Review by Ian Keogh

We all love a Deadpool/Punisher throwdown, right? Well, that’s what results when Deadpool is set up and an entire building explodes. Being Deadpool and what with his healing power, there’s no question about him surviving, but when he does come round it’s to discover he’s been framed for the destruction. Mike Benson lets readers in on the secret of a big bet laid on Deadpool not surviving 24 hours thereafter.

What Tombstone doesn’t realise is that despite his mental problems Deadpool is actually pretty good at his job, and while the Punisher’s a problem, especially with his new technology, Deadpool has Daredevil and Spider-Man helping him out. A running joke is the Punisher having taken the technology from the assorted villains he’s battered, and Benson and later co-writer Adam Glass have a good handle on Deadpool’s nutty dialogue and breaking the fourth wall. It’s incredibly violent, has some pretty good jokes and is very silly, yet the plot holds together strongly enough that were all the farce to be removed it would stand up as a thriller anyway. Carlo Barberi delivers the excess with some style.

Back-up feature ‘Games of Death’ has Deadpool take part in a Japanese game show where losing a limb is a distinct possibility. It hits all the right notes, supplying a funny performance for Deadpool, a hilarious back-up cast, and Benson writing many of the visual jokes for Shawn Crystal, who maximises their impact.

‘Suicide Kings’ also provides the title for Deadpool Classic Vol. 14, where both these stories can also be found, accompanied by a multitude of shorts.