This past weekend, there was some big Deadpool news. At the Marvel Games panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Deadpool actually showed up and interrupted the panel. He made the announcement that there is a Deadpool video game coming up and Deadpool fans couldn't be happier. You can watch the actual panel with Deadpool HERE.

Not everyone is an expert on Deadpool. There have been an incredible amount of Deadpool comics since his debut back in 1991. According to the Comic Vine database, he's appeared in over 1000 comics (some may be reprint volumes from other countries).

For those wanting to read Deadpool now, to get caught up or just to get to know who he is and what he's about, trying to pick what to read could be intimidating. Here are some of the better Deadpool comics you should read and are easily available.

What is the easiest way to get started on Deadpool? If you don't already have a local comic shop, you can always get comics through comiXology. There are a few comics you can easily get. Here are some of the better ones.

Deadpool Classic Volume 1

This is a great place to start. You can get it for $16.99 and it contains Deadpool's earliest appearances. The 1993 four-issue miniseries was written by Fabian Nicieza with art by Joe Madureira.

The four-issue miniseries from 1994 was written by Mark Waid. Back in his earlier appearances, we see him here with more of his established character. There's also the beginning of his infatuation with Siryn. Deadpool has to face off against Juggernaut and Black Tom. What's more interesting is his healing factor wasn't working too well at one point. It's almost a foreshadowing to what he's dealing with right now in the current comics.

There's also DEADPOOL #1 from 1997. This was the amazing beginning of Joe Kelly's run.

Deadpool Volume 1: Secret Invasion (2008)

This volume contains the first five issues of the current series. It was a Secret Invasion tie-in but was also the beginning of Daniel Way's incredible run. This marked the new age of Deadpool. Shortly after this, we started to see an overabundance of Deadpool comics. Throughout the multiple series we saw, Way's DEADPOOL remained consistently good.

Deadpool Volume 3: X Marks the Spot

Deadpool is often associated with the X-Men. What people tend to forget is, he's not a mutant. But there was a time (in 2010) when he started thinking that being a mercenary wasn't the best thing to be. He decided he wanted to be part of the X-Men.

Unfortunately, he thinks a good way to get on the X-Men's good side is to kill Mercury's father, who told the press the X-Men were holding her captive on the mutant haven island, Utopia. Deadpool's just so silly.

You can also find individual issues of DEADPOOL on comiXology. You can pretty much get caught up on the entire current series. Not everyone wants to read digital comics. The above are available in printed trade paperbacks. Others worth checking out follow and can be found at your local comic shop, book store or online sites such as Amazon.

Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth: Head Trip (2009)

This volume contains all thirteen issues of the Victor Gischler 2009 series. It may not be considered one of the classic runs and did end after 13 issues but it did feature Deadpool teaming up with Zombie Deadpool head. That might sound absurd if you don't know the backstory but it's really just another period in Deadpool's life. Deadpool...with a chopped off zombie head version of him from an alternate universe. What more do you really need to know?

Deadpool: Suicide Kings (2009)

Mike Benson and Carlo Barberi deliver a tale of Deadpool getting framed along with appearances by Punisher, Spider-Man and Tombstone.

Deadpool Vs. the Marvel Universe (2008)

This collects issues 43-50 of CABLE AND DEADPOOL. Deadpool fighting other heroes in the Marvel Universe. What more could you want?

It should also be noted that pretty much the entire CABLE AND DEADPOOL run was great stuff.

Deadpool Comics to Avoid

I may be in the minority here. In fact I'd love to hear if there are those that disagree. During the recent Deadpool wave of comics, I was still buying every single comic because I really dig the character. There was one that basically pissed me off. After one too many cruddy and pointless issues, I finally stopped buying it. I was in the buying-out-of-loyalty camp but enough was enough. DEADPOOL TEAM-UP was the series that pissed me off.

