SUICIDE SQUAD #23

[ SUICIDAL-SALE NOW ON ] 

Now what on Earth will a pug-nosed dictator do with his own metahuman army? I mean, do you think he'll take over the world with them? Or something more... snort-snort... benign? Yeah. You know. Something created by the truffle-hunting creative team of Ales Kot, and Rick Leonardi, Published by DC Comics, in July, 2013.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'Slash and Burn'.

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: At Amanda Waller's bequest, the Suicide Squad attempt to stop John Lynch from selling a hand-full of metahumans to Idi Ami... errr... I mean, a nondescript foreign dictator. 
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: Yeah. More or less. In a manner of speaking. I suppose so. Etcetera. Etcetera. Etcetera.
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: Yes again. Two things actually. Gordon starts to develop feelings for Amanda, whilst the Squad play an armed-ordinance version of 'tag' with Lynches metahuman army.
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With a feeling of dread lurking to the surface.

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

Ouch! Now this is a tough question for me to answer, folks. As there were quite a few pithy phrases scattered throughout this issue I really did love reading. For example...

- 'This is what I get for shooting him in the head and not checking the vitals' -- Amanda Waller

- 'Lady, I won't be able to kiss you unless you get your gorgeous foot off of my kidneys' -- Deadshot

- 'Landmine Pie' -- Harley Quinn

- 'This ain't Sparta' -- Deadshot again

Oh! Plus on top of that, there were also all those witty 'introductory captions' as well! Wow! Spoilt for choice, aren't I?

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) Wasn't it a nice surprise to see Rick Leonardi back on a book again? Because I can't recollect seeing any of his artwork since his days on the previous 'Nightwing' series. Hi, Rick. It was great to see your stuff again, pal. Will you be staying long? Or can't DC decide what to do with this title yet? Ha!

(+) Many a year ago I read a comic book entitled 'Gen 13', which illustrated how a rugged mercenary -- named John Lynch -- helped a bunch of teenage metahumans cope with life, power, and all of that type of thing. Today, though, well, I'm not really sure how I feel about this 'New 52' version of John Lynch. It was smashing to see him up and around once more, yet, I'm not entirely sure why he's turned into some sort of a Maxwell Lord hybrid! Hmmm. 50 / 50 at best.

(+) Now I completely understand why this series isn't everybody's cup of tea. It can be quite one-dimensional on occasion. Plus it has a somewhat silly way of being out of character for a book such as this one. However, the one thing this particular adventure was able to accomplish, was amalgamate character, story, and jovial humour, all into one fun-packed narrative. Simple as that really.

(+) Without sounding too enigmatic about it, I'd say that the concept of 'love' was a hidden persona drifting too and through throughout this storyline. With James Gordon Junior having a crush on Amanda Waller, whilst Deadshot allowed Amaze to get away from him. Hmm? Wait a minute? Why did he allow her to get away? Huh? What's that you say? Why don't I try to figure it out during my silly summation? Alright then. I will.

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) Was that flash-back scene really necessary within the confines of this bodacious tale? You know. The one where Harley forces Waller to remove the bomb from Floyd's neck! Personally speaking, I don't think that it was at all. The only thing it did in retrospect, was to illustrate either a setup for next issue, or a reclassification for the last.   

(-) I have to be honest with you, folks, I couldn't help but groan when I saw Lamplight show his shiny face again. Oh boy! Please no more cheesy disposable characters, DC. Lampcr*p is a one-dimensional cr*p villain. And he should have snuffed it when the JLI took a nose dive last year. 

Choose TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and then compare them to A REAL-LIFE HISTORICAL FIGURE.

IDI AMIN AS THE ATYPICAL FOREIGN AFRICAN DICTATOR THAT ENJOYS HIS FOOD: Well, let's face it. If you've watched 'The Last King of Scotland', and you've read this comic book, it's pretty damn obvious why I've placed these two archetypes side by side

JOHN WILKES BOOTH AS JOHN LYNCH: OK. I admit. This comparison isn't a perfect match. One of the John's was an actor, whilst the other one was a shooter. Nonetheless, the fact remains they're both called John, they both have a similar hairstyle, and they both crave power more than your average Joe.

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

'Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father' -- Roger von Oech

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

'THE POWER OF LOVE' BY FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD: In a similar vein to my 'John comparison' up above, I know that it may appear that this tale and this tune have absolutely nothing in common. But they do you know. If you think about how Gordon and Floyd behaved throughout this adventure, in hindsight, it's all about love, baby. Ha!

ANYTHING Else?

As I mentioned previously, I was rather intrigued with the way Deadshot allowed Amaze to deck him and then run away. But why did he do this? Huh? Could it because...

• They had a fling in the past -- Possible. As Floyd is known to be a bit of a ladies man.
• Deadshot took in too much pheromone -- Oh! Now that I can understand one hundred percent! Been there. Done that.
• It seemed like the right thing to do at the time -- Well, she does have some very nice... coff-coff... equipment on her. 
• Ales couldn't think of a better way of ending their battle -- Again, entirely plausible. But then again I could be talking out of my own ass.
• They both belong to the same marksman club -- Hey! That's how these things work, don't they? You scratch my back, I allow you to leave with all your limbs intact.
• Amaze collected one-hundred coupons at a well known department store, and cashed them in for a 'save my life' card -- Nah! I don't buy that one either.

Anyway. That's enough of my b*llocks for this months, folks. All I have left to say is that this issue of the 'Suicide Squad' was a pretty decent tale to read. The art was fine. The story was jovial in nature and simple by default. Plus the only thing letting it down was that it did flimflam in places.

Still. Never mind. Next month is going to be... groan... villain's month. Let's hope that the new chap -- Matt Kindt -- can take this series onto a whole new level. Fingers crossed.