SUICIDE SQUAD #26

[ BITING FOR A BARGAIN ] 

'Knock-knock. Who's there? A shark. A shark who? A shark who has just eaten your family and is now going to eat you next'. Ha! Now wasn't that one funny joke, folks? Huh? What do you mean 'no it wasn't'? Hey! Don't blame me. Blame Matt Kindt, Patrick Zircher, and Steve Skroce. Cause they told it to the Publisher: DC Comics, in December, 2013, and then they told me. Ingrates.

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

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: Whilst Amanda Waller pits Godly-Father against his Sharkish-Son -- just so the victor can do battle with the Thinkers O.M.A.C. -- Harley Quinn and James Gordon Junior go at it hammers and tongs in the bowels of Belle Reve prison.  
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: Yeah. I suppose things do go out according to plan. Kind of. Ish. In a round about way. I think. Ha!
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: Yeah. Two things actually. Not only does Amanda recount the historical origins of Belle Reve prison, plus her ties to O.M.A.C. and Kamo too, but in addition to this, the Thinker also regurgitates his own motives behind helping out the Crime Syndicate.
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With O.M.AC. going, POW! With Amanda going, OWW! And with the Suicide Squad going, TA-DAHHHH!

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

Picture the scene. James Gordon Junior has deviously managed to overpower Harley Quinn by slapping an explosive collar around her neck. Only for Harley to then strangely retort...  

'I... I think I love you'.

Ha! What a nice girl she is! If only she was real and lived nearby, I'm sure I could've conjured up a pound of semtex and then slapped it onto her shin.

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) Well done, Pat and Matt. Out of all the issues you've developed to date, I'd say that this one was your best one yet. For you, Pat, you've lavished this book with some very audacious and dynamic visuals I couldn't get enough of seeing. Especially the way in which you drew more 'common day' folk. That was very 'down to earth'. And for you, Matt, you've transformed this series into something more akin to what I adored about the Suicide Squad to begin with. A personal tale done in a rather brave and bold fashion.  

(+) Hey! Did you notice Jonah Hex and some of the other western heroes during that nifty flash-back sequence? Great, wasn't it? I personally enjoyed the manner in which Amanda narrated this section in a somewhat fractured yet timely manner. Not only because it managed to spill some 'prison history', but also because it was able to integrate itself into the main flow of the current day story-line.

(+) Oh! While I'm on the subject of flash-backs, I'm sorry to say that I'm somewhat undecided if I enjoyed following Kamo's origins or not. A part of me was intrigued with how this might affect King Shark in the future. Where as another part of me would have liked to have seen something less pedestrian and pious than another run of the mill Fish-God with plans for world domination.

(+) OK. So to put the overall story-line into some sort of perspective, Amanda Waller pit King Shark against his own Dad, so that Papa-Kamo would agree to help them in fighting off the Thinkers master weapon, O.M.A.C. Furthermore, whilst all of this is going on, Harley and James do battle nearby. Hmmm. Fair enough. For a tale such as this one it all sound's rather reasonable I suppose. Having said that, though...

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) ... the only slight gripe I had with this adventure was that too many things were going on with it for me to define the conceptual narrative as a singular entity. Hey. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy reading this tale an awful lot. It's just that so many different tales were recounted -- in both the past and the present tense -- on occasion it was kind of difficult to see where the main brunt of the story was actually headed next.   

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

'ACE OF SPADES' BY MOTORHEAD: In my mind this rip roaring adventure was so anarchistic in both content, tone, and structure, I can't help but compare it to a song that to me defines the pure essence of anarchy. So rock on, baby. Rock on!!!!

If this story gave off a scent, what ODOUR would it be and why?

THE SMOKE THAT EMANATES FROM A STRUCK MATCHSTICK: Sniff-Sniff-Sniff! Can you smell something burning, folks? Sniff-Sniff-Sniff! Can you smell something so wild and carefree I have to pair it up with this hot yet breezy force of nature? Or then again, did you just fart? Bbbrrp! You decide.

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

'Anarchy is the only slight glimmer of hope' -- Mick Jagger

ANYTHING Else?

Now something I deliberately failed to mention up above was how this issue of 'Suicide Squad' ended. Of course, I do have some pretty damn good reason's for this. Reasons all to do with what I think the rest of the gang were up to whilst this adventure was playing out.

So picture the scene. Again. Floyd and company housed within a mound of rubble, when suddenly...

FLOYD: Sniff-Sniff! Who farted?

STEEL: It wasn't me! If I did, you wouldn't be able to smell it in the armor I'm wearing.

DIGGER: So was it you then, Power-Sheila? You're wearing a g-string. That could've made you squirt out a nasty!

POWERGIRL: How dare you say such a thing to me you cretin! I don't fart. I'm Kryptonian. Kryptonian's don't fart.  

DIGGER: Hey, Floyd. Can you image what would happen if they did? Superman would be able to leap tall building through flatulence alone.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER: Will you knock it off, Digger! It's bad enough that we're all stuck under this damn rubble, without you and Deadshot causing more mischief.

FLOYD: Oi! Don't blame me! All I asked was who gaffed! Nothing else!

WARRANT: Well, if you never hooked up with that Goth-chick, none of us would be here, would we?

FLOYD: What the f*ck are you going on about, face-plate? None of you would've been here if you were cleaver enough to figure out you were duped by a fraud.

POWERGIRL?  How do you know we were duped, Dead-head? It could have easily been you and your gang.

DIGGER: Nah! It wasn't us. It was you guys. The Three Stooges. I read the script day ago.

POWERGIRL: Excuse me? I'm not a guy.

DIGGER: Yeah. I know you're not a guy by the size of your ti...

WARRANT: Wait a minute! You said you read a script, Digger? What do you mean by this?

DIGGER:  What? You don't know? You don't know that we're all fictitious characters from a comic book written by Matt Kindt?

UNKNOWN SOLDIER: Hmmm. Peculiar name, Kindt. How do you pronounce it?

STEEL: Kind Det?

POWERGIRL: Kundel?

DIGGER: Bruce?

WARRANT: Kindle? As in the Amazon product?

FLOYD: Fart?

ALL: What?

FLOYD: Who farted? I want to know who farted so I can get the hell out of this scene...

[END SCENE]

Anyway. That's enough of my bullsh*t for this month, folks. All I have left to say is that this issue of 'Suicide Squad' reminded me of a bowl of minestrone soup. It was rather tasty to digest, yet there were so many ingredients in it, it was difficult for me to pick out the soggy pasta.

Nuff said.