Written by: Skottie Young
Art by: Nic Klein and Jeff Eckleberry
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 5, 2018

I’m guessing that a big problem with writing Deadpool is the temptation to just go…well, full Deadpool. Yea, it’s funny for a while, but it tends to get tiresome which leads to the book having a sameness to it, even between different storylines. Skottie Young has mostly avoided that and while the overall series has been a bit up and down, when I have liked an issue, I’ve tended to like it a lot. Thankfully, this is one of those issues. It’s a one-shot, it’s a holiday story, it’s…I guess I’ll just start my review…

As I said, this issue is a one-shot holiday tale all about the wrath of little kids who don’t get their presents on Christmas Day. Since this is a Deadpool book, we don’t have to worry that these children are poor or bat an eye that they have come to Deadpool for help…and yes, by help I mean that they have paid him to kill Santa Claus!

While this concept is totally original, Skottie Young makes it work here. This could easily be an animated episode of a Deadpool cartoon and is full out new reader friendly. Yea, there are nods to current continuity (the Avengers are in it for a couple of panels), but anyone can pick this issue up and have a good time.

The issue continues with Deadpool heading to the North Pole, getting in a firefight with Mrs. Claus and then finding out that St. Nick was not the one responsible for the epic fail on Christmas Day. At this point, Young has a little fun railing against commercialism and even unionization, but it’s not too heavy-handed and is played for laughs. By the end, everything is kind of all right as Deadpool goes a step further and tries to make everyones life a bit happier…and partly succeeds because he is Deadpool after all.

As far as one-shot holiday stories go, this one is pretty darned good. These things sometimes go a little too sappy and end up not feeling like the regular series, but that’s not a problem here. Everything feels 100% Deadpool and if that’s your bag, there is no reason you won’t really enjoy this issue.

Another big reason to enjoy it is Nic Klein’s art. Actually, that’s my biggest reason. This book looks fantastic and even with Santa looking like he’s auditioning for the Mechanic, it has a classic holiday look that works so well against the mayhem going on.

Final Thoughts:

I can recommend this one-shot holiday story to just about anyone, but Deadpool fans will especially get a kick out of it. Nic Klein’s art is fantastic and Skottie Young doesn’t change the formula too much so we end up with a Christmas story that thankfully still feels like a Deadpool story through and through.

8.8/10