This year, comic book fans have been blessed with a new Deadpool movie, where he is joined by Wolverine, another fan-favorite character. In honor of the latest movie, we have created the 9 best Deadpool comics list that you should definitely read.
Ever since his first appearance in New Mutants #98 in 1991, Deadpool has entertained us with his humorous and fourth-wall-breaking monologues. His wacky and carefree personality has always been one of the strong points in the comics. This is one of the main reasons why fans had hoped to see him in X-Men movies that were released in the early 2000s. We do get to see him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), but we don’t really talk about that.
Over the years, Deadpool has had some great adventures. From the city streets to multiversal travel, he has traveled our dimensions and beyond to bring us stories that are action-packed, thrilling, and sometimes emotional but mostly rib-tickling funny. So, you can understand how extremely hard it was for us to choose which ones are the best for this list. These are stories that have captivated readers but also something that we’d like to watch come to life on the big screen. However, given the run times of movies and Marvel’s lineup, it could take decades before some stories are even considered for production.
Fortunately, you don’t have to wait decades to know these stories; you can buy them off of Amazon right now. So, here are some of our 9 best Deadpool comic storylines that deserve some love.
When Did Deadpool Appear in Comics for the First Time?
Deadpool first appeared in New Mutants #98 back in 1991. Originally, he was portrayed as a supervillain in New Mutants and X-Force but was later turned into an anti-hero character. Ever since then, he has had so many comic book issues that have captured audiences far and wide. Merc with a Mouth and Regenerating Degenerate are some of the names that he’s been given. His powers include superhuman strength, fast reflexes, regenerative healing, and, most notably, fourth-wall-breaking.
Can You Read Deadpool Comics Online?
Yes. Marvel Unlimited and ComiXology apps are two of the most popular places where you can read comic books online. They have a vast collection of previously released Marvel comics and you can also pre-order upcoming issues. Both of them work on a subscription basis — ComiXology costs $5.99 per month and Marvel Unlimited costs $9.99 per month. Marvel also has two variants of the annual package — $69 for the regular annual subscription and $99.9 for the annual plus subscription, where you get a membership kit and a few other perks.
Best Deadpool Comic Books in 2024
The Merc with a Mouth has had some hilarious and grand adventures over the years that are worth reading or revisiting if you’ve read them already. Here are our favorite picks from the bunch:
BEST OVERALL
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe takes a dark turn and sends Deadpool on a massive killing spree. Despite Deadpool being a pretty violent character, there is always some humor that eases the tension. With this series, Marvel puts the pedal to the metal and goes all in with extreme violence and a lot of character deaths. The story begins with X-Men bringing Deadpool to Ravencroft Asylum, a mental institution, to help him with his mental breakdowns.
They leave him under the care of a doctor, who turns out to be Psycho-Man and brainwashes Deadpool. He then starts hearing a new voice in his head that instructs him to kill every superhero and he does so without blinking an eye. Deadpool gets creative while killing some of them and shows how dangerous the merc with a mouth can be. Written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Dalibor Talajic and Kaare Andrews, this is definitely one of the most violent stories in Marvel.
BEST DEADPOOL COMIC OMNIBUS
Deadpool vs. Wolverine
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
This Deadpool vs. Wolverine graphic novel is a collection of stories where these two characters have gone against each other. Some of its collections include Wolverine (1988) #88 and #154-155, Deadpool (1997) #27, Cable & Deadpool #43-44, Wolverine: Origins #21-25, Wolverine/Deadpool: The Decoy, and Wolverine Annual ’95 and ’99.
It’s a 300-page graphic novel with the majority of the stories written by Larry Hama and illustrated by Marvel’s various artists. Over the years, Deadpool & Wolverine’s bromance has garnered a lot of attention and love from fans, so Marvel created this collection with all their epic clashes to be found in one place. This also gives you a backstory of how their relationship (one-sided, mostly) developed over the years.
BEST DEADPOOL COMIC TEAM-UP
Spider-Man/Deadpool: Isn’t It Bromantic
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
Spider-Man and Deadpool are other duos that are fan favorites. We all know both of them have a great sense of humor, so this team-up was obviously going to be awesome. The story was originally written by Joe Kelly, but later, a lot of other writers worked on the series. The story starts with both of them tied up together in Hell, where Dormamu resides. While trying to escape, they get attacked by Dormamu’s minions called the Mindless Ones.
Hilariously, Spider-Man, without warning Deadpool, ties him up with his web and swings him towards the Mindless Ones, knocking them off. They somehow managed to get away from there, but unfortunately, the troubles were not over for them. They have a lot of fights ahead of them. The story continues to throw a series of threats that they both must face together. It has plenty of great actions and laugh-out-loud banters that are not to be missed.
BEST ACTION DEADPOOL COMIC
Deadpool Vs. Carnage
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
Deadpool Vs. Carnage is a series of five issues by writer Cullen Bunn that was released between October 2014 and February 2015. This series is very high on the list of the bloodiest Deadpool stories. The story starts with Carnage’s carnage at a diner, where he kills a bunch of people, including a Sheriff who was just shit-talking about him. Cut to Deadpool, he is at home all alone, watching the news while having his cereal.
He sees the news about the destruction that Carnage has been causing and also learns that the Government is organizing a nationwide hunt for him. Deadpool takes it upon himself to do this task and starts following Carnage. The following battle between Deadpool and Carnage was extremely intense and bloody. There are some really cool and as usual, hilarious moments mixed in with the action. So, will the Merc with a Mouth be able to save the city from Carnage? Read to find out.
