Whenever an issue hits a milestone, as Marvel’s Deadpool does today with issue #300, it’s usually to clean the slate. Superheroes never get an ending, they just go back to square one. As a result, often writers end their stories and hand the next guy a clean slate, but want to do it with a fireworks show that will ultimately be meaningless to the plot and is really just the writing indulging their inner fanboy. Gerry Duggan, who works here with Scott Koblish, Matteo Lolli and Mike Hawthorne on a massive finale, is moving on after writing more than a third of those 300 issues, so Duggan writes an issue that’s both a sincere goodbye to the Merc with a Mouth and a merciless destruction of every self-indulgent milestone issue ever published.
The result starts out as a parody of a commonplace finale, the one where our hero has to face off against his former allies in a mad race to a MacGuffin. Unfortunately for them, and the more delicate-stomached reader (fair warning), Wade has a hilariously juvenile ace in the hole that cuts that would-be finale off. The book then becomes a tour of superhero finale cliches, including a hilarious cameo from Duggan, but as the book progresses, the laughs fade. Duggan can move on with his life. Wade, even though he doesn’t exist, can’t. All he can do is go back to square one, and quite possibly do it all again. Duggan sweetens this slightly bitter note by ending it with Wade forgiving himself, just enough to move on, but you’re still left wondering if Wade will ever truly find peace.
It’s the best goodbye those involved could ask for, because of course, Deadpool will be back. In fact, this issue closes with an ad for Deadpool #1. But as a goodbye from a creative team, you couldn’t ask for better.
Resident Alien: An Alien In New York #2, Dark Horse
Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse send Harry, the country doctor/detective/space alien hiding among us to New York, where supposedly one of “his” people, or at least somebody who speaks his language, is waiting. Or so it seems. This series is never one to opt for the obvious plot twist, even if there are government agents lurking in the background, and indeed, this issue zigs precisely where most books would zag. But that’s been the appeal of this humanistic set of miniseries; the story is not a harsh thriller, but a gentle look at the foibles, needs, and failures of people.
Southern Bastards #20, Image Comics
Jason Aaron and Jason Latour offer up a killer return to their deep-fried noir, as the whole arc comes down to what would seem to be a finale, with our hero Bertha Tubbs having gang boss/high school football coach Coach Boss dead to rights. But it turns out that nobody really stays dead in Craw County, and Coach Boss is facing a much more bitter end than anything from the end of a gun. It’s both a grim conclusion to the arc and an announcement this audacious series, even twenty issues in, is really just getting started.
Eternity Girl #3, DC Comics
Magdalene Visaggio and Sonny Liew continue their exploration of a superheroine who is suicidal and yet can’t die… so she’s going to destroy the universe. Or so she thinks. Visaggio and Liew have cleverly left it open as to whether Eternity Girl is rational or has quite reasonably unable to differentiate between fantasy and reality. Which is sort of a problem when you can reconfigure your molecules into any shape or element you want. Still, what makes this book so arresting is how easily Visaggio and Liew hop between bombastic cosmic vistas and very personal depictions of struggles with mental illness. What makes this book so compelling is the woman at the center of it, who remains relatable and even touching even if she’s willing to take the universe down with her.
Fraggle Rock #1, BOOM! Studios
Jared Cullum takes on an intimidating task, taking on Jim Henson’s gentle from-the-heart depiction of a simple society in balance, and he nails it. It’s definitely, like the show, aimed squarely at kids, but Cullum doesn’t cut corners anywhere, be it emotionally or artistically, since he watercolors the whole thing while keeping the distinctive look of the show. If you fondly remember the original, this feels just like it. But you can share it with a kid you know and pass on those fond memories, and that might just be the best thing about this book.
Domino #2, Marvel: Gail Simone and David Baldeon pick up where they left off with the overly lucky merc, who reminds us it’s not all luck when you fight her.
Justice League: No Justice #1, DC Comics: The Justice League creative team shakes things up by throwing in a bunch of supervillains and throwing their teams into space in this crossover book.
Robocop: Citizens’ Arrest #2, BOOM! Studios: Brian Wood and Jorge Coelho’s musing on a distributed surveillance state and how who has the power in a society determines how the law is enforced takes a surprisingly grim turn.
Hungry Ghosts #4, Dark Horse: Anthony Bourdain’s horror anthology themed around food wraps up with, well, let’s just say sooner or later there’s one gastronomical taboo every horror writer deals with, and there’s nobody better to draw it than Francesco Francavilla.
Venom #1, Marvel: Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman bring Eddie Brock back to the anti-hero game, and Eddie has a problem beyond the alien in his head. It turns out even homicidal alien super-suits have a boogeyman, and he’s coming to Earth.
This Week’s Best Collections
My Boyfriend Is A Bear, Oni Press ($20, Softcover): Pamela Ribon and Cat Ferris tells an allegorical story about a woman who has terrible luck with men who runs into a bear in the LA hills. Turns out he’s a pretty good boyfriend but, uh, also he’s a bear. As much a rumination on making things work when somebody you love is different as a lighthearted romantic comedy, it’s touching and funny in equal doses.
Beasts Of Burden: Animal Rites, Dark Horse ($20, Softcover): Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson continue their oddball, and yet affecting, story of a group of pets defending the suburb of Burden Hill from a host of magical threats, while commenting on how we treat, and mistreat, the animals and the environment around us.
Wrath Of The Eternal Warrior, Valiant Comics ($50, Hardcover): The brilliant fantasy miniseries gets a gorgeous hardcover edition, as it asks what happens when an eternal warrior tasked with defending the Earth is ripped away from it.