Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #3 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Adam Kubert

Colorist: Frank Martin

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Adam Kubert & Frank Martin; Lucas Werneck; Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 24, 2024

 

Delta supercharged Deadpool’s cancer and unplugged his humanity. Wolverine has a soft spot for people who let others brainwash and experiment on them. Delta wanted to see what Deadpool could become. But Wolverine keeps attacking upgraded Deadpool, or as Delta dubbed him, Wade Wilson the Third. Can Wolverine save WWIII from Delta’s influence? And why should he bother? Let’s extend our claws, leap into Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #3, and find out!

 

Story

Wolverine is fighting for his life. But he's also fighting for his sanity. Only he's not fighting WWIII but the monster that killed him. Delta calls him Snowflake. It's a hulking, spiky beast that claims it's not afraid. But Wolverine knows that all sentient beings feel fear.

 

Deadpool's loss affects Wolverine deeply. Delta's teleporter Greta spat them into the wilderness. Wolverine cared for WWIII for seven weeks. Despite the men's healing factors, the cold and lack of sustenance wore on them. As cancer ravaged WWIII, Deadpool's personality returned. Wolverine sacrificed for his friend. Even if Deadpool got on his nerves, Wolverine didn't want him to die.

 

 

 

Deadpool looked up to Wolverine. He admired Wolverine for gaining the respect of the mutant community. But Wolverine disdained Deadpool and saw himself as a monster. So Wolverine allowed people to value him only for his abilities, such as the Vancouver police inspector who alerted him to Wither’s murder spree. She called Wolverine to exterminate Wither but didn’t want him to linger in her city. Deadpool admired Wolverine, but the man with the adamantium claws had feet of clay.

 

In Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #3, Wolverine demonstrates his humanity. He's so enraged over Deadpool's death that he loses control. Anger overwhelms him, and he needs someone to calm him down. Then, Wolverine recognizes a voice. Can it be real? Joe Kelly's story attacks our perception of ourselves. He slashes away the façade and forces us to examine the person underneath. Delta promised to upgrade clients to achieve their ultimate potential. Like the Vancouver police inspector, Delta only values people for their skills. Joe Kelly reminds us that we are more than our appearance, finances, popularity, and careers. We should define ourselves not by productivity but by caring for others. 

 

 

 

Art

When Adam Kubert delivers Delta's familiar sideways soliloquy, claws slash through narrative boxes. Deadpool takes the spotlight, enjoying a Loganesque happy meal as he toys with Wolverine action figures. Snowflake's four eyes glow, and energy burns in his mouth as he battles Wolverine. Delta shields his eyes with mirrored shades. Purple veins writhe across his face and bald head while green-haired Greta blows a pink bubble.

 

Frank Martin bathes pages in red as Wolverine loses control and rage consumes him. A familiar figure changes shape as backgrounds fade to white. Troopers parachute from a hoverjet and charge around a double-page spread while protagonists battle attackers wielding white and purple energy. A thrown goblet splashes green across a flatscreen as the billionaires comment on Delta's decision.

 

Joe Sabino casts Weapon X-worthy lowercase black letters into white and colored balloons and boxes. Sound effects enliven Greta’s teleportation and fight scenes. Yet the final explosions bring little comfort after Delta’s haunting declaration. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Wolverine and Deadpool’s healing factors deafen them to the physical signals that can spark mental and emotional rebirth. It takes an ordeal and remorse to help each reevaluate his self-image. Yet Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #3 ends with the threat of more dehumanizing experiments and attacks on Human civilization.

 

Rating 9/10

 

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

Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Adam Kubert

Colorist: Frank Martin

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Adam Kubert & Frank Martin; Jan Bazaldua & Edgar Delgado; Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: June 12, 2024

 

Someone monkeyed with a man and created Wither. Wolverine wants to know who gave him superpowers that propelled him on an insane murder spree. Wolverine thinks Deadpool knows. But Deadpool’s left town. Wolverine tracks his frenemy to Russia, where he discovers that Deadpool isn’t himself anymore. He’s let the monsters who created Wither experiment on him. Can Wolverine cure Deadpool of his madness? Or will Deadpool forever be known as Wade Wilson The 3rd? Let’s extend our claws, leap into Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2, and find out!

