Zeb Wells

A comics writer and sketch comedy veteran writing a superhero crossover about failure: Zeb Wells brought both halves.

Wells co-wrote Deadpool and Wolverine, a film built on continuity jokes, meta commentary and two characters who have each already had a definitive ending. The screenplay's problem is structural rather than comic: making a crossover feel necessary, and it solves it by making the plot about obsolescence.

Background and Influences

He has written extensively for a major comics publisher, including long runs on flagship titles, and he worked in stop motion sketch comedy television, where the format demands a joke every few seconds. Both backgrounds show: the screenplay is dense with reference and paced like sketch material, with almost no scene allowed to run without a punchline.

Style and Themes

Recurring subjects: obsolescence, characters confronting versions of themselves, and comedy built on the audience's knowledge of the source material. His comics writing is known for tonal swings between broad humour and genuine cruelty, and the same range is visible in the screenplay, where a joke and a death frequently share a scene.

Legacy and Influence

His comics runs have been among the most widely read and most argued about of recent years, and the film he co-wrote became one of the highest grossing releases of its year. His sketch comedy work retains a cult following independent of both.

Who Should Explore Their Work

For readers who want to see a comics writer working in film. Not for younger audiences. Suited to anyone who follows the source material closely enough to catch what the screenplay is doing.