The good news is the bad news: this book is a winner. How can that be bad news? Ales Kot only has one more issue to go. A couple months back, I saw the A.V. Club chose to spotlight issue 20 of Suicide Squad in their weekly comics column. This seemed like an odd choice to me, so I sought out a copy. I was very impressed. In three issues, Kot has taken characters I don't really know, and a couple I just don't care for, and turned them into something cool. Independent from the Joker, this Harley Quinn is quick-thinking, funny, and of course, dangerous. James Jr., now more than a tormentor of the Bat and Gordon families, has found himself a pretty good job as Waller's intelligence analyst. Also, he's in love with her. Oh, the places that might lead... or now, might not. In this issue, in a plot that could have been lifted from the original G.I Joe cartoon, our colorful team travels to Vegas to stop terrorists from using billboards to hypnotize crowds into behaving badly. Then they fight a giant monster made of dead bodies. Harley gambles "like a boss", the Unknown Soldier behaves badly of his own free will, and Deadshot discovers how anarchists like to unwind. All together, it's pretty badass. Illustrator Patrick Zircher grounds the over-the-top story with an understated art style. No one here is flashing a cover pose. Harley's costume doesn't come off as ridiculous, which is a feat in and of itself. The first page has two strong establishing shots of Vegas, which shows how Zircher has done his homework in more than just the fights and explosions department. And while he uses a heavier line than most, nothing gets weighed down. Those fights and explosions have a great feeling of movement and impact. Jason Keith's colors are somber without being muddy, and work well with what Kot and Zircher are going for. With issue 24, Suicide Squad will tie-in with Forever Evil, and no longer be written by Kot. Apparently, Kot was always intended to be a placeholder, whether he knew it or not. It's a real shame he's leaving, as this run was shaping up to be something great.