Arrow S02E16 – Review

By: Keto Shimizu & Bryan Q. Miller (story)

The Story: Diggle doesn’t dig his ex-wife’s new pals too much.

The Review: I’ve been getting kind of worried about Diggle for a while, now.  Though in my mind, the core Arrow team will always be him, Felicity, and Ollie, the recent membership of Roy and Sara threatens to significantly erode his presence.  What need does Ollie have for an ex-soldier when he’s got a powerhouse and a trained assassin?  Felicity will always provide the techie know-how; Diggle’s value needs to be similarly set in stone.

Hence a Diggle-centric episode .  In a rather clever use of the show’s usual structure, the flashbacks switch from the tropical trials on the island to the desert cliffs of Afghanistan, where we see Diggle in full army gear protecting a fleeing caravan of villagers with future ex-wife (then fellow soldier) Lyla.  Over the course of the episode, as we see Diggle save a wanted criminal and mourn over the death of a boy who shot at him, his value to Team Arrow becomes a little clearer: his moral rigidity.

Detective Comics #23.2: Harley Quinn – Review

by Matt Kindt (Writer), Neil Googe (Artist), Wil Quintana (Colorist)

The Story: Harley tells her story while she blows stuff up and kill people.

The Review: As Villain’s month goes on, the readers continue to receive more issues focusing on some of the more popular antagonists of the DC universe. For the better or worse, some of the talented writers do try their very best to give the readers stories that either try to connect with Forever Evil or tell the origins of those characters in the retooled DC universe.

Some do try, to be sure, yet attempting to do something does not necessarily mean success as Matt Kindt tries to tell a story featuring Harley Quinn, a fan-favourite character created by Paul Dini. While Matt Kindt is very much able to write some very good comics, this issue is a poor showcase of his talent, as it never seems to focus on anything in particular.

While it could be a meta-fictional way to put a certain focus on the psychological profile of the character, the story suffers a bit because of it. Turning this story into both a telling of her origin and with her trying to do something after the events of Forever Evil. Even though it is an ambitious challenge, Kindt never seems to connect both tales in a way that enhance the whole.

Justice League of America #7.1: Deadshot – Review

Matt Kindt (Writer), Carmen Carnero, Bit, Sami Basri, Keith Champagne (Artists), Matt Milla, Jeromy Cox (Colorist)

The Story: While executing a contract, Deadshot tells his life story and how he perceive the world according to the many events in his life.

The Review: We all have some characters that we generally prefer over others, one that just resonate with either our values or has a concept that is used far too well for our personal tastes. Many could name dozens of characters right off the bat and I do incorporate myself in that general statement as I could name numerous heroes and villains that I love to follow. One of them is Deadshot, a character that had a generally nihilistic and possessed no regard for his own personal life. Popularized by John Ostrander in the original Suicide Squad and brought back with great effects by Gail Simone in Secret Six, the character had a voice that suggested deep psychological issues, yet the authors always found a way to balance the depths with humor. Prior to the New 52, that character was one I especially liked.

Cut out to the reboot of two years ago and we had a new Suicide Squad with a brand new characterization for this particular character. While the new take on the character was quite different, Matt Kindt uses villain’s month in order to tell a new version of his origin, combining some of the previous iterations with new material in order to play a bit with the character before he himself take the reins on Suicide Squad. Does he succeed in creating an origin that plays with the characters strength?

Suicide Squad #23 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Rick Leonardi (pencils), Andy Owens, Derek Fridolfs, Marc Deering (inks), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Two teams of crazies, but only one will make it out with pie on their face.

The Review: All too soon, we’ve come to the end of Kot’s promising run on this series.  I still don’t really understand why this had to happen, though the continuously dwindling sales probably have something to do with it.  At any rate, my mind’s made up to depart from Suicide Squad at the same time Kot does.  In just four issues, Kot has definitely established a powerful, specific voice and direction for this title, which I don’t believe anyone can emulate.

There is a very, very fine line to the tone Kot has brought to the Squad, balancing precariously on a tightrope between extreme* and excess.  Take James Jr.’s attraction with Waller, for instance.  Despite how difficult it is to believe that a sociopath like him can experience something like sentiment for anything, James’ feelings are still convincing.  Of course, choosing Waller as his object of affection is simply inspired—no other word for it—but it’s the sinister curiosity behind James’ obsession with her that seems true to his character.

Suicide Squad #22 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Patrick Zircher (art), Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: Las Vegas won’t feel too “Viva” after the Suicide Squad’s through with it.

