Deadpool MAX, Vol. 1: Nutjob

Deadpool MAX (Collected Editions)

by David Lapham, Kyle Baker (Illustrator)

You may think you know Deadpool. Unkillable mercenary, hopeless romantic, nutjob. It's that last part that presents a problem and that's where Agent Bob steps in. Bob's sole charge in life is to point Deadpool at the problem and pull the trigger--not an easy task whenyour agent is three cards shy of a full deck, and even harder when you've gone deep cover in the impenetrable fortress of Hammerhead, the Grand Don of the most powerful criminal organization in the world, and your unkillable agent is head over heels for a French maid named Inga...well, you begin to see the inherent problems of the job.

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

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know with MAX that the stories are intentionally taken to an NC-17 type rating level, but there's some irony that a volume intended for an adult-only audience is actually steeped in juvenile humor.

On occasion I though Nutjob had some funny moments, but it's fueled by / often too over-the-top with the extremely dark / cruel comedy and exaggerated violence. (Exhibit# 1 - 'action officer Bob,' Deadpool's barely capable special-ops handler. He slogs through the six somewhat-connected stories with a permanent 'kick me' sign on his back . . . although his name / title did make me laugh, because it sounds like it's right out of G.I. Joe in the 80's.) A little bit can go a long way, but there's such an over-reliance on said mean-spirited yuks and shock-value gore - is is trying to be 'edgy' or merely just 'appealing to an adolescent male' - that a reader will realize that it's maybe to cover for the thin story-line. If you've never read any Deadpool before, don't start with this volume.

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadpool MAX was the kind of book that one reads in measured doses lest risk becoming as unbalanced as the eponymous character. Being a Marvel MAX comic, it has extra added sex and violence tempered by Kyle Baker's animated and cartoony line art.

As a character, Deadpool has come a long way from being a Spider-Man clone. It is said that artist Rob Liefeld designed Wade Wilson to make drawing faces easier. Now, A-list creators like David Lapham and Baker are placing their inedible stamp on the character.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like anything about this. Gave it to my brother-in-law for his birthday on the advice of a comic book shop owner and he read it and gave it back to me, with a shrug. This is indiscriminate ultra violence, terrible story, bad art. "Nutjob," the subtitle, means you don't need a motivation, you can just do anything you want and say any racist, homophobic thing you want and it will be funny. But it's not funny to me, it's just bad writing.

I almost was ready to give it two stars for the art because I thought there might have been a touch of Ralph Steadman in here (Hunter Thompson connection, who was also an insane guy, but was making actual useful political commentary) but I ultimately decided that this was just being insane for the sake of being insane and I didn't like it. Correct me if I'm wrong and this really IS Ralph Steadman-ish and it has deep significance to understanding society.

Lapham says insane characters are his favorite kind, and that reminded me of what an actor once told me: insane is easy to play, and always fascinating for audiences to see. I think sane is harder to play, actually. Many comics writers tend to the insane as a kind of reaction to the "sane" world, I suppose: Joker and Batman are both crazy in their own ways because of things that happen in the world. But crazy for crazy's sake? Eh.

I had heard Deadpool was funny and so before posting this quick review saw from other reviewers that one problem in this version of Deadpool is that it is told from the perspective of Bob instead of Deadppol, and Bob doesn't really get Deadpool, so that's a loss.. I dunno. But it fell flat for me. Not funny.

[Aryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a handful of Deadpool comics, and this just didn't stock up against the other ones. It simply wasn't as funny as it should have been. In the comic book store where I bought this, I was flipping through the issues of the new story arc and they had me rolling. Come on, his nemesis this time around is bringing presidents back from the dead to fight him. There is nothing funnier than Deadpool punching Abe Lincoln in the face. Sorry man, you know I have the greatest respect for you.

This Deadpool, because the main perspective was Bob, his handler, lost a lot of the Deadpool charm. Yes it was vulgar and silly, but seeing Deadpool through the eyes of someone who can't understand him is a little annoying. Deadpool is wonderful in his self-deprecating randomness that goes on in his brain, and that was simply missing from this book because of the perspective. Not a Deadpool win, in my opinion.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun times with Deadpool for adults!

