Gwenpool Strikes Back #4: Gwen’s Latest Team-Up
Even since Gwen was handed a miniseries, she’s done everything possible to make the best of it. And that includes taking on some of the heavy hitters within Marvel. Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 brings fans all of the shenanigans, quirkiness, and charm we’ve come to expect from this series.
So far, Gwen has successfully pulled characters like Spider-Man, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, and Hulk into her series. And that’s just to name a few. And it’s all in the name of saving her series – and thus her life.
Gwenpool Strikes Back takes advantage of Gwenpool’s fourth-wall-breaking abilities, using them to open a discussion about her series’ future. In short, it discusses comic book sales and how dependent comic book characters can be on those rankings. At least the smaller-scale characters.
Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 has a few extra surprises up its sleeve, and fans of The Unbelievable Gwenpool will go bonkers over at least one of the surprises. Hint: look at the credits for this issue!
Writing
Naturally, Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 is the epitome of inane humor, with Gwen bouncing all over the place – having a blast while trying to bring new fans to her series. It makes for some hilarious reading while having a surprisingly serious undertone.
As I mentioned above, there are some surprises in this issue. One of which is the coauthor. While Leah Williams wrote the majority of this issue, Christopher Hastings (author of The Unbelievable Gwenpool) wrote a single page. But that sentence hardly sums up everything that happens on this page. It’s worth checking out (especially if you like irreverent internet humor).
Leah Williams, once again, had a blast writing this issue. Gwen’s antics have seemed to reach all new heights. And the sass hasn’t been cut back any, either. That more serious undertone was still present in this issue – addressing Gwen’s concerns about her future. But there were several other tones woven into this core as well.
That being said, the more humorous parts of Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 can easily overshadow everything else, and that’s not a bad thing. There are several laugh-out-loud moments to be found within these pages. And one or two sympathy-wincing moments as well – you’ll know them when you see them.
Art
Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 boasts a lot of crazy scenes, from Gwen’s panel-hopping abilities to her unconventional way of tackling battles. And yet the artists behind this issue didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping up.
David Baldeon is the brain behind many of the more iconic images from this miniseries, and he’s done an excellent job showing off Gwen’s abilities. And her insanity. And all of the chaos that she’s brought about. They couldn’t have asked for a better artist at the helm of this project.
Meanwhile, Jesus Aburtov’s colors are perfect. They’re bright and borderline bubbly, yet they have this sharper edge. It’s ideal for Gwen when you stop and think about it. Then there’s VC’s Joe Caramanga, who was probably pushed to the limit in this issue, but it all paid off in the end.
The artists had several extra challenges to deal with in Gwenpool Strikes Back #4. It’s the sort of challenge that would be a spoiler to mention here – but let’s just say you’ll know it when you see it. And trust me; the artist team ran with this concept.
Conclusion
Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 may be the second to last issue in this miniseries, but that hasn’t slowed Gwen down. If anything, she seems to be upping the ante regarding her antics. This issue took her quest for relevancy to a whole new level – and the end result was something as fantastic as it was insane.
Gwenpool Strikes Back has been the highlight of my pull list, and I can’t recommend it strongly enough to any fan looking for a bit of laughter in their lives.
This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.
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