SUICIDE SQUAD #18

[ CLOWNING WITH COUPONS ] 

Please get ready for one hell of a fight. It'll be tight, just like the Dark Knight. Punches will be thrown. Kicks with be shown. And everyone will be prepared for a right sight. KA-POW! There goes Writer: Adam Glass. THUNK! There goes Artist: Henrik Jonsson. And, BA-DOOM! Its lights out for Publisher: DC Comics, in April 2013.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'Death Blooms'.

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: Face to face with Regulus and his sister, Yo-Yo and the Suicide Squad have to snatch 'the package' off of them, and then bring it back to HQ without any of them dying in the process.
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: No. Not at all. One member dies. Another member makes the ultimate sacrifice. And the rest of the team are covered in blood and... sniff-sniff? Who farted?
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: We find out that 'The package' is a man called Kurt Lance, who has the ability to turn meta-human powers off or on.
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: Will Amanda Waller coming to the rescue.

All in all, what is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Oh, dear! There are two pieces of dialogue I really liked reading in this issue, yet I do not know which one to choose from. Could it be when Yo-Yo said to Waller...

'I don't want to know what else you put inside me'

... for obvious reasons. Or what about when Harley and Yo-Yo said to each other...

YO-YO: You carry a sickle in your boot?

HARLEY: A girl must always be prepared.

YO-YO: For what? Harvesting Wheat?

HARLEY: Figured if Batman can have that belt full of gadgets, I can have some toys in my boots.

Wait a minute! I know what I'll do. I'll choose them both. That'll simplify matters for me, won't it?

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) Now there was an insinuation hinted at by Regulus in this tale that I thought was so intriguing, it began to plague my mind the more I thought about it. I mean; is there something about Amanda he knows and the rest of us don't? Seems that way, doesn't it? Also, is this 'something' in any way connected with the life / death 'concoction' she seems to be developing for Argus? Hmmmm.

(+) Although I wasn't very keen on the explosive finale myself, at the same time I did like the way that it teased me -- and most probably you -- with the promise of an outcome that'll end all outcomes.

(+) For those of you not in the know, the secret package -- a.k.a. Kurt Lance -- was once a member of Team Seven, and was once married to Black Canary before she killed him. Now please don't tell me his sudden appearance doesn't tantalize you just a little bit? Especially since he once worked with 'The Wall' too! Ohhhhh!

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) I suppose the one thing I wasn't very pleased about in this issue, was the way that the overall tale felt a bit too simplistic in retrospect. The Squad showed up. They did their thing. Two of them died. And that was that really. Nothing more.

(-) Why did ***** have to snuff it, huh?  Adam just brought *** back, and now... err... Ka-BOOM? This doesn't make any sense to me at all . It feels like a wasted character. 

Choose TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and then compare them to two REAL LIFE PEOPLE.

CHARLIE DIMMOCK AS RED ORCHID: OK. I know that everyone's favorite English Gardner, Charlie-Charlie, is quite a bit older than this femme fatale, and isn't oriental either. Still, like this pain in the pots, Ms Dimmock does know quite a bit about plants.

DAVID BRADLEY as YO-YO: I'm afraid to say that I can't find a picture of the 'David Bradley' I'm referring to, dear reader. The one pictured is of the actor called David Bradley. The one I want is for the chap who first discovered salt water taffy, for... errr... obvious reasons really. 

What QUOTE would be appropriate to sum-up this story?

'Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness' -- Napoleon Hill

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

SACRIFICE BY ELTON JOHN: If you think about it for a moment or two, the basic message behind this adventure is all about the nature of sacrifice, and how this is transposed amongst the characters within this suicidal adventure.

ANYTHING Else?

After my last review on the 'Suicide Squad', I had a bit of a back and forth with my great mate Ben over at suicidesquadtaskforcex.blogspot.co.uk.

You see, where as he thought this new series was crap compared to the Ostrander and Yale run, I agreed with him, yet, tried to remain diplomatic by saying that it was a fairly good read on it's own merits.

However, now... errr... I'm not too sure if I like it or not.

Listen; don't get me wrong. I won't bail out on this title yet. I think I'll wait until the new creative team of Ales Kot and Timothy Green get a couple of tales under their belt first, then I'll make my decision about continuing to pick up this series.

I hope I do. Honestly. I hope that Ales and Tim kick this book into shape as soon as they get their hands on it, because it could be a great series -- one of the best -- if it can get someone who can understand the characters and the pretext like Ostrander and Yale once did.

GIVE IT, IT'S DUES: If This Comic Book Was a Garden Implement, It Would Be Something Sharp Enough To Cut a Tree and Your Wrists at the Same Time. Snip-Snip!