Deadpool v2: Soul Hunter TPB

Just to catch you guys up from the reboot of this book last summer; Deadpool’s Marvel Now series has tongue planted firmly in cheek as he opened the series fighting the re-animated bodies of the dead American presidents. This included fighting Ronald Reagan on a space station and William Taft in a bathtub. So Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn haven’t exactly been aiming for drama. This is meant to be a fun, irreverent book.

The status quo heading into the second trade is an update to Wade’s weird voiceovers. He’s got a co-pilot in his head, deceased SHIELD agent Preston is now wandering around in Wade’s mindscape; able to both see what he’s up to in the real world, and explore the depths of Wade’s memories during downtime.

Through the use of an inspired “inventory issue,” Deadpool gains a new nemesis in Vetis, a demon with big plans. Vetis has been storing stolen soul power in his victims for decades, now he wants Deadpool to go and “collect.” Naturally, this involves Wade killing a lot of people.

The plot is largely secondary here; there more to facilitate some interesting team-ups and give the core cast time to make jokes. Iron Man (circa Demon in the Bottle) and Daredevil get some panel time, but the biggest guest appearance is the Superior Spider-Man. It is interesting that Otto Octavius’ take on Spider-Man has so much less patience for Deadpool than Peter Parker. Parker always makes concessions and often looks the other way; Otto does not.

Of the core cast, Preston, Ben Franklin, and the inept wizard who raised the presidents make for a good supporting cast. Deadpool only works when he’s got people to bounce off of; Duggan and Posehn know that and make it work. They also introduce some potential game-changing back story for the future.

The artwork from Scott Koblish and Matt Hawthorne is professional. I’m not overly familiar with either guy, but I can’t complain. They had big shoes to fill since the departure of Tony Moore, but the art is fine.

While I enjoy Deadpool in team books, I rarely love his solo series. This is no exception. This is competent and it has real laughs. I think fans of Deadpool’s lighter side will really dig this. But for me, this is definition of a FAIR comic.