BEST MARVEL KNIGHTS COMIC
Deadpool: Wade Wilson’s War
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
Deadpool: Wade Wilson’s War is a miniseries written by Duane Swierczynski with art by Jason Pearson. This series tells the darker side of Deadpool’s personality, taking the readers through his psychological and physical battles from the past. This series begins with Deadpool in a court where he is summoned for a senate hearing to testify about his actions during his missions in Mexico, where a lot of civilians were found dead.
Staying true to his character, Deadpool interjects the hearing with his perspective of the mission. Apart from himself, the mission also included Domino, Bullseye, and Silver Sable. If we know anything about Deadpool, his version of the story might not be 100 percent accurate, but this is for you to find out.
BEST LIGHT READ COMIC
Hawkeye vs. Deadpool
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
We know what our heroes do when they’re out there saving the world from supervillains but do you know that they do during Halloween? The answer is simple — they’re saving people again because there is no off time for superheroes, right? This mini-series features two unlikely heroes put together, Hawkeye and Deadpool. The story is set during Halloween when Hawkeye is giving out candies to kids and also finds Deadpool with this family at his doorstep. They both hear a gunshot nearby and run to the location to see what has happened.
They find a guy shot dead on the road and report it to the cops. After deciding to return to Deadpool’s house together, they find a flash drive in the candy basket with a video of the same guy who was murdered. The guy confesses in the video that he has stolen the list of every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with their true identity and put it on a flash drive. This takes the readers on a fun adventure that is surely worth the time.
BEST ZOMBIE DEADPOOL COMIC
Return of the Living Deadpool
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
Return of the Living Deadpool is quite a different story as it brings a zombie apocalypse to the Marvel universe. After a zombie outbreak, every superhero dies except Deadpool. With a lot of experiments, Deadpool comes up with a serum that he hopes will cure the world. He consumes it and lets other zombies eat him to spread the effects of the serum, but things don’t go according to plan.
Instead of healing, everyone turns into Deadpool, creating an army of zombie Deadpool. Mysteriously, one Deadpool is different but has no recollection of anything that happened. This sets off Deadpool, who works along with a non-infect woman named Liz, on a hilarious and chaotic journey to end this zombie apocalypse. Unexpectedly, the story ends on a rather poignant note, which makes this series a good read.
Best Short Series
Deadpool vs. Thanos
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
Deadpool vs. Thanos is a hilarious and action-packed showdown between the two characters. The story starts with Thanos beating the living out of Deadpool and as readers, we don’t know how it got to that point yet. Then it proceeds to show a flashback of the day before when Deadpool was at Doctor Doom’s house when he wasn’t wearing his armor and tried to kill him. But soon, Doctor Doom kills Deadpool and later finds himself healing between life and death, where is happy to be close to Mistress Death because they are in love with each other. But he realizes that she has gone missing and because of this, the dead are coming back to life on Earth. Following a few events he suspects that Thanos might have kidnapped her and goes to him. It turns out that even Thanos doesn’t know where Mistress Death is and is trying to find her because he loves her too.
Now, at least for the time being, Thanos and Deadpool work together to save Mistress Death from wherever she is. There is a lot of banter and action between the two which was extremely fun to read. Written by Tim Seeley with artwork by Tradd Moore (cover art) and Elmo Bondoc (art), this story is both hilarious and has great art that is absolutely worth checking out.
Best Monster Story
King Deadpool Vol. 1: Hail to the King
PHOTO CREDIT: MARVEL
King Deadpool Vol. 1 is a fun and chaotic series where Deadpool finds himself to be crowned as the King of Monsters. The story starts with Deadpool at his “super secret base” receiving an anonymous letter summoning him to the Staten Islands, which he ignores initially thinking that it’s not worth it. Since it was also his birthday, he went back to celebrating with the mailman that he definitely did not kidnap.
He contemplates the letter for a while, then he starts to think that the client might truly need his help and leaves for Staten Island. After reaching he learns that his client’s name is Blaylock and receives a contract from him to kill the “king of monsters.” But he is not the only one who received the contract, Elsa Bloodstone is also on the hunt. Soon, he manages to kill the monster king by blowing him up with bombs but unknown to Deadpool, whoever kills the king of monsters must take his place as the king.
And thus he becomes King Deadpool. But this isn’t the end; with this new title, Deadpool faces far more challenges than he had ever expected and now he must navigate through all of them. This also includes going head to head with Krave the Hunter and the X-Men. Written by Kelly Thompson with art by Chris Bachalo and Gerardo Sandoval, the story is fascinating and extremely enjoyable and is a must-read for all.
How Does Deadpool’s Fourth-wall-breaking Ability Affect the Narrative?
Deadpool’s fourth-wall-breaking ability has a significant impact on the stories as it adds multiple layers of complexity with lots of humor for the readers. It engages them and makes the story more entertaining. This also allows readers to view Deadpool from a very unique perspective, adding another layer of engagement that is missing from other comic books. His self-awareness and fourth-wall-breaking ability have led to a lot of hilarious and iconic moments which always leave fans wanting more.
How We Chose the Best Deadpool Comics
This list of best Deadpool comics was created by our team of avid readers who have spent the majority of their lives reading comic books. Apart from that they also did a lot of research about the most popular Deadpool comic books which are loved by readers worldwide. This list is a combination of different categories like multiverse and crossovers that are highly entertaining to read. Given our format, this is only a small list but rest assured that no matter which one you pick, you will be entertained.
FAQ
How many Deadpool comics issues are there?
The last Deadpool comic book issue was #63, which was published on October 24, 2012.
Is Deadpool Marvel or DC?
Deadpool is a Marvel character created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld.
Is Deadpool good or bad in the comics?
Deadpool was introduced as a supervillain but was later turned into an anti-hero character.
