PREVIEW: New Suicide Squad #1 - New Team, New Series

New Suicide Squad #1 cover by Jeremy Roberts. DC Comics.

The concept behind Suicide Squad is quite a clever one. Take a group of villains and force them to go on missions that many would consider suicidal. DC Comics have gone through many incarnations of this idea since the 80s, but the most successful in recent times has been the most recent which included popular characters such Harley Quinn and Deadshot – who has only gotten more popular after being featured in Arrow and Arkham Origins. The series was a cult favourite but finished a few months ago. But after a few months off Suicide Squad is back with a new series which has new members and dynamic, titled New Suicide Squad. Directing this new team into action is writer Sean Ryan and artist Jeremy Roberts. Sean Ryan is best known as an editor, having worked at both Marvel and DC. Although, he did write the final issue of the previous series, so he has some experience with the concept and characters. In the art department is Jeremy Roberts, who after small runs on titles at a variety of publishers finally makes his big break with this series. Based on the preview, his art is energetic and he can definitely put the big action onto the page.

With a new series comes a new team dynamic. While characters like Harley Quinn, Deadshot and Amanda Waller will carry over from the old series there will be a selection of new additions. Probably the biggest of these is Deathstroke, who has exploded in popularity thanks to appearances on Arrow and video games. Other additions include Black Manta, arch nemesis of Aquaman, and the relatively new villain in The Joker’s Daughter. These new team members should bring a new dynamic to the team, especially the larger profile characters like Deathstroke and Black Manta – who are unlikely to play nice. An additional change to the team dynamic is that they now work for the government. In an interview with USA Today Sean Ryan summed it up best as:

“The powers-that-be in Washington have decided that the Squad could be quite valuable in going overseas and doing the things the USA would love to see happen, but could never be seen doing,”

New Suicide Squad not only has new team members but an international scope. This debut issue will see the team head to Russia, where they have been assigned by the government to disrupt Russian military operations.

This series should appeal to those who enjoyed the previous series. Although, if you didn’t read it this should be a good jumping point. Also, if you are a fan of characters such as Deathstroke, Deadshot or Harley Quinn you should enjoy this series.

New Suicide Squad #1 is available in all good comic book stores and digitally from July 9th.