SUICIDE SQUAD #1
"Almost a Good Idea"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Keith Giffen
Pencils: Paco Medina
Inks: Joe Sanchez
Colors: John Kalisz & Heroic Age
Letters: Bill Oakley
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
The story title for this first issue sums up my reaction... it was almost a good idea. Giffen touches on the silliness that was the humor era of the Justice League and delves into the darkness of the original Suicide Squad series, but none of it really seems to click. There's potential here, but not yet fully realized.
The members of the old Injustice League/Justice League Antarctica -- Major Disaster, Clock King, Cluemaster, Big Sir and Multi-Man -- are sent on a mission for the federal government to rescue a mad scientist type from a secured bunker. No problem for a quintet of super-villains, right?
Don't count on it.
Medina's art is crisp and appropriately zany at times, and I rather enjoyed the tweaking of the villains' costume designs. But there's also a chaotic, jumpy quality to the visuals as well, making the story kind of hard to follow at times. Furthermore, Medina offers up his usual approach, which mirrors the style of Humberto (Crimson, Out There) Ramos. There's not a lot in his work here that's unique. He needs to differentiate himself.
The dialogue, especially in the first half of the book, reflects that same sense of chaos. Giffen is obviously trying to convey the disorganized nature of the team of villains, and the hectic nature of such a black-ops mission. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work. Furthermore, appreciating the humor in the opening scenes tends to rely heavily on one's knowledge of the humor-era Injustice League (which Giffen created with co-writer J.M. DeMatteis). I suspect newer readers will be wondering who these characters are, let alone why they're bickering and what they're talking about.
Though the shift is a bit jarring, the scene in which the book changes in tone from comedic to deadly serious is when I really started to pay attention. A greater sense of clarity came with it as well. This issue just scratches the surface of the potential of Suicide Squad, but it seems to be headed in the right direction.
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