Deadpool #19 and 20, by Gerry Duggan (writer), Scott Koblish (artist, #19), Matteo Lolli (artist, #20), Guru eFX (colorist, #20), Nick Filardi (colorist, #19), Joe Sabino (letterer) - When I first saw that cover as a preview, the girl's blue-tinted hair made me think Wade was hanging out with a ghost. Old Ben Franklin sent someone to keep an eye on him or something. But no.Issue 19 is a return to 2099. The first round between the Daughters of Deadpool ends inconclusively, Warda successfully escaping, but Ellie having rescued Wade and Preston. Warda still has one of her mother's WMDs, an Elder Beast sealed within one of those glass coffins, and demands her mother or else she'll unleash it on an unsuspecting populace. Wade gives Ellie the location her buried Shiklah, and goes looking for back-up, in the form of what I'm assuming is an extremely old-ass Danny Rand. I guess it could be his successor, there's enough time between now and 2099 for that person to be a wizened geezer too.
So a set-up issue. Lots of talking around things we haven't seen yet, which gets frustrating. The scene where Ellie is reunited with Preston and Wade was sweet, even if she still won't call him "dad". I feel like Koblish's design for Wade's outfit, the coat with the really high collar, is a lot like the one Flint Henry used in the Jim Twilley issues of GrimJack, which involved catching up with the character after a jump of a couple of centuries. Could be a coincidence, though. I like how Koblish is doing page layouts. He uses a lot of small panels swinding their way between two or three larger ones. Allows for a lot of close-up panels for reaction shots, but also establishing setting or allowing for action shots. I feel like the smaller panels are supposed to give a sense of rapid-fire pace, before hitting the larger ones and pausing for a moment to take it in, but honestly, I always feel like I'm bullshitting when I talk about how page layouts effect pacing. I see a lot of people mention it in reviews, but I've never noticed it much myself. It's like a series of notes at a frequency I can't hear. But it's probably there. Plus, all the small panels made turning to that full-page spread reunion shot more effective for how much space it gets.
Issue 20 returns to the present, with Wade wanting to mope on the ruins of his home, only to find a young woman named Danielle preparing to end her life. Which puts Wade in the position of trying to keep her from doing that. So he opts to bring her along with him as he does some pro bono charity work. Meaning he beats the shit out of crappy people he'd received letters about doing crappy stuff. Geez Wade, Captain America had an entire hotline back in the '80s, and you're still relying on snail mail?
This does temporarily raise her mood, eventually, and then Wade brings her to the hospital to try and receive help. Because Wade is at least aware enough to recognize he isn't a trained medical professional. Wade has several lines here that are probably not things he should say, which makes them kind of hilarious? Telling Danielle she should probably go a few blocks down to Parker Industries if she wants to fling herself to death, or that he was bitten by a sad, radioactive clown. Telling her not to be presumptuous because he doesn't care yet, or that she's terrible at knowing what people are going to say next. Booing her for doing a poor job kicking a guy who steals from his elderly neighbors. And the fact that anytime he's going to bust through a door, he knocks first and yells, "Sexy maids!"
Hey, that would get me to come to the door to see what's happening.
Matteo Lolli takes over art chores for this arc. His strongest point is probably the expressions he gives Wade. The exaggerated frown as he relates his sad clown, or the big toothy grin as he admits people say he makes them uncomfortable. That grin would definitely make me uncomfortable. Lolli doesn't get to draw much fighting, but he does well with what he does. Though I wanted to see those hackers actually get a chance to attack Wade with a keyboard, just to see how that worked out for them. I mean, I know it would have ended horribly, but the specifics would have been fun. Although I think when Wade breaks the arm of a guy with a gun, he breaks the left one, but in the panel before, the guy was holding the gun in his right. Little thing, but noticeable.
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