Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad April Fools Special One-Shot

It's April 1st and I had been looking forward to a couple of holiday themed comics to celebrate April Fools. I hadn't bought anything for Easter, so I was thrilled to have this book to read. However, I had set it aside and forgot where I put it. After spending 2 straight days searching, I finally located it in time for a holiday read. But now that it's over, I really wish I didn't spend all that time looking for it.

Harley Quinn is invited to head up a support group for super-villains. A former psychiatrist and current villain in her own right, Harley is more than qualified for the job. Her first client is Man-Bat. Only, the former Kirk Langstrom doesn't know that. Harley's attempts to cure the villain in the middle of an assault on Gotham City is rather funny. It's only when Harley gives up on house calls and puts up her shingle does things go downhill and fast!

For one thing, the art changes from the hyper-realistic style of Jim Lee to an uber-cartoony look from Sean Galloway; AKA Cheeks. The story itself goes from funny to absurd to the point that the reader is never sure if Harley really is counseling some of the lower tiered villains of the DC Universe or if it's all in her head. In fact, when the artwork reverted back to Jim Lee's, even Harley is unsure as we find her undergoing some sort of mind control at the hands of that heartless b*tch, Amanda Waller.

The title of this 2016 one-shot is Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad April Fools Special. For 90% of this book, I was wondering 'where is the Suicide Squad in all this?' Once I got my answer, I really wasn't happy. Poor Harleen Quinzel, alias Harley Quinn, has gone through such a gauntlet of crap in her life story. Abused as a child, mistreated and manipulated by the Joker and now tortured by Waller, man, things just keep getting worse for one of my all-time favorite characters. And it kept making me mad!

Really, this shouldn't have even been labeled an 'April Fools Special'. There is really nothing about the holiday in this book. During the Silver Age, DC would do these occasional April Fools stories where readers were encouraged to find all the erroneous stuff artists hid in the artwork. I was expecting the same with this book. Instead I got to see poor Harley get mistreated again and have to sit through an ending that was essentially a 4-page advertisement for a Suicide Squad series that I have very little interest in reading. 

I guess the joke was on me...

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 2 out of 10 stars.

Saved by the Belle Reve #1

Finally! After several over-sized duds, DC puts out a themed special that focuses on FUN- mostly! The past couple of years, the majority of DC's seasonal specials had shorts that were more political than enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with comic books being educational or topical. But if they're not entertaining then it's more like reading a text book than a comic. 

With it being the start of a new school year, I took a chance on plopping down a ten-spot on this. I know it's not a holiday comic. But it's close enough for me.

There are 8 short stories in this special. Let's take a brief look at them all:

• The Suicide Squad are tasked with protecting the son of a generalissimo who is friendly to American interests. To do this, the Squad must pose as teachers. But as hordes of demon soldiers keep attacking the school on a daily basis, Task Force X must get creative. That means Killer Shark is now teaching English and Weasel is the new lunch lady!
• In a story from the past, Oliver Queen learns an important lesson in parenthood. While Speedy's grades aren't up to snuff, Ollie becomes a tyrant. Now things with Roy Harper are worse than ever before and the Emerald Archer must learn a balance between being an inspiration to an eager sidekick and a caring guardian to a lonely young boy.
• In a surprise return, the students of Gotham Academy return! School is about to return to session but some of the students will not. With Olive Silverlock still missing from something that happened at the end of Sophomore year, Maps is putting her classmates things away in storage. However, when it's discovered that Olive's journal is also missing, Maps and her classmates will go on one last mission to find it.
• Also returning in this issue- the Tiny Titans! Thanks to Art Baltazar and Franco, the pint-sized heroes take a literal wrong turn at Albuquerque and pop up in Belle Reve prison!
• Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne, the Super Sons, join forces to help the new kid in school deal with a pair of bullies- in their own super ways.
• Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson run afoul of Mister Freeze on the way to their Senior Prom. 
• John Paul Valley is led by his Azrael personality to the very school that trained him to become a trained killer for God. While at the abandoned institution, Valley's memories of the Brotherhood of the Order of St. Dumas come to the surface. 
• Finally, get it straight from the source, Jefferson Pierce, as to just why did Black Lightning decided to become a part of President Lex Luthor's cabinet. The answer itself probably won't surprise you. But it's nice to finally get a concrete answer to one of DC's most enduring mysteries of the past 2 decades.

