Deadpool is Mocking Comic Collectors Ahead of Anniversary Issue

Warning: includes mild spoilers for Deadpool: Nerdy 30 #1!

In a new preview for Deadpool‘s 30th anniversary issue, Wade Wilson cracks a joke about the most hardcore comic book collectors. Titled Deadpool: Nerdy 30 #1, this special issue will feature a collection of stories set on Wade Wilson’s various birthdays from a variety of his best writers and artists, including Gail Simone, Kelly Thompson, and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld. However, it looks as though Deadpool will also be showing off the birthday gift he got for himself, apparently spending an excessive amount of money on a single comic issue, which is particularly funny considering recent events in the collectors’ market.

Deadpool’s birthday bash issue will be released as an anthology of stories, revealing the various birthdays and misadventures Wade Wilson has had over the years. As this new preview from Marvel Comics reveals, Wade’s first birthday will involve various versions of Cable time traveling from the future in order to kill or protect Wade in order to save the world (the jury’s still out on which Cable’s mission is correct.) Another story will see Wade treating the prom as a party for his 16th birthday, which will be rudely interrupted by none other than Wolverine.

Each creator will revisit a different era of Deadpool, and since the character’s role in comics has changed a surprising amount over time, these stories – as shown in a preview from Marvel Comics – are likely to chronicle the best of Deadpool’s irreverent humor and the darkest of his many downer moments. The issue’s summary reads:

Deadpool’s turning 30! And to help celebrate, we’ve assembled some of his classic storytellers to tell tales of Wade Wilson birthdays past, present and future! A first birthday with time-traveling assassins! A sweet sixteen party that would make Molly Ringwald weep! A 100th birthday that could only be celebrated in grand Deadpool style! Blow out the candles! Pin the cybernetic arm on the Cable! And open this present, just for you!

While each of these adventures promises its own flavor of Deadpool’s deadly hiijinks, it looks as though the issue will include a closing feature written by Rob Liefeld and Chad Bowers, with art in the signature style of Deadpool creator Liefeld. Marvel’s preview shows Wade speaking directly to readers about the birthday gift he got for himself: a mint copy of New Mutants #98. Wade admits it cost a lot of money, but implores readers to examine what’s important, “stacks on stacks… or the first appearance of Gideon?” Of course, the issue is also Deadpool’s first appearance.

This particular jab is all the funnier because it comes from Rob Liefeld, a creator whose work is heavily linked with the history of comic-book speculative buying and collecting. In fact, Liefeld’s X-Force #1 recently became a collector’s item thanks to Deadpool. While this particular issue has been virtually worthless for years in the back-issue market due to millions of copies being published during the short-lived comic speculation bubble of the ’90s, the inclusion of a Deadpool trading card has led to skyrocketing value for modern collectors.

Deadpool’s 30th anniversary issue promises to be a riot that celebrates the very best of the character’s history, and it’s exciting to see the bevy of writers won’t be pulling their punches, even when it comes to the fans who made them famous. Whether mocking convoluted time travel stories or his own comic speculators, Deadpool is at his best when he mixes humor, self-awareness, and a dash of darkness – the ingredients that promise to make Deadpool: Nerdy 30 #1 unmissable.

About The Author

Kevin Erdmann
(2528 Articles Published)

Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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