REVIEW: Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad #1 (of 6)

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Jason Fabok
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Rob Leigh
Review: Will Dubbeld

I must give DC credit; they’ve largely avoided mirroring in the comics what happened in their movies. Hell, Warner Bros. has owned the company for decades and they’ve managed to keep that movie flavor out. Marvel could really learn from this business model, considering they have a track record of shoehorning elements of the movies into the comics books.  I personally hate that method of marketing crossover appeal between the two media and have been thankful DC avoids the gimmick.

Thank goodness for small miracles, because DC has plenty of other means to alienate the reader base.

I know DC Comic has a comically long history with reboots, retcons, and line-wide upheavals, but New 52 was shining example of what not to do in comics.  I’ll spare readers the dissertation on Flashpoint and the drek that followed and suffice to say DC has done plenty to invoke the ire of this reader. If it wasn’t enough to retcon and reshuffle almost all the post-Crisis DCU I know and love, they were insistent in cramming Wildstorm garbage all over the place.  Eff a bunch of New 52.


Not that it has stopped me from buying DC books…
I can’t help it.  I love Batman. And Deathstroke. And Hellblazer.
Truth be told, I love a great deal of DC characters, but DC seems adamant in making me hate their universe.
Purely for schadenfreude I hope old fart comic book readers felt this way after Crisis.
Crisis on Infinite Earths, mind you.
Not to be confused with Final Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Crisis on Two Earths, Crisis on Multiple Earths, Identity Crisis, or any other Crises I may have missed.

In any case, the trend of keeping movie thematics out of the comics may be nearing its end.  I’ve heard rumblings of the League of Shadows infiltrating my Batman comics, which is ludicrous because I’m certain it was an analogue for the League of Assassins. Diablo looks mysteriously like his movie counterpart, and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Superman and Batman have a bonding moment over their respective Marthas.

That obliquely brings us to JL V SS.  Justice League has been a tried and true DC flagship title and Suicide Squad recently jumped ahead in the ranks, in no small part due to the rampant popularity of Harley Quinn I’m sure. In a move atypical of DC, they went ahead and made a fighty miniseries out of the deal.
Seriously, this is a total Marvel move. It doesn’t have the same feel as a ludicrous Marvel mega-event, but the DNA is there, reminiscent of Civil War, AVX, X-Men Vs. Inhumans, or any other gimmick pitting two teams against one another.

We open with a prison break, but not from tried and true Belle Reve as one would expect.  Rather, a new super-prison is attacked by a Mysterious Villain and several Mysterious Prisoners are released.  Wasting nary a moment, we’re whisked away to another local, this time spotlighting the Suicide Squad on one of their archetypical back ops gigs.  The dialogue between Squaddies is a little contrived and a lot hokey, but in a post-Flashpoint world full of disappointment I takes what I can gets.

Soon, the Justice League is on the scene and a rumble is in the air.  It seems, in the new continuity, the Suicide Squad was only recently revealed to Batman and the League and they’ve picked a six-issue miniseries to address the group…

Other than a phenomenal page featuring Superman plucking Deadshot out of midair, the interaction between the two teams is a bit of a snoozer.  Posturing and bravado abound and we draw to a close as a rumble is about to explode, pitting the Justice League against Amanda Waller’s supervillains.
This is ludicrous, ladies and gentleman.  We’re treated to an obligatory 2-page spread showcasing the two clashing teams, as one does, but it’s so incredibly one-sided in presentation I can’t take it seriously.  The Suicide Squad is logically so underpowered compared to the League. I’m sure Deus ex Writer will throw a curveball or two our way but you cannot, under any circumstance, make me believe Harley Quinn has a shot against Wonder Woman.

On the upside, the art is phenomenal.  Crisp inking lines and phenomenal coloring are the saving grace of this book.  I’ve a feeling this’ll be a war of attrition for me, but I kinda want to see what kind of ridiculous train wreck this miniseries delivers.  I’m sure it’ll be every bit as entertaining as BVS and the Suicide Squad movie.