The Suicide Squad story was the best. It was 100% insane! And I loved it. With the inclusion of Weasel and Peacemaker, you can tell that 2021's The Suicide Squad movie and director James Gunn was a direct influence on this story. Tim Seeley was the writer and the artist was Scott Kolins. I did a quick search online and it doesn't seem that this team is the crew behind the current Suicide Squad title. But if DC was to do a run with the two of them at the helm, I'd subscribe to it at my LCS! (BTW- Seeley and Kolins were behind a King Shark mini so I'll be adding that to my wish list!)

I loved having the Tiny Titans back. I miss their hi-jinks and you can't go wrong with Baltazar and Franco! The classic style Green Arrow story and the return to Gotham Academy were also really good reads. I liked the Azrael story. But the level of abuse that poor kid had to endure and how those supposed 'men of God' turn young Valley into a ruthless killer is just really disturbing. 

I had a little bit of trouble with the Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson story. For one thing, Dick is in high school. Yet, in this story, he's also Nightwing. And Barbara is Batgirl. Now, I think I remember somewhere that they retconned that part for Barbara. But wasn't that part of the New 52? Plus, the end was so ambiguous and I hate ambiguous endings!

The remaining two stories were the least entertaining but at least one of them was inspiring. I had long been wondering why did Jefferson Pierce decide to accept Lex Luthor's appointment to the Secretary of Education. I had also wondered why in the pages of Superman/Batman that Black Lightning went toe-to-toe with the World's Finest when clearly Lex Luthor was going insane with power. Well, I got my first question answered with this special. Having lived through January 6th, I still don't have my answer to that last one.

And then there's the Super Sons story. It starts off as a fun little read in which 2 secretly powered pre-teens help a bullied new classmate to tap into his own special powers. But that last panel got really preachy and I don't think it was necessary to the story. Peter J. Tomasi's (Nightwing) story had written an amazing story about acceptance. But for one brief moment, DC decided it hadn't done enough to anger some fans. The panel didn't anger me. But it did ruin what was an otherwise fine 'Afterschool Special' type story.

I had a Lit professor who talked about some theory. I don't remember the name of the philosophy. But I do remember that he talked about how there are moments in works where things go in a different direction than what has been built up in the mind of the consumer and it ruins the enjoyability of the work. I had just finished up the Suicide Squad story before going on next to the Super Sons tale. With the Suicide Squad being completely off-the-wall, I was expecting the rest of this special to be just as wacky. The Super Sons story started off kinda silly with Damian taking a Sikorsky to his first day of school. So I wasn't expecting things to take such a dramatic turn. But I think if it wasn't for the ending of the Super Sons story, I probably wouldn't have been on guard for that tragic Azrael story.

Oh! I loved the title of this special! What a great throwback pun to a 1990s classic kids show!

Please DC, PLEASE! Put Seeley and Brendan Kolins behind the helm of the Suicide Squad! And bring Tiny Titans back!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Suicide Squad: The Silver Age Omnibus, Vol. 1

In anticipation for the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, DC Comics released a slew of material. This hardcover collection was one of them. But don't expect to see Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang or Amanda Waller in this book. In fact, don't expect any superheroes at all!

This Silver Age Omnibus is basically broken into 2 parts. The first section reprints the issues #25-27 and #37-39 of The Brave and The Bold prior to it becoming a Batman team-up series. The section part collects a handful of stories from the war anthology title Star-Spangled War Comics.

The Brave and the Bold stories are the ones that are perhaps the most connected to the modern Suicide Squad that most fans know and love. Also called Task Force X, this team is summoned to action when the military fails. The team is led by Rick Flag Jr. and is comprised of a field medic, a physicist and an astronomer; all who were the lone survivors of horrible tragedies. Promising that their colleagues deaths would not be in vain, the members of Task Force X are highly trained operatives who are willing to give it their all, including their lives as a Suicide Squad! 

If the second half of this book looks like it's a collection of stories from the War That Time Forgot, give yourself a cookie! Almost a dozen stories of World War II adventures atop Dinosaur Island star a group of Allied special forces operating in the Pacific known also as the Suicide Squad. But there is no apparent connection between this version of the team and the Brave and the Bold group other than the name. Oh, and that of both having the same creator. 

Robert Kanigher (E.C.'s Psychoanalysis) created both versions of the Suicide Squad. And both versions are of differing quality. The Task Force X stories utilize giant monsters (later reanimated dinosaurs), science, and insipid romance. Rick Flag and field medic Karin Grace are secretly in love with each other. But Flag refuses to acknowledge the affair because it might upset the other two Suicide Squad members who are also pining for Karin. So all this running around gets tiring pretty quick. But not as quick as the dialogue in the Dinosaur Island stories.