DEADPOOL CORPS had a promising idea. I didn't dislike it as much as TEAM-UP. I just immediately lost interest. Maybe I needed to give it another chance but it just started falling away from who Deadpool is supposed to be.

This is just the beginning. There are plenty more Deadpool comics worth checking out. If you have a particular favorite trade or run, be sure to list it in the comments below!

Tony Guerrero is the Editor-in-Chief of Comic Vine. You can follow him on Twitter@GManFromHeck. He still remembers reading Deadpool's very first appearance in NEW MUTANTS when the issue came out.

Is it true that there's a new Deadpool series coming out around the time of Marvel NOW? Cuz if that is good, I might consider picking it up.

What about Cable & Deadpool?

@Deadcool: "It should also be noted that pretty much the entire CABLE AND DEADPOOL run was great stuff."

@Duke_Nasty: DA! I didn't read it... Thanks

I dunno, I'd say every single Deadpool-centric comic post-Cable & Deadpool is best avoided. I can't think of a single one of them worth reading. Marvel seemingly forgot that he wasn't just a silly random string of middle school jokes, which is basically all I get out of his current ongoing. It's a sad mess.

His best stuff is without a doubt Joe Kelly's run. Mark Waid's mini is aight, as is Cable & Deadpool. Uncanny X-Force isn't really about Deadpool per se, but Remender has a good grasp on him and makes him fit really well with the rest of the team... which is surprising.

I really like Deadpool. Really. He just shows up in a whole lot of terrible comic books.

As great as Joe Kelley was, I really love Ways run on the series

The Deadpool Team-Up issue with Thor was amazing.

Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War

Talk about a mind F#@%, this comic is awesome!!! It's chock full of the classic Deadpool humor we all know and love, features a team-up with Silver Sable, Bullseye, and Domino, is as action-packed and gory as it gets, and weaves a tale that'll have you guessing til the very end and makes Inception's ending look like child's play!

Daniel Way's run on Deadpool (the current series) is not bad but at the moment, in my opinion, it's taken a turn for the worst. The DEAD story arc was brilliant, thoroughly enjoyed it but now the Reborn story arc and the following ones are not as good. Same goes for the art.

How long can he last without a healing factor? That is the big question. And why aren't Marvel making another Ultimate Alliance video game? They must, they must.

I don't think that X Marks the Spot is one of the good Deadpool stories.There are other that deserve more attention.

@Replicant0658: Agreed!

I personally enjoyed Deadpool Pulp, but I'm not sure whether everyone would enjoy it. Does anyone know whether Deadpool Max was any good?

How characters in comics would prefer Deadpool :)

I'm the ghost of Christmas KICK YOUR ASS! deadpool ROCKS!

I kind of liked Team Up. Seemed like a natural idea after deadpool and cable ended. Bringing back US-1 really won me over. I'm trying to catch up on Deadpool Max right now and that's a he'll of a weird story with bizarre art and neat takes on the old characters.

joe kelly and ed mcguiness' run on the character was so awesome, yet everybody seems to have overlooked it

I missed out on the whole Deadpool teamup thing (luckily?) and jumped on the current Deadpool monthly comic which i have been loving since i started collecting. Deadpool Max is actually really good to but maybe a bit random and weird for most folks, its finished now so it will likely be out in trade at some point soon.

A bit out there, but the Agent-X run was excellent, it was Deadpool but not Deadpool.

@InnerVenom123 said:

The Deadpool Team-Up issue with Thor was amazing.

It was. And my first comic of deadpool too.

I saw the Deadpool X marks the Spot TPB at a comic book store and I didn't pick it up. I'm sad know.

In the 'X marks the spot' arc, I lost it when Domino and Wolverine ran into that chicken hahah

DEADPOOL IS THE BEST CHARACTER EVER!!!!!! I PICK HIM OVER ANYONE AND AT ANYTIME!!!!!! (deadpool team-up was my favorite series though...i have Hell cow.... The ape one.....and more...)

