(CBR) Deadpool has been all over the Marvel Universe. He’s seen the wonders of earth, outer space and other dimensions; he’s even traveled through time. This April, he’ll go to a place he’s never been to before — his own wedding? That’s right, folks. In “Deadpool” #27 by writers Gerry Duggan & Brian Posehn and artists Mike Hawthorne & Scott Koblish, the titular Merc with a Mouth is getting married!
But who would agree to marry Wade Wilson? And why is Marvel’s most lethal, loquacious and manic mercenary getting married now? Plus, which creators from Deadpool’s past will help celebrate the event with backup stories in the celebratory issue? For the answers to those questions and more we spoke with Duggan and series editor Jordan D. White.
CBR News: “Deadpool” #27 is still several months away. Before readers get to see Wade walk down the aisle they’ll have gone through the current “Deadpool Vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.” arc, another stand-alone issue involving time travel, and “Deadpool: The Gauntlet,” a weekly Infinite comic. What can you tell us about these stories? How do they set the stage for “Deadpool” #27?
Gerry Duggan: Wade hasn’t had much of a chance to catch his breath, which is fun. That’s what you want in a “Deadpool” comic. He is pushed past his tolerance for emotional cruelty though. By the end of the S.H.I.E.L.D. arc he will have lost the daughter he never knew had, and Carmelita, the girl’s mother. Plus, there will have been a change in his relationship with Agent Preston [the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent whose consciousness is currently trapped inside Deadpool’s psyche], and some other surprises will pop up.
It would be enough for anyone to want to go lie down somewhere, and he doesn’t really have that chance. He gets a little bit of an emotional break at the end of the S.H.I.E.L.D. arc. It makes for an easy hand off to a little bit of a fresh start, which is represented by the Infinite Comic.
So issue#25.NOW, which is meant as a jumping on point, is a good place to pick our story up if you haven’t been reading “Deadpool.” Hopefully, you have because you’ll get even more out of the story.
The Infinite Comic is a weekly story so only one or two issues of the “Deadpool” print comic will be released during its run correct?
Jordan D. White: Actually, with the accelerated shipping schedule we’re on, issues #22-26 will all come out in the 13 weeks “The Gauntlet” is running. It’s every week from January 7th to April 1st.
Duggan: There will be a point where some of this is ongoing and you don’t have to read both, but I do think you’ll enjoy reading both.
What’s important for me about the Infinite Comic is it represents a fresh on-ramp into comic books because they’re not available in the places they used to be anymore like newsstands. It’s hard to try comic books these days. So it will be fun to see if we can build up our readership.
And I got to say our artist, Reilly Brown, has done an amazing job. He’s sort of a pioneer with digital comics, and I think this could be the best looking tablet comic that I’ve ever seen for sure.
Plus he’s very familiar with Deadpool having drawn the character in “Cable & Deadpool.”
Duggan: Yeah, I was super thrilled when they said Reilly was going to be part of this. I was like, “Now I’m not even nervous anymore.”
Let’s move on to issue #27. How did this story come about? Was it because the story threads that were put in place in the recent “The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly” arc evolved into something bigger?
Duggan: Kind of. I think emotionally it happens from a real place for Wade. It actually made story sense for Wade to try and use a wedding to someone he genuinely does care for to try and jump start his life.
After “The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly” he looked around and saw that he was a man without anything. He had friends, but that’s not really enough for anyone. Plus, he’s impulsive. He obviously did it quicker than most people would have, but we’re also a comic book. We’ve got 20 pages an issue. So it helps when you’re character goes through life like a cannon ball.
Without tipping your hand, can you talk about when we might meet Wade’s future wife? Will we see their courtship? Or is that something that’s all going to happen in issue #27?
Duggan: You may have already met Deadpool’s betrothed. Or you may meet her soon. If you’re interested though I wouldn’t just pick up “Deadpool” #27.
White: Hint, hint.
You mentioned Wade is not in a good headspace and he tends to fall head over heels for women anyway. Does he understand what he’s getting into by getting married?
Duggan: That’s a very good question and the answer is probably not. I think Wade is comfortable when he’s in over his head, but one of the things that marriage can provide is a sense of security. That’s something that Wade doesn’t have and could have used. Maybe if he hadn’t been alone all these years he would have found out earlier what was happening to him with Butler.
