Review: Suicide Squad Vol. 2- Going Sane

November 6, 2017 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: The Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller portions of this story are great. Jim Lee’s art is fantastic as usual.

Cons: The other members of the Squad are highly downplayed. The story is better but still not great. The artwork in the backups is not good overall.

Overall: This collection helps the Suicide Squad series as a whole but does not quite get it to where it needs to be. The main story still suffers and most of the Squad are forced into secondary roles as Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller take the spotlight. However, the spotlight is well done and is enhanced further by Jim Lee’s artwork. Overall this is a marked improvement to a series that many fans were worried about.

Story

Suicide Squad Vol. 2- Going Sane by Rob Williams, is an improvement from the first volume but is still not quite at the level of quality most fans would hope to see. The main story is more focused and tight on the action and drama happening, though it does this at the price of downplaying half of the Squad. In addition, the backups are still on point and continue to provide an insightful highlight into each member of the team. Overall, Suicide Squad is getting better but isn’t there yet.

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This collection picks up right where the previous one left off, Zod is Amanda Waller’s prisoner and no one knows where this could lead. Before anything can be done though, Zod’s prison causes the entire populace in Bel Rev to go insane and starting acting on their most basic urges. The only one who seems be immune is Harley, who was already insane and now has her sanity back.
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Harley’s role reversal and newfound sanity is one of the best parts of this book and something I wish was expanded on further. Seeing the typically mad jester execute a plan with though and precision was a joy and a nice moment for her character to have. It also makes the ending of the book bittersweet, as Harley saving everyone actually pushed her into insanity again. I would love to see this concept return in the future because its inclusion in this story was far to short to be properly appreciated.

Besides this though, the rest of the cast is engaged in behavior that is either too boring or too strange to provide much entertainment. Rick Flag runs around telling everyone that he “won’t lose another team” over and over again, Deadshot is barely present, Katana only shows up to wave her sword around, and June and Croc kick off a completely unexpected, or necessary, romance. The only other worthwhile character here ends up being Waller, who’s insane drive and determination provide a show all on their own.

Outside of the main story, the backup issues detailing the Suicide Squad member’s past continue to be great. Hack, Killer Croc, Enchantress, and Killer Frost all get origins stories that highlight what makes them unique and venerable. Since readers are typically watching these characters in their most action packed moments, these backups are excellent in providing some decompression and heart. Just like in The Black Vault (Review), the backups might be the best part of this story.

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Art

Once again, Jim Lee delivers his trademark talent throughout this book. As we discussed in our review of Vol. 1 (found here) pretty much anything Lee does looks fantastic and this collection is no exception. In particular, his more psychedelic depictions of Zod and Boomerang look great. Overall readers will find plenty to love in Jim Lee’s work here.

The negatives in this collection’s art start to show up in the backup issues. While the previous volume had some of the best artists in comics working on the backups, this volume slants in the opposite direction. The artwork in nearly every issue is sloppy, with the Enchantress issue standing out as the worst of the bunch. Since these backups take up nearly half of the collection it is a significant blow to the artistic appeal of the work overall and one that most readers will not appreciate.