- Written by: Alyssa Wong
- Art by: Luigi Zagaria
- Colors by: Matt Milla
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
- Cover art by: Martín Cóccolo, Neeraj Menon
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: July 26, 2023
Deadpool #9 finds Deadpool and Valentine trapped in the nefarious clutches of the Atelier, and the beatings will continue until Deadpool turns control of his symbiote dog over to the group of assassins.
Is It Good?
Deadpool #9 is okay. It won’t blow you away, but Alyssa Wong gets the job done in the penultimate issue to the end of the Atelier arc and presumably the end of Wong’s run on Deadpool (there are no solicits for issue #10).
When last we left Deadpool and Valentine, the group of Atelier assassins staged a fake home setting to trick Deadpool for no obvious reason. When the illusion failed, the assassins launched a direct assault to capture Deadpool’s symbiote dog, incapacitating Deadpool and Valentine, and severing Valentine’s glass arms in the fight. Now, the Horned Emperor presses Deadpool to hand over control of the symbiote dog to the Atelier or face endless torture. Yuriko slyly supplies a means of escape, mayhem ensues, and Valentine strikes a killing blow against the Horned Emperor, forcing her to assume his horned mantle as the new leader of the Atelier.
The best you could say is that things happen in a reasonable order and at a reasonable pace. Deadpool and Valentine get a moment of sweetness, so there’s some emotional weight to the issue. Deadpool and Valentine’s method of escape contains several convenient contrivances to rush through the escape and skip to the ending. And Valentine’s ascension as the new Horned Emperor is relatively well done.
Regarding the art… Zagaria’s art is very good. Milla’s character coloring looks great, but the backgrounds are flat and dull. And the overall comic has a clean polished look. Besides the nitpick already mentioned, there’s not much to criticize about the art.
Therefore, the success or failure of this comic relies on the writing, and true to form, Wong delivers a standard, passable, formulaic plot, peppered with contrivances designed to get readers to the next plot point without any drama or impact.
In fairness, Valentine’s ascension is a surprise, so we’ll see what happens next. At this point, the best you can hope for is a serviceable finish.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Deadpool #9 completes the penultimate issue in the Atelier arc (and Alyssa Wong’s run) to a flat finish with interesting fights, solid art, and at least one surprise, but the overall plot lack drama, and Deadpool’s escape scene is embarrassingly contrived.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 