Joe Kelly's run is probably my most revered Deadpool era (And rightfully so), but I really like what Christopher Priest did with him.

It was just so meta and out there. Everything from sharing an apartment with Constrictor and Titania, to being alluded to being Loki's son, comparing kicks with Black Panther, to the Thom Cruz curse. It was really out there, yet he managed to hold onto the core of Wade being a person and not just a vehicle for random jokes.

There is a man with a typewriter...

Though it bled into Agent-X, I'm also quite fond of Gail Simone's run. She built a great supporting cast around both Deadpool and Alex Hayden with Sandi, Outlaw and the great interpetation of Taskmaster.

Personally I don't really like the ongoing Deadpool since the end of Magnum Opus. Even before that I didn't like it as much as Cable & Deadpool, because it basically ignored every growth Deadpool's character had in Cable & Deadpool. At the end of Nicieza's run Deadpool was on the way of becoming a hero (a crazy one at that, but a hero still), not just a merc. He started to find his place in the world and had some great supporting characters with Sandy, Outlaw, Agent X, Bob, Weasel and of course Cable (up until Cable's supposed death in the series before his return in Messiah Complex). All I'm trying to say is even though the current ongoing can be really fun, I still couldn't get over the changes that were made after Cable & Deadpool. In my opinion the best Deadpool depiction is in Uncanny X-Force right now, it seems to understand the character much better and doesn't portrays him as a rambling, hallucinating idiot the current ongoing likes to do so often.

Really? Im the first person to mention Deadpool MAX? I mean, I know I kind of just have a personal penchant for reading anything David Lapham writes but, still, that book is ridiculously good. I figured it would get a mention somewhere in here.

EDIT: I was not the first person to mention Deadpool MAX apparently. I just have poor reading skills. However, I am the first person to tout its SHEER OVERWHELMING AWESOMENESS.

P.S. Without tarnishing Deadpool's kick-assness, Lobo is still the better version of Deadpool. Lobo vs. Deadpool crossover anyone?

Oh, and Team-up sucked. Thank you.

"Suck it, Wolverine!" - Deadpool

Deadpool and Cable during Civil War was hilarious.

Not to question Tony, but how could this list not include Joe Kelly's run on the book? In my opinion, nobody has ever written the character better than Kelly. His arc was wonderful since it straddled the line between him being a selfish mercenary and yet at the core being a reluctant hero. Honestly, if you were going to read any Deadpool go get read through Kelly's initial big arc (The first 25 or so issues, though I think he stayed on until 33). And this is from a person that has read probably 95% of all Deadpool series over the last 20 years.

@ILIKELOBO said:

Really? Im the first person to mention Deadpool MAX? I mean, I know I kind of just have a personal penchant for reading anything David Lapham writes but, still, that book is ridiculously good. I figured it would get a mention somewhere in here.

EDIT: I was not the first person to mention Deadpool MAX apparently. I just have poor reading skills. However, I am the first person to tout its SHEER OVERWHELMING AWESOMENESS.

P.S. Without tarnishing Deadpool's kick-assness, Lobo is still the better version of Deadpool. Lobo vs. Deadpool crossover anyone?

Oh, and Team-up sucked. Thank you.

Deadpool MAX seemed like it went dark just to be dark at times. And honestly, it was almost more a Bob comic than a Deadpool comic.

I still enjoyed it, but it's far from at the top of Deadpool stories I'd recommend. If people want a more current and dark Deadpool, then the one in X-Force now is a better representation.

@Deadcool said:

What about Cable & Deadpool?

Avoid Dead Pool team up and most of Way's run post X Marks the Spot...dude fell way the hell off.

@zzax said:

Not to question Tony, but how could this list not include Joe Kelly's run on the book? In my opinion, nobody has ever written the character better than Kelly. His arc was wonderful since it startled the line between him being a selfish mercenary and yet at the core being a reluctant hero. Honestly, if you were going to read any Deadpool go get read through Kelly's initial big arc (The first 25 or so issues, though I think he stayed on until 33). And this is from a person that has read probably 95% of all Deadpool series over the last 20 years.

