Suicide Squad #13 Review and **SPOILERS**

Suicidal Dreams Deferred

Writer: Rob Williams

Penciller: John Romita Jr.

Back Up Penciller: Eddy Barrows

Inker: Richard Friend

Back Up Inker: Eber Ferreira

Colorists: Dean White & Jeremiah Skipper

Back Up Colorist: Adriano Lucas

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover: Romita, Friend & White

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

So Warner Bros.’ movie Suicide Squad is now an Oscar-winning film, having just won the award for Best Makeup at the recent ceremony. I get the impression that this legitimizes the movie for many of its fans, who seem to profess its universal goodness in the face of criticism. I mean, it made roughly six-bazillion dollars, which is the only metric that the studio cares about. But as far as I’m concerned, Suicide Squad getting an Academy Award—for makeup or not—only serves to delegitimize the Academy. It’s a dog-and-pony show, folks, for people to get drunk together and clap each other on the back for how wonderful they are. Luckily, comic books are free of such ego! Find out for yourself in my review of Suicide Squad #13, right here!

Explain It!

Rustam holds Rick Flag and Katana chained up and unconscious at his secret base, but he doesn’t want to kill them. He wants to show them that they share a common enemy in Amanda Waller, who has been conveniently killed. Turns out that the obvious killer actually is the killer: Deadshot, currently taking a hammer walloping from Harley Quinn for extinguishing the fire of their dear leader. This gets the team a-tusslin’, like they do, then Hack realizes that Djinn is in their computer system monkeying around! She electro-zaps into the mainframe or whatever, but is too late for Djinn to turn off all the brain bombs! The Suicide Squad are free! Everyone but Deadshot decides to hang around Belle Reve anyway.

The second story tells the tale of what the rest of the gang does with their newfound freedom. Harley, Hack and June Moon head into Cajun country for a girl’s night out, right in some seedy joint that literally has a dead, bleeding crocodile on the bar. Boomerang, who took a shot in the shoulder during Deadshot’s exit, says he’s gonna take off, and Killer Croc…well, they’re already in the swamp, so he’s good. Actually, June Moon says they’re going to look for an apartment in Brooklyn where she can return to freelance design and he can eat neighborhood strays. So that sounds domestic. Now drunk, Harley admits that she had a thing for that hunky Rick Flag, and Hack tells her to put romance above sensibility because that’s typical comic book stuff. Harley tells Hack that she’s a hero so—and this is just ludicrous, folks—turns into electricity and zaps through the bayou and back into Belle Reve’s computer room. She’s trying to find out the identity of the team’s mole (which I thought she discovered two issues ago) when Harcourt steps up. Hack accuses her of being a double-agent, then Boomerang sneaks up from behind and reveals himself to be the spy while stabbing Hack in the chest!

Just as she is going digital, though, so I bet she’ll be okay. Also, Deadshot never removes his helmet in the first story, so I bet there’s a switcheroo there. Which brings me to my next point: John Romita Jr. cannot draw faces. I’ve been tip-toeing around the issue for a while, but I think we have to call it like it is. Look at the cover of this issue, for crying out loud. And there are numerous times in the first story that people look goddamned ridiculous, like they’ve all got broken noses or something. This problem is only exacerbated by Eddy Barrow’s artwork in the second story, which is quite expressive and polished. Art aside, the story is okay. It seems a little convoluted but Williams is juggling two stories pretty adeptly, allowing the latter one to inform the former in interesting ways. I’m still on the fence about this book. It seems a little plodding but then Hack zaps off through the bayou and I’m chortling to myself again.

Bits and Pieces:

I do appreciate how Rob Williams is juggling two stories per issue, allowing them to inform each other in creative ways, but this whole thing seems to be going nowhere slowly. I think I need to know more about Harcourt, and quickly. Also, John Romita Jr. can't draw faces very well. I'm taking a stand here and now.

6.5/10