Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #3
You are warned, here be spoilers.
I don’t get a sense that Victor Gischler has an ingenious master plan for Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth the way Daniel Way seems to with Deadpool. In the first two issues, Gischler sort of threw things at the wall to see what stuck. Here in Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #3, not much sticks.
Oh, I think it’s funny and clever that some of the issue is narrated by the extradimensional-zombie-Deadpool-head (which I’m starting to see referred to as “Headpool”), and that said head has its own set of internal voices to argue with. And the last panel with Deadpool in it in this issues is brilliant and hilarious. But for the most part, the issue is caught up in the wild adventure ride Gischler’s set up in the previous two issues.
Sure, the adventure feels plenty wacky. Even if there aren’t many effective touches of humour in this issue, it’s still about friggin’ Deadpool, carrying his extradimensional counterpart’s zombified head (and I will never get tired of typing that), with a buxom blonde archaeologist with no time for his zaniness at his side, fighting dinosaurs in the Savage Land. That’s awesome. But Gischler needs to come up with some new material, before it burns out. It starts to feel like it’s trying too hard – like a comedy that uses a Weird Al song with its opening credits.
The art is good, though it’s symptomatic of the slightly forced zaniness. Characters’ proportions are exaggerated comically, and Deadpool’s mask is just a little too loose (and doesn’t tuck in at the neck), robbing him of some of the slickness of his appearance. (The contrast between his slick appearance and ridiculous behaviour is supposed to be one of the sources of hmour with Deadpool.)
It’s a good issue, but I hope Gischler comes up with something new soon. Deadpool needs stronger foils to play off of – Dr. Betty doesn’t have enough personality, and Headpool’s wisecracks are a touch redundant.