Suicide Squad 20
Ales Kot, Patrick Zircher
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
Before I could even start to complain about how the artist and writer team had abandoned a book that was just starting to regain its steam and find its footing, I was immediately distracted by the action and intrigue that new series writer Alex Kot and artist Patrick Zircher bring in the first few pages. Now, I’ll be honest with you, Zircher has been one of my favorite artists even as far back as his days illustrating Marvel’s Thunderbolts, so it wasn’t hard to win me over in the art department, but the script is what really sealed the deal for me. This story essentially just continues on from the last issue’s events and not really “starting over new,” like many comics do when they switch creative teams. And I love the bravery of not announcing the switch. Not declaring it a new title. And for the first time in ages, not destroying every single thing that a previous run had established.
I could spend this review talking about the art, but it’s obvious to anyone who knows good art that this is just about as perfect as we can ask for in a superhero comic. I could spend this review talking about how utterly amazing the characterization is for this lovable team of murderous psychopaths and misunderstood anti-heroes, but that would simply do a disservice to the expertly-written dialogue within its pages. But I will say that the utter savagery displayed by the Unknown Soldier and the reveal at the end of James Gordon Jr. not only being alive, but working (or is it competing) with Amanda Waller behind the scenes caused me to set the comic aside and do probably the nerdiest dance that has ever been seen. (Thankfully, it was not actually seen. But trust me… It happened.)
This has been one of my “must-read” books ever since its beginning, but I had found that it was starting to lose its footing, as stated before. Well, let me tell you all right here and now… If this creative team is here to stay, this book is not only going to get back onto that list on a monthly basis, but it might very well climb to the top. Amanda Waller is one of my absolute favorite characters in all of comics and the inclusion of James Gordon Jr. is nothing short of a stroke of brilliance. I’m so glad that Gail Simone’s terrible treatment of the character was not the last time we got to see him. And I’m absolutely giddy to see what sort of carnage he has up his sleeve. Thanks for delivering a book that I didn’t know I wanted. This is by far the best book of the week from DC, and though it is early, quite possibly the best of the month. I can’t recommend it enough. Go buy it. And enjoy it. And help hold its new creative team accountable to keep up the awesome work.
My Rating: 5/5