I credit Agent Preston who I think is one of the fun things about this “Deadpool” run. She died a hero and got a second chance at life. She was also a hero and friend to Wade. We’ve seen Wade not be a good friend in the past in other runs and our run. I think he realizes though that Preston is special and he wants to honor their friendship. So he’s going to try and do right by her and everyone knows that she wants to be back in a body of her own.
So Deadpool’s friendship with Preston has led to some emotional growth for him?
Duggan: Yes, and that will also propel him to find someone else quickly. I think we all know those people who are never without a significant other, some times to their detriment. I think it’s safe to say that Wade is one of those people.
Again, I know you can’t reveal much about the bride, but does she know what she’s getting into by marrying Deadpool?
Duggan: In her own way she’s a very kindred spirit. So in Deadpool she sees someone that will understand some of what she’s gone through. That could be the foundation for a real relationship. That’s probably as much as I can say about that.
Can you offer up any hints or teases about the plot of “Deadpool” #27? It seems like Deadpool’s wedding would be an especially chaotic affair?
Duggan: I think with all weddings there’s a feeling that you’re caught up in a tornado spawned by a hurricane, and this one will be no different.
It’s going to be a big-sized affair. I know in scope it will be and obviously he’ll have friends and family there, but it will be nice to see if Wade could win one and get the day that he wants. We’ll see. He might have a bit of money to spread around after the current arc.
Scott Koblish’s amazing cover for “Deadpool” #27 is packed with guest stars. Can we expect the same amount of super powered guests and wedding crashers inside the book?
Duggan: You’ll see some on the cover that you won’t see inside, and you’ll see some on the inside that you won’t see on the outside.
I believe Scott’s cover has over 220 characters which I think is a Guinness’ World Record for a regular-sized comic book cover. Regular meaning front and back. So it was a real fun bit of work. It took Scott a real long time to draw and then Val [Staples] had to color it. Those guys are a real special team.
Both Scott and Mike Hawthorne are doing the interior art for the issue, correct?
Duggan: Yeah Scott and Hawthorne are working on the issue. Jordie [Bellaire] will be there and Val as well [on colors]. There might be some other surprise artists as well.
White: Mike Hawthorne will be doing the main wedding story while Scott will be leading up the cast of characters we’re wrangling to bring the epic and historic backup tales.
That’s a good segue way into talking about some of the backup material in “Deadpool” #27, which will be done by an all-star team of past Deadpool creators. Jordan, what made you want to include that material in this issue? Which writers and artists are providing stories?
White: When plans for Deadpool getting married were locked into place, I knew it was going to be big news, and I wanted to do something really special to celebrate the occasion. To that end, we’ve collected up all the writers to write Wade Wilson’s ongoing series over the years. In chronological order, we’ve got Fabian Nicieza, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Christopher Priest, Jimmy Palmiotti, Frank Tieri, Gail Simone, Daniel Way, and Victor Gischler. I cannot tell you how excited I was to actually get all these folks to agree to come back to the M with the M for this issue. It’s seriously awesome.
Can you hint, tease, or talk about the plot of some of these backup tales?
White: Let’s just say they will be VERY relevant to the topic of the issue.
Gerry, how does it feel to have those creators from Deadpool’s past contributing to this issue?
Duggan: Intimidating. Those are some of the best writers in the business. It will really make us take as many passes as we can on the front of the book to make sure it matches the back of the book.
Whatever your favorite tone of Deadpool is you will probably see it reflected in the book, so it’s going to be a special book for Deadpool fans. Jordan was fond of saying, “It’s the most important 27th issue of any comic book ever.” [Laughs]
It will be fun. The thing we always try to do on “Deadpool,” even when times are tough, is make sure that the book is fun. If you’ve been enjoying the book so far there’s no way you won’t enjoy issue #27. It will also be a great place for new readers to find out what Deadpool is all about.
I’ve been joking that issue #28 is the annulment and Jordan gets defensive. Because it’s not just a gimmick. It makes story sense. It might be a crazy thing to do, but it makes sense in the grand scheme of things why someone would rush to get married and especially for Deadpool. You’ll see him own up to why he’s doing this. So I appreciate everyone going out and checking the issue out. It should be a really fun April.
“Deadpool” #27 by Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, Mike Hawthorne, Scott Koblish, Jordie Bellaire, Val Staples and an all-star team of past “Deadpool” creators is on sale in April.