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Spider-Man/Deadpool (Collected Editions)

Spider-Man/Deadpool, Vol. 4: Serious Business

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"The adventures of your favorite duo in comic books continue, and this time Spider-Man and Deadpool have decided NOT TO BE FUNNY ANYMORE?! What could have possibly driven our two heroes to take the funny outta their own funny book? And just what the heck has SLAPSTICK got to do with it?! When the villainous ARCADE decides to build a second, even deadlier Murderworld in Madripoor, he kidnaps Spider-Man and forces him to be the park's first guest!
COLLECTING: SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL 19-22

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2018

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Joshua Corin

54 books52 followers

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5 stars
165 (23%)
4 stars
235 (32%)
3 stars
244 (34%)
2 stars
64 (8%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
Profile Image for Chad.
10.3k reviews1,060 followers
June 13, 2018
Two fill-in teams come in and give us a couple of pretty good 2-part stories. First up is a team-up with Slapstick which is a perfect fit for this book. Robson's art is a cross between Ed McGuiness and Terry Dodson. It's quite good for someone I wasn't familiar with. Then we head to Murderworld. I like when Marvel returns to classic stories and villains like Arcade. Elliot Calan keeps this one fresh with veteran artist Todd Nauck in tow.
Profile Image for Scott.
2,252 reviews272 followers
May 13, 2018
3.5 stars

Huzzah! Just when I thought the series was really about to crash and burn it rebounds nicely with Vol. 4: Serious Business. While the opener 'No Laughing Matter' was just okay it was the second half of the book, featuring Arcade and his new "Murderworld," which was the real draw. Spider-Man is tasked with guiding three unlikeable, ungrateful people through the newest version of the deadly amusement park. Deadpool is a little late to join in the "fun" - but for good reason - and once he does the duo's action scenes and snarky dialogue are kicked up to the maximum level.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
January 8, 2018
Since Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness have moved on, Spider-Man/Deadpool is in that weird little flux period between solid creative teams, so these four issues are split between four creators in two two-issue stories instead. And they're pretty good, to be honest.

The first two issues by Joshua Corin and Will Robson have Spideypool and Slapstick teaming up to stop a drug lord and a property baron while swearing off jokes (although this plot point doesn't last much past the amusing One More Day parody cover). These issues show a good understanding of Spidey and Wade as characters, and there's just enough Slapstick for him to not get grating, although the repeated dingus joke gets old very fast. Robson's art is like a cross between McGuinness and Mike McKone; always a good thing, and he gets physical humour very well.

The second two issues are by Elliott Kalan and Todd Nauck, and these are the better of the two stories as Spidey and Deadpool find their way into Murderworld. The side characters in these issues are such giant caricatures of the way the world is now, it hurts, and Kalan's script for both Spidey and Deadpool hits all the right notes. There's an especially heartfelt part for Deadpool that gets lost in all the hubbub that I really liked. Todd Nauck is an industry veteran at this point, and his art definitely proves why; he can do humour, he can do giant robots, he can do dinosaurs, and he can do superheroes something fierce.

I'll be fair, I didn't like the Kelly/McGuinness run as much as I feel I should have, and I especially didn't like all the random crap in Volume 2 of this series, but these four issues aren't bad. They won't set the world on fire or redefine comics, but they made me laugh, and I'll take that any day.

Now roll on Robbie Thompson & Chris Bachalo, because I think that's going to be great.
Profile Image for johnny ♡.
926 reviews149 followers
July 12, 2023
not bad but not good either… i thought this run was supposed to be amazing?
Profile Image for Ronald.
1,454 reviews16 followers
June 17, 2024
See! See! This is how you writer a Spider-Man / Deadpool comic!
Lots of quips and one liners and dumb jokes while Spider-Man tries to convince Deadpool not to kill people (even the bad guys) while Wade asks "are you sure" about the no killing thing.
It also helps that the stories are short and don't take up the entire volume because if one of the stories had been bad at least it would have been over quick. Thankfully these writers have read some of the previous appearances of our main characters!
This was one of the best uses of Slapstick in a long time and talk about double crosses!
The 2nd story was one of the least annoying appearances of Arcade! He just wants to win and maybe kill people while he was playing a game.
So good!
Profile Image for Linda.
664 reviews35 followers
December 27, 2021
I've read worse but I have also most definitely read better.

