The Good
Writer Sean Ryan has no issue packing this series with amusing chaos. That's crystal clear by now and, in this chapter, there isn't much downtime before we're thrown into yet another explosive conflict. It's not your traditional kind of brawl and that helps make it feel more entertaining. This isn't just the team slaughtering fodder; it's a totally different situation and, while I may not care about the threat they're facing, it does make for a more gripping experience. Blond's coloring really enhances all of the frenetic fun, too. From something simple like Black Manta's red lens to an enormous and bright explosion, the coloring is without question the visual highlight.
There's plenty of Michael Bay-ish craziness going on, but despite all of the big action, the highlight of the issue is the more character-driven material. They aren't frequent, but they're way more memorable than a super-powered titan smashing against the ground and all that. Captain Boomerang made me laugh, Black Manta finally receives some depth, and there's a seemingly random yet still effective moment between Reverse-Flash and Harley Quinn. It's moments like these that remind me why this team has so much potential. We've all seen action scene after action scene before, but it's the character dynamics that have the ability to bring this series to a new level. I just hope we begin to see more of it!
The Bad
When you have so many people working on the visuals, things tend to get inconsistent pretty quickly. The layouts and angles tell the story well, but the quality tends to jump all over the place. Unfortunately, the distracting and stiff panels are more frequent than the stunning ones. There were a handful of moments when I thought the handling of a character -- be it their facial expression, anatomy or pose -- seemed pretty rough.
This book has no problem offering popcorn entertainment (especially because of the solid coloring), but it's lacking substance and that's been an ongoing problem for me. I'm very happy Black Manta finally received more attention, but it feels like we're only scratching the surface of compelling material and then it goes back to explosions and madness. It's also a bit odd that a totally new character -- one who will likely be removed from the picture in the next issue or so -- gets more attention than the characters we want to learn more about.
A cliffhanger is meant to have you itching to read the next issue right away. "What'll happen next? Is this person really in a great amount of danger?" The cliffhanger for this one just doesn't do anything for me. The character at risk is not only popular, but is also one of DC's best selling characters and has their own series. Even if they're injured, I don't question for even a second whether they'll die or that it'll have a lasting impact on them. It's just not nearly as attention-grabbing as it could be. Now, if Captain Boomerang or Black Manta was at risk, I may be questioning whether they'd be in serious danger.
Personal gripe: It's a little disappointing Deadshot isn't getting that much focus and, when he does, it's just to show that yes, he's still having trouble recovering. The Channel 52 feature doesn't have me feeling optimistic about his immediate future, either.
The Verdict
Everything in me wants to love this title, but fluctuating artwork and a story that's more focused on mayhem than character often leaves me feeling like the issue was just okay. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dose of crazy action, but it reaches a point where we need a reminder of why we're interested in these characters. Thankfully, we do get a small sample of that here with Black Manta and it's greatly appreciated (better late than never!). NEW SUICIDE SQUAD is a pretty fun series, but it constantly leaves me feeling like it could accomplish more than just big action.
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