Reviews

Suicide Squad, Volume 1: Trial By Fire by Luke McDonnell, Bob Lewis, Kim Yale, Karl Kesel, Dave Hunt, John Ostrander

moberle's review

2.25

This set of issues is alright. It can be a bit clumsy with its political commentary sometimes (for example:

one issue argues that people who perpetuate racism only do so to distract others from their exploitation, but the person perpetuating racism in that example is solidly racist

) and it has some of that frustrating 80s casual racism. However, the issues used the characters in interesting ways and would gradually reveal new obstacles in a way that made each story engaging to read.

tomcork's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

woodenpersonality's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Racism and Islamophobia

dcommet's review

4.5

Some of these early stories might drag a little bit, but you soon get a grasp on each character in ways that a lot of superhero team books fail to provide. Everybody here has their own ideals and issues and goals, and they all spin together nicely. On top of that, this book surprisingly deals with really heavy topics like discrediting right-wing superheroes targeting minorities or the value of being a political prisoner vs escaping that confinement. Excited to read more! I feel like it can only go up from here based on the crestive teams work in this volume and I'm excited to see more team members come and go as the series continues!

shadowagentzero's review

adventurous dark funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

maplelog's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

thephantomfred's review

dark funny tense

3.75

cephalogod's review

This isn't really a review, more just a list of observations.

- I appreciate the number of times various people (mostly Deadshot) suggest "why don't we just shoot him" as a solution to a given problem. I also appreciate that there's some effort put into why that's NOT an option, but it's still funny.
- Literally everyone dragging each other and bickering constantly. <3
- It's interesting to see how different things have aged. Some are a bit of an "oof, yikes" reading in 2020, and some are shockingly relevant.
- I do not know why Boomerang is still part of this team and not back in Belle Reve, in-universe. Out-of-universe I get it, he's a great heel and it's always fun to have someone that literally everyone else in the cast can just drag on constantly, but in-universe he's an unreliable dickhead and he definitely should have gotten locked back up in like the second issue. It's not like he has some super unique power/skill set to make him worth all the aggravation.
- Everyone calling him "Boomer" has probably also aged differently than when it was originally published. Personally I find it extra funny seeing comic book characters say things like "Shut up, Boomer."
- I mostly don't mind the comic convention of "extended flashbacks to tell someone's origin story", but having a character tell another character THEIR OWN ORIGIN was a bit much.
- I still can't read "Colonel Flag" without thinking of the Colonel Flagg from M*A*S*H. That's not a positive or a negative it's just a fact.

marisacarpico's review

4.0

A better intro to the characters and concept than the one-shot from two weeks ago.

http://pop-break.com/2016/08/17/review-suicide-squad-1/

wyvernfriend's review

3.0

Heroes with nothing to lose go on missions for the US government.