What I Bought 11/11/09

Two books, just two books this week. One of those is from last week, I'm sure you know what it is, and the other, well you probably know what it is too. Not much mystery to me, is there?

Deadpool #17 - I don't know what to say about that cover. That's quite a look of disgust? bewilderment? on Domino's face, though.

Deadpool's dead-set on killing the deadbeat dad/Osborn puppet of that X-Kid. Said X-Kid tries to warn her dad, he won't listen. Cyclops tries to warn him, he interprets it as a threat. Or he's faking, since he's having a live TV interview at the time. Then Deadpool tries to kill him, on live TV, which puts Norman Osborn in an odd position. He's angry Wade is not, in fact, dead, but happy because he's making the X-Men look terrible. I can't decide who I'd rather see unhappy: Cyclops or Norman Osborn.

What, it's not as easy of a choice as you might think!

Domino helps Deadpool, drugs Deadpool, ties him to a hotel bed, then releases him because she thinks Cyclops ordered Wolverine to kill Deadpool. I'm still not convinced he didn't. A 'special mission' to China? Right. Pull the other one, Logan. Anyway, now the two Stabbity Kill Teamers must work together to stop Deadpool, who's still trying to kill Deadbeat Dad, and is being assisted eagerly by Norman Osborn.

This is a strange issue, because I feel like I just described a lot of stuff happening, but when I finished reading it, I was distinctly unsatisfied. I'm guessing that's because the story is exactly where it was at the end of the last issue, with Deadpool planning to kill this guy. Only the setting and the number of X-Men after him has changed. So that's frustrating, and there weren't any bits I particularly laughed at, which makes things worse. I did like that Domino was nice enough to not want them to kill Deadpool. That was kind of sweet. I don't have anything new to say about Paco Medina's art. I don't love it, but I don't hate it, either. It doesn't move me one way or the other.

Secret Six #15 - Take a look at that cover if you can, your own copy would probably be helpful, at Deadshot's pants. Does it look like he's wearing fishnets? There is definitely some scale pattern there, which is strange. I can't shake the feeling things are shadowy down there because Deadshot has some weird clothing fetish that we aren't supposed to know about.

OK, now that I've unfortunately locked that thought into the front of my mind (and yours!), the comic at hand. Floyd meets with Reverend Craemer, who used to work with the Suicide Squad. Floyd's been thinking about just going wild and killing everybody in sight lately, and it bothers him. Not the killing everyone, the fact that he might not be in control when he does it. So they walk, and they talk, as Deadshot tells us a couple stories, both his origin and run-ins with Batman, and about running some drug dealers out of what used to be his home. Craemer says some stuff I don't totally follow, but which seems to make sense to Floyd, and he feels he's back in control. For now. He walks away, end of issue.

Yeah, I didn't really follow what was wrong there. Floyd has survivor's guilt, but he projects it outwards, and that's why he wants to kill everyone around him? I know Deadshot seems to switch between suicidal tendencies and a more general indifference to his existence, and he does kill lots of people anyway, so maybe it all mixes together that way, it just seemed kind of a leap. I guess the issue I'm having is that if Craemer's right, then Deadshot really cared for his brother and son, and I have trouble seeing Deadshot caring about anything, that indifference I mentioned.

It's a fine enough issue, though I can't decide whether Deadshot's "kill everyone" attitude was sufficiently established prior to this. There was that one panel a couple of issues ago, and maybe some of his other behavior could be interpreted that way, but it came to a head faster than I expected, and seems to have been cut off faster than I expected too. I don't have much to say about Calafiore's artwork. Like Paco Medina, he falls into that category of artists I don't really feel strongly about one way or the other (though I appreciate his ability to hit a deadline). I did like the flashback to Floyd running those people out of his house, as he looked suitably dangerous. But that might just be the bug red eyepiece. With the right amount of shadows, that things looks really intimidating.

That would be the week in comics for me.