SUICIDE SQUAD #17

Yo-Yo has to kill his evil sister. It could be worse though, he might've had a bad blister. Something that's rather big. That needs lancing with a twig. And can become quite a devilish tongue twister. Honestly, just ask the suicidal creative team of Writer: Adam Glass; Artist: Henrik Jonsson; and Publisher: DC Comics, if you don't believe me. But only in March 2013.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'Bad Moon Rising'.

WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: The Suicide Squad have to fight their way through a swarm of Triad's -- plus a couple of sword-wielding school-girls -- so they can confront Yo-Yo's sister, Red-Orchard, who is in charge of an Asian crime syndicate.
ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: Yes. But not without a lot of bloodshed along the way.
ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: Yo-Yo reminisces how both he and his sister got their powers sometime ago.
HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With the Suicide Squad on the one side of the page, and with Red-Orchard and Regulus on the other. Yes. I thought he was dead too.

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Now who do you think is funnier? King Shark? Yo-Yo? Or Harley?

* King Shark said 'Dim Sum' before chewing down on one of those 'school-girls'.
* Harley said 'I've seen enough Kung Fu flicks to know that we've passed all the tests. Now where is the main course?'.
* And Yo-Yo said 'All gweilos are racist because they think we all look alike'.

Ha! What a git! We don't think that. Right, folks? Good job Yo-Yo's sister put him in his place after he said this, huh? 'You always say they look alike', He!

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

Now I must confess, I wasn't too sure about Henrik Jonsson's artwork when I first clapped my eyes on it. However, once the story started to progress, I really did begin to appreciate his bold, dynamic, and clean, visuals, at every turn of the page. Heck, I dug his stuff so much, that I wouldn't mind seeing even more of his illustrative style in the near future.

It's very Cliff Richards meet Jim Calafiore, isn't it?

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

All in all I wasn't very keen on the flashback sequence myself. I found that it never explained anything more than 'Yo-Yo and his sister got their powers from the same accident'; thus making it very disposable and unnecessary piece of plot within the confines of this particular tale.

Please note: This is only a small gripe. Not a biggie.

What was the most INNOVATIVE thing about this issue?

Although I thought it was a very unnecessary 'piece of business' -- like the flash-back sequence for example -- at the same time, I did like the panel where Deadshot punched a Triad member in the face, whilst shooting him in the head in the process.

Granted, some people may call this type of action 'overkill'. Which I'll have to agree with. But I would also like to call it a brutal and innovative way of killing and hitting a man all in one.

Pick TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and compare them individually to a HONG KONG ACTION STAR.

ZHANG ZIYI AS HARLEY QUINN: If you've watched 'Rush Hour 2' or 'House of Flying Daggers', I think you might already know what I'm going to say about Ms Ziyi, huh? Pretty, but deadly.

YUEN BIAO AS YO-YO: Back in the day when Yuen looked like a four year old boy even though he was a twenty year old man, I'd say he was the spitting image of this pliable mercenary. Hand's down.

What WORD or PHRASE could you use to sum-up this story?

'If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance' -- George Bernard Shaw

What SONG, THEME-TUNE, or MELODY, would complement this tale, as well as add and extra dimension to it by default?

'BATTLE WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY' BY TOMOYASU HOTEI: If you can't picture the aforementioned song by its given name, let me just say that it was one of best bits of Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill Volume 1', and am sure somehow inspired this comic book tale too.

ANYTHING Else?

Did Adam Glass watch 'Kill Bill Volume 1' before writing this issue of 'Suicide Squad'? I'm sure he did you know. Heck, I'd go so far as to place a bet on it.

Well, take a look at the basic outline of this yarn. A group of mercenaries have to flight their way through an oriental looking edifice -- hitting and chopping school-girl's or triad gang members along the way -- until they come face to face with the feminine gang lord who's in charge of this Asian organisation.

Granted, 'Kill Bill' hasn't got the mercenary angle this comic plays around with, or the family ties, or the 'Regulus reveal' at the end of it either. Still, I'm pretty damn sure Adam must be paying his homage to Tarantino in one way or another, right? Not that this is a bad thing of course.

But what next I wonder? Maybe a more appropriate homage of sorts? Like the Dirty Dozen perhaps? Hint-hint!

GIVE IT, IT'S DUES: If Tarantino Had a Comic Book Loving Younger Brother Called 'Stan the Man', I'm Sure He'd Create Something Like This.