 

Story

Wade has money. His abilities and antics grant him notoriety. His body heals injuries but can’t cure his cancer-ridden appearance. His looks drive people away. The way he draws solace in diversion, ditto. A man named Delta asks, “What if I could help you achieve your potential?” Wade agrees, but he fears change. So, he left “the world’s crappiest trail of breadcrumbs” for Wolverine to follow. Wolverine’s intrusion interrupts Delta’s experiment. So Delta asks Greta to teleport Deadpool (or WWIII) and Wolverine into the wilderness and transforms a sprint into a marathon. Like Queen Victoria, Delta's investors are not amused.

 

In Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2, Deadpool wasn't happy, but neither was Wolverine. Perhaps neither man can find fulfillment, given the lives they lead. But Wolverine finds purpose as he tends to WWIII. His selfless sacrifice demonstrates the difference between the two men. Wade tried to buy a meaningful life. But some things can't be given or purchased. Joe Kelly's punishing story puts science in the crosshairs. It asks questions. Can man improve on nature? Are we happiest when we work at our maximum potential? Or are we happiest when we can sit quietly and be one with nature and those around us? It's a divide as wide as the gulf between the Blue Wave and MAGA, and the story tackles presumptions associated with social and economic status.

 

Ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2 is a tragedy. Science tried to give both men a new lease on life. Yet all it did was forge effective killing machines. There's a term associated with doing the same thing again and expecting different results. And that word is not sanity. But then, Delta’s earlier experiment produced Wither.

 

 

 

Art

Like Deadpool, Adam Kubert seeks a change in orientation. So Kubert turns the pages sideways to force readers to adapt or die. Or he works across two pages, taking readers on wide-screen narrative journeys. Drones follow this experiment, even when the participants travel from Delta's compound to a land far, far away. Spectators watch the gladiators fight and endure the elements as silhouettes standing before a Drive-In Movie Screen, not the comparatively diminutive high-def replacements in your local multiplex viewing room. Greta stands apart from the onlookers with her punk attire, green hair, and tattooed skin. Her black lips are small and delicate, even when covered with a burst bubble of gum. But when she opens her mouth, it hinges wide like a snake’s in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2.

 

Frank Martin demonstrates Greta’s power as disembodied pink lips that dwarf characters. Like Delta's affluent patrons, she eats people and spits them out. Pink and purple dominate pages as the colors portray the new power surging through Wade Wilson The 3^rd. The colors form smoke, rays of light, or tiny rectangles that hover around regenerating limbs. But the rectangles swarming around Delta are as fascinating as his purple veins. Is Delta a construct in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2? Can he even know himself if he's addicted to constantly changing circumstances?

 

Joe Sabino casts Weapon X-worthy lowercase black letters into white and colored balloons and boxes. Sound effects help us hear Greta’s teleportation and heighten fight scenes. Yet the red letters that accompany coughing pull on the heartstrings. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Delta entertains wealthy clients by experimenting on unhappy people. Like Doctor Moreau, he seeks to improve on the base model. But what will shape Wade Wilson's destiny more in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2? Wolverine’s pity or the impatience of Delta’s clients?

 

Rating 8.6/10

 

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

Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Adam Kubert

Colorist: Frank Martin

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Adam Kubert & Frank Martin; Gabriele Dell’Otto; Inhyuk Lee; Rob Liefeld & Jay David Ramos; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 1, 2024

 

Wolverine has a job. It's not one he wants, but it's necessary. A cop wants to end a killing spree. So she calls on Wolverine. Can he catch the superpowered villain that makes mincemeat of his victims? Or will someone else get in his way? Let’s extend our claws, leap into Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1, and find out!

 

Story

Superheroes deal with morality. Hunters kill. Wolverine's cop friend doesn't want anyone else to die. So, she calls on the human weapon with adamantium claws to put down a predator. Unfortunately, someone else has found him first.

