(I Have) Special Issue(s) by Jason Brown

Well the wait is over and tonight I will see the Suicide Squad movie in UltraAVX. Being a comic fiction fanboy, I would have seen it regardless, but since becoming a fan of the original series, and through doing these reviews, I feel a special privilege in having got to know some of these characters in more depth before being introduced to their Hollywood counterparts. I feel I have a special "inside track" the general movie-going population won’t have access to (and in many cases even knowledge of). It kind of feels like I’m an acquaintance of the real squad going to see a movie about them, some production teams interpretation of the people I already know. Unlike characters the world knows well like Batman or Spider-man, our Task Force X is significantly more obscure. I remember building Suicide Squad teams in heroclix before I knew who they were, and they kicked butt! (If any of you are familiar with the game, let’s just say my SS force was topped off nicely by a few layers of Multiplex to tie up my opponents nicely while I flayed them open with the rest of my team.) But since reading the original series, I have also been very pleasantly surprised by the depth of character and story which is at least as good as anything I ever read from Marvel... it’s just so damn well done. And so, with the help of the Suicide Squad, God, and several twelve-step programs, I am well on my way to finally becoming the man I always knew I could be; thanks Captain Boomerang!

I was going to continue with reviewing the issues, but in anticipation of going to see the movie, I decided to do a "special issue" and review my impression of the series so far, maybe compare it to other stuff, and y’know, just talk about whatever I feel like. Due to my demanding work schedule and the high-octane thrill-ride which is my life in general, I’m actually only about half-way through the series. I've also read the DC New 52 Suicide Squad reboot. I've also seen a Netflix animated movie [Batman: Assault on Arkham] that was pretty good. But this is DC in the 80s, so I’m only reviewing the original. Oh and I was using a bit of sarcasm about my life being a 'high-octane thrill-ride'.

So I used to read Marvel at a few different points in my life, but read very little DC for some reason. Looking back I probably just started out as a highly biased, know-it-all, asshole teenager that can’t just have some opinions about some things, but had to have very strong opinions and final judgments about everything. I think this is the reason many people miss out on things they think they don’t like. They really like Coke, so they don’t like Pepsi. They taste virtually the same, so what actually happened is that their cool older cousin drank Coke, so they chose Coke, and this was reinforced every time they saw a commercial about world peace through Coca-Cola, or polar bears drinking carbonated sugar-water. And when their friend on the next block mentioned how Pepsi was better, a dumb-ass, 13-year old argument ensued. Which is absurd, because as I already stated, they taste the same. Even as I write this, I can feel the resistance, the outrage from your end. "No!", you think. "It's not true! Coke/Pepsi is better than Coke/Pepsi! Jason, you're clearly a moron, because anybody will tell you Coke/Pepsi doesn’t taste anything like Coke/Pepsi." Yeah, I know. It’s not exactly the same. But it’s pretty damn close. It’s our social programming that deeply entrenches us in our need to identify with brand. So it is with Marvel and DC. And Conservative and Liberal. And Jesus and Buddha. Whatever brand you like is fine, and liking one doesn’t necessarily vilify the other. The point is, yeah I was a 'Marvel man'. But then I grew up and got over it. Good is good, and Suicide Squad is very good. So Deadshot/Bullseye, Captain Boomerang/Boomerang, Rick Flagg... I don’t know, Duke from G.I.Joe? All creative works are influenced by other creative works. Darth Vader was inspired by Doctor Doom, and I’m pretty sure Judge Dredd is a perfect mix of Captain America and the Punisher. These characters are all archetypes in various mixes and variations which I’m sure could be traced back to the dawn of civilization. But It’s what you do with your incarnation of the archetypes that matters.

