I don't give five star ratings to many books, but this trade deserves it. I love how Kelly writes Deadpool; although Deadpool is funny (and he genuinely is), he also has a lot of depth to him. Most modern-day Deadpool interpretations are shallow and stupid - especially Way's take on the character, which is plain awful. Joe Kelly can write laps around him.

This trade contains some of my favorite issues as well - the Spider-Man retake (which is hilarious) and the arc "Drowning Man," which is arguably the best Deadpool arc ever written, bar none. I won't spoil it, but Joe Kelly manages to write a life-defining moment in a complex, convoluted way - and Deadpool, whose grip on sanity is loose at best, reacts in a way that is totally in character. It's shocking, it's saddening, it's infuriating - it's the best.

Okay, I'm done gushing about Joe Kelly (for now), but he's not the only one who deserves some gushing. Ed McGuinness illustrates one issue, and I like his "cartoony" style. The next several are illustrated by Nathan Massengill, whom I've never heard of before, but his style is a lot like McGuinness' so I really enjoyed it. I'd definitely be interested in seeing more from him.

Altogether, this is an excellent trade, and it's LEAGUES better than the current Deadpool crap that's being churned out right now. The character is three-dimensional, genuinely funny, and plain readable. He's bad, but you want to root for him anyway. This is the Deadpool I love. ( )

http://geekylibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/review-deadpool-classic-vol-3/ ( )