The Review: It’s a rare, beautiful thing when a new writer takes over a title and immediately it seems like the two are made for each other, feeling as close to an original creation as a mainstream book can get.  That’s how I felt—and I don’t believe I was alone on this—when Kot took over Suicide Squad in #20.  So it is with no little amazement and dismay that I discover he’ll be departing in just two more months, after #24.

Convinced as I am that this is a bad move for the series—no offense to upcoming writer Matt Kindt*—I won’t indulge in useless rants or baseless accusations.  However, I do think that given how ambivalent Kot sounds in his press release, despite his attempts to sound bravely upbeat, that this was an editorial, not a creative, decision.  If so, then it remains a baffling one, because with all the critical acclaim since Kot’s takeover, what could possibly have been so offensive that the powers-in-charge would choose to send the writer packing after only two issues?*

It can’t possibly be the violence, at least not in and of itself.  Once you’ve seen Superboy-Prime rip off someone’s arm in Infinite Crisis, or Damian Wayne getting riddled with bullets and arrows as a mechanized hulk beats him to a pulp, Unknown Soldier popping off a headshot seems quite merciful by comparison.  If sheer, bloody gruesomeness was the problem, wouldn’t Swamp Thing and Animal Man have been cancelled by now?

Vibe #5 – Review

By: Sterling Gates (story), Pete Woods (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Generally, it’s not a good idea to run away with a girl while you’re on the job.

The Review: You know, we frequently give publishers a lot of crap for putting out inferior titles, but I think we don’t appreciate how deceptive a good pitch can be.  Think of the one for Vibe: Geoff Johns writing the adventures of an underdog, city kid from Detroit who becomes an dimensional border cop.  Sounds pretty good to me!  Who could have predicted that five months later, it’d be Sterling Gates writing a hopelessly insecure kid on the run from his own employers?

While I did think it was a good idea to have Cisco’s fallout from A.R.G.U.S. happen sooner rather than later, now I’m thinking it could have stood to happen perhaps a little later.  Neither Johns nor Gates (nor Andrew Kreisberg, I suppose) ever fully mined the potential of Vibe’s association with A.R.G.U.S. before throwing it on the rocks, which seems a sadly missed opportunity to me.  What about Agent Gunn playing Murtaugh to Vibe’s non-suicidal Riggs?  Think how much fun that would have been!

Suicide Squad #21 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Patrick Zircher (art), Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: It takes a crazy to know a crazy.

The Review: It’s a confusing time to be a DC fan right around now.  In the last few months, we’ve seen a multitude of creative changes to its line of titles.*  Some of them have caused me to slap my forehead wearily in the manner of a parent experiencing his child’s latest screw-up (e.g., Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps).  Others have left me disappointed by failing to live up to their potential (e.g., Justice League Dark and Green Arrow).

Only a few have so thoroughly impressed me that I’m willing to overlook the failings of the rest as the hazards of trying something new (as opposed to change for its own sake).  Charles Soule on Swamp Thing is one; Kot on Suicide Squad is another.  In a short time, both writers have clearly established their voices and visions for their respective titles, showing that their thought processes go far beyond a good pitch meeting.

Suicide Squad #20 – Review

By: Ales Kot (story), Patrick Zircher (art), Jason Keith (colors)

The Story: You will need to pay someone pretty well to head-shrink these folks.

The Review: It’s been ten issues since I Dropped this title, not so much from an egregious level of quality as for simply a lack of interest.  While Adam Glass had the right idea for the tone of this book, he seemed to lack a clear vision for the series and the characters never managed to take off under his pen.  For a cast criminals, each with their own psychoses, they were rather dull as a group.  Glass suffered more from a lack of inspiration than lack of talent.

So it’s pretty exciting to see what a new writer can do with the material, especially one who’s pretty new to the game.  Now, I’m sure Kot has his fans elsewhere, but as far as mainstream superhero goes, he’s definitely an unknown—so there’s always a chance you might get to witness firsthand what might be the start of a breakout run for the writer.  And from the get-go, things look very promising, as Kot displays an instinctive handle on the title’s unique qualities.

Suicide Squad #10 – Review

By: Adam Glass (story), Fernando Dagnino (art), Matt Yackey (colors)

The Story: Harley shows off the psycho in psychologist.

The Review: I don’t wish this on anybody, but in my experience, there are three ways for the magic to run out in a relationship.  Sometimes, you’re chugging along fine and then, like a bolt out of the blue, it happens and you’re left dazed afterwards.  Sometimes, it’s a gradual sapping away, with you helplessly but lethargically watching as it proceeds to its eventual doom.  And sometimes, you don’t realize it’s happened until it already has and it’s too late.

