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dantastic's review
3.0
Suicide Squad: The Silver Age collects material from The Brave and the Bold #25-27 and #37-39, as well as Star Spangled War Stories #110, 111, 116-121, 125, 127, and 128.
I'm not a Suicide Squad fan but I saw an ad for this in the back of the Doom Patrol omnibus I read a little while ago. I checked Amazon and saw it for $19 and some change, marked down from $50, so I took the plunge.
The creative team is pretty stable throughout. Robert Kanigher handles the words and Ross Andru and Mike Esposito handle the pictures, apart from some guest art by Gene Colan, Russ Heath, and Joe Kubert.
There had to be a huge WTF factor from fans of the Suicide Squad movie that bought this. While I had a faint inkling this contained weird war stories, I bet a lot of people expected a team of semi-reformed super villains like the movies and the modern comics featuring the team.
The TB&TB issues in this deal with the 1950s version of the team while the Star Spangled War Stories issues feature the World War II incarnation. Both teams go up against dinosaurs about 99% of the time. That's an exaggeration but this thing is packed to the gills with dinosaurs.
The 1950s team feels a lot like the Challengers of the Unknown or the Sea Devils, three guys and a girl up against whatever menaces that Mission X sends them up against. Rick Flagg and Karin Murphy (I think that's her last name) can't succumb to their throbbing biological urges without alienating the other two guys on the team, two scientists so characterless that I can't remember their names or even what they look like.
The Star Spangled War Stories are all dinosaurs, all the time. The team members of Suicide Squad, aka Task Force X, are rotating in and out but this is pretty much soldiers vs. dinosaurs, no girls allowed.
The writing is par for the time period but less cringe-inducing than a lot of Stan Lee dialogue from around the same time. Read this for the art because Ross Andru was tearing it up. I have to think he was tired of dinosaurs forever after this wrapped though. The only story that stands out for me was Tidbit for a Tyrannosaurus and that's because it features both Joe Kubert art and GI Robot! I need more GI Robot!
It wasn't the best $19 and change I've ever spend on an omnibus but Suicide Squad: The Silver Age Omnibus has some great art and 99% more GI Robot than your favorite comic. Three out of five dinosaurs.
I'm not a Suicide Squad fan but I saw an ad for this in the back of the Doom Patrol omnibus I read a little while ago. I checked Amazon and saw it for $19 and some change, marked down from $50, so I took the plunge.
The creative team is pretty stable throughout. Robert Kanigher handles the words and Ross Andru and Mike Esposito handle the pictures, apart from some guest art by Gene Colan, Russ Heath, and Joe Kubert.
There had to be a huge WTF factor from fans of the Suicide Squad movie that bought this. While I had a faint inkling this contained weird war stories, I bet a lot of people expected a team of semi-reformed super villains like the movies and the modern comics featuring the team.
The TB&TB issues in this deal with the 1950s version of the team while the Star Spangled War Stories issues feature the World War II incarnation. Both teams go up against dinosaurs about 99% of the time. That's an exaggeration but this thing is packed to the gills with dinosaurs.
The 1950s team feels a lot like the Challengers of the Unknown or the Sea Devils, three guys and a girl up against whatever menaces that Mission X sends them up against. Rick Flagg and Karin Murphy (I think that's her last name) can't succumb to their throbbing biological urges without alienating the other two guys on the team, two scientists so characterless that I can't remember their names or even what they look like.
The Star Spangled War Stories are all dinosaurs, all the time. The team members of Suicide Squad, aka Task Force X, are rotating in and out but this is pretty much soldiers vs. dinosaurs, no girls allowed.
The writing is par for the time period but less cringe-inducing than a lot of Stan Lee dialogue from around the same time. Read this for the art because Ross Andru was tearing it up. I have to think he was tired of dinosaurs forever after this wrapped though. The only story that stands out for me was Tidbit for a Tyrannosaurus and that's because it features both Joe Kubert art and GI Robot! I need more GI Robot!
It wasn't the best $19 and change I've ever spend on an omnibus but Suicide Squad: The Silver Age Omnibus has some great art and 99% more GI Robot than your favorite comic. Three out of five dinosaurs.
librarycobwebs's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Just when the original Suicide Squad stories are getting good (ESP, alternate dimensions, hyper intelligent dinosaurs) they become repetitive absurd war stories.
luana420's review
3.0
DC tried to launch a Harryhausen style feature in their Brave & the Bold anthology book, which didn't catch on all that much since they were only in 6 issues. While there are some funny out-there plots and gags, the team of adventurers tasked to take on the big Technicolor beasties is a dull bunch. The only characteristic they all seem to have is "in love with Karen" and Karen's characteristic is "in love with Rick." I can't blame her since, I would be hard-pressed to tell you any defining traits of either Dr. Evans or Jess Bright! Even the name is half-assed: while the title of the feature is "Suicide Squad", they're technically Task Force X, with SS their nickname. Editorial compromise? I mean they call 'em the Suicide CLUB on occasion so you know someone really preferred TFX.
The Suicide Squad would be revived in prequel tales in 11 issues of "Star-Spangled War Stories", where it turns out the Squad was already running ops in the Pacific, and had a doggone tendency to constantly crash on that mist-covered hellhole Skull Is... uhhh I mean... Not Skull Island???
The dino adventures here are very tedious, as they are literally just a non-stop barrage of "dino charges, soldiers throw grenades at 'em."
Only occasionally does the writing manage to spruce things up with gimmicks like "Dino the baby pterodactyl" or "MAC THE ROBOT GI" but a lot of the issues are barely distinguishable work-for-hire filler stuff.
I did laugh a bunch of times, so the typical Silver Age kookiness shines through occasionally, but one of the book's theoretical strengths (a comprehensive collection) is also one of its weaknesses -- I probably would have had a much better time if it was a "greatest hits" book about half its length.
The Suicide Squad would be revived in prequel tales in 11 issues of "Star-Spangled War Stories", where it turns out the Squad was already running ops in the Pacific, and had a doggone tendency to constantly crash on that mist-covered hellhole Skull Is... uhhh I mean... Not Skull Island???
The dino adventures here are very tedious, as they are literally just a non-stop barrage of "dino charges, soldiers throw grenades at 'em."
Only occasionally does the writing manage to spruce things up with gimmicks like "Dino the baby pterodactyl" or "MAC THE ROBOT GI" but a lot of the issues are barely distinguishable work-for-hire filler stuff.
I did laugh a bunch of times, so the typical Silver Age kookiness shines through occasionally, but one of the book's theoretical strengths (a comprehensive collection) is also one of its weaknesses -- I probably would have had a much better time if it was a "greatest hits" book about half its length.
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