Deadpool #26 & 27, by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn (writers), Scott Koblish (artist, #26), Mike Hawthorne (artist, #27), Val Staples (colorist, #26), Jordie Bellaire (colorist, #27), Joe Sabino (letterer) - And then there were a ton more people who worked on all those 5-page stories that were the bonus material in #27, but seeing as I'm not going to talk much about those, I'm not listing them. I will mention that they credited Dexter Soy and Alvin Lee as artists on two stories each, but Soy's second one was actually drawn by Shawn Crystal, and Lee's second was Bong Dazo. #26 is another of the fake inventory issues, this one meant to take place in the 1950s. I'm not sure if it's meant to be a comic written in the '50s, or just one that was set then. I think the latter, which is somewhat less impressive. Anyway, it starts at the end of World War 2, with Hitler stewing in impotent fury at his army's inability to kill Nick Fury and his Howlin' Commandos. Then he's attacked by an incompetent time traveler. Not incompetent because he gets his ass beat and his gear stolen by Hitler, but because he came back to allegedly save millions of lives by killing Hitler, but only showed up in 1945. Little late there, dummkopf. So Hitler steals his rig, and after some failed attempts in other eras, tries to kill Fury in the '50s, only to find Deadpool standing in his way. Which doesn't matter much once Hitler shows up with a giant lightning shooting mech from the future. Except Wade was able to get a postcard in the mail before being incinerated, which Cable picks up in the future, so he goes back to before Wade died with a mech from even further in the future, and they kill Hitler, then dump his corpse back in bombed-out Berlin.
It's pretty funny, assuming jokes involving Hitler don't bother you. Actually, I take that back. The funniest bits were the references to how lax America was (and still is?) about guns. Fury being able to buy more ammo at a corner newsstand, and being able to openly carry a Tommy gun onto a airplane with nary a peep. Which admittedly, if someone gave me a gun they used to kill Hitler, I'm not trusting the airline baggage handlers. I'm guessing it's Staples' coloring that gives the pages not just the yellowed look, but also the sort of scratchy appearance of the art, where it looks like the colors didn't quite take on the page. Koblish really gives Hitler some manic looks. Lot's of panels where you can tell Hitler has some spasms or eye twitches going on his face. I kind of think the mechs are more like what a current artist thinks would be '50s style, than actual '50s style. Maybe a little too complicated looking, I'm not sure they would have had the panel space back then to go into so much detail. But that gets into the question of whether it's a '50s comic, or maybe an '80s comic set in the '50s. The letterhead in the back of the recap page has Spidey in the black costume, so yeah, probably the latter. But then we have to question whether Koblish did an accurate representation of how an '80s comic book artist would try to draw a '50s style giant robot, and aw, forget it.
Now #27 is the big marriage issue. Yes, Deadpool got married. If this befuddles you, well, there was a mini-series called "The Gauntlet" - or maybe "Dracula's Gauntlet" - that was an online thing that tells the story. I think they're going to release it as single issues in July, and as a trade in the fall. I would not have understood a damn thing about it if I didn't read some blogs (like 4thletter) that were showing panels from it or discussing it. But yes, Wade is getting married, though in typical Deadpool fashion, he seems to have waited until the last minute to tell anyone. And yes, she's a Queen of the Underworld, but you know what? She thinks Wade is handsome, and I imagine that is a nice change of pace. I don't quite follow how all the heroes seem to like Wade all of the sudden. Like, I understand Dr. Strange, Captain America and Wolverine attending (even if none would perform the ceremony), and Nightcrawler being willing to preside makes sense, because Kurt is a swell guy and probably just happy to be alive again. I'm certainly happy he's alive again. But Thor even showed up to make sure they had nice weather! Cyclops and the Hulk showed up! Did Deadpool save the entire world in that mini-series and finally get credit for it? Or have Cap and Wolverine been telling people to treat him nicer since the thing in North Korea? That's another thing, I like that Deadpool and Kurt discussed that briefly, and that Kurt wants to meet Kim. I don't know whether that'll happen here on in Nightcrawler's own series, but I think I'd enjoy that scene. All and all, it is an extremely happy story, which this being Deadpool, means things are going to go south in a hurry. Oh and look, on the last page, Flag-Smasher is ordering his Ultimatum lackeys to attack Deadpool's ladies, including what appears to be his daughter Eleanor, now with foster parents. Oh, this is going to make me sad and/or angry, isn't it?
Wait, this is Flag Smasher we're talking about. He's a loser, excellent fashion sense for his lackeys aside. Never mind, everything is going to be puppies and rainbows forever! Hooray!
In addition to being upbeat, this issue was also pretty funny. Adsit's terrified reaction to Shiklah's less human looking form, and relief he hadn't yet Mirandized that quickly killed Ultimatum guy. Preston's husband trying to explain delicately what a "garrote" is to his son. I also have to say, Shiklah's otherworldly form is pretty awesome. I kind of wish Hawthorne had the chance to give us more reaction shots of the Ultimatum guys to seeing what they pissed off when their rocket launcher missed Wade. He did a great job with that sort of humor in #23, when Deadpool slaughtered that entire Helicarrier. Also, I like how Wade is so happy that he's constantly smiling hugely through his mask. So I'm going to take Preston's advice to Adist, just shush and enjoy the moment.
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