Written by: Sean Ryan
Art by: Jeremy Roberts
Publisher: DC
New Suicide Squad is a deeply flawed book. Sure, it may not have tons of problems, but it has a couple massive issues. That being said, I find myself completely enamored in this book. Despite its flaws, New Suicide Squad has a ton of heart, and is at its strongest when it focuses in on the characters. It becomes quite easy to pretend that the book’s problems simply don’t exist if, like me, you become engaged in the well written characters and character dynamics. If not, then this is really a book that you should steer clear of. Honestly, the final score that I give this issue may not necessarily reflect some of what I write in this review. I’m going to point out flaws, and yet, as I write this first paragraph, I can see myself scoring this book quite high.
Really, there are two major issues with New Suicide #2, and everything else just comes down to nitpicking First: the plot is an absolute mess. In the first issue, the Suicide Squad (which now consists of Harley Quinn, Joker’s Daughter, Deadshot, Deathstroke, and Black Manta) is sent to disrupt the Russian government. I’m willing to overlook how far fetched that is, because, after all, this is a comic book. The missions got botched, and now the Suicide Squad is on the run from the Russian government’s Rocket Reds. The plot is paper thin, and has no substance whatsoever. It’s a very basic, straightforward story, and for those who read comics for solid, nuanced plots, this is not a book for you.
The second issue is Deathstroke, who seems out of character here. Not because he seems willing to switch sides, but just because the way he’s written just seems off. He doesn’t sound like the Deathstroke of the early New 52, or even like the Deathstroke that we knew during Forever Evil. Plus, it seems exceedingly stupid that he would be on this team anyways. I know that the new boss of the Suicide Squad, Sage, doesn’t show up in this issue, but his dumb decisions resonate from last issue. These decisions make no sense, and only seem to have been made to get Joker’s Daughter and Deathstroke into this book, in an attempt to add sales to a flailing book. In the case of Joker’s Daughter, it works, but Deathstroke just feels out of place and misused.
It must sound like I didn’t enjoy this book. The fact of the matter is, that couldn’t be further from the truth, because I did rather like this issue. The character dynamics are great to see on the page. Anytime Harley Quinn and Deadshot are together, and written well, is great. The two bounce off of each other perfectly, and are more interesting than ever now that they’re the only two “veterans” of the Suicide Squad. Then there’s Joker’s Daughter, a character who, ever since Ann Nocenti introduced her about a year ago, has been completely turned around, and Sean Ryan is definitely helping with improving the characters image. Since she’s relatively new, she’s a bit of a fluid character, and still lacks defining characteristics aside from wearing the Joker’s face. Fortunately, Ryan is giving her solid characterization, and seeing her bounce off of the rest of the team is great.
Putting all of these characters in a room together and figuring out how they would interact must have been an absolute blast for Ryan to write, because it’s a joy to read. And really, this must be a ton of fun for Jeremy Roberts (that artist who won the Harley Quinn competition) to draw as well. As a result, the book looks great. Sure, it seems very much in the vein of DC’s “house style” but for someone who hasn’t done much major work, it looks great.
