The Hardcore Review: Suicide Is A Good Thing…

Nothing says “Balls” like doing a villain centric book in this day and age. Sure there’s a lot of anti-heroes out there, but not a lot of open and honest out and out villains. Jimmie Robinson‘s Bomb Queen is one, but would you think with a major company wide relaunch that DC would have the balls to bring back Suicide Squad? Not me. Until I saw an ad for it in another of DC’s New 52 titles.

The cover art caught my attention as Harley Quinn is part of Task Force X. That’s the official government name for the team that’s affectionately known as the Suicide Squad. The concept behind this is that the government takes the baddest of the bad super villains from a Super Max prison and gives them a choice: be a part of the team and get some time shaved off your massive sentences or rot in a cell. Once you join the team, you’re implanted with a nano tech bomb which is capable of leveling a city block.

Nice. Now, send these same villains into truly eefed up “hot spots” for what the government would no doubt call damage control. This includes killing a whole lot of people and inevitably being disavowed if you’re caught. Possibly assassinated. Most likely in reality. But the Squad is comprised of some villains we haven’t seen in a while. And in true fashion, they’re cooler than they were when they debuted. King Shark, El Diablo, Deadshot and Harley Quinn are some top notch characters when they’re written right. And Adam Glass is writing the hell out of these rogues. Suicide Squad is a Black Ops type team that is headed by Amanda Waller, who is suddenly skinier and sexier than her pre New 52 version. All the members are prisoners of Belle Reeve Prison in Lousiana.

Cover to issue one of DC's New 52 Suicide Squad

And the thing is you actually feel for these characters. Even after the mayhem they’ve cause and the lives they’ve taken, you sit back and are like, “This is EEFed up!” And is it really that hard to believe that the government would go to people like this to carry out the sickest and most horrid of missions? Who better to do the job and then sleep like a baby afterward? Leave it to crazies like Harley Quinn who’s nuttier than grandma’s fruitcake, and no one wanted first on that, let alone seconds. Except maybe Uncle Louie, but that guy will eat anything. And Deadshot, the most accurate sniper in the DC Universe with a hand steadier than a brain surgeons.

Couple that with the cannibalistic integrity and insanity of King Shark, and the smug Australian know how and leadership of the once mort, Captain Boomerang. This is a recipe for absolute chaos. And that’s exactly why this has bumped itself into my new favorite monthly from DC. There’s something about the underdogs. Even the psychotic and villainous ones that makes me want to stand up and cheer while I’m reading this. And keep in mind I read this while I was doing an overnight at work. So screaming insane applause would no doubt be frowned upon.

DC has everthing here to make this title a franchise player. I mean Dark Knight sucked. And Animal Man is way too verbose and convoluted to make much sense. Cause I never read Animal Man before, but I thought, I’ll give it a shot. But Suicide Squad is just a whole hell of a lot of fun. There’s great dialog. I mean they’re all villains, so no doubt they hate each other, then they’re tossed in a meat grinder and told to fix it and try to make it home safely. But there’s a team casualty every freaking issue. This would make an awesome television show. It would be way too bloody for network TV, but it would kick ass and leave people laying in it’s inherent awesomeness. Put it on Showtime or HBO and let the characters run rough shod. It would kill on a level that Walking Dead can’t. Think Son’s of Anarchy with more debauchery and bloodshed. Way more bloodshed. Drug use, and sex. Cause you have the raunchy Harley Quinn leading the way, sexually at least. If only every book put out in the New 52 by DC was this EEFing awesome, my wallet would perpetually be EMPTY!

DC Comics' Suicide Squad #2

The thinking behind this grade is that every hero is only as good as their villain allows them to be. For weak villains make heroes we don’t care about. And in this case, the heroes here are the villains. And every villain has to believe they are justified, otherwise there’s no reason for what they do. And again they come off weak. The time was the mid 1990′s and the place was ECW. This time the E stood for Extreme. The man was Cactus Jack and the what, were some of the best wrestling promos EVER. Cactus Jack had turned his back on protege Tommy Dreamer. Cause Cactus had come to realize that nothing would ever be enough for the tough as nails fans of Philadelphia. His words, “And they were smart enough to know that they run ECW not us,” is among some of the most powerful he has spoken in his illustrious career. “There comes a time when it’s just not worth it. And you have to look at wrestling as a way to make money. Nothing more.” Mick was on whenever he was in front of a mic. You give him an open mic and free reign over his words and you’ll have people tuning in each week.
“Cause these fans wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire!” The demand had surpassed the ability and Cactus/Mick was fed up. And even though it made him a heel, it made him a legend, and a hero.

About the Author: John Chihak  (21 Posts)

John Chihak is the creator behind the indie comic book Youth in Asia for his personal comic book imprint Anti-Hero Brand Press. John studied graphic design and got a Bachelor's Degree in Animation from the Art Center Design College in Tucson. Graduating in 2004, John began working on putting his comic book dream together. YiA #1 premiered on June 6, 2006. In 2010 John debuted the hit comic Fuzzyface to the Phoenix ComiCon crowd. Fuzzyface was illustrated by John and written by his good friend Venus of Necro. In 2008 John took his writing skills to the next level when he wrote his first review of the much lauded Dark Knight. Wanting to do something completely different John decided to grade his reviews upon moments in professional wrestling history. And thus, the Hardcore Review was born. John continues to write and draw his pet project Youth in Asia, while working on a lot of projects on the side, including graphic design jobs for different clients.