The story is fun and interesting but the artwork is so hard to look at, hard to get used to and overall I really REALLY tried to like it, but when midway through the second vol. there's an issue that the artist changes and then finally your eyes feel better and you realize how bad it was. And it's not that it's super bad, it's just bad for this type of comic, and for so many issues and it does not go well with Deadpool.

That's all folks!

[Don Jimmy]

I've never written a review for something I did not finish before but this was so bad I felt it deserved it. I read the first part only but the terrible art, awkward story telling, and "target missed" jokes left me with absolutely zero desire to continue. Unfortunately I have Volume 1 and 2 on my shelf. They will be cleared out with the next charity shop run.

[Alex Sarll]

Part of the reason the Deadpool movie was so successful was that adult rating, allowing for something suitably gory and rude. Which is especially surprising when you consider that the average Deadpool comic, for all that it's going to be edgier than the average Squirrel Girl comic, still has to censor its @*$#ing swearing and keep the sauce to approximately Carry On levels. Well, not here. Plus, the art is by Kyle Baker, whose career has taken many strange turns over the years but who has always been adept at a sort of high-stakes cartoonishness that should suit Deadpool perfectly.

So why did I only manage one issue of this?

Simple: David Lapham. The same writer whose Crossed books completely lack the power of Ennis' or Spurrier's or Moore's or Gillen's, instead seeming content to revel in the nastiness of the set-up. Likewise here. We're introduced to the story via Deadpool's handler Bob, who in order to set up a hit has to infiltrate Hammerhead's mob stronghold. Where the staff are all basically naked so they can't hide weapons! And Bob's cover is as the punching bag/catamite for Hammerhead's most sadistic henchman! And when he has to make a copy of a key, the only thing he can find to take an impression is human faeces! And then he gets beat up some more and very nearly killed because Deadpool is a useless flake!

Are you laughing yet?

I enjoy a lot of comedy which other people find cruel or otherwise unpleasant. But it does need to be, y'know, comedy. Not just a parade of awfulness for awfulness' sake. Garth Ennis, in one of his phases where he was going for the cheap yuks, could probably have made something passable from this outline. But at no stage here, or elsewhere in his work, did I get any impression that Lapham has a sense of humour beyond maybe that old stereotype of the German punchlines - "Yes - because there were two axes!". Meaning this just feels like an unpleasant, unfunny, wannabe-shocking brand extension for edgelords. And that's such a missed oppportunity when a slightly higher-rated version of standard Deadpool could be so entertaining.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not for me. The appeal of Deadpool, to me, lies mainly in his dialogues with himself, the source of most of the humor in the book. Making Bob the POV character just drained a lot of the fun out of events. Being a MAX book, it feels the need to up the crudity, something else that does nothing for me.

[Ginevra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo volume comprende i primi 6 numeri di Deadpool MAX.
Divertentissimo come sempre! Ovviamente facendo parte della collana MAX è molto più crudo e pieno di scene di sesso, ma Deadpool è sempre una garanzia!
I disegni sono molto belli anche se ne ho visti di migliori. La storia è avvincente e si fa sempre più interessante... Sono proprio curiosa di sapere come andrà a finire!

[Sourya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest piece of utterly offensive, immature crap I've ever read. Simply glorious.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good.

This was really good. Don't listen to the negative comments on this book. This was so graphic. Well-written and its one of the best Deadpool stories out there. The art was ok. But it was serviceable. Check it out. Its really good.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I ultimately liked this alterna-version of Deadpool, there were hints of both good and bad. Generally, I make my pit stops into the Deadpool universe when I'm looking for both something superheroic and hilarious. The Deadpool run from a few years back by Daniel Way was zany, slapstick and laugh out loud funny. The constant stream of off-kilter references and the fearlessness at poking fun at itself made Deadpool stand out.

With "Nutjob", that boisterous sense of humor seems to take a back seat. There are a few moments that are genuinely funny, but they are spaced further apart and the gaps are filled in with more cartoon-style violence and gore. Not that I object to this aspect, but I wish the humor hadn't been overshadowed by it.

