Deadpool, Vol. 7: AXIS

Deadpool (2012) (Collected Editions)

by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Illustrator), Mike Hawthorne (Illustrator)

Collects Deadpool (2012) #35-40.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2015

About the author

Brian Edmund Posehn[1] (born July 6, 1966) is an American actor, voice actor, musician, writer, and comedian, known for his roles as Jim Kuback on The WB's Mission Hill and Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.

(source: wikipedia)

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shenanigans Starring Zenpool!



Thanks to whoever orders the comics at my library, I hadn't read the last volume of this title. And, to top it off, this volume is nothing but crossover events that I knew nothing about.
And, yet...
For some reason, I really enjoyed it!

You have Daddy Deapool bestowing his wisdom on his daughter...



And then he deals with his wife's ex, Dracula, who buys an old Spider-Slayer on ebay, and then attempts to make Deadpool shit himself laughing kill Deadpool!



The FauX-men are back and in need of some medical attention. So, Wade calls on his old pals the X-men to help, in the hopes that Beast can find a way to fix their problems. There's a whole story here involving evil split personalities, an old west saloon, and a tree made out of Deadpool's internal organs, but I won't spoil it for you...




Also, the crossover with the Axis event led to some really funny moments between Wade and some of his, um, teammates.



So, Wade is squatting living across the street from Preston and her family, because his daughter is living with them now. His wife is not happy with this situation, so their marriage is already a bit rocky...and then the events of Axis happen. Which turns our stab-first-ask-questions-later hero into a warm & fuzzy ball of decomposing Nirvanapool.



The Mrs. is not impressed with her new & improved Hubbypool, and more hilarious marital friction ensues. Then Wade has to try to deal with bloodthristy X-Men, Evan when he Hulks-out turns into Apocalypse, and the ex mother-in-law.
And no, it's not high humor, but this volume has the good kind of fart jokes, and I laughed out loud (or LOL'd, if you prefer) more than once.

The last issue is a Coloring Book special featuring Jason Aaron, Jason Latour, & Sarah Silverman that shows us the eco-nightmare... gracking!
I would totally give that one issue 5 stars!



Evidently, fracking gracking can only work in poorer areas, which is why you don't see the drilling happening in the neighborhoods with the McMansions.
It's science, people!



What looks like Professor X in the last panel of that image is actually little Tim the leukemia patient. Of course, Deapool thinks he's a cosplayer, and I have to say I laughed harder at that joke than I really should have.
Sweet Newborn Baby Jesus, please forgive me...

Of course, since this is Deapool, everything is eventually going to come down to a crazy fight with a Minotaur. Amirite?



I can't believe I'm saying this, but this was one of the most entertaining comic books I've picked up in a while. Ugh. Here comes the hard part...
Excuse me, but now I have to go say thanks to my son for pestering me to read it.
Who says kids these days don't have good taste?!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Events getting I'm the way of a good story is always a pain.

Deadpool dealing with being a father but also being a good friend to the people he saved lives Kim is great. But then the axis event feels like only getting parts of the story and so missing key events as always. The ending was sad but worked well for the character.

[Michael Church · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels so good to read a book you enjoy after you finally finish a crappy one. This Deadpool series is still an absolute joy to take in. Gerry Dugan and Brian Posehn have created such a rich arc for Deadpool. Granted, I've not read any of his stories before this, so I don't have much to compare to, but it's great. I love the way they continue to move the narrative forward while still introducing new elements, more characters, new threats, and more meaning.

What's even MORE astounding is that this book was part of the crappy Axis crossover event! The premise of that book was mildly interesting, but executed terribly. The Deadpool issues managed to follow that premise, integrate the crossover in multiple steps, take something rather uniquely Deadpool away from it, and end the story farther along than when we began. Everything went back to normal, but there was some growth. It was INTERESTING. It makes me want to see how this affects Deadpool and his friends and family in the future. It showed a lot of promise, and I really enjoyed it.

The art continues to work really well with the tone. There were some hiccups, but I'm really enjoying Hawthorne's work these days.

