Spider-Man Vs. Deadpool #38: The Savage Land? Oh Yeeeeeeeeah!

This issue started a bit slower, I had to wait until the second page for the first laugh, which was swiftly followed by two more. This is how you make a comic – comic (you know what I mean.)

Deadpool is clearly the star of the book and he is thoroughly himself, deranged, infuriating but also somehow sweet. Spider-Man is appropriately tired of his antics. Matrix is played for laughs in this issue, which is much more effective.

The plot ties in nicely with the conceit that Deadpool is surprisingly liberal for an amoral, homicidal maniac. There are misunderstood talking dinosaurs who do not conform to stereotypes and references to trigger warnings and Spider-Mansplaining.

The book is surprisingly deep with recurring themes including trust/lies and parenting/coming of age. It’s interesting that each of these themes is looked at from both sides of the coin. The dagger plot-line also continues to be an interesting ethical problem pitting trust against security and responsibility. The book does a good job of giving no clear right and wrong answers at this stage.

Let’s be clear though, this issue isn’t a philosophical essay, the main takeaway is the humor, I counted eight full laughs, three on one page, and some chuckles as well. The British film critic Mark Kermode states that a film must pass the six laugh test to qualify as a genuine comedy. That test is for feature-length films, so for a standard length comic book to have eight laughs is very impressive.