REVIEW: ‘Suicide Squad,’ Issue #11

Suicide Squad #11 is published by DC Comics, written by Tom Taylor, with art by Bruno Redondo, colors by Adriano Lucas, and letters by Wes Abbott. With Lola about to go supernova, and the Squad having no options but temporary containment, the odds are against our heroes and the situation is grim. But hey, they’re heroes. This is what heroes do.

Literally, the first page of this book contains a spoiler I whole heartily do not want to ruin for you guys. So to that end, I’m gonna be as vague as possible when it comes to the resolution of Suicide Squad #11’s plot. In fact, all I’m gonna say is that, when the dust settles, the squad makes it out to the other side. That’s it. That’s all you are getting out of me. Well, almost all.

I want to follow that up with one last helping of praise for Taylor’s excellent storytelling. The wrap-up to the last issue’s crisis is fantastic. I never saw it coming. It even allowed for a pivotal moment from one of the lesser-used members of the team to utilize their powers in a surprisingly positive way.

Upon the resolution of the immediate crisis, the team is left with the issue of what to do with Black Mask. The majority vote is to kill him. And, given what he’d just engineered, I can’t say that I blame them. But, his summary execution is put on hold with the timely arrival of the Justice League. Who, of course, insist that Black Mask be taken to trial. Though they step a little out of bounds when they state their intentions to bring in the Revolutionaries as well.  A couple of people have some choice words to say about that, which includes someone putting Batman in his place hard. This moment made me giddy. I love seeing someone put Bruce in a corner and how it is done here is sheer perfection.

With the battle won Suicide Squad #11 gives its overworked heroes a moment to celebrate. Well, not all of them. While the Revolutionaries celebrate what has been accomplished, as well as what they intend to do next, Harley has a trip she has to make, and some condolences to deliver.

With her exit from the party, the book follows Harley back to the home of Floyd Lawson’s family. Here we see her having a heart to heart about Floyd with his daughter. Taylor again lands a perfectly balanced script here. Harley makes no effort to paint Lawson out to be a hero or even a great man. She acknowledges his failures, while also trying to focus the moment on the good he did at the end. And the fact that he did it all for her.

Just as with every other issue of the run, Suicide Squad #11’s artwork keeps perfect pace with its narrative. Redondo holds nothing back for this finale. From the tension in the beginning to the verbal beat down laid onto Batman, the celebration of victory, and the tears of loss, every panel delivers the full emotion of its story.

The amazing visuals are further elevated by Lucas’s superb colors. All the larger than life energy of these fantastic characters and the moments the story takes them through is perfectly accentuated by the vibrant colors and beautiful contrasts that are delivered throughout this book.

Lastly, Aboot delivers a solid performance on letters. The story flows smoothly throughout the book, and never hinders the reader’s ability to take in the gorgeous art within its pages.

With the end of the line reached, Suicide Squad #11 delivers one final knockout punch of a story. Though with the final pages showing that the Revolutionaries clearly have a lot more work to do, I sincerely hope we get to see more from Osita, The Arie, Wink, Zebra Man, and all the rest soon.

Suicide Squad #11 is available on November 24th wherever comics are sold.

rating 5/5