Batman/Deadpool #1 – Grant Morrison, James Tynion IV/Joshua Williamson/Scott Snyder, Tom Taylor, Mariko Tamaki, G. Willow Wilson, Writers; Dan Mora, Hayden Sherman, Bruno Redondo, Amanda Conner, Denys Cowan/Claus Janson, Artists; Alejandro Sanchez, Mike Spicer, Adriano Lucas, Tamra Bonvillain, Francesco Segala, Colorists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: DC is here to follow up Marvel’s crossover one-shot, which featured a decent but unspectacular Deadpool/Batman story by Wells and Capullo but some very strong backups. DC chooses to go a different route, with some big risks starting with its first story.
A Batman/Deadpool tale by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, this story takes a lot more chances than its counterpart – as you would expect from Morrison the mad genius. A full-length tale, it starts with Batman helping a grieving widower investigate a Suicide Squad casualty – while Deadpool is in a completely different, absurdist tale. Also, two cosmic entities having a tryst is involved. Morrison embraces the bizarreness of Deadpool, despite never having written him at length, with frequent fourth wall breaks and a distinct tonal difference between the two narrations. This is just scratching the surface, but this 25-page story packs a ton of bizarre plot elements including one of Morrison’s most famous and controversial villains, as well as the return of a character I never thought I’d see anywhere. This isn’t going to be for everyone, but betwee Mora’s exceptional art and Morrison’s no-holds-barred madness, it definitely is for me.
“A Magician Walks Into a Universe”, the first of the backups by DC architects Williamson and Snyder and the returning James Tynion IV, with Hayden Sherman on art, teams Constantine and Doctor Strange – sort of. The magical worlds of the DCU and the Marvel Universe bleed into each other, leading to a game of chess between Mephisto and Neron and a no-holds-barred battle between Swamp Thing and Ghost Rider. Constantine seeks out Strange’s help to separate them – but Constantine can rarely be trusted, of course. There’s a stunning two-page spread as Constantine tries to process the kind of magic Strange works with, but the real selling point of this story is the interplay between two of the most arrogant and entertaining heroes in both universes. I would gladly read 12 issues of these two solving magical crimes together.
“Sticks and Snikts” by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo teams two of the most iconic legacy characters, Nightwing and Laura Kinney – aka the younger Wolverine. There’s a brilliant line right at the start that reminds us just how good a writer Taylor is for Laura, and she and Nightwing are on the trail of a missing Gabby, who disappeared while walking her “Dog”. It’s a shorter story, but it packs in great dialogue, excellent action, and a lot of humor towards the back half. I really miss Taylor writing Laura and Gabby, but DC is especially lucky to have his take on the Bat-fam.
“Harley and Hulk’s Amazin’ Saturday” by Mariko Tamaki and Amanda Conner is not to be taken seriously. That much is clear from the start. It’s only five pages, and it’s entirely about Harley and Hulk being forced into a team up to take on an army of killer mutant hot dogs. It’s exactly as silly as it sounds, and the dichotomy between Hulk’s silent seriousness and Harley’s…irrepressability is a ton of fun. The art is the main selling point here, and Conner is a perfect fit.
Finally, “New Friends in Old Places” by Wilson and Cowan teams up Static and Ms. Marvel on a five-page tale that mostly seems to be here to introduce them to each other. The two are dealing with their family dynamic at home, when they get word that a monster is attacking the city, team up, and become friends. The art and dialogue are great, but I would love to see more of this dynamic because it’s over so quickly.
Across the board, these stories range from promising to exceptional. Far and away the better of the two anthologies released in the first DC/Marvel team-up in decades.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
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