New Suicide Squad #8 Review

Written by: Sean Ryan
Art by: Tom Derenick, Rob Hunter, Scott Hanna and Philippe Briones
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 11, 2015

I Will Have Fries With That 

To say that the New Suicide Squad has been a bit of a mess is an understatement.  While I love the Team itself, writer Sean Ryan hasn't really put them in a situation to succeed.  The first two arcs have been fun enough, but so generic that it's easy to forget what happened right after putting them down. That being said, last month's cliffhanger had me interested for this issue as was the fact that this was this Team's final mission.  That's right, in June there will be a new New Suicide Squad and while the new Team looks kick-ass (Parasite, Black Hand, Reverse Flash, Cheetah, Poison Ivy and a Talon), we are here to say goodbye to the old.  Did they get their opportunity to finally shine?  Let's find out...



I will spoil the beginning of this issue...Harley lives.  I know, I know.  How could she survive the faux Daily Planet falling on her?  You'll have to read for that, but I'll at least cry bullshit.  It just doesn't make sense with the levels of gravity and polarity.  Maybe if it was Chicago Jones... Anyway, we all knew that Harley wasn't dying so we can all move on.

We do move on to Starman.  He's taken all he can and he can't takes no more.  He flies up into the sky, destroys some missiles and heads to the stars.  Conveniently, the Chinese Government lets him and the Suicide Squad get away.  Not a proud day for the People's Liberation Army.

We then get a pretty cool 80's montage of the Squad returning home and Deadshot trying to return to form.  It's a full page spread and it made me smile because of one thing, Amanda Waller.  She continues her new high calorie diet...soda pop, burgers and fries, all the stuff I love.  "The Wall" is getting so close to returning and I am so happy...and hungry.

The rest of the book answers the question, why is there a Suicide Squad and who would want to be involved with it?  Vic Sage finds out that it's all a necessary mess, while Deadshot, Black Manta and Amanda Waller find out that they really have no choice.  In the end, Sean Ryan seems to be winking at the reader and promising that eventually, it will all be worth it.  I hope that promise comes true in June.

As a final issue for this Squad, the end of the arc or just a comic book, this was not a great issue.  It felt rushed, too convenient and shallow.  Like the Squad itself, it felt like a failed experiment, but that's the great part of a book like this...if it fails, you move on to the next team.  I'll be there in June, but the new car smell is long gone and I need something in return for my patience.

I haven't been a fan of the art on this book for a long time and this issue didn't change that.  I realize that a gritty look might fit this book, but it just seems gritty for gritty sake.  Maybe it's a personal thing, but I don't like it.  Just another disapointment and something I hope will change for the better in June.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue ends the current Squad's run and they deserved better.  How can such a fun team end on such a downer?  There wasn't much of a story to speak of, the action ended before it started and the team just faded away.  I hope Sean Ryan has something up his sleeve for the next Squad because I was not impressed with this at all.  Give Amanda Waller a Double Whopper and Fries and call me in June.

5.0/10