That somewhat minor complaint aside, the artwork is superb and amongst my favorite of recent books. There is a seriousness to the the shading and coloring while the panel layouts and penciling reminds me of the exaggeration of Ren & Stimpy. It is unique for this type of character arc and it is easily the most memorable part of this Deadpool Max trade.

For such as short arc with only a loose narrative holding it together, this was a mostly satisfying read. Any Deadpool completist will need to own this, but it is also a good introduction for anyone not sure where to begin as it exists outside of any continuity.

[William Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel squandered a dream team like Lapham and Baker on a Deadpool MAX series. For those of you who don't know, the MAX comics are not part of the regular continuity and read like fanfiction most times, albeit really entertaining fanfiction. Working outside the continuity seems to make most writers go ape and just script some seriously nutty books. It's everything you ever wanted to do with the character, but couldn't before.

So Marvel gets two of the most brilliant creators in the biz together and has them collaborate on Deadpool MAX. A waste of time and talent for the most part, but the book is so entertaining that it's hard to be upset about it. Actually, if you pretend that all of these characters have different names, this could have been a pretty damn good creatr-owned book.

Lapham beefs up the Wade Wilson insanity, Baker's art matches that insanity, and they both have too much fun with all of the guest appearances. Even though it isn't something I'd read again any time soon, it's worth snatching up from the library. This volume is by far the best of the series.

Writing: B
Art: B

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I’ll start by saying that Deadpool MAX is a pretty far departure from typical Deadpool fare. Obviously the “MAX” line should have been a dead giveaway. Much the Punisher MAX line, DP MAX is excessively violent, gory, and offensive just for the hell of being offensive. No doubt DP MAX is more Deadpool the movie than most of the other Deadpool comics.

And honestly, that’s fine. I’ve never been a fan of the the Wade Wilson that Marvel produced. Because of that, Deadpool comics tend to be confusing and hard to get through. Ryan Reynolds’s Wade Wilson on the other hand was profane and violent and a ton of fun...in fact both of the films made for 2 of my favorite Marvel movies...almost beating out Avengers and Civil War.

All that to say that while a lot of folks found Deadpool MAX to be gross and offensive, I actually enjoyed it, seeing the merc with a mouth exactly as he should be seen.

Didn’t really enjoy the art, and the disjointed storylines could have been stronger. Fix one or both of those issues and this one could have easily been a 4 Star comic.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

The late-period MAX was Marvel's universe for creating non-powered comics based on their powered properties. So this Deadpool is an even crazier assassin ... but without the healing abilities.

Now one element of the MAX comics was the conversion of Marvel characters over to the MAX world, and here Lapham is brilliant. The new imagining of Bob is top-notch, but everyone Lapham touches is quite interesting in his new continuity.

Unfortunately, that interest just doesn't extend to the storytelling. The stories are frankly boring. They're largely unconnected and they're mostly about murder rampages. It's dull.

So, great conceits, but the execution doesn't carry. I don't see any reason to continue with this book, as I was regularly bored.

[zxvasdf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hardcore Deadpool, not as funny as the previous Deadpool books, but still funny in its own way. The violence is over the top, and the mythology of Deadpool has be rewritten for some interesting surprises involving popular characters in the Deadpool canon.

Bob is not a bumbling agent of hydra as Deadpool believes, but is actually the agent in charge of directing Deadpool through missions. Deadpool's insanity is a source of endless trouble for the handler Bob, who has to resort to subterfuges and compliances to Deadpool's fantasy world for things to fall into place. And fall into place they do, often to Bob's physical and mental humiliation.

[Nicole Westen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was more gore and cheesecake than I usually like. Deadpool definitely in character, but not a fan of the plot.

