There’s nothing quite as irresistible as that shiny #1 or the word ‘new’ in the title is there? Well, DC may just be taking a leaf out of Marvel’s book with this relaunch of “Suicide Squad” under the pens of writer Sean Ryan and artist Jeremy Roberts. Come check out our review of “New Suicide Squad” #1 as we explore if this new direction for the title will pay off.
Written by Sean Ryan
Illustrated by Jeremy RobertsThe world has changed for Task Force X, a.k.a. the Suicide Squad. Director Amanda Waller no longer has the autonomy she once had. New members disrupt the team dynamic. And the team takes on an international scope. New members Joker’s Daughter, Deathstroke and Black Manta join Harley Quinn and Deadshot for a mission in the most dangerous and unpredictable place in the world: Vladimir Putin’s Russia!
The idea of “Suicide Squad” is one that has a quiet, subtle genius when it works. Taking a bunch of anti-heroes or just straight up villains and forcing them to work together for the benefits of a vague yet menacing government agency under the watchful eye of Amanda “The Wall” Waller can create one of the most interesting team dynamics in comics. If you don’t believe me, go back and read John Ostrander’s run on the title (which is, coincidentally on sale as of this review). However (and there it is, that big however), there seemed to be only a couple of times that the team has really worked in the New 52 for me. One of those times was under the pen of Ales Kot, who really seemed to understand and play into the inherent absurdity of the concept in order to create that unique team dynamic that made the title so readable.
And so in steps Sean Ryan and Jeremy Roberts as they bring with them a new title, a new #1 and new additions to the team to forge a new direction for the team. Can you tell that this is “New Suicide Squad”? That new direction should spell great news for new readers and even lapsed readers, right? As they entice you to join this new team on its new first mission to spark some life back into the old girl yet. Unfortunately, there are some flaws present in this issue that holds it back from being that spark that propels “Suicide Squad” into being that cult classic it has always been.
Sean Ryan, to his credit as a writer, plays this issue very smart in its pacing and structure as a first issue to make it easily accessible by not bringing down the story with unnecessary and convoluted continuity. In fact, at no point in the issue is there a reason given as to why this is a new Suicide Squad; it just is and the more interesting story is watching this new Suicide Squad come together, anyway. However, that’s where one of the problems in this book rears its head: there’s not enough of the actual Suicide Squad. Sorry, I mean Task Force X because apparently giving a team that consists of Harley Quinn and the Joker’s Daughter would be a silly thing to do. Now, I don’t mean that the Squad aren’t there because they definitely are, the problem is that the focus of the writing is much more on Amanda Waller and her losing her grip on the team to Victor Sage. There is but one scene in the comic which actually shows the Squad interacting and planning their first mission in which conflict continues to boil over between the old members and the new and there is a spark there that Ryan gets it.
However, the rest of the comic deals with a infuriatingly smug Vic Sage and Amanda Waller discussing how this team is sure to fall apart because of its new members and how it is doomed to fail from the start. I don’t want to bring the old ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ thing into this, but I do know that the sequence of the team actually fighting amongst each other whilst trying to cobble together a plan in a Russian warehouse felt much more attune with the idea of a team breaking itself apart from the inside than Waller and Sage sitting in a comfortable office talking about it does. It perhaps doesn’t help that Waller and Sage’s conversation carries on over the sequence of the team carrying out their first mission together meaning we don’t even get the team interacting on the mission. The sequence is put together well by artist Jeremy Roberts who shows a keen skill for storytelling without dialogue and showing the individual skills of each member. It’s just that when you advertise a comic as being the “New Suicide Squad”, perhaps letting us get to know the Squad would be a good idea?
Continued belowWhile the writing is definitely disappointing in how much potential is sadly wasted, there is a lot to make up for with the art. Roberts is an artist new on the scene, but certainly impresses on this issue. The later half of the issue that follows the Squad on their first mission through silent panels of chaos and carnage certainly shows that his art can hold its own enough to tell a story without dialogue. The problem is that the script doesn’t give him enough to do outside of a couple of panels of action per page in the later half of the issue. There’s a lot of fluidity to the artwork (a sequence in which Harley Quinn bats a grenade stands out as a showcase of Roberts using multiple silent panels to show the action) that shows that there could be a lot of development for him as an artist to break out and really own this book.
While the style of his artwork here definitely falls into what has been called DC’s current house style – heavily cross-hatched with a focus on realistic grit – Roberts makes it work for the material he is given as the focus on realism in setting and heavy, bloody action juxtaposes nicely with the over-the-top nature of the characters themselves to make even Joker’s Daughter seem like a formidable force. This really could be Roberts book to pull together and he is helped greatly by the colours of Blond who brings a sharp, pristine and, more importantly, vibrant quality to colours that makes Jeremy Roberts really stand out against the wall of indistinguishable grit that can plague DC’s current books.
This wasn’t the relaunch I was hoping for with this series and, to be blunt, that is rather disappointing. There are a number of ideas present here like the on-the-nose use of new members who are a little too similar to current members in order to create conflict within the team and the corporate power struggle between Waller and Sage that could have made this new era of “Suicide Squad” stand out. However, this issue sacrifices the most important part of the book in order to play up that power struggle; the Squad itself. There is still a chance to save this book, not all hope is lost, as Jeremy Roberts really put his all into making what little of the Squad is shown action shines against the rest of DC’s catalogue. All this series needs is a solid second issue to really showcase the Squad and bring Roberts’ action-packed character-driven artwork to fore to kickstart this series into something really enjoyable.
Final Verdict: 5.8 – Keep an eye on this one as it could be going places, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to get this #1
