Comic Info
Comic Name: Night of the Living Deadpool
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2014
Reprints Night of the Living Deadpool #1-4 (March 2014-May 2014). A zombie apocalypse has broken out and Deadpool’s right in the middle of it. Making his way through the zombie land, Deadpool finds allies, kills allies, and searches for the key to the outbreak. The Merc with a Mouth is in a land where killing is ok and he could be the hero that the world needs.
Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Ramon Rosanas, Night of the Living Deadpool is a horror limited series released by Marvel Comics. The four issue story was also part of the Deadpool Minibus.
I don’t like Deadpool. I first read him back in the New Mutant and X-Force days and he was ok. Like the Punisher, I always felt he was a supporting character instead of a star. Deadpool then spun off into his own series and that was (at best) ok. For some reason, Marvel has been intent on shoving him down readers’ throats and despite piles of cancelled comics, the character has managed to hang on.
This volume is more of the same. It isn’t that it is the worst series, but it is just Deadpool being Deadpool for the whole series. I feel even with a character who has self-reflection and no filter that the comic missed some opportunities to really riff on the zombie culture that developed (especially after The Walking Dead). While there is a lot of this in the series, I think they did miss some opportunities to explore more…and instead filled it with the regular lame Deadpool jokes about zombies that feel old and tired.
I will say that I do like Ramon Rosanas’ art. The series used the black-and-white aspect of Night of the Living Dead and made Deadpool the color aspect of the story. Deadpool at one point falls victim to the virus and goes black-and-white. It is a creative way to get the point across. Much like The Walking Dead comic, I do think the black-and-white sometimes hinders the story when it is harder to follow specific characters and events.
Night of the Living Deadpool is more of the same from a character who has been “more of the same” for years. I always found Deadpool is like Spider-Man…except desperately trying to be funny (kind of how I feel about Family Guy). The comic grasps at straws and occasionally catches some…but for a comic that is meant to be funny, a few straws just don’t make reading it worth it.