Deadpool: Assassin

Deadpool: Assassin #1-6

by Cullen Bunn, Mark Bagley (Illustrator)

The Regeneratin' Degenerate and his old pal Weasel are back, and they're imposing their special brand of justice on any other killers for hire who don't live up to their moral code -starting with a dangerous operation that'll take Deadpool into the heart of a castle filled with ninja... And that says nothing of the emotional damage the Merc with the Mouth is constantly grappling with. Leave the kiddos at home, True Believers, 'cause "Killer" Cullen Bunn and "Never Misses His" Mark Bagley are bringing you mercenary action as you like it - bombastic, badass, and, of course, bloody! COLLECTING: DEADPOOL: ASSASSIN 1-6

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Crime, Science Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 23, 2018

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back to taking assassination jobs Wade gets the Assassination Guilds attention. This series also feature the return of Weasel (Yaaas!). This turns out to be a rather strange (not in a good way) Deadpool jam that went for me, from a strong and well-directed start to really flattening out at the end... despite a hefty body count. 6 out of 12.

2019 read

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bunn and Bagley return to the 90's. Deadpool hooks back up with Weasel. The Assassins Guild run by Gambit's ex-wife returns as does Threnody. Bunn takes Deadpool back to his straight-up killing people roots while cracking jokes. There's not much else in the way of story. Bagley's art is good. If you want a simple Deadpool story, this is your bag.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't even recall any jokes for this....was just average.

[Alex Sarll]

Possibly it's Bagley's art which kills most of the comedy potential here – I never used to object to him as much as some did in the noughties, but here he's neither wacky enough to get the laughs, nor Billy the Sink-artsy enough to capitalise on the fact that it's a miniseries about a red-costumed killer antihero with the subtitle 'Assassin'. And the plot feels bolted together from tired tropes - the killer who wants to retire, the competition between rival assassin factions, the broker trying to be half a crook without letting his new wife know - without the self-awareness which would bring them back to life, and for which you'd think Deadpool would be a natural vector. The odd fun scene or witty line, but fundamentally missable.

[Nicole Westen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumped up to a 4 because there were some golden lines in there that made me laugh out loud, and the nod to the 'make mine a milkshake' campaign from 2017.

[Dwight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another silly Deadpool comic with buckets of blood and hot vixens. Okay so maybe it is a little formulaic, Deadpool kills, Deadpool tells tasteless jokes, Dwight laughs.

That might be all I'm looking for today.

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little bloodier than my typical DP, but still had the characteristic humor and fun. This focused pretty heavily on the fact that he's a mercenary and an assassin, something a lot of the other arcs overlook or downplay.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I'm not sure why this exists. Way too many chracters die for no other reason than Cullen Bunn wanted it to be. I loved seeing Mark Bagley draw Deadpool but it wasn't enough to recommend this book.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever since the Deadpool movies came out the comics have gotten soooo boring for some reason...

[N a N D O R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitivamente divertido. Me encontré varias veces riendo con las ocurrencias de Deadpool. Dibujo y color excelente

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know what? I think that's my fave Deadpool comic so far!

[caiseeᡣ᭡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nah- absolutely loved this one.😂

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of a killer for hire is a tough one. It's made easier by having a trusty healing factor and two sharp swords, but the people around you can still be hurt. Wade loses perhaps one of his only friends in this story - or at least a person who tolerated him better than anybody else. He hold onto the hope than when the killing ends he will retire to a private island. There are many more adversaries to go through before that happens, though. The comic is anything but PG13 given the violence alone, but each kill is still funny when Wade cracks a joke a minute. This is one of the best Deadpool stories I've read.

Weasel, the man who gets Wade jobs, unwillingly reveals that he is married. He wants out of the black ops stuff very much like Wade, but can't as something is holding him back. A job has Wade face the Assassins Guild who quickly become enemy number one for the merc with a mouth. Though he does his best, the end result will leave many scars.

Deadpool gets a new mission to protect a high value target. Many assassins are sent after the target, but Deadpool handles them easily. In the end he discovers that the target he is protecting is being hunted for murdering children among other things. This puts him in the red as he swiftly puts a bullet into the very person he was protecting. Deadpool becomes a target himself for the Assassins Guild. And his trust in Weasel diminishes.

The Assassins Guild sends Threnody and Bloodscream after Deadpool. Threnody betrays Bloodscream when Deadpool is at their mercy. He negotiates a cease fire with the Assassins Guild and even offers his services. He and Thenody join forces which is fortuitous since the Guild is still gunning for him and his associates, like Weasel. Deadpool hires his rival bounty hunters to help, but in the end he decimates the Guild's best assassins himself, including its leader Belladonna.