[J.M. Giovine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alternative take on the ‘Deadpool’ comic book under the “MAX” signature from ‘Marvel Comics’. With a higher dose of violence, explicit and sexual content, and a rather unapologetic adult tone to it, “Nutjob” has special agent Bob (the “Bob from HYDRA”) working side by side Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, and who is completely deranged, but a secret government agency is controlling both agents in order to perform specific assassinations towards certain selected targets. During the first issue, our team has been ordered to hunt down the dreadful mobster from New York City, Hammerhead. Later on, Deadpool has been receiving psychological therapy from an incredibly attractive psychologist, who might not be what she seems at first, meanwhile, Bob is trying to find Deadpool to convince him to return for duty in the fight against the elusive “HYDRA”. Afterwards, Deadpool and Bob must locate and eliminate the leader of a cult that belongs to the Ku Klux Klan, named “Zemo”, also, a mysterious mercenary who claims to be a time traveler interferes with an assassination attempt against a south American crime lord on a secluded island near Peru. On issue five, Deadpool and Bob will have to prevent a female assassin, codenamed “Taskmaster”, from killing a Senator of the US, but she’ll turn out to be directly connected to Wade’s childhood and his training to becoming a skillful assassin, and finally, an old flame will reappear willing to convince Deadpool that he’s been deceived by this supposed “government organization”, and them and Bob have been practically using him to do their dirty deeds, so now, this “Domino” woman will become a big game changer for Wade, and the rest of his involvement towards HYDRA.
To say this was insane would be an understatement. I’m always interested in the “MAX” signature from Marvel, since most of its stories turn out quite surprising in their adult premises; blood, hyper violence, nudity and swear words, and of course, scripts that depict situations and character portrayals no regular Marvel Comic would dare, even the ones focusing on more mature archetypical characters. Deadpool on himself works as generally a parody, more of the media than the comic book “superhero”, and it is often played for the laughs and the violence, so naturally, not every appearance of the anti-hero is well-received, or fits properly within the rest of the Marvel catalogue, mostly because, well, this is a character that circles a different spectrum, celebrating his own violence, and the meta-awareness of his condition. Now, to accommodate him inside the “MAX” seal was, I think, one of the cleverest moves anyone has made with the property. David Lapham does everything in his power to take advantage of the cards offered to him, and toying with the premise that “MAX” doesn’t operate within the same rules as the regular “616-Universe”, he had the opportunity to do more with Wade Wilson, and several different characters related to the Marvel Universe. Hammerhead is a ruthless and bloodthirsty gangster secluded on a private building own by him, and his personnel suffers all kinds of humiliating abuse. Zemo is a Nazi supremacist, descendant of one of the main members of the KKK back in 1920, who’s looking to start his own cult-society. Cable is a mercenary who claims to be a time-traveler, and a former lover of Bob ensure he’s telling the truth. Taskmaster is a woman, and has the tendency of kidnapping Boy Scouts in order to adoctrínate and train them to become assassins, although, usually one of them tends to survive the tasks, and finally, Domino used to be Deadpool’s psychiatrist, whose in reality a patient at a Medical Center he infiltrated some time ago, and who claims to know the truth about Deadpool and Bob’s agency.
All the decisions, all the characters, the sequences, the humor (which, suffice to say, is tremendously dark), the action, all fits as it’s supposed to. I know these are all alternative versions of famous characters, but I loved what they did to them, and to complement the twisted environment, there’s Kyle Baker’s art style, which takes some time to get used to, but once getting behind the themes, tone, and plot of each issue, you’ll understand what he tried to do.
It isn’t perfect, and the volume obviously ends up on a cliffhanger, but the material gathered within these first six issues is great, not only for “MAX” standards, but as a Deadpool comic book this easily became one of my favorite depictions of him. It’s not at the level of something like Bendis’ ‘Alias’, or Ennis’ ‘Punisher’, but is a fine addition that knows exactly what it is, and what it seeks to accomplish; a hilarious action-dark comedy that understands and exploits it’s protagonist’s potential in the best ways possible.

[mercwithamouth · Rating 2 out of 5]

too edgy and overly raunchy that it becomes less and less entertaining but i still stuck through and finished it bc a) it's short and 2. the illustration was the best part of this by a long shot (and the colouring, and Wade's 'civvie' fit with his head all wrapped up is always going to be my favourite look of his!)

