Suicide Squad: Blaze #2 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Aaron Campbell, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: One of the most purely chaotic Suicide Squad stories in years, the choice by this Spurrier/Campbell mini to put the new power in the hands of civilian criminals rather than supervillains gives the book something it hasn’t had in a long time—unpredictability. The fast-burning “Blaze” drug, has already claimed one victim with a shocking twist—when one dies, their power is redistributed among the others, giving them a power boost and a faster ticking clock. Of course, if Blaze doesn’t kill them, the villain will—a deranged, super-fast alien cannibal who has the powers of Superman and the sensibilities of Hannibal Lecter. At the start of this issue, Superman tracks him down and confronts him—only to be horribly mauled and left for dead. This is definitely an out-of-continuity story, despite the current setting, and this issue makes that clear in the bloodiest way possible.
The problem is, Aaron Campbell’s art is gorgeous but not always well-suited to the story. It relies a lot on bright, flashing images of different colors—the “Blaze” of the title. They’re stunning, but it can be hard to make out faces in some panels—which makes it even trickier given that the villain and the lead, Mike, look rather similar in places. The story takes some disturbing turns as the pace speeds up and one unexpected Squad member makes a shocking sacrifice. Then things get very bloody towards the end, as more characters fall and the Justice League enters the fray for revenge. The best thing this series has going for it is that it plunges us right into how terrifying it would be to be a member of the Suicide Squad. Its Amanda Waller is ruthless, but not overtly evil. While the narrative has some hiccups, it’s still a compelling read that benefits from having a genuinely terrifying antagonist mostly kept in the shadows.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