 

Like the cop, Vancouver’s endangered citizens wanted to end the killing spree. So the victim’s families put up a bounty. Wolverine knows what Deadpool does is necessary, but that doesn't mean he likes it. Nor does Logan like how Deadpool finds humor in the killing. People shouldn't enjoy killing. They should never joke about taking another person’s life.

 

But what is life? Wolverine muses on that in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1. Why even try to build anything significant? It’ll eventually end. Everything does. Dreams are just misfiring neurons, he concludes.

 

Joe Kelly portrays Wolverine and Deadpool as two brothers in arms. Their love/hate relationship binds them together and tears them apart. Yet in Kelly’s story, Wolverine does the tearing apart, while Deadpool tries to do a team-up. 

 

 

 

Only after they take down their adversary and Deadpool slips away does Wolverine realize what Wade said. But then it’s too late. Wade's gone, just like a dream or another crumbled monument.

 

So, another hunt begins. Logan tells himself he’s doing it to kill whoever created the mincemeat monster. But in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1, Logan’s also doing it because of what Wade said. And because he failed to respond before Deadpool slipped away.

 

Joe Kelly probes Wolverine’s conscience as Logan tracks “the world’s crappiest trail of breadcrumbs.” Wolverine may hate the jack@$$. Still, he’s got a responsibility to Deadpool, not to mention those Wade could endanger in his quest to become more like Wolverine.

 

 

Art

Wolverine leaps across the Vancouver skyline. He crouches beside a rooftop pool, gazing down at the street. After an explosion of concrete, water, and fire, he gazes up to see Deadpool trade his rocket launcher for a sword and a machine pistol. Wolverine ignores the torrent of bullets, leaping into the fray as Deadpool follows up with a flurry of throwing knives. Their opponent dissolves Deadpool's assault with a shield. Wolverine, he bats away.

 

Adam Kubert reveals Wolverine's competitive nature as he shoves Deadpool into harm's way while charging the City Of Glass slicer and dicer in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1. Kubert enhances the humor with Deadpool’s gestures, birthday greetings decorating the rocket launcher, and the way Deadpool leaps and lands on Wolverine’s shoulders. Yet as the living weapons watch paramedics load their opponent into an ambulance, Deadpool glances up at Wolverine, who refuses to return his gaze. Later, Logan sits at a bar and frowns at his drink. No girl clad in a hoodie sits beside him.

 

The sinking sun casts an orange glow over Vansterdam as Wolverine’s silhouette bounds across pink fields. Despite Deadpool’s sudden dislike for his footwear, his opponent’s boots shine brighter than the yellow in Wolverine’s suit. Yet nothing outshines the crazed killer's purple hooded shirt or the purple energy shields and tendrils he wields. 

 

 

Frank Martin adorns a bar mostly in yellow and brown, echoing Wolverine’s suit, even if Logan has changed into street clothes. Does the maple leaf on the wall and the bartender's long red beard remind Logan of Wade? Later, a red child's phone confirms Logan has found the right Skybnb, even if he didn’t arrive in time.

 

Joe Sabino casts Weapon X-worthy lowercase black letters into white and colored balloons and boxes. Whether it's lashes of sizzling electricity, barrages of gunfire, or the crash of shattered windows, Sabino enhances the energy propelling Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1 toward its heartrending conclusion. Yet the applause stretching like ribbons across the final pages reminds us why Logan has grown so disillusioned in Joe Kelly’s tragic tale.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Wolverine hunts monsters. But is Wolverine a hunter or a monster? It’s a question Logan can't avoid when Wade Wilson reminds him of the difference between them in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #1.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

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

Marvel Age #1000: Overload Review

 

Writer:  Armando Iannucci

Artist:  Adam Kubert

Colorist: Frank Martin

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $9.99

Release Date: August 30, 2023

 

Story

Do you experience ringing in your ears? Armando Iannucci suggests that tinnitus has nothing to do with your hearing. Instead, the brain interprets nerve impulses as alarms. Even people with exceptional hearing—like Daredevil—can experience tinnitus. Having suffered from this disease for decades, I’ve yet to hear such a definitive diagnosis from a doctor. But even if Iannucci simplifies a complex spectrum of symptoms that plagues millions of people, I can relate to Matt Murdock's admission: "It's like somebody tipped a dumpster full of noise in my brain." While enduring trials, we can take inspiration from our heroes and battle on.

