All October long I will be exploring the context behind (using reader danjack's term) "meta-messages." A meta-message is where a comic book creator comments on/references the work of another comic book/comic book creator using the characters in their comic. Each time around, I'll give you the context behind one such "meta-message." Here is an archive of the past installments!

Today we examine Christopher Preist's first issue of Deadpool, where he makes fun of the past work of...Christopher Priest?!?

Joe Kelly's acclaimed run on Deadpool ended with #33. Christopher Priest took over the book with the following issue.

At the end of #33, Deadpool was seemingly killed, but in #34, we see Deadpool is in limbo, along with a familiar group of characters. All of the characters featured starred in books that Priest wrote the final issues of their respective series (well, in the case of characters with more than one series, at least ONE of their series), including characters like Xero that Priest created himself.









The whole thing is basically making fun of Priest's reputation at the time of the guy you give struggling books to that are almost certainly destined for cancellation.

Priest also makes light of the change in the book's direction from Kelly's run to his (as shown by the tossing aside of "everything that made the book work"). It is quite impressive self-effacing humor (I especially enjoyed the bit where we spotlight the similar hair styles of Steel, Black Panther and Xero).