Amanda Waller confronts a feline felon leading a revolt in Belle Reve Prison, Louisiana:
Waller looks at her clipboard. "Uh-huh. And you would be Jackson Jones."
"Puma! I'm the Puma!"
"Uh-huh. Got yourself caught by Aquadlad."
"Punk Got Lucky!"
"Uh huh. You got a small explosive device inserted into the base of your skull. This pen is actually my detonator. It's now keyed to you. You and your friends let the guards go and head back to your cell, or I will blow your [%#$%] head off. Understand?"
Just a quick teaser for those of you new to the Squad. If you want to find out what happens next, buy it. This issue tells the story of an attempted rescue of dead team leader Rick Flag. It's a good introduction to the core of the squad and gives them a nice team battle against an old enemy. I don't think new readers will have any trouble and there's enough references, including an appearance by the Sqad's (nee Task Force X) first enemy.
Floyd "Deadshot" Lawton is perfect and Captain Boomerang once again manages to be slightly more effective than you'd actually expect. Waller herself feels a little over the top to me, although she still has all of her steel. That said, new readers will quickly understand why you should always listen to her and how she avoids crossing the line into super-villainy. The issue sets up some nice inter-agency cooperation warfare, so I trust we'll soon see the full depth of her abilities.
Team battle aside, this is mostly a setup issue to introduce the team to newcomers and get old fans settled in again. The initial rescue mission takes place eighteen months ago. Based on the cover of the next issue I'm betting that #2 will catch us up to the present. That'll be interesting since , as some of the characters have changed a lot, or died, since Ostrander's run.
I like the art style. (To see samples, check out the NewsRama post) It's crisp, clean, and I could always follow the action. Waller's design isn't my favorite depiction of her, but Deadshot is just right, particularly when he's out of uniform.
So I'd recommend it to any fans of the Squad or anyone that's curious about them because of JLU or Checkmate. For anyone hesitant, check back in next month and I'll cover issue #2.
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