Today’s release of Deadpool #1 marks the beginning in earnest of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, as from here on in fans will see dozens of new first issues of new series launching weekly for the next three months or so. From the screenwriting team of Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn (who you might also recognize from his sitcom and sketch comedy work), the title features art by former Venom and The Walking Dead artist Tony Moore.It also sees Deadpool separated from fan-favorite writer Daniel Way for the first time in years and while Way’s comedy was infused with action and superhero stuff as often as not, Posehn and Duggan have promised to incorporate some espionage and horror elements into the book. They also have said in interviews that, given how difficult it is to kill Deadpool, they aim to see how much punishment and torture his already-fractured mind can take.Posehn and Duggan joined ComicBook.com for a discussion of the series.One of the things that really struck me is that your first arc revolves around all of these reanimated dead Presidents of the United States. It seems like an apt story to launch this week.
Gerry Duggan:
BP:
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They’d be even more sick of it if they were still counting today.
GD:
Now, all these Marvel NOW! launches have gone pretty much the same: you get the one-word teaser and then the full teaser so you know what the book is. It was a little different for you guys, because it’s hard to imagine anyone else using that word for their teaser.
Series Editor Jordan D. White:
Iron Man: Chimichanga
See, I’d read that book.
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Well, and then of course you got the D-List thing within about 24 hours of that and Marvel kind of inadvertently confirmed you before the second teaser, because Axel Alonso stepped in to say, “These guys are great, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
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Because Deadpool kind of exists in his own little bubble, he’s not quite as affected by AvX as everybody else. Was it freeing to not have to worry about that kind of stuff or was it harder to be handed a book with the vague direction of “make it different”?
BP:
Deadpool is Deadpool and he doesn’t really function without comic relief. But it sounds like you guys are going down a pretty dark direction with the story and getting the humor from character beats. Is that a fair assessment?
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Well, and in the more recent past he’s developed a supporting cast and been surrounded by people who kind of get his brand of crazy. Are you going to strip a little of that away and give us a new chance to see people reacting to him for the first time?
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So since the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is named Preston, can I just pretend he’s Bill S. Preston, Esquire, for my own personal amusement?
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30 Rock
Mr. Show
How do you guys deal with having a character who has some of the most committed fans, but off-the-wall fanbase and oddball cosplayers and stuff?
GD:
It’s a really good time to be on the book. Dan finished up a really popular run and there’s a video game that’s definitely on the horizon and a movie that’s possibly on the horizon. There’s really only downward for Brian and I to go.
BP:
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Were you guys involved in the game at all?
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Deadpool 2
Tony Moore is obviously a huge get and he’s got a ton of range. Is it kind of cool having an artist who you know you can write any crazy thing into the script and it’ll find its way onto the page?
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MAD
MAD
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Most comic book writers when they talk about visual storytelling, it’s mostly about fight scenes and characterization is important but it’s not everything. You guys coming from a comedy background and saying that Tony has great comic timing—was that another thing that you guys really knew you needed to try and find?
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Fear Agent
