Suicide Squad #1 // Review
Task Force X is under new management. That’s the big revelation in Suicide Squad #1, and it means bad things for the bad guys in the DCU. DC’s latest relaunch of one of their more infamous properties is a doozy, bringing the concept back to its roots and introducing a whole bunch of new characters to be cannon fodder.
The issue introduces us to two groups. One is the Suicide Squad, made up of some familiar faces like Deadshot and Harley Quinn, but also some new faces as well. The other is the Revolutionaries, a formidable international team of superpowered freedom fighters (or terrorists, depending on your point of view). By the end of the issue, both groups have taken heavy losses, and those that remain of the Revolutionaries have been conscripted into the Squad, under its new leader Lok (the reason for Amanda Waller’s abdication from the Squad is still a mystery).
After writing various alternate universe stories for DC, like Injustice: Gods Among Us and DCeased, it’s great to see Tom Taylor finally playing in the real continuity of DC’s superhero line. The debut of this team is explosive, in more ways than one, and Taylor’s gift for both clear and compelling characterization and witty and realistic dialogue is an asset here.
Taylor’s Injustice collaborator Bruno Redondo is the artist here, and his designs for the new characters are great--eye-catching and graphical without being too busy or too cliche. Redondo handles the action with aplomb as well, and this issue is full of it. These international shenanigans take place in the daylight, primarily on the open seas, giving colorist Adriano Lucas a unique palette to play with. Letterer Wes Abbot’s work is compelling as well.
Suicide Squad #1 is a strong debut from DC comics, introducing several new characters and a new status quo for Task Force X. It’s exciting to see Taylor and Redondo playing in this new sandbox, and it will be even more exciting to see what happens when this new Squad bounces up against the rest of the DCU.