I've read a lot of Deadpool and Joe Kelly's run is heads above the rest. Humor, action, character development and real emotion. The latter two I've yet to find in any current Deadpool series.

I just can't wait to pick up the game! "Suck it Wolverine!" Love Deadpool!

Deadpool Pulp

What about Cable & Deadpool?

Agreed. I love that whole run. While Agent X isn't very Deadpool heavy, I do consider it a must read. Hilarious from start to finish and picks up immediately after his classic ongoing.

i like daniel way's run on dp. its pretty funny !

Suicide Kings is a great one, glad it made it onto this list.

None of these, to be honest, bar the first one.

Deadpool: Suicide Kings was ok. The X-Men Origins: Deadpool one-shot and Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War were both AMAAAAAAAAAAAAZING, because Duane Swierczynski is amazing on Deadpool. Anything from Kelly's run and nothing from Way's run. That's it, basically.

Oh, and Deadpool: The Circle Chase, :Deadpool: Sins of the Past minis.

Deadpool Video Game!? What!? Awesome!!

i can't remember when the exact issue was, or even the numbering, but in an issue from not too long ago in Amazing Spider-Man that Deadpool is in actually had me laughing quite a bit. I want to say it was around the time of The Gauntlet but i'm not too sure, but that's a fantastic Deadpool read, especially his insult fight with Spider-Man.

I love Deadpool and I would definitely play a video game based on the merc with the mouth if it's even real. I wonder if it would fair better than the movie did as seen in X-Men Origins: Deadpool. I just wish he would appear in more of the Marvel cartoons outside the lame Hulk vs. movie. Daniel Way's current run has made me laugh out loud more often than I ever have reading comics. The Joe Kelly stuff was great too especially the way he wrote the origin story. All the issues that include him interacting with Bullseye are some of my favorites for both characters. The action scenes those 2 create are absolutely magical. I enjoy Deadpool because I enjoy a good laugh.

@GBrutality said:

i can't remember when the exact issue was, or even the numbering, but in an issue from not too long ago in Amazing Spider-Man that Deadpool is in actually had me laughing quite a bit. I want to say it was around the time of The Gauntlet but i'm not too sure, but that's a fantastic Deadpool read, especially his insult fight with Spider-Man.

Amazing Spider-Man 611. That was right before the Gauntlet kicked off and it was written by Joe Kelly.

And yes, the "yo mamma" joke off was hysterical!

Ah, but hulk vs. wasn't bad. But I do agree he should apear more often in Marvel animation; although truthfully there aren't a lot of animated marvel movies. As for what comics to read, definitely Kelly's run and all of Cable and Deadpool while avoiding Ways run since it fails to recognize the continuity set up by the end of Cable and Deadpool.

@Scheiner said:

Ah, but hulk vs. wasn't bad. But I do agree he should apear more often in Marvel animation; although truthfully there aren't a lot of animated marvel movies. As for what comics to read, definitely Kelly's run and all of Cable and Deadpool while avoiding Ways run since it fails to recognize the continuity set up by the end of Cable and Deadpool.

Happy to see that bothers someone else. That was a great way to conclude Fabian's run and it's a shame to see Daniel Way didn't run with that.

You used the words 'Daniel Way' 'Deadpool' and 'Incredible' in the same sentence.

This was a great article. Especially because a lot people want to get into Deadpool because of the video game announcement

This was cool, I'd like to see some of these for other characters too. :D

Gotta to admit most of Deadpool Team Up was pointless but the one with Herc was awesome. And how the HELL could you you not include Deadpool Annual 96 with Death thats a must read.

@Deadcool: Deadcool is right. The first arch in Cable/Deadpool is excellent and should have made the list.

No Joe Kelly? Bad staff bad!
BB