aspire towards. In a sense, this trend (that played no small part in Marvel's eventual downward spiral into bankruptcy) can be traced back to artist, Rob Liefeld and his "extreme" counterpart to the X-Men, `X-Force'. How ironic then, that a spin-off of that very series, starring a character co-created by that very same man, would eventually become the deepest and most poignant X-title of the late nineties, and one of the most acclaimed and well-loved superhero stories of the entire decade.
Deadpool made his first appearance in 1991, within the pages of `New Mutants' #98 (the series that would soon evolve into `X-Force') and immediately became something of a sensation with fans who loved his mystery and intrigue, as well as his very bizarre sense of humour. Two years later in 1993, Deadpool was finally awarded his own mini-series, and by 1997, he was the star of a full-fledged ongoing series. This collection presents all of those key Deadpool appearances, right up to the first issue of the ongoing series. Unfortunately, his appearances in `Cable' have been sidelined, most likely so that Deadpool fans wanting to get the whole thing will have to pick up `Cable Classic' vol. 1 along with this.
The stories presented within this volume vary in quality, from the typical nineties big-muscles/even-bigger-guns non-stop action of `New Mutants' #98, to the early glimmers of brilliance that we can expect to see later on, as hinted by `Deadpool' ongoing series #1. The two mini-seires, `The Circle Chase' and `Sins of the Past', are entertaining mindless action fares with some good moments of humour thrown in. The art throughout the entire collection is consistently good for the most part, with some great early examples of well-known artists: Rob Liefeld, Ian Churchill and Ed McGuiness, among others.
Fans have been clamouring for a series of paperbacks reprinting Deadpool's early stories for years now, and with the impending release of a new ongoing series on the horizon, Marvel have finally delivered. However, while entertaining at times, the stories collected here aren't necessarily reflective of the reason why fans have been after a collection for so long. Fans of action packed comics with great dynamic artwork, and little to think about in regards to story, will lap this up. But for anybody wanting something with a little more meat in the story, you wouldn't be doing yourself a disservice by skipping past this, and jumping straight into volume 2 when it's eventually released, instead. Because, trust me, you're not going to want to miss that one.
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