I feel that third situation pretty much sums up my feelings toward this title.  Maybe an issue or so ago I sensed not all was right, but only during this issue did I suddenly realize how tired and disinterested I was in reading it.  It all comes down to the fundamental truth about stories: you either have to love the tale being told, or you have to care about its characters.  In this case, I can’t honestly say either one of those things is working out for me.

Suicide Squad #9 – Review

By: Adam Glass (story), Fernando Dagnino (art), Matt Yackey (colors)

The Story: It’ll take more than loose teamwork to kill the man who can’t be killed.

The Review: Gosh, this week sure has been one for mini crossovers, hasn’t it?  By now, you’ll have grasped the qualities of a strong tie-in: a story which can stand on its own, without having to pick out plot points from a completely different series; the issue doesn’t feel like a jarring departure from the kind of reading you’ve come to expect from the title; and most importantly, it doesn’t feel like a waste of the series’ monthly dosage.

In nearly every respect, this issue offers the opposite of all that.  Last time, the Squad had only just received their marching orders to take down the irritatingly unkillable Resurrection Man.  This issue opens on the man who won’t die, lying on the dirt, done in by a headshot (accidental, as it turns out—Deadshot’s aim isn’t quite what it once was just yet).  Next to Mitch Shelley is a hysterical woman named Kim, apologizing to his cadaver for something.  Unless you read Resurrection Man #8 (which I did not, having given it up three issues before), you will have no idea what went down between the Squad’s last issue and this one.

Suicide Squad #8 – Review

By: Adam Glass (writer), Federico Dallocchio (artist), Matt Yackey (colorist)

The Story: And Amanda Waller wonders why she never gets called a people person.

The Review: Perhaps the reason why team books are so popular is because they have a built-in potential for variety.  Since each character presumably brings something different to the table, you don’t have to stick to any one kind of story or tone for too long.  Of course, this requires the writer to make sure each team member actually does have a unique voice and background.  If everyone acts and talks the same, what’s the point?

Suicide Squad runs pretty close to this kind of problem.  This issue sports a couple scenes where Waller interacts with Savant and Deadshot, and aside from slight variations in their choice of words, they tend to have the same acidic sarcasm (“I’m sick of being head cheerleader.”  “Do I look like your mamma, Lawton?”).  Unlike the colorful tapestry of characters you had in Gail Simone’s Secret Six, this series has a general sameness to its proceedings which it rarely varies.

To focus the lens a little closer, let’s look at Waller.  Throughout the issue, she spouts pretty much the same threatening demeanor she does all the time.  This would be easier to handle in brief doses, but Glass seems content to let her ramble on even when no one’s listening, like in her rant to the comatose Harley: “Thank God we had a warehouse full of patsies to pin the riot and your escape on!  For all anyone knows, you never left Belle Reve and went on a crazy killing spree looking for that psychotic excuse of a boyfriend of yours.”  Besides the pointless anger, it just seems like an excuse to cover some exposition without much effort.

Suicide Squad #7 – Review

By: Adam Glass (writer), Clayton Henry & Ig Guara (pencillers), Scott Hanna (inker), Val Staples (colorist)

The Story: Shacking up with the Joker?  Where’s a disapproving mother when you need one?

The Review: Part of what makes Joker so compelling as a character is the question of how much of his behavior is genuine madness and how much is simply a twisted sense of the world and one’s place in it.  Not surprisingly, the same questions apply to his protégé.  Harley, however, has a bit more complexity to her because she was drawn—seduced, shall we say—into her craziness, and she had a deep understanding of the human mind.

So as you read through this issue, you have to wonder how much of her particular brand of insanity is innate, and how much of it was foisted upon her by the man she loves.  If we’re meant to believe Harley was always a little nutty deep inside, even when she was Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Glass doesn’t do the best job in giving weight to that theory.  It just seems unconvincing that she jumps from sympathy and gratitude to the Joker to all-out, enraged violence over her colleague’s illicit use of her Joker notes to write a book.  What would make her breakdown more convincing is if we had seen how she was overworked, disrespected, and mocked, as she accuses.  But that’s not what Glass chooses to show us, and so her lashing out feels sudden and a bit groundless.

Anyway, it’s pretty hard to deny how much Joker’s influence played into her current state of mind, considering he basically pushes her, against the last vestiges of her will, into a vat of the same stuff that turned him clownish.  However she came into her madness, that’s pretty much her default mentality from here on in.  It doesn’t make her any less dangerous, obviously; here she proves that even lacking Savant’s martial finesse, she can make up for it with unpredictable cleverness—and the help of a well-placed pressure mine.