Meanwhile, other assassins attack Weasel, Threnody and his pregnant wife Clarice. Weasel dies before Threnody takes Clarice away. She wants Clarice's baby's life essence for a creature she calls her child - in reality it's a twisted monster of unknown origin. Bloodscream pops up for round two, but Wade handles both him and Threnody's 'child'. Clarice and her baby survive and she wants nothing to do with Wade. Even Wade himself sees it as a good outcome.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deadpool: Assassin is a graphic novel that collects the entire run (issues 1-6) of the series of the same title and is written by Cullen Bunn with Mark Bagley as pencil artist, John Dell as ink artist, and Edgar Delgado as coloring artist. While definitely not the best Deadpool story that I have ever read (its rather slow pacing, in fact, is the primary reason why I award it only three stars out of five), I did find it rather emotional for a Deadpool story and especially loved the sixth and final issue which is very exciting and climactic. I love that Deadpool (whose real name, of course, is Wade Wilson) is rather heroic in this story and seems to want to start over, to turn over a new leaf, and maybe even retire from the assassin life. His moral standards being rather grey as opposed to black or white is why he is one of my favorite comic book characters, and Deadpool: Assassin is definitely exemplary of that. I also like Bunn's writing, especially when people around Deadpool ask him who he is talking to when he veers off into a long monologue and/or addresses the reader (both of which are typical characteristics of his no matter what story of his that you read, watch, or play), something that I tend to find very funny. The story is rather void of humor compared to other Deadpool stories that I have read, however, which is another reason why I dock a couple of stars from my rating of it. As previously mentioned, it's pretty emotional and heavy for a Deadpool story, something about which I have mixed feelings. While it definitely is kind of nice to read a story with some emotional depth, I usually expect to laugh uproariously when I pick up a Deadpool story, but this one, while still funny, isn't as funny as Deadpool usually is. I am also kind of annoyed that the cover of the fifth issue (which I saw because I read this story issue by issue on Marvel Unlimited) spoils a huge plot point that I think is supposed to be shocking but wasn't for me because I saw it coming because of the cover. That is probably yet another reason why I lowered my rating a bit, although that is more so the fault of that cover artist than it is of the story itself.

[Xander Haan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadpool: Assassin - 3.5/5 ★'s

I wasn't sure what rating to give Deadpool: Assassin and to be honest raising it up to four stars is probably being a little generous. I liked the book, I can say that. However, that being said, I don't think it stood up to its full potential.

The biggest thing that killed it for me was the fact that the ending isn't very rewarding. There is a story and it's okay but (and no spoilers) by the end of the book it feels like the whole story was for nothing. It felt like I got cheated out of the real ending to a story that was kind of meh to begin with. However, I believe an engaging highly developed character driven story wasn't what Bunn was going for. He was going for a mindless bloodfest adventure where you don't really have to think too hard to understand what is going on. That can always be nice and I personally think he does a good job of that.

Another thing that is really important to graphic novels and comics especially is the art. I think Bagley did a wonderful job with all of the art! The only thing I thought was a little wonky was the visible smiles Deadpool had within the mask. Literally, the picture on the cover is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Other than that, the art is flawless!

Overall I think Deadpool: Assassin held it's own but on a very tight rope. I think if you are looking for a more relaxing story then this is for you. Lots of action and blood and guts.

[Biovoxian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So having seen several negative reviews, i figured id throw in my two cents worth as well. While reading this, there was somwthing rather off putting about it, and i realized thats because deadpool isnt himself in this. He isnt particularly funny. Not depraved. He's...morally complex in this. He struggles with the nature of killing and death, and with that is still trying to redeem himself through it, thinking killing bad people might help make up for it. He actually cares about others in this, and is...kind of serious i suppose. It was an interesting take on the character, and a decent storyline all around, so ill say 4 stars

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series started out strong and had a few really good moments, but it fizzled out at the end. [Spoiler] I don't enjoy the Hand as a villain and the whole zombie baby thing was kind of our of nowhere and didn't make much sense or appear to have much of a point. [/spoiler] The last issue definitely felt like the writer had no idea how to end the series.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hilarious outing for Deadpool. All the standard stuff here.
A self-contained graphic novel mini-series that has Wade up against the League of Assassins. Weasel gets killed here, but I'm not sure if he had already died before, as I only know Weasel from the movies.
A funny, bloody good time... but then isn't he always?
Recommend.

[Andrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

The art is amazing and so is Mark Bagley. In fact, it's the main reason that kept me going with this. The story starts off ok, but I feel drifted a lot towards the end, with lots of named but unnecessary D-list villains for Deadpool to kill. Found myself just flipping through in the last two issues and just looking at the pretty pictures.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typically fun Deadpool adventure. The writer gets the Deadpool balance of funny/gore/pathos just about right. Is it the most important story ever written? No. But it’s a perfectly fun diversion and comic book adventure.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

A deadly assassin kills people.

I couldn’t get into this book, there didn’t to be any real plot, just people killing each other.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty standard Bunn Deadpool bang bang shooting story.

A little confusing to me about where this fits in canon as Deadpool seems more aware of past events than I think he should be.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read.

[Laura Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite deadpool story but interesting growth.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, mighty Sorrow-Blade! Drink deep of blood and spectral fury before Threnody gets it all. Skitter, skitter, skitter.

[Jason Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mindless usual Deadpool stuff. They brought in a very 90s feel with Gambit's assassin guild friends that kind of make zero sense except for "comics!"

[F4ll3nR0gu3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Classic Deadpool.

[pianogal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. DP could have been a little more snarky, but I still enjoyed his banter. He broke the 4th wall a lot in this one, which was also enjoyable.

[Christopher Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its deadpool at his bloodiest. Enjoy the blood bath.

[キラ✨ Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5