It all just works so well together and tells an interesting story that moves at the right pace. This is one of my favorite series at the moment.

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can only say that watching Deadpool on the movie screen is a better experience than reading this one.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Major "crossover syndrome" in this book, and you shouldn't even bother reading it if you haven't read Avengers & X-Men: AXIS. Events in that book directly influence events in this one, and vice versa. Luckily, I read this on the Marvel Unlimited app, alternating issues with Axis in publication order. This kept the story relatively on track, but I can't imagine trying to read this book completely by itself. It would be utterly confusing.

Even reading this in tandem with Axis, though, I found this story pretty weak. Deadpool suddenly becomes "Zenpool" thanks to the events of Axis, basically turning into a pacifist. This causes him to take a different look at his life, and also seems to thoroughly damage his marriage to Shiklah.

That's where this book threw me. Deadpool and Shiklah have been together for, like, a month. Our introduction to her was in the fantastic Dracula's Gauntlet mini-series, and I really loved what Posehn & Duggan built between the two of them. But now, almost immediately, their marriage seems to be on the rocks. Shiklah is suddenly portrayed as a "nagging wife" who never listens to a single word Deadpool says, never tries to hear his side of things. She's just constantly mad that he's not around enough. It really killed the character for me, and made me wonder why they even bothered creating the character if they just want to turn her into such an unreasonable nightmare. There as no hint of this before. It's like they just ran out of ideas with what to do with her, so they made her a caricature.

The only saving grace for this volume is the final entry, a fake coloring book about Deadpool teaching kids about the joys of big corporations (AKA a satire about global warming/pollution). It's incredibly funny and smart, and definitely one of my favorites of this whole run. Unfortunately, it just can't save the rest of this crossover mess.

[Tani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took away a star because in order to get the entire story, you'll need to go hunt down an issue of Axis. Boo!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the Original Sin tie-ins were a masterpiece in tying individual character books to a big Marvel event. This Axis tie-in is frankly the opposite. The trouble is, this book flits between the scenes of the main Axis story. It's pretty hard to follow even if you have been reading Axis, but if you haven't it's really quite hard.

It's a shame really because there are some wonderful ideas here. Axis causes major Marvel characters to invert to their opposite. This isn't straight-forward with Deadpool because although he's a hero he's not exactly what you can call a "good" character. The inversion therefore make him become Zenpool, an anti-violence hippie Deadpool. And Zenpool is a wonderful, wonderful creation.

Amongst the mix-up of Axis we get some great moments from Deadpool's relationship with his wife Shiklah to what Deadpool discovers about himself once the whole-thing is over. It's typical of this Duggan and Posehn run where Deadpool managed to be both hilarious and heart-breaking.

There's also another of the writing duo's mental issues, this time taking the form of a Roxxon-sponsored "Gracking" promotional comic. It is typically bonkers, with all sorts of hilarious lines in it. It seems to be inspired by Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 4: Last Days of Midgard and contains Roxxon CEO and minotaur Dario Agger. It also contains a really poignant and not thrown in your face environmental message. This individual issue is perhaps one of the best of the 40 so far in this volume.

Some great bits but this is a pretty poor event tie-in. I've pretty much only given the third star for the stunning gracking issue but otherwise this really is quite a disappointment. A rare blip in an excellent run of Deadpool.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume of Deadpool flits in and out of the events of Axis, offering a more direct tie-in than the previous volume did to Original Sin. This does make it a little difficult to understand at times, since plot points happen between issues of Deadpool, but if you've read Axis, it's easy enough to work out where things fit.

The inversion of Deadpool is a good idea, but it doesn't really get explored as much as I'd have liked. It's clear that he's different, but the idea behind why and what that says about him doesn't really come into play - instead it's mostly just about how Shiklah doesn't like him, and how his new approach to fighting crime pays off. It's nice to see that, inverted or not, Deadpool still makes time for his friends, though.

The volume closes once again with another excellent fill-in issue by Scott Koblish, who takes Deadpool into a colouring book/PSA comic that shows us how rotten Roxxon are (as if we need reminding).

The art throughout this volume is strong once again, thanks to the return of Mike Hawthorne whose style is clear and clean and doesn't compromise at all throughout the story, and there are some curveballs thrown at him; it's only a Deadpool comic that can go from the Ol' West to a destroyed New York and then to Monster Metropolis all in one issue.

[Theodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am trying to be a better man in a worse world."

I really enjoyed this volume of Deadpool. Wade showed how much he cares for his friends once again, to the point where he allowed himself to get hurt time and time again to help them. I liked seeing his relationship with Ellie grow, and I especially enjoyed his brief time as Zenpool. It might have been interesting to see more of him. One other thing that I very much appreciated was that Ellie had scheduled appointments with a therapist. I'm all for normalising therapy and seeking help.

My only real issue with this volume was that Ellie and her grandmother were white-passing, when in previous volumes they had had darker skin. I can't think of a good reason why the artists would choose to portray them in such a manner. Obviously, there are lighter skinned Mexican women, but these two hadn't been that way for the majority of this story, so this inconsistency felt more like they were trying to draw attention away from their heritage than an artistic choice.

*Trigger Warnings* Depiction of PTSD, physical assault, racism, discrimination, domestic abuse, toxic relationship.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn continue their character defining run on Deadpool.

[pianogal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm with Shiklah. Not a big fan of Gray Hippiepool. I like the rowdy, Redpool. Good story. And the coloring book at the end was fun. Too bad somebody already colored for me. Sad.

More Deadpool!

[BibliofiendLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot and it redeems vol. 8 for me.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Niestety trend zniżkowy formy u Posehna i spółki jest aż nader widoczny. Pomysł z zamianą charakteru Deadpoola wskutek wydarzeń z Axis na zupełnie pokojowy uznaję za świetny, ale już średnio wykonany, bo kosztem tej swoistej "zadziorności" postaci. Coś za coś. A jest jeszcze gorzej, bowiem ten specyficzny żart całej serii gdzieś się ulotnił.

Przy "Martwych Prezydentach" parskałem i śmiałem się naprawdę często. Całość była świeża i błyskotliwa. Tutaj mamy tego zaledwie ułamek. Dobrą stroną tomu jest na pewno ten aspekt dramatyczny. Życie Wade'a do najłatwiejszych nie należy i już widać pierwsze symptomy kryzysu jego związku małżeńskiego. Tyle, czy ja tego potrzebuje od takiego tytułu. Owszem, trzeci tom z tej serii był wybitnie ponury, ale i naprawdę dobrze rozpisany. Kwestia tych azjatyckich klonów X-men nie była mi obojętna. Tutaj to wszystko wydaje się rozwodnione, spłycone. Na domiar złego powtarzane.

Dlatego też daję 2.5/5 i martwię się, bo do końca serii jeszcze trzy tomy w ofercie polskiego wydawcy i jeżeli ich poziom będzie taki sam, to dobre zdanie o tej świetnej serii mi się diametralnie zmieni. Może też na całość wpływa fakt, że wcześniejsze przygody Wade miały charakter odrębny od głównych wydarzeń Marvela, a całe to Original Sin czy Axis wymusiło na autorach pewne dostosowanie się do tamtych wydarzeń i ograniczyło inwencję twórczą, ale... jakoś w to nie wierzę. Już bardziej w wyczerpanie materiału.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Axis event affected many characters, and one of the main ones that it changed in a big way was none other than Deadpool.

So after the Axis wave hit, Deadpool becomes Zenpool. A much calmer and wiser version of the merc with a mouth. This version of him seems to understand consequence a lot better and is able to see the "big picture" a lot clearer. What was interesting about the book is that afterwards, when DP inevitably gets reverted back, he reflects on the changes and it seems to really affect him in a certain way. Whether those changes will be permanent or not is a different topic.

Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan continue building on the characterization of Deadpool, and it the Axis event didn't really throw them off too much. They were able to blend it in to what was going on in the title and didnt feel like a jarring break in the story like a lot of tie in books usually do.