Trite moral lessons and dull D-list villains make for even duller comedy. The two main stories felt really underwhelming and basic in terms of structure. I expect more from this chaotic duo and these issues did not deliver. Slapstick was deeply unfunny, El Tenor was an unoriginal stand-in crime boss, and Arcade was just boring. For a volume that was supposed to showcase the comedic side of this pairing, it was tragically drab in its delivery. I suppose, in a way, the writers did live up to their word when Spider-man and Deadpool swore off being funny in the first issue of this volume...
Profile Image for Kay.
1,865 reviews14 followers
October 8, 2018
MUCH BETTER, thank you!

I would not have even given this a second glance if it weren't for Goodreads. The brilliant comic book Goodreads readers that I follow said this was better than the last, which is the only reason I gave this a shot after the shit storm that was Vol. 3 (it shall not be named).

I didn't love the Madripoor/Murderworld storyline (and I didn't love the art), which is why this vol gets 3/3.5 stars on the whole. The Murderworld storyline only gets + points for the hilarious ending where Spidey and Deadpool drop off Arcade at Cyclops's doorstep and there are a few hilarious lines, "'cause, you know, time travel."

Mostly, I was all about the first half of the volume No Laughing Matter. The issues were fun, the art was my style, and the quips were funny and made me smile.
Issue 19 starts off with Spider-Man being max Spider-Man and trying to be super serious about his responsibility as a hero. His heroing has hurt people, and onw by taking himself super seriously, he's going to be a better Spider-Man! And then along comes Deadpool. :)
The interactions between Deadpool and Spider-Man are well written, funny, and so in character. The arch was super redeeming for the series, even if Slapstick mentions that he has no dingus about five times. Even so. ;)
Profile Image for James.
4,296 reviews
September 10, 2019
This was a silly one. "Time to play this game the only way I know how! By kicking over the board and letting someone else clean up the pieces!"
Profile Image for Brittany Hoskins.
65 reviews
March 8, 2022
As much as I loved the seriousness of volume 3, it was nice to get back to the regularly scheduled chaos that is Spider-Man and Deadpool.
Profile Image for María Ferre.
338 reviews2 followers
April 20, 2019
Una historia en dos partes: el misterio de la muerte de Ferraro Colon y el secuestro en Madripoor. Ambas se presentan como una muestra humorística de ambos personajes.
Se nota que estas dos historietas son una transición hacia algo más grande, pero aun así está divertido ver a los dos personajes interactuar.
Spiderman y Deadpool tratan de abandonar su típico humor, pero les es imposible, sobre todo cuando se juntan. Pensaba que después de Itsy-Bitsy, Peter le mostraría un poco de cariño a Deadpool (porque le tiene cariño), pero creo que su código moral le dice que Deadpool realmente no es la mejor persona y no debería preocuparse por él. O a lo mejor me equivoco. No lo sé, como Joe Kelly ya no es el guionista principal, habrá que ver cómo los demás toman la relación entre ambos personajes.
La historia de Ferraro me ha gustado más que la de Madripoor, la verdad, pero ha estado gracioso ver a Arcade estando más loco que Wade.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,746 reviews35 followers
February 2, 2018
A thoroughly funny read. I laughed out loud multiple times, especially in the "No Laughing Matter" storyline. The second one, with Murder World, was good, too, but the first one really had me chuckling. There were a lot of creative one-liners and the idea of Spidey and Deadpool trying to give up quips was a simple, but funny thread to tie the story together. Some of the jokes in the other two issues were a little too political for my taste, but the overall story was solid. This volume also really took full advantage of the Spidey/Deadpool foil: "do-the-right-thing" v. over-the-top violence. But Deadpool's respect for Spidey and his attempts to do better, coupled with both characters' humor, really makes for fun and memorable team-ups.
Profile Image for Liz (Quirky Cat).
4,977 reviews84 followers
March 23, 2018
3 1/2 Stars.

