Mercin’ Ain’t Easy In Deadpool #1

After giving himself a classic comic book mind-wipe, Deadpool finds himself hard up for work in the new Deadpool #1. Mercin’ isn’t as easy as it used to be. In order to fix what ails his wallet, Deadpool sets out to get himself a Summer event that will bring in the numbers. Deadpool’s lack of tragic origin is blamed for the downturn, but nothing is quite what it seems for the merc with the mouth.
Skottie Young begins his Deadpool run with a turn to the movies. The humor and story feels like something straight from the film, which given the success of the franchise, who can blame him? The humor does the usual breaking of the fourth wall that is expected for Deadpool. The tone isn’t like prior runs, though. It is humorous, but there are less yellow caption boxes and the fourth wall breakdowns are more self-aware than anything. The humor is still funny at times. and Young knows how to deliver.
The weakest portion of the writing is the pacing. Not much really happens, though it is implied, to really focus on setting up the current status quo. Young lays out, in his manifesto of sorts, that he intends to change up the format from small arcs to large, and even to do one-shot stories. A lot of variety is planned, and that is pleasant to see in an era of long drawn out storylines. The character work by Young is well done, as he nails the dynamic between Wade and Negasonic Teenage Warehead. They are trying to capture the feel of the films and it does a great job.
The art by Nick Klein in the first story is superb. The figure work and detail put into the characters is something to look at. Klein knows how to make his characters act and deliver their lines in fantastic ways. Important for comics, but especially important in a book like Deadpool. My favorite part is the coloring. Klein does his own colors and they are perfect. There’s great use of color palate and an almost painted style, but nothing too stiff for the sequential art. The layouts are fairly clean grid panels and that is nice to see from time-to-time. It makes the art easier to follow at times.
The art by Scott Hepburn and Ian Herring is equally good but in different ways. The story is a variety of superhero parodies, and Hepburn delivered some flexibility in nice ways. The reference to Martha’s pearls is nice touch. Herring’s colors also displayed equal range and are a delight to look at. In contrast to the first story, the layouts in the second feature are much more dynamic. There are a variety of layouts to help match the tone of the hero’s origin that is being parodied. 
Overall, Deadpool #1 is a good start to a new direction. The humor mostly works, but it doesn’t feel like classic Deadpool. Not a bad thing, really. It is definitely more in line with the films, and that is a smart decision given their popularity. The story is still fun and the art is fantastic. There is a lot of potential in this run. Fans of the movies will enjoy Deadpool #1 as it serves as strong jumping on point. I recommend this comic fully. 
Deadpool #1 is currently available from Marvel Comics.