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Review: Suicide Squad #17

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

It’s been a while since I spoke of my distaste for this book on an episode of The Definitive Crusade podcast.  In that time I have been happy with the lack of Squad and by association, the lack of Harley in my reading pile.  But dang it, DC had to put one of my favourite artists on the book, which piqued my interest and it drew me into the four-color action/anarchy that makes up the chaos that is the Suicide Squad, I went ahead and took a gamble like I was at Royal Vegas online casino and kept reading!

The Squad have one simple mission; the search for the Annihilation Brigade is over.  Now it’s time for the Squad to go get them.  Along for the ride is their newest member, Zod!  This being a Suicide book, the action is almost diverting as there is subterfuge afoot as set-up leads to betrayal and thanks to the power of pre-planning, the bad guys win.

I am unsure what to make of Rob Williams writing.  At times, it shows the promise of being extremely clever, only to fall over itself with “forced funnies” in the dialogue.  This maybe a nod to how the recent movie, the latest Suicide Squad sneak peek is out, now on DVD. With the focus of this issue being Zod, it seems that the rest of team are relegated to almost sidekick level, with each having the smallest of moments to show what they can do. Although I did enjoy the Katana’s sword urging her to  “slice, slice”.  As with the movie, for most the attraction of the book is Harley and apart from a glimpse of her humanity, there isn’t really a lot for her to do, other than add quips. Finally, the inclusion of Zod does give the Squad a major player and should DC ever attempt another Squad vs League, at least the former should be able to hold their own.

Tony S. Daniels has been a fan and personal favourite for some time.  Some may see him as an “Jim Lee-lite” and its true the two do share some similarities.  However there are distinct differences, the fact that Daniel’ books ship on time not withstanding.  Daniels line work is fine line rather than the heavier line that Lee has been using for quite a number of years.  As such, with this issue being action orientated, Daniels explosive storytelling comes to the fore.  Surprisingly, once away from the action there appears to be a slight drop in consistency with the angles of the faces not having the same sort of pop from the background as the fight scenes.  This is a shame as there is as much going on in those scenes as there are in the more eye-catching, yet ultimately distracting battles.   Daniels is aided by Sandu Florea and Le Beau Underwood, which might explain some of the differences already mentioned.

I have to say, it was the inclusion of Zod and the attraction of Tony S. Daniels that led to me reading this book.  Ultimately, my attention in this book will only last as long as these two factors are in play.

Writing  -3 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Rob Williams (A) Sandu Florea, Le Beau L. Underwood (A/CA) Tony S. Daniel

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes
I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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