Deadpool Battles Some Dead Presidents

Today Marvel held the fourth in a week-long series of Next Big Thing press calls covering the various Marvel NOW! releases lined up for November. Today's call focused on the new volume of Deadpool from writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan and artist Tony Moore. Duggan and Moore were present on the call, along with editor Jordan White.

With the first issue still a couple weeks away, the creators weren't able to reveal too much more than was discussed in our exclusive interview this past August. We'd recommend checking out that article for the full scoop on the new series. However, there were some interesting new tidbits revealed during the call.

Duggan explained how the initial story arc, wherein Deadpool does battle with a horde of reanimated, super-powered US Presidents, was designed to take advantage of the current election season. "We knew it was going to debut near Halloween during an election cycle. We wanted to open big with our Ghostbusters or Big Trouble in Little China -- some really big action thing that would also allow us to be funny. And Marvel agreed and said, 'That's how we should open it up'... We figured people are going to be sick of the election. Here's a way to have fun with the Presidents that wasn't political."

Duggan discussed how the zombie Presidents will be portrayed. "They've all sort of returned with their various strengths and weaknesses. Gerry Ford is a little bit of a stumblebum. JFK still has a weakness for the ladies." He also revealed that master huntsman Teddy Roosevelt will be a major threat to Deadpool in issue #2 and hinted that "Reagan finally gets to enjoy a little Star Wars later in the run." The zombie Presidents will be joined by at least one other historical figure, as the ghost of Benjamin Franklin is poised to play a major role in the arc.

The preview for issue #1 included below showcases a team-up between Deadpool and Thor. This is characteristic of the interaction Deadpool will have with various Marvel heroes in the series. Duggan said, "People will help him because the situation demands it, but they don't want to be seen doing it." Following Thor's guest role in issue #1, Doctor Strange will appear in issue #3.

Scroll below for preview art and cover images of the first two issues of the series, both of which are scheduled to ship in November. And we'll have plenty more Deadpool coverage next month.

Deadpool #1 interior art

Deadpool #1 interior art

Deadpool #1 interior art

Deadpool #1 interior art

Deadpool #2 cover

Deadpool #2 cover (Gurihiru variant)

Deadpool #2 interior art

Deadpool #2 interior art

Deadpool #2 interior art

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com