Deadpool has a tendency to be over-exposed , and I don’t mean when he’s not wearing pants. Marvel loves to push as much Deadpool into the market as possible, and last week we got the strangest one yet. The Unbelievable Gwenpool is written by Chris Hastings with art by Gurihiru and Danilo Beyruth and features Gwen Stacy dressing up in a costume and fighting crime. The original Gwen Stacy is still technically dead and Spider-Gwen is off doing spider-related things, Gwenpool is from a normal universe without super-people.
In the world Gwenpool came from, the Marvel Universe is a comic book and she believes Earth-616 is not real. Stories like these have faltered before; Super-boy Prime once came to the real world, called Earth Prime, and did a number of crazy comic book things that even after reading them I don’t understand . Gwenpool is a much goofier take on the “displaced person” genre, throwing a girl with zero powers into a mercenary job. You can’t tell if she’s crazy or just trying to process her situation.
I really wanted to hate Gwenpool , I really did. She appeared once on a variant cover for Howard the Duck and now had her own comic; it just seems like a shameless cash crab. Surprisingly, it works though. The story is solid, the art is gorgeous, the gags are on point and the ending actually catches you by surprise (I won’t ruin it here, I’m not a monster.)
If you are a Deadpool fan, or a fan of well-made comic books, Gwenpool is a must buy. Now excuse me, I have to go wash away my shame by saying ten hail-Kirbys to my Alan Moore shrine.
