“The Final Frontier”
Artists: Eduardo Pansica, Dexter Soy, Julio Ferreira
Color Artist: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Review by Adam Ray
The biggest joy of Suicide Squad #9 is that it shows the scope and potential that this title can bring. Somehow a smack-talking bug, cosmic exploration, a political drama, and a heartfelt meditation on morality can all coexist in one, single-issue of a monthly title. This creative team has delivered a deeply ambitious comic with a full cast of relatively unknown characters. This is the Suicide Squad done right.
Multiple plot threads were hanging over us, compliments of the past issue. We were left wondering just how safe and secure the whole Task-Force X operation actually is. This time, we’re treated with knowing both sides, while one is blissfully unaware of what the other’s plotting. We get to feel the tension building as things become more and more strained within both rival factions. We can’t say for sure what will happen, and that uncertainty’s exciting.
For an issue that flits around the cosmos, the use of color really sets that up. The bright greens beneath the water make things feel alien and uncertain, while the tight, overlapping panels help show us the motion and struggle our characters are going through.
Conclusion
Suicide Squad #9 mixes lots of themes and ideas without feeling stuffy or overly dense. Any level of reader can really take a lot from this title. Do you want a detailed power struggle between multiple layered characters? It’s here. Do you want cosmic and gritty battles and classic comic book action? We get it. Do you want a revolving door of figures from DC that you’ve never heard of, ready to become regular favorites? This title truly has it all, and this quality makes me eager for more.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment