Night of the Living Deadpool

A Comic Critique

Everyone loves the Merc with a Mouth after the successful Deadpool movie that stormed the box office
in February 2016. But like every Marvel’s hero, Deadpool started with a comic book and now there are over
billions of them to choose from. So what does one read to satisfy their Deadpool thirst? Well here is a question
for you: do you like zombies? If so, you are going to love Night of the Living Deadpool.

Night of the Living Deadpool is a short spin-off where

Deadpool is placed in a zombie apocalypse that broke out while
he was in a food coma from eating too many chimichangas.
Already a great start. Now you may be thinking how does a
person sleep through an outbreak without getting eaten? It
explains it right off the bat that the restaurant owner could not
wake Deadpool, so they simply locked the restaurant and left.
Remarkably, he stayed safe despite all the thin windows in the
store. You do not need any prior readings to understand this
comic and it is complete in a single volume. Furthermore, it is
easy to start with and even easier to enjoy! It is filled with twists
and turns, surprisingly emotional moments, and non-stop humor
in the darkest of situations.

The creators made an artistic choice to colour every panel black and white except for Deadpool, who is blazing
red and thus the centre of our attention. This works
really well in the bleak setting of the dead and helps us
spot Deadpool as well as differentiate flashbacks that
are in full colour. Now you may also be wondering
how a zombie apocalypse just happens in a week
without Deadpool realizing? Well it is shown in a
series of hilarious flashbacks of Deadpool being
oblivious to signs from newspapers, television, random
biting incidents, and him just standing in a graveyard
pouring whisky to a dead buddy while zombies
casually walk in the distance. It has a very Shaun of
the Dead feel. But the seriousness of the situation hits
Deadpool in splash page of him standing back against
us to an empty, trashed New York City. Then
Deadpool proceeds to sing “I think we’re alone now”
to bring that Deadpool humour back! As fun as zombie
video games make an apocalypse out to be, Deadpool
gets bored really fast because he doesn’t have anyone
to annoy. What’s the point of being a Merc with a mouth without mouthing others? Eventually, he spots the first
person he has seen all day who is obviously a zombie. No brainer there, get it? No brainer? There are a lot more
zombie puns in the comic trust me.
So Deadpool gets surrounded by a horde of zombies, but something is different about these zombies
compared to other zombie stories. They can TALK. These zombies repeat their last thoughts before and after
death and it is described as “leftover consciousness riding along their undead husk” that eventually dies down as
the brain deteriorates. It is quite an original idea and sets a stage for mistaking dead comrades for being alive,
only to make it more upsetting to realize they are talking dead and catch you off guard. Killing them is not an
easy task as well when they are spouting sad painful dialogue. Even Deadpool says it is unsettling, a man who is
not taken aback easily. His zombie killing mood is ruined by their ability to say things like “kill me”, “I don’t
want to do this”, and “where is my daughter”?

As Deadpool gets overwhelmed by the sheer number of the undead, a cliché rescue from a group of

survivors comes out of nowhere! Deadpool did fire a lot of loaded guns that would attract zombies and
survivors alike, but what survivor would willing go to gunfire knowing an idiot is probably getting eaten by a
horde there? Either way, Deadpool is saved by roundabout team made of a cussing grandma, two kiddos you
will cry if they die, a generic black guy, and a bitten soldier which will definitely not end well! Good on the
survivors. I bet their consciousness is at ease for saving a suspiciously masked assassin. But zombie character
clichés aside, this is just the beginning of all that is to come. The first chapter ends with Deadpool asking what
happened to the other heroes and he is told that he is the last one left as the final panel shows Captain America’s
shield bloody and left behind.
Lots of panels in the comic are drawn with such craft and symbolism that we do not need a facial reaction from
a character or unnecessary dialogue. It is all shown in the imagery. There are some extremely sad moments of
how each group of survivors dies and Deadpool having to finish them off after spending weeks bonding with
them. Yet, Deadpool still
manages to keep his spirits
up with non-stop chatter,
jokes, and funny references
to the Walking Dead. There
are so many lines he sprouts
that are comedy gold,
making you admire
Deadpool for who he is. It
really is a pleasure to read a
zombie story without the
main character being
depressing and changing to
a relentless killer because
Deadpool is already a killer!
A cheerful pun-filled
cussing killer with a heart of
gold. The story always keeps moving and does not get boring or stuck in one location. Scenarios only escalate
as Deadpool himself gets bitten. But with his healing factor, what will happen? Find out by reading the comic!
You will not be disappointed.

Will we ever learn what caused the zombie outbreak? Yes! With a shocking revelation that all ties back
to Deadpool but I refuse to spoil anymore. You need to experience the shock yourself. There are so many
beautifully placed panels, quirky dialogue, and suspenseful events, and the ending of course is something no
one would think to predict. Leaving the readers wondering what will happen next. Sure there are some flaws
like how Deadpool happens to stumble upon big important locations and meet people at just the right time, but
overall those are so minor that you do not even care because you love the comic book too much! A guaranteed
must-read for all Deadpool fans that just want to see what he would do at the end of the world.