SUICIDE SQUAD #24

[ PUNCHING FOR A PENNY ] 

Being trapped in a prison full of murderers and thieves isn't the worst thing that can happen to someone. Oh no. Being trapped in a lift full of politicians and accountants is far-far worse. Yeah. I'm not kidding. Just ask Matt Kindt and Patrick Zircher if you think I'm pulling your leg. But remember, please don't ask them in front of the Publisher: DC Comics, sometime in October, 2013. Otherwise they'd get jealous.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'Excuse The Mess'.

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: Whilst trapped inside Belle Reve Prison, Amanda Waller arranges for two teams to track down and capture a secret weapon currently held by the nefarious Crime Syndicate.
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: No. Not yet anyway. It's close. But no cigar. 
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: By his own accord, James Gordon Junior tries to figure out why the Thinker is building some sort of satellite.
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With two teams colliding. Head on.

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

Being a bit of a crime buff, myself, I did enjoy reading James Gordon Junior's 'voice over narration' whilst he was scoping out the Thinkers satellite. Honestly. I found it very personal in prose, as it had that quality about it that 'spoke' more than 'said' (if you get my gist). Here. Check this out to see what I mean...

'It's fascinating really. The "Criminal" mind that it. The amount of effort they put into it. Thievery. Heists. Criminal Enterprises. It's as much work as getting an "honest" job'.

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) Captain Boomerang is back on the team! Yahooooo! It's about bloody time, huh? Let just pray that Matt and company continues to use him in the future. Fingers crossed.

(+) Hey! While I'm on the subject of Matt and company -- yeah -- they did a pretty decent job on this issue overall. The art was easy enough to follow. The story was intriguing enough for me to want to know more. And all in all, not a bad start for a fairly new-ish creative team.

(+) Wait a minute! Are they seriously trying to tell me that Steel, Power Girl, plus some vigilante I've never heard of, are all going to join the Suicide Squad? Seriously? Because in my eyes Steel and PG are not really squad material at all! Yet, whilst saying that, I best give them half a chance. So for the moment I think it wise of me to take my seat back on the fence again. There. Ah-ah. That feels a lot better. Who wants to join me? Come on. All you need is some patience and a firm ass.

(+) Why did she do it? Why did Waller inform two divergent teams to capture the very same weapon? OK. I know the implication is that the Thinker must have tricked one of them into performing this task. Nonetheless, this implication wasn't very apparent I thought. And only held water for a split second at best. Damn. Where is that fence again? I need to do some more sitting.

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) The one thing I won't sit on the fence for, folks, is the fact that the narrative structure of this adventure was all over the shop. The book started off with a setup scene. It then drifted to what I presume would be the main brunt of the story. After that, it drifted once again from sub-plot to segway, before finally coming back down to Earth with some sort of clarification. Listen. Don't get wrong. The structure wasn't total pants. Oh no. It just wasn't very clearly defined. Possessing that mumbled jumbled tone that I find somewhat confusing on occasion.

Choose TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and then compare them to WELLKNOWN WOMEN.

ZHANG ZIYI AS DEADSHOT: Wow! Look into those stunning eyes. Go on. Have a peek. And tell me that you can't see the heart of a stone faced killer starring directly back at you? Eeek!

JOAN RIVERS AS THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER: Hey! With the amount of work she's had done in the past, our Joan must be used to having a lot of bandages wrapped around her face. Lovely lady though. Nice teeth.

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

'You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die' -- John Lennon

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

'TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME' BY BOBBY BROWN: Alright. I admit it. This is the more obvious side of me speaking. But hey! The phrase, 'Two can play that game', does sum up this tale very well, doesn't it?

ANYTHING Else?

One of the things I deliberately failed to mention up above, folks, is the so called revelation about the Crime Syndicate's strange looking secret weapon.

Now without giving too much away, I honestly saw this coming a mile off. Well. It was bound to be another 'forgotten hero', wasn't it? This way DC can recharge some life back into an old character and make people go 'Ooooh!' at the same time.

But what will happen next? Will this 'new weapon' jump onto this book or onto another one? Seemingly making a seamless transition. Or with 'it' just go 'BOOM'? Just so DC can reboot this poor savoir in a couple of year's time. 

Oh! I don't know. Maybe I'm getting a bit skeptical. It's just that recently everything DC tries to do, somehow feel's slightly exploitative and philandering by nature. Take this series for instance. Within a two year time period, we've had at least two creative teams, a couple of dead members, plus a focus that doesn't seem to know what direction it's heading.

Come on DC. You know what the fans want! The original team -- both creative and suicidal -- back in action again. So shift your asses. Go on. Kick-kick. And make the fanboys happy.

Nuff said.