Bob and Wade are a fun duo here but (and I get this feeling half the time i read a deadpool comic, like the most time waste coin flip ever) DP was the secondary character in his own run and the only time we learned something about him here was through disturbing cptsd flashbacks which is like fine. I get the point of MAX and whatnot. but he literally doesn't talk unless it's about hydra (???? never explained why hes obsessed with hunting them specifically too but ok. saying he's so mentally broken and show, not even telling us, hydra is the word that activates him like a sleeper agent to get suddenly serious isn't enough for me) or boobs or the horror baby DP went through that's dug up that month

tldr; would recommend if you like looking at pictures but not so much if you can actually read the english language and comprehend the words on the page. i don't regret reading it though and this is an interesting catalogue in DP's comics, but overall a disservice to deadpool's character that only keeps his most miserable core traits– a shitty childhood and his mental illness(es), which is unsettling to me bc Deadpool realistically should be the sole marvel character to thrive in a comic line like MAX

[Rolando Marono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tal como su nombre lo indica, este cómic es una locura, a veces es una de las buenas, pero la mayoría de las veces no logra cautivar o hacer reír como otros cómics del mercenario bocazas.

El arte es algo que me gustó mucho, la acuarela no sería mi primera opción para retratar a Deadpool y creo que por eso destaca mucho, rompe un poco la línea de lo esperado. Aunque me causó muchos problemas en los primeros números, porque las caras de algunos personajes (Bruno y Bob) eran muy parecidas, lo único que las distinguía eran los cabellos.

Ahora si, la historia y el guión. Estructuralmente es entretenido, algunos números los relata atemporalmente Bob, como dando un reporte de misión, otros incluyen recuerdos de Deadpool, a manera de flashback. Aún así, a veces la estructura confunde más de lo que entretiene.

No hay muchos chistes en este volumen. Lástima.

Creo que mi mayor problema con esta serie, espero se corrija en los siguientes volumenes, es que más que un cómic de Deadpool es uno de Bob, y hasta ahora no es ni la mitad de entretenido de lo que Deadpool es.

[Ada · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so dumb.

It was graphic and or/ explicit for what? Shock effect? I'm neither shocked nor offended.
What were they trying to do? Apparently satire. But I have seen better one-panel satiric comics than this. It felt like an American was trying to be 'edgy' while shouting the explanation for why. And yes I say this comic feels American because it doesn't translate very well to my culture. I'm a bit biased though because I do think my country are the best in satire, with the UK as a close second best.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting effort for a MAX take on Deadpool. Deadpool is still a top assassin but now being directed by some CIA-style organization with Bob (not actually of Hydra) as his handler. And the whole book features MAX-reimagined versions of the different characters from Deadpool's history with their respective powers and abilities muted in favor of a quasi-realistic depiction of things.

It's a decent reimagination of things but it also doesn't go very far to feel like some sort of elevation of things.

[Jason McCray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the top

This book is great if it's what you're looking for. And it was exactly what I was looking for. Great action, decent humor, and I loved the art style. Storylines were over the top but the only negative I'd say, is that the slur words felt cheap and unnecessary in some places. First book I've read in the Max series so maybe they're all like that (?) All in all, I'd recommend checking it out

[An1me · Rating 1 out of 5]

I created an account just to rate this. The series reads like a 15 year old who just found 4chan for the first time and learned the N word. Instead of using the freedom the MAX series provide in any artistic way every joke is "haha (offensive thing you can't put in a normal comic)" just for the sake of being offensive with no further commentary. The only reason this will remain in my digital collection is for the sake of completion.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay so the premise of this is Deadpool for adults, but the pitfall is by 'adults' they mean 'teenaged boys'.

It's like how Torchwood was Doctor Who for adults, and then delivered us cyberbabes with cyberbikinis.

So it's puerile, it's staggeringly unsubtle, and yeah, not Deadpools finest hour.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Deadpool and read across the span of funny, dirty, violent and absolutely bonkers. Somewhere along the line the creators of Deadpool MAX Vol. 1 thought maximum edginess translated to crass, homophobic, racist, sexist trash. Pass on this one.

[Matt Sonnack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely insane, really trashy stuff; I kind of loved it. Definitely going to track down the rest of this series. First time in a while I’ve put down a comic and asked myself “what the hell did I just read” so points for that.

[Shreks Cumdump · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story is okay at best but the art just sucks

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this new look at Wade and Bob….its a real special relationship and honestly a little more real life.

[Hrishabh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who writes a Deadpool graphic novel but not from Deadpool's pov? Without his wacky commentary and 4th wall breaks, this just feels like a disservice to the character