Gee I wonder what my pick of the week is? It can’t possibly be a book that involves two of my favorite characters. Also it’s written by one of my favorite writers at the moment, and also involving an up and coming artist. No I can’t possibly be that simple with my choices.

*looks at what he made his pick* Oh damnit….

Okay I admit it! This seemed to be a no brainer when it was first announced! Yet another Deadpool ongoing and this time it’s like the former ‘Marvel Team Up’ series. Just that instead of different teams every issue, it’s Deadpool meeting with another character every month. I’m not stupid guys, I think having a third ongoing for the character is way too much exposure. Considering how medicore the ‘Merc with the Mouth’ is I was just as hesitant on picking this up as anyone else. But when I learn who wrote this and who Deadpool is teaming up with….I just had to give it a shot for the sake of my sanity.

The result: God I wish Fred Van Lente could write Deadpool constantly. This was one of the more better comics featuring Deadpool to come out in a long time. (I’m not counting Daniel Way’s Deadpool because it’s constantly great) Van Lente has a perfect voice for the character, in a way he reminds me of Joe Kelly a lot. His humor is practically the same and he has just as much far fetching ideas as Kelly. There are a good amount of really funny jokes in here and only a handful of cringe worthy moments. It also has Van Lente writing a character he has mastered over the last couple of years. Seriously, Hercules and Deadpool teaming up is just a great idea and it brings a wealth of good jokes between the two. They are somewhat similar in personality and Van Lente just makes it all the more apparently. I also find it facsinating that there was no problem conceiving up an idea for the two to meet, especially since this might be the first time the two have ever met. Also, I like how there is a bit of continuity with this involving Nightmare, and also bringing back Arcade as a baddie for Deadpool. This was just a fun time to read and for once I don’t have to imagine a better writer for the character, Van Lente is perfect for Deadpool.

Dalibor Talajic is turning into a very interesting up and coming artist. He’s done a lot of work outside the U.S. but now it seems like Deadpool is his first attempt at mainstream. I loved his work with the Mime fight from Deadpool #900 (Lente also did that story) and this is a good first ‘full’ issue for Talajic to work on. Let me get this out of the way; the coloring in this seems to have ruined some of the pencils. Character faces seem to get a bit blurry sometimes and/or character models in general look off. But it’s not a burden all the time so when the coloring does match up with the pencils; this is a good looking comic. It seems like Talajic has a good style of mixing both realistic and cartoony elements into his work. Character models look like the real thing but the next minute you’ll see a creature with two mouths. It all blends together to make it all work really well. There is also a lot of good, small touches within each panel. I like how Deadpool’s thread continues to unravel and his leg gets more exposed which each page turn. Also, there is a good detail in the background even though a good amount of them are sorta blank walls. Finally, just a hilarious final page of Hercules and Deadpool enjoying hanging out. Kinda reminds me of an ending to a Simpsons episode…

You can all give me shit on this because I am a fan of both characters. But if you read this I will be shocked if you didnt like it. It’s funny, it has a lot of great moments, and overall it was just a fun little one-shot story. Fred Van Lente is just great at writing these characters so you can’t blame for enjoying the issue. Trust me, I am just as shocked as you are for loving this issue so much. I was so prepaired to give this a pass but it impressed me to no end. It’s a shame Lente/Talajic couldn’t stay as the ongoing writers. But I’m told it’s going to be a new artist and writer every month so at least we won’t get stuck with one particular person. Yes I am a Deadhead and I am proud of it, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised on just how fun this comic is.