The first 2 stories involve characters that are all rather likable. I don't think Kanigher was a big fan of this because after that first couple of tales, the replacement characters become really unlikable. I mean to the point that you wouldn't mind if they all got eaten by dinos or killed by the Imperial Japanese. 

In these remaining tales, you have a pair of Suicide Squad members pitted together. One hates the other one (and vice-versa) to the point that they constantly threaten to kill each other should the other one turn chicken or turn their back on the other. And the dialogue gets repetitious. And do I mean repetitious. 

For example, in one story, a soldier accuses the other of chickening out a total of 4 times in the span of 3 pages! With the same phrase 'Are you chickening out on me?' Another story has a different solider taunting another to shoot him in the back 6 times in a span of 4 pages! I thought this was supposed to be the greatest generation!

I'm not making this kind of thing up! It's one of the biggest criticisms fans of the Golden and Silver Age of comics have about Robert Kanigher. That sort of one-note level of dialogue and his ability to piss off the artists he worked with!

I had read all of these Dinosaur Island stories before in the pages of Showcase Presents: The War That Time Forgot, Vol. 1. But I never noticed how monotonous the dialogue could be. Maybe that's because that volume had all of the Silver Age Dinosaur Island stories and not just the Suicide Squad ones. But I am amazed how much I overlooked this!

Lastly, what is up with the numbering of this book? It's listed as a Volume 1. What are they going to consider a Volume 2? There's nothing else involving the Suicide Squad to publish from the Silver Age! Everything else was Bronze Age or newer stuff. I'd be okay if this book was listed as an Omnibus with a Volume 1 because I understand that poor sales can kill a proposed reprint series. But it aggravates my OCD to no end when you improperly title something. 

Also- that's a great Easter Egg by cover artist master, Michael Cho. Unfortunately, the trade paperback cover doesn't have it!

Fun Fact: Showcase Presents: The War That Time Forgot is also listed as a Volume 1. However, there was still enough material from the 70s and 80s to publish a second. It'd be a small volume. But at least it was still possible aside from this book.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Dark Nights: Metal: The Resistance

In general, when a publisher has a major crossover event, the tie-in issues offer very little to the completion of the story. That's not the case here. In fact, after reading these tie-ins from Teen Titans, Nightwing, Suicide Squad, Green Arrow, Justice League of America, The Flash and Green Lantern Corps, I actually understand the wildly popular Dark Nights: Metal even more!

From just reading Dark Nights: Metal only, I didn't understand how the evil Batmen had managed to capture so many heroes and villains. I also didn't understand Dick Grayson's supposed draw to the mysterious metals. Those elements are cleared up thanks to these issues. Plus, if you are a fan of Harley Quinn, she's done to perfection here!

This volume was a great teaming of the talents of Joshua Williamson, Jeff Lemire, Ethan Van Sciver, Liam Sharp and Tyler Kirkham. I am a big fan of their work on their individual titles. It's Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns and Bendis who are getting the chance to create the all-encompassing stories. But I would like the earlier group, who worked on this volume, to get a chance to tackle a multi-title crossover event. I think that they'd be amazing at it. This collection is proof they've got the chops!

One tends to over look the tie-in issues in a company wide event. That would be the wrong way to go with this awesome volume!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Suicide Squad/ Banana Splits Special #1

  Cashing in on the success of the more adult reboots of popular Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Scooby-Doo, DC Comics released a number of one-shots earlier this year. One such title was the Suicide Squad/ Banana Splits. The selection of the Suicide Squad was the obvious choice. Fresh of the success of last year's smash movie, the covert team of metahuman criminals have reached near Batman-level popularity. Obviously, everybody also remembers the Banana Splits! They were the stars of a short-lived variety show that aired on NBC Saturday mornings.

      Wait, you don't know Fleegle, Bingo, Dropper, and Snorky? Don't worry, I don't either.

       The Banana Splits are an odd choice to headline a Hanna-Barbera themed crossover. The show doesn't exactly have reputation of being a big hit, much less a cult hit. Sure, the show was an early production by Sid and Marty Krofft. But during marathon's of Krofft series on Boomerang or Nick at Nite, the Banana Splits are never shown because the rights are owned by Hanna-Barbera. Plus being musicians, they looked like a scary version of the Chuck E. Cheese band. Yet, when you consider that Killer Croc and King Shark are members of the Suicide Squad, this pairing might actually be a bright idea.