So coming from a Marvel background, I expected something similar to Thunderbolts; some cool characters who can kick some ass with some moral dilemmas. And to some degree, I was right, but not totally. As a total package I did not expect the book to be at the level it is. From what I’ve seen so far, this is really well done. It’s tight. I actually find the lower power levels of the characters, the way their compliance is coerced, and the social interactions between them more realistic and more believable than what I remember from Thunderbolts. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Thunderbolts. A lot. But whether it’s Coke or Pepsi, I’m just calling it like it is. Suicide Squad is just a little more adult. Just a little more compelling. It’s like lately on Netflix, I had a season of Archer to watch, and a season of Bojack Horseman. At first I thought I would go back and forth between the two, cause I really like both shows, but no... I couldn’t stop watching Bojack. When I thought about it, although Archer is cutting-edge comedy (at least it was when it started) ultimately the characters and relationships in Bojack Horseman just have more depth and are more compelling. In some ways the comedy in Bojack is a little more hit-or-miss, and Archer is sharper – even the animation looks a lot better – but in the end, the fact remains, I just find Bojack more entertaining. Period. So I might think Mach IV is the coolest looking character with the coolest back-story and Bronze Tiger seems like a generic fill-in with generic abilities and wears a costume that looks like a fabric golem ate a bunch of hot dogs slathered in mustard and threw up on him, but guess what? I feel more entertained by Suicide Squad. Not by a huge margin, but it’s there. I’m not Marvel, or DC. Just whatever is good. Just based on the comics I actually read, which is not all Suicide Squad or Thunderbolts, by a long shot. Also, I think it’s important to point out, and this should be obvious, but we all like different things. And that’s ok. Unless you’re an asshole teenager. Well, to be fair maybe these millennials are smarter than that. I’m just a disillusioned Gen X, so what do I know. (I think Gen X vs the Millennials actually sounds like a great title for a comic book.)

I’m racing to finish this so I can go see the movie and see if they do this fine book justice or not, so I’ll wrap up. Suicide Squad original series has very cool characters who can do very cool stuff. They kick ass and get things done. The art and writing are fantastic and show a depth to the characters that really makes you invested in them and whatever shitty fate faces them in the next story arc. Thanks to the creators, the fans, and to Justin for introducing me to a great work of fiction.

I’ve purposefully stayed away from reviews and am looking forward to a totally unbiased viewing of Suicide Squad movie. (I really just think they should’ve gone with a Marlboro Man-style Deadshot. Ahhh, ok, I’ll give Will Smith a chance.) Later guys!

I am a just-starting-out fiction writer and musician living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. If you would like to contact me with work or collaboration opportunities, or just to make arrangements to send me cash, please email me. Cheers! 

-Jason Brown

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All content in this article entry [except for the editor's note] written by Jason Brown. If you want to attribute any of this work, please credit Jason Brown.

Hail the Anti-hero!

[Editor's note: A bit of context - I met Jason about seven months ago at a local Hobby Shop. We hit it off pretty quickly as we both had many common interests. I knew he was a Marvel Comics fan, but we never really talked about it outside of the occasional comment about a Marvel film he may have seen. After about two months of knowing him, he casually mentioned that somebody had lent him the first two dozen issues of The New 52 Suicide Squad (aka: Suicide Squad v4, 2011) and he told me it was quite enjoyable. "Really?", I thought. I quickly told him about John Ostrander's Suicide Squad run from the mid-to-late 80s and how it set the 'gold standard' for all future Suicide Squad runs. And then I lent Jason my copies. It turns out that Jason also writes fiction (he's been doing it for years), and I thought to myself "I wonder how Ostrander's Suicide Squad appears to someone who didn't grow up reading it? Sure, we all love it because we were following DC during it's heyday (mid-to-late 80s/early 90s), but what about someone who totally missed out on that? Would they still be able to pick it up and enjoy it as much as we do? Considering Jason's first impression of the Squad is the New 52 version, I wonder how much he's going to like the 'legacy' material in comparison?". Which leads us to where we are now. -J]  

Suicide Squad as they first appear in LEGENDS #2 (1986)

When my friend Justin asked me if I would be interested in writing an article for his blog "DC in the 80s", I was excited. Not because I know anything about DC comics from the 1980s, but because I’m a writer and I love superhero fiction. I was always awe-inspired by the heroes, willing to put their lives on the line for others; and equally drawn to the villains, for their often all too relatable, egocentric motives. However, there has always been a special place in my heart for the anti-hero. It is here that I have always found myself the most entertained. I believe the best stories, no matter the genre, are character-driven dramas at the core, and drama is created by conflict. Anti-heroes often have an inner conflict that drive the emotional core of the story a little deeper than a straight up heroes vs. villains storyline.

