Suicide Squad #22 Review and **SPOILERS**

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Amanda Quinn and Harley Waller

Story: Rob Williams 

Art: Augustin Padilla 

Colors: Adriano Lucas 

Lettering: Pat Brosseau 

Cover: Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira & Adriano Lucas 

Cover Price: $2.99 

On Sale Date: July 26, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Since Harley Quinn became the field leader for the Suicide Squad, I’ve imagined her in other lines of work. As a barista at Starbucks, for instance. She’d get everyone’s name wrong on purpose just to write nasty words on the cups. Or how about if she was a bus driver? Fifteen minutes of Midtown traffic, she’d be breaking windshields and clavicles with her oversized hammer. No, I think the only jobs Harley Quinn would be best suited for are those that require lots of killing, such as the one she holds in Suicide Squad #22, of which you can read my review, right here!

Explain It!

We last left the Suicide Squad four seconds from being blown by a time bomb, somewhere in the snowy Bulgarian mountains. Killer Croc, having just been shot in the head by Deadshot (and on orders from Harley Quinn), lies motionless. Looks bad for the ol’ Squad, except that the Enchantress has woken from her nap and stopped time, because her lover Killer Croc seems dead. Deadshot must have used a .22 bullet because he comes to later on, but for the time being, Enchantress goes Dark Magic on his ass and puts him through interminable pain while Harley and Katana, the only other ones hanging around, have to figure out how to defuse the bomb. Let’s slide over to Alaska, where Amanda Waller has broken free of Direktor Karla and his terrorist organization The People. She finds a family cruising along the road and hitches a ride to the nearest army base (which, in Alaska, is probably within five miles) while reminiscing on her time with Karla.

He posited that the two of them want the same things: to keep the world safe by nullifying metahumans. And they’ve both cajoled supervillains into performing for their cause. So why don’t they work together and take these flying capes out, the Waller Way? Back in Bulgaria, Harley accesses The People’s computer and discovers that Captain Boomerang, who is currently about six-hundred yards away and running, is the one that killed Hack. Just then, Killer Croc wakes up so the Enchantress stops torturing Deadshot. Harley says she can’t defuse the bomb, so Enchantress just teleports everyone out of The People’s secret headquarters and right to Captain Boomerang. Harley beats Boomerang brutally—and I mean brutally—with her hammer and threatens to have Katana cut off his hands, but instead they just leave him there to die of exposure in Bulgaria. We know he won’t die, but that’s how they left it. At the end, back in Belle Reve, Waller has a new mission for the Suicide Squad—to detain Killer Frost and Batman! Seems she likes the cut of Direktor Karla’s jib.

Again, another quick and enjoyable read. I like the way this story is going and I thought the characterizations of the members of the Squad were great. I didn’t mention it, but there’s a lot of funny exchanges between Deadshot and the Enchantress as she extracts her pound of flesh for his transgression. I was glad to see Captain Boomerang get his comeuppance, as well, though I know we’ll see him again. Ultimately, my only problem with this comic is that it’s such a breeze to get through. It’s still worth your three dollars, but only if you have a good time with goofy, violent comics. If you need seriousness and pensive dialogue, the Batman comic is to the left.

Bits and Pieces:

This is a quick read, but it's a solid issue. I think this series has really found its groove, but of course you have to want high-action, silly dialogue comic books. Think "90s action movie" type stuff. It's a good time, twice a month for six bucks.

7.5/10