I've become a big Deadpool fan since the Posehn/Duggan run started, and after mentioning this to some other comic nerds, they recommended I go back and read Cable & Deadpool. It's a limited run, only about 50 issues, and it has this great dynamic where Cable is the straight man and Deadpool is the zany comic. I think the dynamic has a lot of potential, so I decided to give it a shot.

The first volume, If Looks Could Kill, was extremely disappointing. Cable & Deadpool are in opposition for most of it, so that dynamic doesn't exist at all, and it's very quickly established that Cable's ability to telekinetically blow Deadpool's brain up instantly means that the "relationship" is completely imbalanced. But honestly, that's not the problem, they're clearly building to a Dynamic Duo of sorts, and this first run has them working against each other before joining forces.

The problem here is the writing is just awful. Not really the dialogue, or the characters, which all seem fine (and Deadpool is humorous but not annoying, which is an easy mistake to make when writing him). The plot however, is just insanely terrible. Very, very little of the entire storyline makes any sense, and there are constant "twists" that don't fit with the characters or the narrative. There's a LOT of connective tissue missing between story beats, I frequently didn't understand how we got to Point B from Point A. The villainous plot that's trying to be foiled hardly makes any sense and is poorly explained, and the way Cable and Deadpool foil the plot is confusing. Then Cable is responsible for a "surprise twist" that also makes little sense, and then the explanation for that twist even less so. It honestly felt like there were pages missing.

There are also massive pacing issues. Whenever the story begins to get somewhat interesting, things will grind to a halt to cut to a side story or a reporter that Cable talks to telepathically. While these scenes are necessary for the story, especially later on, they aren't worked in naturally and they interrupt the flow of the story every time they come up.

I have high hopes for the rest of the series, I think it has a lot of potential and it's generally well-reviewed, but the first volume suffers from abysmal writing that really drags the whole thing down. ( )

Cable, a telepathic and telekinetic mutant from the future (and the child of Cyclops and Jean Grey's clone, which should give you a taste of his power profile), wants to change the world. Meanwhile, Deadpool, a mercenary who will do pretty much anything for money, is hired to steal a virus that will make everyone the same. Their paths cross in Germany, and this leads to a hilarious friendship/partnership that lasts until the seventh volume.

I love this series. The first collection isn't the strongest (the story really gains cohesion in the second and third volumes), but it's an amazing romp into hilarity. Nicieza pokes fun at nearly everything, but especially 90s comics and their excesses (at one point [it may be in another collection], Cable whips out a huge gun that has "Liefeld XS" on the side). This is one of my favorite Deadpool takes, too (Joe Kelly is still king in that regard, in my opinion). Highly recommended. ( )

I vaguely remember having a conversation with a friend, ages ago, in which I mentioned that I'd never really gotten into superhero comics, despite having lots of friends who've been devotees of the genre since childhood. She suggested that maybe I should check out this particular series, as the characters are the kind of wisecracking anti-heroes that frequently appeal to me. I said something along the lines of, "OK, sounds interesting," stuck volume one on my ever-growing wishlist, and thought no more about it. Fast-forward to the present day, when said wishlist is now so long that I can no longer keep track of what's on it and have resorted to writing a computer program to randomly pick stuff off of it to buy next. Which has been kind of fun, as it keeps surprising me with things I'd forgotten I ever wanted. Like, say, this.

Unfortunately, this particular graphic novel experience has still not converted me into a fan of the superhero genre in general, or of Cable & Deadpool specifically. I did quite like the amoral mercenary Deadpool, who turns out to be exactly the sort of wisecracking anti-hero character I was promised. Overpowered mutant blowhard Cable, on the other hand, is just annoying. And the plot, which involves a virus that can alter people's appearances and a group of religious fanatics who want to turn everyone blue (yes, really) was not terribly interesting. I also found it hard to follow, although a lot of that might be down to me not having enough background knowledge of the characters and the universe.

I also have to say that this kind of reminded me why superhero comics have always seemed a little too silly to me. It's not the goofy bad guys and the implausible storylines -- I am a Doctor Who fan -- but more the way people tend to stand around spouting expository soliloquizes about what their superpowers are doing. Well, that and, um, is it just me, or does the whole superpower thing often just seem to boil down to some kind of cosmic-scale dick-measuring contest? If I may use the phrase.

Anyway. I'm not sorry I read it. It was a mildly interesting dip into the world of superhero comics, and I feel somewhat pleased at least to have made the acquaintance of Mr. Deadpool. But I think I'll be stopping here. ( )

I decided to give this series a try despite the first few frightful sets of Liefield covers -- and I was glad that I did so. At times hilarious, at times heartfelt, this is a tale of "We-are-not-at-all-best-friends-and-we-certainly-don't-platonically-love-each-other" odd-straight-man passionate friendship/bonding between an extremely powerful delusional man and a psychopath.

I read this without knowledge of either Cable or Deadpool's canon and past histories, and going back to read them-- I found this current incarnation, as written by Nicieza, to be far more interesting and layered. It helped that for most of the series, where was a consistent artist and colorist group.

The series is not without its failings. Two completely disparate characters are thrown together without much thought (though the few times they have ever interacted within the confines of their own series, they had had that odd resonance with each other for very little reason.) There are McGuffins aplenty, Deadpool borders only being a bit too needy and too noisy (which, I suppose is the point). And while the art starts off strong, with Udon doing the first volume or so, and... I forget the artist that picks up after them who did a wonderful meld of his own style to the what Udon had been doing. Towards the end of the series, about when Civil War shinnanigans kick up, the art becomes pretty inconsistent. Some of the art is good, some not so much. The story begins to derail a little as Nicieza has to deal with a billion outside plotpoints prior to cancellation. Still, considering any strong portrayals of a conflicted and intense male friendship that cheerfully pokes fun at social concepts of gayness, emotionalism, and doesn't/i> disappear when the love interest/girl shows up? I read it just for that. Really.

A wonderful story while it lasted.

Also props for the interpretation of Shen Kuei-- the Cat. From a vaguely Bruce Lee villain rip off into uber hawt HK action hero star... He's been wonderfully improved upon. :D ( )