BATMAN/DEADPOOL #1 / Scripts by GRANT MORRISON, SCOTT SNYDER, JAMES TYNION IV, JOSHUA WILLIAMSON, TOM TAYLOR, MARIKO TAMAKI & G. WILLOW WILSON / Pencils by DAN MORA, HAYDEN SHERMAN, BRUNO REDONDO, AMANDA CONNER & DENYS COWAN/ Inks by DAN MORA, HAYDEN SHERMAN, BRUNO REDONDO, AMANDA CONNER & KLAUS JANSON / Colors by ALEJANDRO SANCHEZ, MIKE SPICER, ADRIANO LUCAS, TAMRA BONVILLAIN & FRANCESO SEGALA / Letters by TODD KLEIN, FRANK CVETKOVIC, WES ABBOTT, DAVE SHARPE & STEVE WANDS / Published by DC COMICS & MARVEL COMICS

When it was announced that DC Comics and Marvel Comics would be partnering on multiple crossover comics for the first time in two decades, there was much rejoicing in the comic reading community. There were, however, some raised eyebrows when it was announced the first two collaborations would center around Deadpool and Batman. While this made sense given their popularity, there are pairings that make much more sense.

The first book, Marvel’s Deadpool/Batman, seemed to prove this point. While the Deadpool/Batman story wasn’t horrible, I enjoyed the shorter back-up stories far more. The same is true of DC’s Batman/Deadpool.

Whereas Deadpool/Batman set up a fight between the Dark Knight and Merc With A Mouth, Grant Morrison throws the two together against a common enemy. There is a lot of meta-humor, even for a Deadpool story. I can’t say more than that without giving away the game.

Suffice it to say that this comes the closest any story can to being a “typical Grant Morrison” story. Fans of their work will see the twist coming. Everyone else will just be confused. Still, Dan Mora is in fine form and well backed by Alejandro Sanchez and Todd Klein.

The rest of the anthology left me feeling that the rest of these team-ups deserved more space to develop. The Constantine/Doctor Strange story, for instance, eludes to two other conflicts in the background that would be worthy stories on their own. The Static/Ms. Marvel team-up is a cute idea, but it lacks the depth both young heroes have enjoyed in their solo series. The Harley Quin/Hulk team-up is similarly shallow, though Amanda Conner’s artwork is amazing for how short the story is. Even the Nightwing/Wolverine story seems a little lackluster, due to a weak conflict. That being said, it is nice to see Laura and Dick bounce off each other and I’ll welcome any excuse to get the Nightwing creative team together again.

On reflection, I think my chief problem with Batman/Deadpool is that it isn’t enough. With the exception of the main event, every story in this volume is a great idea that needs more space to be done justice. Hopefully we’ll get to see more DC/Marvel team-ups in the future, because honestly… I want more.