Welcome to the Jungle(of Secrets!)
Written by: Jai Nitz, Christopher Sebela
Art by: Cliff Richards, Brian Level
Release Date: October 19, 2016
While the story of Captain Boomerang in South America ended the last issue with a bang, we now have Killer Croc's story to take it's place, while we continue the adventures of the Agent of Checkmate, El Diablo. What adventures will tall and scaly get into? What's going to happen to our favorite ex-Squad Mate?
Another month, another time to bring in the Suicide Squad's most wanted. I enjoyed the first two issues, much more than I did than the previous series, and now we have two of my favorite Squad members as the focus, I expect to enjoy it a whole lot more. However, it also makes me a little bit nervous as well, as Katana's story started well, but quickly fell apart... Plus Killer Croc, despite being a character with a lot of hidden potential for stories, might not be what you consider 'leading man' material. Let's dive on in and see if we get some good.
El Diablo: KnightfallWritten by: Jai NitzArt by: Cliff Richards
Diablo has joined forces with the EX-Checkmate operative, Azucar, to help her take down one of it's secret projects named Beowulf, which may or may not have to do with Xotol, the villain El Diablo originally joined Checkmate to take down. This, unfortunately, leads to having not just Checkmate chase after them, but also superheroes and the Suicide Squad chase after them as well. Will these two 'heroes' bring the dark workings of the White King to light? And if they can, at what cost.
This story continues to get more and more interesting as the story goes on, even though it isn't the emotional story I originally envisioned for the character. It keeps you engrossed in the story through the mystery of Checkmate and callbacks to old versions of the Suicide Squad. Azucar is also an interesting character in her own right, and a great partner for El Diablo, though the romance that grew over a single issue of them knowing one another kinda makes me call bull-$%^&. However the best moment in the story was the end when you see a character no one has seen since 2003, and what Beowulf's pharmaceutical side has cooked up...which might be the biggest 'science has gone too far' moment in comics. Cliff Richard's art is still pretty friggin awesome, especially with the character designs(including the end's big reveal). I can't wait to see what's in store for our favorite flaming squadmate!
3.9/5
Killer Croc: Where The Wild Things AreWritten by: Christopher Sebela
Art by: Brian Level
Killer Croc does not enjoy his life as a member of the Squad. Being ordered what to do by a condescending voice isn't his cup of tea, but he has no choice in the matter. The most recent mission is perfect for his set of skills, and his alone: An island covered large, monstrous mutant animals. What could be behind these mutations, and can Croc stop it? Would he even want to?
I REALLY liked this first part of the story. The action is amazing, especially seeing Killer Croc taking on these huge animals. The thing that makes it better though? The dialogue between Croc and Waller. Throughout the fight, Croc tries to convince Waller that he isn't just a monster and that he could try to convince the animals to stand down. Amanda obviously doesn't care and just ridicules him for his attempts. It just shows how much more human the character of Croc is, and how much more of a monster Amanda is. The art is okay, nothing really to write home about, but it does strangely set the tone for this island of monsters, and if that was the goal, it succeeded.
4.1/5
Bits and Pieces:
Once again, Suicide Squad's Most Wanted has surprised me with its quality. The continuing adventures of El Diablo are fun and have me completely engrossed with the mystery surrounding Checkmate, while the opening of Killer Croc's story shows off some of the character's best features alongside an epic battle. While I'm not super enthusiastic about Level's art, it did provide the savage tone of Croc's story was giving while Richard's art continues to look fantastic. Overall, another great chapter to a series that was thought to fail.
8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment