The adventures of Boomerang and El Diablo continues this month with both characters way in over their head. They probably wish they had their Suicide Squad buddies nearby, but they gotta try to pull off each of their missions regardless. Is it good?
Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo & Boomerang #2 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? Read the official DC summary:
The first chapter of the story that brought together the Dark Knight and those Heroes in a Half-Shell is back in this new Director’s Cut edition co-published with IDW.
Why does this book matter?
Aside from the fact that Suicide Squad recently topped off 700 plus million dollars and this is a way to shed some light on the lesser known characters, the first issue also showed a lot of merit. El Diablo is thrust into a new role that’s compelling and Boomerang is surprisingly charming. Bring it on!
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
El Diablo vs. Parasite–who ya got?
The cover says it all when it comes to El Diablo’s storyline, it’s him vs. Parasite! Writer Jai Nitz utilizes this somewhat lopsided fight to show us how El Diablo isn’t just a dude with fire abilities, but is very much connected to a pure evil. That’s a cool element. Plus, his story involves Uncle Sam, which to my mind is one of the wackiest heroes ever put on the page. El Diablo and Uncle Sam team up in this issue which also sheds a bit more light on the secret organization they work for.
Boomerang’s story is written by Michael Moreci and wraps things up in this issue with more or less good old fashioned action. Penciller Oscar Bazaldua draws an easy to follow action sequence and you gotta love the DNA exploding ability of Breaker. Her powers are probably way too strong for a team like Suicide Squad, but it’s neat to see it ends with that up in the air. Outside of Boomerang’s scene we get a full zombie vs. Suicide Squad scene which is pretty darn awesome. It’s only three or so pages, but Bazaldua is clearly having fun with the gore (broken off jaws, bodies torn in half, burned corpses) and it all looks great.
It can’t be perfect can it?
The Boomerang story loses track of the character, making him more of a wise ass and less of a hero as the last issue seemed to suggest. His abilities are much too convenient to progress the plot which is also unfortunate as it makes the scripting feel forced. Instead, he serves more of his usual purpose on the team as the smart mouthed character who can solve a problem with a boring old boomerang.
The art in the first story falters at times, which holds the story back. When El Diablo is trouncing through the desert the layouts are boring and don’t add much to the story. It makes a boring situation even more boring. In one full page splash two disembodied heads amongst panels and purple energy ends up being more confusing than interesting or helpful in telling the story.
Nice violence.
Is It Good?
Both stories in this compilation do just enough to warrant a purchase. They do different things well, but neither feel strong enough on their own.
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