Suicide Squad #1: Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight

Thanks to his track record over the past several years, I automatically enter a Tom Taylor book prepared to blown away by sharp, insightful writing. That does happen here but the surprise twist was just how excellent Redondo’s artwork was in this issue. From the fresh character designs of the Revolutionaries to gorgeous backgrounds, Redondo doesn’t waste a single panel here, propelling this already exciting story to new heights of excellence. His face work is expressive without veering too far into caricature, an art lost by many modern artists. I have nothing to complain about on this front whatsoever.

On the topic of the writing, Taylor sees the team turn a corner into a dangerous new era for the Squad. The passing of the torch from Waller to Lok represents a departure from a incarnation of the Squad that has led to a certain staleness when these characters are discussed. Still present are Harley Quinn and Deadshot but neither feel like the stars of the show as they have been in the past, creating an opportunity for the Squad to return to a state of unpredictability. As we see in this first issue, characters will die– possibly in bulk– and for the first time in a long time, nobody feels safe.

If there’s a complaint to be levied against a truly wonderful first outing, it also speaks to the demotion of Quinn and Deadshot. There is a distinct feeling of marginalization of these two characters that feels as though perhaps there is an editorial mandate for their inclusion. Taylor has history with writing Harley and writing her very well but here she feels more like she is pushed into a corner– a toy that fell out of the toy chest and nobody bothered to put away. Deadshot is a far more interesting character by my estimation yet he too feels less like a character and more of a plot device, used here to smooth the transition from Waller to Lok. A minor complaint in the grand scheme of things but worth noting as we move forward with this bold new series.