I’ve been a Deadpool fan since 1994. I can say that because that is how far back this graphic novel goes and I had most of the original series covered in this trade paperback and loved them. So why buy a “Classic” graphic novel filled with stories I’ve already read? Good question. To begin with I haven’t read these stories in 17 years. While I do have most most of these stories in comic book form, I don’t have all of them and those that I do have are tucked away in storage and this format is just far too convenient to pass up. Besides, one of the comics that I somehow missed was the conclusion to the Tolliver’s will storyline, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
One thing interesting in this book is you can see how the character of Deadpool began to take shape, changing from a competent merc with a mouth to the insanity that is the current Deadpool.
This book is great for those who want to learn about the backstory of Deadpool like why he has a thing for Siren and what put him on the path to want to be a hero.
Time to let you know what happens in the various stories within the book.
Spoilers
The first book collected in Deadpool Classics 1 is New Mutants 98, also known as Deapool’s first appearance. The story isn’t really about Deapool though, but it is neat to see his first appearance. In this book he’s been hired to kill Cable and is doing pretty well until Domino saves the day.
The second storyline is from a limited series called Deadpool: the Circle Chase. This storyline revolves around Deadpool, Weapon X, Weasel & Vanessa trying to find the secret location of Tolliver’s will. Tolliver was an exotic gun dealer who recently died and his will held the key to the most powerful weapon on earth. Vanessa is Deadpool’s ex-squeeze who he still has a thing for her and Weapon X (Garrison Kane) has a bit of a beef with Deadpool. When an old enemy named Slayback kidnaps Vanessa and attacks Deadpool all grievances are put aside. During combat Weasel figures out how to activate Tolliver’s ultimate weapon Zero (who is more famously known as Stryfe’s teleporting android) who destroys Slayback and spares Deadpool only because he displays a touch of humanity.
The next storyline Deadpool: Sins of the Past really turns out to be a four issue brawl fest with Black Tom Cassidy’s henchmen, Juggernaut, Siren, Banshee and a squad from interpol. Really, it’s pretty much 4 comic books of straight violence. I’m not complaining mind you, just saying. Black Tom Cassidy is dying and Dr Killbrew may be the only one who can save him. Dr Killbrew had a hand in creating Deadpool and his prescription for Black Tom is to find Deadpool and use his healing factor put Black Tom back together. Unfortunately, Deadpool’s healing factor is not what it used to be and it’s causing havok with Deadpool who isn’t known for evading damage. Deadpool finds out that he fancies Siren and Black Tom takes Deadpool’s severed hand as his own to help save his life. Deadpool kidnaps Dr Killbrew to help restore his healing factor.
The final story from the first unlimited Deadpool line involves Deadpool attempting to destroy a gamma reactor protected by Sasquatch. In this story we begin to see the hero-desire within Deadpool start to take shape as he saves not just the lives of three men from the initial explosion, but he dives into the gamme core which burns his skin off to prevent the southern hemisphere from getting irradiated. We are also introduced to Landau, Luckman & Lake who will become pivotal in Deadpool’s quest to become a hero.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the artwork of Ed McGuinness. I absolutely love his bold line work. I don’t do this very often, but I just had to share a bit of what you will find in the final story of the book which is also my favorite.
It’s a fun read, but the unfortunate aspect of the trade paperback is that it left a lot of stories halfway finished or contained stories lacking backstory or exposition to explain them. For example, why does Deadpool live with Blind Al and how he did he get his healing factor back to par. Maybe those will be covered in Deadpool Classic 2 but I somehow doubt it. Still, for any Deadpool fan this trade paperback is a must-get!
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Average
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I’ve been a Deadpool fan since 1994. I can say that because that is how far back this graphic novel goes and I had most of the original series covered in this trade paperback and loved them. So why buy a “Classic” graphic novel filled with stories I’ve already read? Good question. To begin with I haven’t read these stories in 17 years. While I do have most most of these stories in comic book form, I don’t have all of them and those that I do have are tucked away in storage and this format is just far too convenient to pass up. Besides, one of the comics that I somehow missed was the conclusion to the Tolliver’s will storyline, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the artwork of Ed McGuinness. I absolutely love his bold line work. I don’t do this very often, but I just had to share a bit of what you will find in the final story of the book which is also my favorite.