I remember when I discovered Marvel’s Thunderbolts sometime in the late 2000’s. I had been away from comic books for years and was getting back into it, and this title really made me smile. I can’t guarantee I’ve got my details straight here, but I seem to remember Atlas apparently killing another team member (Genis-Vell maybe?) and kind of shrugged off the moral implications like a lot of people might crumple up and toss away a parking ticket. I laughed when Speed Demon and, I think, Blizzard were drinking in a bar and bitching about the team while they watched said team on TV struggling to contain a giant monster attacking Manhattan. Basically Speed Demon was like, Screw ‘em. I’m almost laughing now as I remember it. Another time a couple of Thunderbolts stopped a robbery and one of them was trying to convince the other one to keep the money; Thunderbolt 1: "No! Abe (Mach IV) will be pissed!" Thunderbolt 2: "But it’s SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!"

Marvel Comics Thunderbolts and New Thunderbolts series:

I used to wear this Bizarro T-shirt years ago, one with just the backwards Superman symbol. I loved it, not because I was an especially huge Bizarro fan, but because of what it represented. At first glance I might appear to be a hero... ahhh, but if you look a look a little closer, you’ll see something is a little off; the blue and red are just kind of a washed out purple, and yeah... that "S" is definitely backwards. My favorite film for years was 1976's Taxi Driver. True, Travis did end up saving Iris in the end, but wasn’t that just because he dropped the ball on assassinating Senator Palantine? At the end of the day was he really a hero? I’ve watched the movie a dozen times and I can’t say. I don’t think Travis Bickle could tell you either.

At this point you may be asking yourself when I’m going to get to the DC in the 80s part. Well, that's where Suicide Squad comes in. But first, a little back story...

As a young child of the 70’s, I grew up on the original Spider-man, Super Friends, and the likes of Blue Falcon and DynoMutt. As I grew older I became a bit of a bookworm which led to my love of fantasy; The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, A Wizard of Earthsea. I remember when I was about ten, my parents bought me a copy of Marvel's The Savage Sword of Conan magazine which I promptly began to collect. Then came Dungeons and Dragons. When I was twelve I saw an issue of Marvel's Amazing Spider-man on the comic rack that caught my eye and I remembered my childhood love of superheroes. I put my money down, and it was all over (at least until I reached seventeen and Stephen King took over). It was Spider-man and Silver Sable fighting the Sinister Syndicate. Interesting, now that I think about it, that Syndicate lineup was lead by Beetle (aka Mach IV) and included Speed Demon, two future T-bolts.

Spider-Man and Silver Sable battle the Sinister Syndicate

So by now you may have sized me up to be a "Marvel guy", and there was a time I would have agreed with you. These days my superhero fix has come primarily through movies, and the collectable strategy game Heroclix, and I have to say, I like DC about as much as Marvel now. (I even thought Batman v Superman was great; as a movie I would give it a 6, but when I am watching it, my heart feels like it's an 8.) Either way, Justin thought it might be interesting for you DC in the 80s readers to hear an opinion piece of the original Suicide Squad from someone like me, who isn’t so up on DC comics from the 1980s. So I decided to do not just one article on the subject, but a series. Is this because It’s such an awesome series and one article can’t begin to cover all the goodness? Or is it because I’m very opinionated and love to hear myself talk at length about my opinions? I’ll take the stand beside Travis Bickle and let you decide.

So, Suicide Squad, huh? Sounds dark. Edgy. I’m all for that. My first contact was through Heroclix. As I collected and played the game, I found myself needing to know who the figures were in the comics. Believe it or not, I actually collected DC’s Who’s Who in the 80s, which is kind of weird since I collected virtually nothing else from DC at the time. I guess I just have an insatiable desire to know who everyone is and what they can do, DCU included. But it was through Heroclix that I really started to look into some of the storylines. I read Crisis on Infinite Earths, then The New 52 Suicide Squad, then started in on Ostrander's Suicide Squad series, which lead to me writing this.

When I said I’m a writer, I’m actually a fiction writer. So I’m not exactly sure how to approach this series of articles. But it looks like we’ve got an introduction now that covers just about everything except DC in the 80s. From here I think I will just take the Suicide Squad series in bite-sized sections and... um... talk about stuff? Ok, yeah. Sounds like a plan. Are you excited? (After writing that introduction I know I sure am.) So next time, actual DC in the 80s content. I promise. Deadshot... Boomerang... Enchantress... Excitement! Thanks for reading, and see you then!

I am a just-starting-out fiction writer and musician living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. If you would like to contact me with work or collaboration opportunities, or just to make arrangements to send me cash, please email me. Cheers!

-Jason Brown

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All content in this article entry [except for the editor's note] written by Jason Brown. If you want to attribute any of this work, please credit Jason Brown.