Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot and Katana #1

DC Comics

Deadshot: Out of the Past

Written by: Brian Buccellato

Art by: Viktor Bogdanovic

Color by: Michael Spicer

Katana: Dawn of the Age of Chaos

Written by: Mike W. Barr

Art by: Diogenes Neves

Color by: Carrie Strachan

With the looming Suicide Squad movie only 6 months away it makes perfect sense that DC would want to reintroduce these characters to comic fans in a big bad way. Their plan, release a six issue miniseries, each issue highlighting two Suicide Squad members in an up close and personal story and call it Suicide Squad Most Wanted. We are first introduced to Deadshot as his tale is one of a man broken, ready to face death. When we first meet Floyd Lawton it’s perfectly fitting of his character as he expertly decimates a South American cartel in search of his next target. Brian Buccellato introduces us to Deadshot with a literal bang, as the blood, bullets and give an explosive background to Lawton’s subtle narration. As the story progresses we quickly learn that Lawton is a man who doesn’t fear death and in fact welcomes it, that is until a promise from his past comes back to taunt him.

Buccellato does a great job packing a ton of character into these issue. We quickly learn who Deadshot is, what he was, and where he is going. Lawton is a dispicable character and you can’t help but route against him. He seems to be an impossible man who takes pleasure in not being able to get along with anybody. Buccellato brings these traits to light in face paced dialogue and a slow deliberate narration from Lawton. Viktor Bogdanovic handles the art duties on Deadshot and his panel work and action sequences are a true thing of beauty. I especially love the first page as we see a POV of Deadshot taking down the cartel. Bogdanovic really knows how to make each character a unique individual and while he facial and beauty designs are fantastic, I wasn’t a fan of Deadshots costume as it looks to busy and jagged for a slick sharpeshooter.

Deadshot: Out of the Past is a great introduction to the Deadshot character. In just a few pages Bucellato tells you everything you need to know and leaves you with an extremely personal and unexpected cliffhanger. Bogdanovic and Michael Spicer combine their powers to create an action packed and colorful world that is beautiful focused and highlights the characters. This is a Deadshot story you can’t miss.

The Second story in this issue features Katana. Admittedly I am not as familiar with Katana as I am with Deadshot, she always seemed to be a bit of a cliche character to me and never peeked my interested. Unfortunately I don’t think Katana: Dawn of the Age of Chaos will be the story that steals my soul. The story opens on the island of Markovia as an army prepares to invade. Katana for some unknown reason is on a mission to the island when her ship is shot down. What proceeds is your typical reluctant hero story as Katana is forced to fight these invaders but really just wants to complete her mission and get the hell out of there.

Mike W. Barr gives us a bloody cool introduction to Katana but after that the story becomes a little cliche as it’s more or less your typical wrong place at the wrong time story. Outside of Katana the characters aren’t that interesting and our villains come across more cheesy than menacing. While Barr does give us a basic idea of who Katana is and why she is special, we get little sense as to her powers, past or what she was doing in Markovia in the first place.

If Katana’s story doesn’t grab you, Diogenes Neves art might. Its beautifully detailed and wonderfully colored thanks too Carrie Strachan. The panel work may not be inventive or unique but Neves certainly does a tremendous job of filling them as each pages oozes detail and little is left untouched. It really a beautiful book and I especially loved Neves’ rendition of the soul word as Katana shows it off.

Katana: Dawn of the Age of Chaos doesn’t serve as the best introduction to this character as its missing some key details that make her special. The villains left something to be desired and the story isn’t anything you haven’t read before. But Diogenese Neves are is a perfect fit for this super stylized character as the details serve her and the world well. If your already a Katana fan this will probably be a good story for you, if your looking for something to prepare yourself for her upcoming feature film debut, I might look elsewhere.

While I wasn’t a huge fan of booth stories and preferred Deadshot’s over Katana’s I would still say this is not a bad place to start preparing for the Suicide Squad film. If anything you will certainly walk away with a better understanding of who these character’s are and their place in the world. Here is hoping the next 5 issues have the same impact.