Monday, April 3, 2017

Graphic Novel Review - Suicide Squad Volume 1: The Black Vault

Name - Suicide Squad Volume 1: The Black Vault
Published by - DC Comics   
Story by - Rob Williams 
Art by -  Carlos D'Anda, Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Philip Tan, Scott Williams and more...

 
First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you netgalley and DC Comics for this opportunity.
So, I have always had a mind to check out what the hell 'Suicide Squad' was all about (even more after the movie that left a lot to be desired). Fortunately Netgalley was offering the first volume for requesting and I picked it up. So the question is, does the new comics counterpart of the series disappoint like the movie or does it live up to the promise?

The movie had left a sense of despair for what could have been and also a desire to know more about the characters. So I did welcome the chance to check out their latest incarnations form 'DC Rebirth' and dived right in.

The Black Vault tells mostly the story of a new mission of Task Force X into an underwater facility that houses an artifact that Amanda Waller wants, and as predictable the mission is not so straightforward as it seems. The team gets to fight a massive super villain who escapes from his prison, and meets a new character to join the crew. There are also several 'Personnel File' back-up stories exploring the individual stories of some of the members of the team.

The main story feels just a bit too short and the main villain is defeated too easily to be believable. There is a sense of deja-vu here, as this gives the feeling of something missing just like the movie. The plot progression is too fast at times and action is a bit unrealistic, I mean, these are a bunch of second tier character and they shouldn't have a such an easy time fighting such a powerful enemy at all. Then again, the most fun part about these characters is their interactions and their banter which is quite lacking here.

The back-up stories are definitely a good introduction into these characters for new readers, but might seem a bit redundant to older readers. But the positive about these 'Personnel File's are the different artists that were used who gave varied enjoyment for me and added much to the flare of these characters with remarkable and imaginative drawing.

So, to me the first volume of this new ongoing for 'Suicide Squad' does provide a nice introduction for new readers into the world of these flawed yet lovable characters despite having a lot of flaws in the execution. I'll definitely come back for the second volume cause I have high hopes that the author just might deliver on the promises of these characters in the future. 
 
Meanwhile, I give this one  3 out of 5 stars.         

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