Deadpool #10 Review

 

Writer: Alyssa Wong

Artist: Luigi Zagaria

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Martiń Cóccolo & Neeraj Menon; Pete Woods

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

When the Ateliers capture Deadpool, his lover Valentine, and his symbiote dog Princess, Lady Deathstrike helps them escape their prison cell and kill the group's leader. Oops! The Horned Emperor's spirit has to go somewhere! Can Deadpool's relationship with Valentine withstand being possessed by a powerful, malicious entity? Let's slash into Deadpool #10 and find out!

 

Story

Deadpool talks to Valentine to keep her spirit from being subsumed. Members of the assassin organization view the Horned Emperor’s struggle to possess Valentine as an invitation to take the inhabiting power for themselves. Lady Deathstrike wants to free Princess from her prison cell, but her brother stands in the way. Rest assured, the knife-wielding Alcaudón and her dimension-hopping wife Gingko, who fights by summoning angry green monsters, will have something to say about all this!

 

If you rocked to his movies but never read his comics, you can hop right into Deadpool #10 without missing a beat. An introductory page brings you up to speed and a fact page briefs you on characters in the story. Deadpool's unyielding love for Valentine impressed me. Talking with her--reminding her of who she is--gives their enemies an opening. Yet even trapped and seemingly unable to help her fight off the other assassins, our Mouthy Merc finds a way.

 

Alyssa Wong relates this battle for Deadpool and Valentine’s relationship with a light, humorous tone that sucks you in while keeping the story light and fun.

 

 

 

Art

A flashback shows bald and blemished Wade pondering the boundaries of his love for Valentine. Then Deadpool #10 returns to the present. Wade’s wearing his Deadpool outfit and looking on as other Atelier assassins regard their new Horned Emperor. Valentine’s ability to sprout horns evokes Groot's ability to grow limbs. Ruffled by dimension winds, Ms. Gingko summons her power in swirling currents that flow into clouds before assuming their desired shape. Knives hover around her wife before Alcaudón hurls them at her target.

 

Deadpool’s symbiote-dog Princess is a bounding bundle of writhing red fun. And don’t forget Lady Deathstrike, the lithe young woman whose brother wears formal attire and a matching mask. No matter how outlandish, these characters are relatable and move well. If backgrounds fade amid the fighting, Luigi Zagaria gives you enough to keep you rooted in the story.

 

Matt Milla’s rich colors provide atmosphere and depth. The softer hues fit the light tone of Wong's story. Darker colors represent shade, and gray never dominates. Explosions burst with light and energy and propel readers through Deadpool #10.

 

Joe Sabino's large, uppercase black letters demand your attention from inside yellow and white dialogue balloons. They shrink or grow to suggest intonation without stressing the eyes. The only troublesome task is reading the character names in the panels. Despite their size, the font of the white lowercase letters may prove difficult to decipher. Nonetheless, vibrant sound effects enhance the energy surging through Deadpool #10 and leave you wanting more. 

 

 

Deadpool action figure available at Amazon.com

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Deadpool #10 explores the boundaries of love and friendship and how belief in others is the strongest superpower.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.