I really had no intentions of picking up “Suicide Squad” #1. But after arriving at my comic shop and thumbing through the issue I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. This is a dark, gritty introduction to a team of government sponsored killers put together to carry out missions that are, well, suicidal. Writer Adam Glass begins the narrative with the team members being individually tortured by a mysterious masked group seeking the name of who runs Task Force X (a.k.a. Suicide Squad). Glass uses these bloody sometimes gruesome torture sequences to introduce the team members. Structurally this is an effective approach and these scenes mixed with brief flashbacks offer a fresh way to tell a team origin story. The book ends with a reveal of sorts as well as a setup for the next issue that completely grabbed my interest. Overall this is a story that went beyond my expectations.

“Suicide Squad” #1 isn’t a bad looking book but it does fall victim to having multiple artists. Federico Dallocchio, Ransom Getty, and Scott Hanna team up to handle the art and as with so many books with more than one artist, this issue doesn’t keep a good steady visual flow. There are some tremendous pages none better than the wicked two page title spread with it’s overhead angle and disurbing depictions. And while there are several other pages that maintain that same high quality, without notice I found myself jarred by the sudden changes in art style during different moments in the book. It doesn’t come near to ruining the whole experience of the issue but it certainly keeps it from being as great as it could have been.

It’s hard to talk much about the plot without spoiling things but I’ll simply say Adam Glass offers up a unique way to introduce his team. We learn a lot about who is behind the Suicide Squad and the ending definitely has me ready for the next issue. Will this series take the place of The Secret Six for some people? Probably not. But I had tons of fun with it and I’m sold on it’s potential. I’m just hoping they can get away from multiple artists and give us a visually consistent experience next time. It’s not a perfect book but it’s certainly entertaining.