I wouldn't say the Axis event was a complete derail of the series but it still felt like an unnecessary diversion at times. If youre a fan of Axis and Deadpool -this one is right up your alley.

[Dylan DeVita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tie in worked surprisingly well for me too. The change in Deadpool’s personality is foreshadowed earlier in the run as is his reflection on his usage of ultra violence. So even if the Axis event didn’t happen I still think it makes sense for Wade to go all “Zenpool”. He does this in an attempt to be more heroic and for his family to be more accepting of him. The interesting part is that it seems to drive them further away from him which is so tragic. It’s such an interesting way to show us the curse of Wade being who he is. Tragically cursed to a life of loneliness, warring internal conflict, and walking a the fine line of heroism and cold blooded murderer. The final page of the final issue in this volume really hammers home this theme. “I now realize I’ve never experienced happiness. I put on a good show but… I simply don’t know the meaning of the word… and never will” really compelling stuff

[Pirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to read some of the axis event to get a handle on the greater context (and also because issue 38 or 39 outright told me to), but the truth is a. I didn't really care and b. I hated the art style. A lot, actually. So I didn't. And the good news is for the most part the writers do a good job of making sure this is still a coherent story and that the axis nonsense didn't prevent our characters from growing, but it was still, overall, an unnecessary distraction. All these crossovers are really getting on my nerves. Can't you just tell a standalone story?

[Kate Dostálová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Z Deadpoola se stal Zenpool! Jak to? Mágové nějak přetočili snad všechny na světě. Ale bude ho mít manželka ráda, i když nebude ve své ohavné kůži? Navíc musí zachránit své Xindl-many před nástrahou v trenažeru X-manů. Ke všemu musí ohlídat svou dceru. Jako bonus dostaneme přiběh Roxxonu a jejich šíleného plánu... a taky pár rébusů.

[I.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise but it seems to have largely taken place in crossover comics not included in this set. There are two huge story parts missing that were multiple title arcs and to not include them here makes you out of step. Also the humour has died off leaving the series only average now.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zenpool was just not my cup of tea to be honest. Not only that but I’m relatively sure I only understood about 70% of the storyline because it seems a lot of necessary story occurred in other comics, which were not referenced (it’s Deadpool! Referencing other comics is NOT an issue)

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main story was pretty funny and entertaining, not as violent as usual, and Shiklah/Deadpool are at their best here. Nice art too, but the story kind of gets lazy near the end. As a bonus, you get a crayon-drawn anti-fracking issue that's pretty funny too.

3.6 Stars

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that the writers reproduced the relevant points in the Axis crossover in this story. So often in these collections there are importantant pieces missing. That said, I just wasn't a fan of Zen Deadpool.

[Sleepseeker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rating

This ties into the Avis event. This volume shows us a different side to Deadpool and I kind of liked Zen Deadpool. It was a fun and different side that I don't think I've ever seen that from Deadpool before.

[Adsun22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierwszy od dawna tom Deadpoola, przy którym się kilkukrotnie uśmiechnąłem, to muszę przyznać. Najlepsze dwa pierwsze zeszyty, potem robi się 'tylko' solidny deadpoolowy poziom. Ta proekologiczna historia też ciekawa.

[Terry Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadpool vs Dracula (who is operating an old Spider Slayer) alone is worth the price of admission. Strong and funny (the Deadpool / Roxxon Oil coloring book alone is a twisted piece of comic book genius).

[WORM · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Didn't really enjoy it. I feel like they're trying to add plot and they're trying to add depth to DP's character but it's just not working for me. He's not really that funny and he's lacking the Deadpool essence.

[Steve Moudry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic of Gracking was really great!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crossovers just ruin solo titles.

[Nathan Sizemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

80/100

[Frans Kempe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadpool goes zen in the Axis storyline

[Drizztl · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10
Ah Zenpo is awesome :) a nice story with the Nort Korean X-Men as well...