So did you have any idea that Spider-Man/Deadpool was still running? Because I didn’t! I honestly thought the third volume said it was the last (for now). Apparently that ‘for now’ was a pretty quick span of time, because I got behind in the series faster than I realize. On the bright side I love this team-up, so I’m happy to have more of them. The downside is that Joe Kelly (Deadpool, Daredevil, Uncanny X-Men, Action Comics, Spider-Man) and Ed McGuinness (Superman, Deadpool, Hulk, Nova) aren’t on the project anymore, which is such a loss for this pairing.
Spider-Man and Deadpool both have the propensity for humor and banter, but their temperaments and ways of dealing with enemies are polar opposites. It���s what makes them such a funny team-up. I personally believe that the team-up brings out the best in both of the characters. Around Deadpool Spider-Man is able to let loose a bit more; his tragic backstory becomes more a fact of his past then a ruling reason for his present. On the flip side Spider-Man makes Deadpool want to be a better hero. Around him Deadpool is less likely to inflict wonton destruction and actively tries to not kill people (you know, as opposed to what he usually does). Their constant clashing of heads can be quite humorous at times, depending on the situation.



For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Profile Image for Alex E.
1,717 reviews12 followers
November 9, 2023
After the last volume, which was the exit of Joe Kelly and Ed McGuiness, we have a bit of a limbo period with the creative team. And this volume is comprised of two fill in teams.

Joshua Corin and Will Robson give us a story of Spiderman and Deadpool going up against Slapstick and mobsters. This story was ok, there was a little bit of a twist at the end that kind of made it interesting, but to me Slapstick is a character that is a bit annoying. However, we did have some great character moments between Spidey and Deadpool, as the whole time they try to fight their urge to be jokey and say quips during fights... which of course is impossible for either.

Next is a story by Elliott Kalan and Todd Nauck and the main villain is Arcade. I'm not too much of a fan of Arcade - being an X-Men fan, I have definitely had my fair share of him. But he worked pretty well in the context of Deadpool's antics, so it was fun to see them interact.

This volume was well suited for the two characters, but it did feel like filler a bit. Let's hope the next volume has a permanent creative team that will provide a bit more substance to the book.
Profile Image for Josh.
Author 1 book29 followers
February 2, 2018
The character dynamics between these two always make for some entertaining stories.

The greatest problem I'm finding with this series is the lack of commitment to any one storyline. There have been a couple long-form plots, intermixed with episodic adventures. And with each volume, the story focus and tone seem to shift. While each volume on its own has proven entertaining, the series as a whole suffers from the unpredictability.

There are two story arcs here, unconnected from each other. For me, the first was more enjoyable. However, both offer their share of laughs and adventure in a fashion to be expected from a Spider-Man/Deadpool team-up.

As entertaining as volume 4 proved to be, there really isn't enough here to make it stand out after the last page. So, it's ultimately a good way to pass an hour, but doesn't offer much beyond that.
Profile Image for Danna.
5 reviews
July 7, 2021
I am so disappointed bc when talking about spideypool it is almost impossible for me to not like it and yet here we are. I found this volume extremely boring and it took me a long time to finally finish it and I am sure that if u ask me what it is about on next week I will have already forgotten everything about it, so I am not even gonna try to write a good review bc i just don’t want to.
The whole thing about murder world and the no jokes thing was just unnecessary, and the only thing I actually enjoyed was to see Deadpool look at his spidey bracelet every time before making a hard decision (for him), but the rest was just plain boring. My review for this is simple: extremely boring writing, yet it has a good art.
Profile Image for Adam Fisher.
3,594 reviews23 followers
July 3, 2018
Had to come back to this Volume after accidentally skipping it...
When Deadpool, Peter Parker and Slapstick are all hired to retrieve the same film negatives, hijinks are bound to happen. Throw in a husband, supposedly murdered but alive and turned crime boss, a grieving wife, and trying not to joke while fighting... How could this possibly turn out bad? LOL
Next, Spidey and Deadpool get thrown into Murderworld, playing games run by Arcade. Everything with Arcade is always over the top. But once he's defeated, why drop him at the X-Mansion and with Cyclops? LOL
Straightforward, fast paced story, good art..... recommend.
Profile Image for I'mogén.
1,307 reviews44 followers
February 29, 2020
So turns out this is volume 4 and that I've skipped the 3rd volume, which I don't tend to willingly so, but rather than wait til I've got the next one, I thought it wouldn't hurt to just carry on, cause they're seperate issues anyway, and to me, they don't always connect so smoothly, so I didn't think I was missing anything.
The murderworld issue was interesting. It kind of reminds me of the concept of Hunger Games.
This didn't get as many laughs from me as the first two, but I enjoyed it and would probably go back and get the 3rd volume at some point.

Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
Profile Image for Jenna.
3,808 reviews49 followers
February 27, 2018
Premise of the first two issues was for our dynamic duo to reduce their wise-cracking, because saving lives is a serious business. Meh. The impetus for this change felt rather slapped on and while I could see Deadpool playing along, found it odd that Spidey would take it so to heart.

Murderworld...well...Murderworld...was tedious. Arcade’s plot was also rather straightforward and I find it difficult to believe that Spiderman can’t haul three guys along with one hand. But seeing Spiderman and Deadpool run about thwarting robots was quite fun.
Profile Image for Erin Cataldi.
2,536 reviews64 followers
May 2, 2018
I'm so glad this volume went back to being good because I was seriously disappointed with volumes 2 and 3. The shtick in this one is "no more jokes" they go old school slapstick (for a while) as they deal with the real life Slapstick who isn't so much as a bad guy, but someone in their way. There were some pretty good pop culture references in this one (Westworld and Dolph Lundgren) which perked me up as well. Spiderman is miraculously no longer antsy and the bromance is alive and well as this team partners up to get shit done.
Profile Image for Kate Dostálová.
302 reviews2 followers
September 30, 2020
Peter-Parker slíbí pomoc ženě, jejíž manžel zemřel zrovna během jednoho ze Spider-manových zásahů. A protože ho Peter fotografoval pro Daily Bugle je požádán o negativy fotek. To je práce spíš pro Spider-mana. Ale stejný úkol dostal i někdo jiný! Při hledání potká směšného Taškáře, ale setkaní s ním není zase tak směšné...

V další části získal Deadpool vstupenku do zákulisí Mordolandu v Madripooru, kde se setká se samotným Arkádem. Je štěstím bez sebe, protože tenhle drsnoland je přesně něco pro něj. To ještě netušil, že pozvánku dostal i Spider-man.
Profile Image for Sean.
4,156 reviews25 followers
February 21, 2024
Joshua Corin and Elliott Kalan present two tales that are fun nonsense. First, Spidey and DP team up to stop Slapstick while committing to tell no jokes and takes things serious. It goes how'd you'd get expect. It was fun and goofy. Slapstick is the perfect foil for them. The second story sends them to Madripoor for the opening of a new Murderworld. Arcade is almost always always the same and that's true here but still a funny adventure. Neither story is heavy or trying to make more of itself. The art in both halves was very good. Overall, entertaining but unspectacular.
Profile Image for Trinity F.
185 reviews17 followers
September 15, 2019
Didn't really enjoy this one as much I had hoped to.

I feel liked it lack the emotional weight (yes, emotional weight) that the previous volume had, and I expected the events of the previous volume to impact Deadpool and Spider-Man's relationship more, or at all.

Other than that, I do feel like there were a few good moments, but I still wasn't invested in what was happening. I felt as though there were no real stakes, and that everything was resolved to quickly at the end.
Profile Image for Fern.
52 reviews
January 31, 2022
I really liked the character design of the slapstick character. I also enjoyed seeing spidey and deadpool trying to be serious, but being funny and witty is just so ingrained in to their characters they cant help it. I also enjoyed reading the comic with the murder game done by arcade. I didn't really know much about this character but the whole plot kind of remaining me of saw. I find that concept to be so real and scary.

Favorite Character: Spidey!
Profile Image for Alexis.
2,453 reviews
July 28, 2022
So Spiderman is stuck in a Hunger Games style murderpark and doesn't want to hurt anyone and is feeling rather desperate... until Deadpool falls from the sky. Then Spiderman thinks he may stand a chance of getting everyone out alive without anyone killing each other or the park killing someone.

I may be the only one who thought that was utterly adorable, especially considering where the two started.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3,013 reviews
January 21, 2018
Doesn't seem to know what to do with itself. There are two stories. The first is set up to be kind of about comedy, I guess. But it just winds up being a plain old story that doesn't do too much.

The second was a Murderworld story, which, let's face it, never works except in Avengers whatever it was and that's because they were willing to raise the stakes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews

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