Paul Scheer Of ‘The League’ And Nick Giovannetti Talk ‘Deadpool Bi-Annual’ (Preview)

The comics industry, in the 1990s, made an abundance of poor decisions. One of Marvel’s was publishing Brute Force, a nakedly blatant attempt to start up a toy/cartoon/movie cross-merchandising empire that lasted for precisely one miniseries. And now it’s up to Deadpool, and writers Paul Scheer and Nick Giovanetti, to help Marvel move on from its past.

Nick Giovannetti is, of course, beloved for his comedy writing and his keen insights into video games. Paul Scheer is some comedian we’ve vaguely heard of. They actually first came to comics with Aliens Vs. Parker, a comic about package delivery guys in space fighting giant-donged aliens, which was good enough to earn them a shot at writing the Deadpool Biannual. They were kind enough to talk with us about handling such beloved characters, and also about Deadpool.

UPROXX: So, do you have any fond memories of Brute Force, or just some sort of deep-seated loathing for talking animals?

PS: Brute Force was a memory that laid very dormant in my scarred psyche and I think rebooting them was very much a therapeutic moment. They’ll never hurt me again. I learned, “It wasn’t my fault!” But truth be told Jordan D. White (our fearless editor) had the idea for the reboot.

NG: I wouldn’t say memories plural–they were only around for one mini-series. I was a fan of Brute Force coming in though.

UPROXX: What was it like picking up such a beloved character? Did you feel any intimidation or pressure?

PS: Here’s the thing, I don’t think they were beloved. I think they might have just been tolerated or one of the “whoops” moments in the Marvel Universe. With only about 4 books, they really didn’t make as big of a splash as say, Spider-Man. So the pressure was off and it allowed us to create something we wanted with these characters.

NG: Yeah, I think people like them more as a concept or for the fun artwork, than the actual books. We were thrilled to get a chance to update the characters. Any pressure we felt was more wanting to do right by Gerry, Brian, Jordan and Axel.

UPROXX: Similarly, what was it like stepping in, a bit, with a character who has an ongoing book? How closely did you work with the writing and editorial teams on the ongoing?

NG: Paul and I are giant fans of the book, so it was pretty easy for us to jump in, and while the story is a one off, we tried to make sure it still felt like it could have been a part of Gerry and Brian’s run.

PS: The benefit of an annual is that nothing matters. We basically get to take the character that Gerry and Brain have been playing with in their sandbox and bring him briefly into ours. Essentially we’re the bullies of the comic book world. We steal a beloved character and don’t pay attention to anything else around him, do our own thing and when we are done we toss him back. But even though we didn’t have to stay on story we did want to make sure we stayed on tone and we enlisted Gerry to take a look at certain points and of course Jordan was there from the inception to the execution, guiding us along the right track.

NG: Maybe we should try to steal Hawkeye’s lunch money next?

UPROXX: Did Deadpool himself offer any writing challenges, considering he’s nuts and heavily armed?

NG: Deadpool is so much fun to write and it’s exactly for those reasons.

PS: The best thing about Deadpool is that he isn’t shy about creating chaos and killing a bunch of people. Throw in robotic renegade animals and that’s a partnership we wanted to be a part of. In many ways, Deadpool is the straight man to Brute Force which very rarely happens in his books.

UPROXX: And, the classic question: Who do you want Deadpool to fight in comics, and would he win?

PS: I’d like to see Deadpool vs. Nic Cage. Not Ghost Rider, Nic Cage, just regular actor Nic Cage. I feel like he might be the toughest opponent of all time. Or Better yet, how great would it be to see Deadpool vs The Expendables. Deadpool could definitely beat the Expendables, like 89% are card carrying AARP members. But Nic Cage’s intensity is so powerful and clearly something that Deadpool has never even imagined.

NG: Hard to top Nic Cage. He’s the only man that can out crazy Deadpool. I’m gonna give the edge to Deadpool in that fight on account his extensive martial arts training. The longer that fight goes the more Cage will be able to infect Deadpool’s mind. God help us all when that happens.

And if you’re wondering just what insanity you’re in for, Marvel was kind enough to offer an exclusive, lettered preview.

The Deadpool Bi-Annual arrives tomorrow.

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