All this insanity culminates in the final scene between her and Deadshot, where she, in a rather unconventional use of a common psychological method, uses him to speak out her unresolved feelings for her lately defaced lover.  Actually, the macabre nature of the whole sequence would be horribly over the top had Glass not written Deadshot’s reactions so well in that scene, keeping his tension somewhere between freaked out, angry, and professional.

Suicide Squad #6 – Review

By: Adam Glass (writer), Clayton Henry (artist), Scott Hanna (inker), Vale Staples & Hi-Fi (colorists)

The Story: If any couple deserves the tag of “Crazy Love,” these two do.

The Review: As a rule, I have no hesitation in jumping into the middle of a series with little to no context whatsoever.  In fact, it’s often more useful to judge a series’ merits that way; right off the bat you can tell how consistently solid it is without the help of strong starts, big finishes, or hype to move it along.  That’s how I got hooked onto Cougar Town, strangely enough—once I saw Andy doing a Shawshank Redemption homage in a pool, I knew I’d be in for the long haul.

Actually, the Shawshank reference is quite apt in this case considering all the jailbreak elements we’re dealing with here.  But returning to my point, I jumped into Suicide Squad quite easily, and even in this issue, it’s not at all difficult to follow the general plotline.  What really threw me off were all the constant references to earlier issues or events from other titles, including Detective Comics, Green Arrow, and Stormwatch.  It just got a little distracting at certain points, and there were definitely moments where I felt like I was missing some necessary exposition.

Those minor wrinkles aside, the issue as a whole has a rhythm that’s very easy to fall into.  In contrast to the more sober tone the Squad has when Diablo and Black Spider hang around, the presence of Lime and Light (aptly nicknamed by Deadshot as “the Twitter Twins,” as they tend to talk in meaningless blurbs) and Savant bring some lightness to the proceedings.  I especially appreciate Savant’s attempt to cover up his mis-shot by falling back on, “…I know.  I like to play with my food before I kill it,” to which Deadshot merely replies, “Idiot.”

Naturally, since we have a Harley Quinn-centric story on our hands, most of the humor comes from her, albeit one of a very black hue.  Glass has the rather daunting task of showing us the origins of Harley’s romance with Joker, and not only that, but selling it to us as credible.  For the most part, he succeeds.

Suicide Squad #5 – Review

By: Adam Glass (writer), Federico Dallocchio (artist), Val Staples (colorist)

The Story: Looks like these guys aren’t interested in playing the chorus for “Jailhouse Rock.”

The Review: Although DC’s new 52 brought quite a lot of good things to the comics world, it also sent packing a few great things from the old guard.  Among the ones whose cancellation I viewed with most bitterness was Gail Simone’s Secret Six.  So perhaps it’s no surprise I had a certain animosity for Suicide Squad, clearly meant to fill the antihero team void Six left behind, and images of revamped Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller did nothing to change my mind.

But irrational prejudices always leave me feeling guilty, so I decided to do the right thing and at least give it a read-through.  And predictably enough, I felt a bit foolish after finishing this issue, because it actually it has a lot of merit.  The tone of the series is quite different from Six, of course; it has little of the wit and complexity Simone’s writing offered, and certainly it doesn’t tackle the hard questions of morality the Six encountered on a monthly basis.

What you get instead is more of a straight team book, populated with disturbed characters of varying degrees.  To give you an idea of the general dynamic of the group, I’d say the Squad falls somewhere between the classy depravity of the Secret Six and the earnest misfits of the Thunderbolts.  The feeling you get from Diablo, Black Spider, and Deadshot (the men in focus in this issue) is that while they project a pure ruggedness in action, they can also be honorable, sensitive, even affectionate, which certainly rounds their characters quite a bit.

Perhaps no one exemplifies this more than Deadshot, the one original member of the Six who managed to survive the relaunch.  In contrast to the near-total apathy of his former self, this version of Floyd Lawton is more willing to level with his teammates, and even has loved ones to long and care for.  All this makes him a little less entertaining (I’ll always remember the moment Wonder Woman threatened him with castration if he shot her, his pause, then remark that he’ll try anything once), but more accessible, so not all character changes, it seems, are bad.