 

Daredevil statue available at Diamond Select Toys

 

 

Art

Adam Kubert works across pages as Daredevil battles villains, argues in the courtroom, and swings through the sky. The pain Matt experiences transforms his features in Marvel Age #1000. Even wearing his mask, the agony he endures is apparent. Frank Martin's coloring shows these sonic explosions wash through him. Joe Caramagna's skills prove especially powerful here.

 

To preview interior art for Overload and other stories in Marvel Age #1000 see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Amazing Spider-Man #32 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Artist: Patrick Gleason

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Morry Hollowell; Jan Bazaldua & Jesus Aburtov; Patrick Gleason & Marcio Menyz; Adam Kubert & Brad Anderson; Giada Perissinotto; Elizabeth Torque

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Peter Parker’s friend Randy tried to marry Janice Lincoln. But the lovebirds' wedding plans got smashed by an attack that left Tombstone injured and much of his criminal organization dead. Can Peter and her friend Michele help Randy and Janice tie the knot? Let’s fwip into Amazing Spider-Man #32 and find out!

 

 

 

 

Story

Just like Randy and Janice, recent events have torn apart Peter’s web of significant relationships. Mary Jane’s lost to him, as is Felicia Hardy. Even though he’s dubious about Randy’s future as Tombstone’s son-in-law, he cares for his friend. He meets Michele for dinner, hoping they can find a way to rekindle Randy and Janice’s belief that love will conquer all.

 

Peter is also concerned about his boss in Amazing Spider-Man #32. The Sin-Eater removed Norman Osborn's sins, but recent events—Kamala Khan's death and Doctor Octopus' attack—could push anyone to the breaking point. Even if Peter doesn’t trust him with Aunt May, he likes the man Norman’s becoming and wants to be there for him.

 

 

 

 

Unbeknownst to Peter, an evil force regenerated the Goblin Queen. She works now to expel the sins the Beyond Corporation gave her. Who will she give them to? Who better than their original host: Norman Osborn?

 

Perhaps the staff at the Ravencroft Institute should have chucked her body in the furnace after all!

 

 

 

Art

Arcane symbols mix with primitive weaponry in Amazing Spider-Man #32. Fire surrounds figures cloaked in darkness. Images of insects and animals contrast with elegant surroundings, suggesting occult ceremonies among the privileged classes. A dagger pierces a portrait of Norman Osborn on the wall behind a dark-haired woman. Beside her stands a muscular hunter clutching a spear.

 

Peter and Michele look made for each other as they discuss their friends' problems. Shock overtakes his smooth face as glaring differences become apparent. While hers is slower to transform, the meal ends with both diners frowning.

 

 

 

 

Yellow and orange surround the Goblin Queen's red skin as she and the hunter ready their attack. Peter passes green, pink, purple, and blue graffiti as he walks along New York City streets in Amazing Spider-Man #32. Yellow streetlighting imbues a statue with a ghostly aspect and casts all else in lavender. Interior lighting colors Norman’s lab blue until an attack slathers Oscorp’s halls and rooms in red.

 

 

 

 

The hunter’s thoughts appear as lowercase black letters in orange narrative boxes. Yet orange letters in black narrative boxes also feel like they belong to him rather than the Goblin Queen. Spoken dialogue appears as uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons, while large white letters help us hear mechanical sounds. All that changes when intruders enter Oscorp. Peter's distress colors his shout, swelling his utterance to epic proportions.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Amazing Spider-Man #32 showcases Peter’s concern for his friends, casts the identity of the Goblin Queen’s partner in doubt, and leaves us wondering why the red-skinned woman seeks revenge. How much of Ashley Kafka remains and hates the villain she's become?

 

9.4/10

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