       The Suicide Squad/ Banana Splits Special starts off with the Splits being arrested for being mistaken as metahuman criminals. Sent to Beve Reve prison, the Banana Splits are recruited into Amanda Waller's Task Force X. Their mission: to retrieve and rescue the Suicide Squad whom have become captured during a recent assignment.

       The story was actually decent. I enjoyed the banter between the members of both groups.  and was actually wanting the Banana Splits to remain permanently with Task Force X by story's end. DC took a gamble with this story written by Mark Russell and it paid off. Another thing that helped was the cohesive art style crafted by Ben Caldwell (PREZ.)

        Each special comes with a back-up feature that gives yet another Hanna-Barbera character a modern reboot. This second feature stars Snagglepuss. His tale was considered quite controversial when it was released earlier this year. In this 1950s era set story by Exiles' Tony Bedard, Snagglepuss is a gay playwright whose been brought in front of Congresses' House Committee on Un-American activities. People have joked for years that the pink mountain lion was gay. This story just confirmed it. Regardless, the Snagglepuss was a brilliant allegory on the Red Scare that gripped the middle part of 20th Century America. 

         This book was a pleasant surprise. I really didn't think the Banana Splits were worthy of a reboot. Plus, I wasn't sure if having Snagglepuss get outed would work. Yet this book was a success all around. Well, except for one thing. The Snagglepuss back-up ends with a 'To Be Continued' blurb. Yet I can find no evidence of any continuation of the story. Thankfully, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger but this lack of closure still bugs me.

     Worth Consuming!

      Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 

Suicide Squad

   Spiraling out of the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Central Intelligence adviser Amanda Waller seeks approval from the Department of Defense to held up a special group of meta-humans called Task Force X. Unofficially known as the Suicide Squad, Task Force X is made up of the worst of the worst villains and top notch commandos the DC Universe has to offer and it's their mission to do the tasks that the American government can't do without serious repercussions. 

     When a supernatural threat begins to lay waste to Midway City, the Suicide Squad are activated and must learn to work as a group or they'll die in a bloodbath of Biblical proportions. Meanwhile, the villainous Joker, upset over losing his girlfriend Harley Quinn to the prison system, works in the background to steal her back in the midst of the Suicide Squad's deadly mission. 

     I don't know what Rotten Tomatoes was thinking- this movie wasn't bad. I went to see it with my wife and she even liked it and she has very little background knowledge of most of the characters. Plus, she said it kept her attention and she would recommend it for people to go and see. For a violent movie such as this, that's high praise from a non-comics reader.

     The film has been slammed for being chaotic. But, there's a ton of back story to go through and spending the first 15-minutes trying to provide dossiers on the members is vital background information that needs to be presented for both the causal viewer like my wife and expert collectors such as me. Now, the opening credits, as well as the closing ones, are a bit of a mess, but really who judges a film on credits?

     Of course, Harley Quinn, played by the Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie stole the show but it wasn't Jared Leto's Joker, who dominates the trailers but has maybe 15 minutes screen-time as best, that interested me as much as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Yes, Will Smith as the ultimate assassin Deadshot was amazing. So what if his eye piece was on the wrong eye. If Harley was the heart of the Suicide Squad, Smith's character was the soul.

 
     Another character that just literally kills in Suicide Squad was El Diablo played by Jay Hernandez (Friday Night Lights.) His troubled gang banger who refuses to use his pyrotechnic super powers as penance because of a tragedy in his mysterious past was intriguing and I felt like his performance could be Oscar worthy.

     The one character I really felt coming into this picture that was miscast was Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. To me, CCH Pounder, who provided the voice of the anti-hero bureaucrat in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series, was Amanda Waller. But Davis did a pretty good job and I wouldn't mind seeing her back in the role for the inevitable sequel. 

     If you've been on the fence about seeing Suicide Squad, I urge you don't listen to the haters. I had every intention of seeing it last week, but I was too exhausted from a 6 day work week and spend most of last Sunday asleep. This movie was a lot better than certain internet sites would have you believe. I really enjoyed it and I would love to see a director's cut. (Just please don't release it only on Blu-ray!!!) 

     A great comic book based film but a little too mature for those under 13. This is NOT Batman V Superman, people! 

     I give it a solid 8.

     Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Suicide Squad #1 (Free Comics Book Day 2016 Edition)

 Though the movie is getting slammed by critics, DC Comics has done everything right in marketing this film. From overtaking Hot Topic and Journeys clothing and accessories line to making Harley Quinn the flagship character of the franchise, DC hasn't disappointed me in their attempts to build excitement and garner new viewers for the villain-led film. This May, DC Comics officially kicked off the Suicide Squad fervor issuing a Free Comic Book Day giveaway. So it was an ideal read to get me even more excited for when I go see the movie tomorrow.

    Reprinting the first issue of the New 52 Suicide Squad from 2011-2014, this book kicks you in the teeth and then literally rubs salt in those wounds. In this issue, the squad has been captured and being tortured for information regarding their team's designation. As the interrogator makes his way from villain to villain, each member of the Suicide Squad reflects on the crimes that sent them to Belle Reve Prison. But how did they end up captives of the Scarecrow and can they free themselves before one of them breaks?

      Though DC will have cancelled this title and relaunch it twice prior to the release of the Suicide Squad film, I really am interested in reading this series. It was extremely compelling and there are some mysteries involving Harley Quinn and Deadshot that I really want to get to the bottom of. And that cliffhanger- holy cow! I must know what happened next! 

    Yes- I hate cliffhangers. Especially when I don't have the follow-up titles. But unless DC published an one-shot story with all new material, I doubt that any of Suicide Squad titles starring the villains appearing in the film were published without a cliffhanger.

    HEY!!! WHY DIDN'T DC MAKE THIS ISSUE WITH ALL NEW MATERIAL???

    Okay, I'm a little peeved. But regardless of my misgivings, writer Adam Glass wrote one heck of an opening chapter and the interior artwork of Federico Dallocchio was off the chain crazy good. Like I expect the film will be, this book was mega gritty, crazy violent, and had a bit of sex appeal. Not a book for kids. 

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special

   When the superhero Hawk (of the duo Hawk & Dove) is caught running guns to the Contras by the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Amanda Waller is ordered by the President to assemble a Suicide Squad. Hoping to show up Waller and her elite program, high-ups from Central Intelligence formulate their own plan and manipulate the Doom Patrol to conduct their own rescue mission. 

    Like with all team-up stories, both groups will see the other as a threat and the fur will literally fly. But, when the two teams look like they are ready to rip each other's throats out, a new player unexpectedly enters the arena- the Soviet backed elite of armored warriors: the Rocket Red Brigade!

     This 1988 special was an interesting mix of real life meets sci-fi/ fantasy. With appearances of both Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev and the Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad involved in the Iran-Contra mishap- this is kinda how I wish history really went down for the 40th President of the United States. Or maybe the folks at DC got a little too political for this one...

     Other than Colonel Flag and Amanda Waller, this line-up is unlike any version of Suicide Squad that I have ever come across. With a team-up of C-listers that I have never heard of including the Thinker, Mister 104, and the Weasel, this is a pretty weak group of villains. But according to the afterword, DC would only allow unpopular and expendable characters for the mission to Nicaragua. 

     And don't get me started on the Doom Patrol line-up. Who are these people? Other than Robotman, honestly, who the heck are they?

     One plus to this special is the team of writers and artists involved. This book features one of the first published works by Eric Larsen of Savage Dragon fame. It's also co-written by one of my good Facebook (and semi-professional) buddies Paul Kupperberg. So despite my misgivings with the line-ups of both super teams, this is an epic book that I would say often gets swept under the rug due to a lack of superstar superheroes! 

     Often found in bargain bins nation-wide, this is an affordable Suicide Squad one-shot that could be the gem in your collection.
     
   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Countdown to Suicide... SQUAD!!!

   Folks, in 3 days I'll have a day off from work and I'm going to be going to the superhero movie event of the summer- Suicide Squad. I'm even going in costume to the film! So in terms of getting ready for the movie, I'm digging into my collection and going to be reading and reviewing some Suicide Squad themed comics.

   So let's start with 1988's Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special... 
   

Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #14

WORTH CONSUMING!

I never thought I would ever see a story with Amanda Waller it in and I don’t finish the story not wanting to kill her. Being with this Suicide Squad must have burned her pretty bad. The story is good, but there’s way too much history and not enough time to tell it. And that is sad- given that the entire issue is devoted to this one group of “heroes”. It does tie in with the World War II comics quite nicely- especially with JEB Stuart and the Haunted tank. Great cameo of President Reagan. They never say it’s him, but it is- although this Reagan is nowhere near as old as he’s been portrayed in History Books. And that may or may not be a good thing.