Suicide Squad #2 – Review

Written by Adam Glass, Art by Federico Dallocchio and Andrei Bressan, Colors by Val Staples

The Story: Suicide Squad is dropped into…some stadium (they forgot to give us the name in this issue and I’m too lazy to go back to the last one to figure it out) and are instructed to kill everyone inside because they’ve all been turned into CRAZY TECHNO-ORGANIC ZOMBIES. Kid, meet Candy Shop. Candy Shop, meet Kid.

The Good: Man this was a good first issue. Oh wait…this was the second. Damn–would have made a much better first issue. In fact, after reading this, I’m really not sure what the point of issue one was. Everything a #1 issue should be, Suicide Squad #2 is. It gives us a story. It sets up the characters in a natural way, showing their characteristics unfold while the plot does. No shoehorning, no gimmicks. It’s…and this pains me to say after the first issue was handled so poorly…pretty well written. You actually get to feel for the characters this time. Deadshot is shown to be a capable leader of the team. Diablo’s pain is seen instead of shown. We don’t even have to know what he did to be so concerned with innocents (I didn’t care enough when I read it in the first issue and I still don’t) to feel his genuine need to redeem himself. Even Harley gets some nice character moments. But even while the other members are becoming more interesting, it’s still King Shark who’s the most fun. As Deadshot says, he’s the wild card. Predictably unpredictable. Willing to eat techo-zombie flesh.  The design of the character might not be great–and as someone pointed out last month, taken almost entirely from another series–but his character is great. I don’t even want to know his back-story. I’m perfectly happy with King Shark being King Shark (and I thought I’d hate this character the most). Glass leveled up since the last issue and is really bringing us some good material now. There are great surprises and the promise of an insane story. Let’s hope he can keep it up.

Suicide Squad #1 – Review

Written by Adam Glass, Art by Federico Dallocchio, Ransom Getty, and Scott Hanna

The Story: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to vanquish the Thunderbolts in a game of softball. And by choose, we mean “if you don’t do this, we blow up your neck.”

What’s Good: The ending. Or at least, it has the promise of being something interesting with an insane mission the Squad is thrown in to. And to some extent, we get to know our characters.

What’s Not Good: This is not a #1 issue. this is a .1 that is kind of a throwaway tale to tell between two arcs. Unfortunately, a very overused plot device takes up 90% of this first issue, and what you learn about the team from it isn’t surprising in the least. It almost feels as if Glass is relying on people having read Thunderbolts to get the gist of this book. A team of villains forced to do good but have a code among themselves. Honor among mass murderers sort of thing. But Glass is no Jeff Parker, and every turn in this issue is one anti-climatic moment after the other until the last page when they’re literally thrown into a mission that screams “yeah, this isn’t really the mission at all.”  The issue sets it up to make you want to care about Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and El Diablo. Yet the only character I really wanted more from was King Shark, and he only uttered two words the entire issue. In a mess of #1’s, this just doesn’t stand out. It’s not bad enough to fume about, but not good enough to talk about. It’s just kind of there. Even the art is lukewarm. There’s just nothing special to it. And really, the torture scene in the beginning– what exactly are they doing to Deadshot? Cooking live rats on him? I’m really confused by this. It feels like the artist and writer weren’t on the same page at all. And for some reason, Harley’s facial expressions never seem to match her dialogue.  ALSO, they spoil the first arc of Detective Comics. Not cool, DC… Not cool.

Final Thoughts: I love the Thunderbolts, and I wouldn’t mind a DC version of it, but this issue started on the wrong foot…in the wrong town. I’ll try it for a little while longer and see how the future issues turn out. Maybe it’s misguided, but I still have a little faith in this title still.

Grade: C

-Roman Colombo

Suicide Squad #67 – Review

by Gail Simone & John Ostrander (writers), J. Calafiore (art), Jason Wright (colors), and Swands (letters)

The Story: It’s Suicide Squad vs. Secret Six as Amanda Waller decides she wants Deadshot back and won’t take no for an answer.

What’s Good: As an issue of Secret Six, this really is a lot of fun.  There’s a scene that brings the bizarre Bane/Scandal relationship to new heights, as Bane interrogates Scandal’s date and essentially acts like the girlfriend father from hell.  Meanwhile, Ragdoll of all people finds himself in the hilariously awkward position of being the voice of reason.  The entire scene is absolute gold, largely because of how deadpan Bane is through it all.

This month also marks the first time we see Black Alice in action as a full member of the team, and sure enough, she fits quite nicely, bringing a brash, utterly unsubtle element to the team.  Simone and Ostrander also bring back her diary narration, which is just as fun as last month.  Her perceptions of her new teammates are all really enjoyable, particularly her summary of Jeanette.