Deadpool vs. the infamous Macho Gomez… wait who?
Over Daniel Way’s run on Deadpool he has done a lot of work to legitimize the character as a believable and likeable figure. Its no secret some people find the character annoying and without direction. They aren’t be totally wrong; I mean Marvel essentially celebrates the fact by turning the Team-Up concept into a monthly Deadpool featurette. Way has strived to give Deadpool a consistent voice and has worked in earnest to give the readers a driving point to move toward.
That point has more or less been Deadpool’s redemption as a wise-cracking mercenary to a type of anti-hero. Sure, this is not new ground, Joe Kelly broke that wall over a decade ago, but Wade has lost his way becoming a mere jester in the court of the House of Ideas. Way has spent some thirty issues making the point that Deadpool wants to be a hero now, and he has tried in vain to achieve that while learning valuable lessons from the superhero community.
The best part about this week’s Deadpool is that it released two weeks after the last issue. Other than that, it wasn’t too invigorating. Considering this issue is a stand-alone story I cannot lambaste it too heartedly because it successfully tells a complete story without much fluff. However my interest dwindled as the pages turned. I think my disinterest started when I realized the antagonist was a Mexican alien.
No, not that type…what I mean to say is…a Latino extraterrestrial? A Hispanic spaceman? I don’t even know how to quantify what the hell Macho Gomez is. My guess is a parody of DC’s Lobo? In any case, I had a hard time accepting this character as a threat because he looked so damn silly. I mean his space ship is a friggin’ lowrider.
It wasn’t until I reached the final pages that I realized this issue served as vehicle to push Deadpool into Marvel’s Point One initiative debuting in February. My initial response to the issue’s conclusion was a tinge of anger, but considering that I know Wade W. Wilson is venturing a new path next issue I figure Daniel Way was slightly handcuffed in his ideas.
A saving grace to #32 is the art by Sheldon Vella. His style is distinctive, very detailed and somewhat prickly. There is a completeness or synergy to the pages probably due the fact that Vella also inks and colors. He has some anatomy issues- there are times that it seems like Deadpool has a fratboy workout as his upper body is buff while his legs are chicken-like. I don’t think Vella has worked on a bunch of superhero comics in his career, but he is coming along. I could live him with having permanent art duties on this book but alas, next month we switch back to Bong Dazo who did not impressed me much with his previous Merc With a Mouth and Deadpool work.
Not a terrible issue, but not at all worth the time or money to read it. With no forward momentum and an odd, ill-defined villain its best to wait until Point One to jump on the normally reliable Deadpool Express.