The new Suicide Squad movie, The Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn is set to be released on August 6. I don't understand why they named a sequel to the original Suicide Squad film like this while 2icide Squad is right there, but that's a separate matter. Gunn seems to be taking greater inspiration from the original 1987 comic than his predecessor, with a large roster of expendable C-list villains. It's a lot of nerdy lore and obscure superhero history, which of course has me deliriously excited. This movie has a lot of people wondering where to start with the Suicide Squad comics, and I've got your back! There are multiple different versions of the team by different writers, so it can be intimidating trying to figure it out. Here is my guide for you on the best place to start reading Suicide Squad comics.
A Brief Overview of the Suicide Squad
The first appearance of the Suicide Squad is a little complicated. Robert Kanigher created the team in 1959 for a handful of appearances beginning with The Brave and the Bold #25. This version lead by soldier Rick Flag, a special military unit that took on dangerous missions, bears little resemblance to the popular version today. Kanigher would try using the title again in 1964 for a short-lived WWII-era team in Star-Spangled War Stories #116.
It wasn't until 1987 that writer John Ostrander decided to revamp the concept and introduced the Suicide Squad as we know them today. The Legends event introduced Amanda Waller, a shadowy government figure determined to revive the Suicide Squad or "Task Force X" as a work-release program for costumed villains in prison. The criminals would have a chance to get reduced time on their sentences by going on deadly missions. The government would have deniability that these actions were random super-villain attacks. Waller even recruited Rick Flag as their handler in the field. Legends served as a sort of back-door pilot for the concept, and the first Suicide Squad #1 was released later the same year. Since then they've undergone many incarnations, as the "anyone can die" nature of the book means the cast is constantly changing. Most recently, when DC rebooted their entire universe in the 2011 event "The New 52," they also gave the Squad a fresh start. The Squad's most consistent member, suicidal assassin Deadshot, would be joined by Harley Quinn as a new series mainstay.
Recommended Reading
* Suicide Squad: Trial by Fire - The beginning of John Ostrander's long-running Suicide Squad comic, this story sets the tone for a bold new concept and still holds up years later. Technically Ostrander's work begins in the Legends event but that is hard to find and completely non-essential. Trial by Fire assumes it's your first time reading about the team but still throws you in the deep end. The series is worth reading up through its end in 1992 with issue #66. There are other good pre-2011 stories involving the team, but nothing that comes close to the original run. You might also want to check out Ostrander's 2007 return to the book with From the Ashes.
* Suicide Squad: Kicked in the Teeth - This 2011 reboot written by Adam Glass kicks off the new status quo of the Suicide Squad, now featuring fan-favorite character Harley Quinn. The book is less critically acclaimed than its predecessor, but probably more recognizable to fans of the 2016 movie. For years previously, the Squad had mostly appeared as minor antagonists in other books. This comic marks the beginning of DC treating them like a cornerstone franchise that will always have a book on the shelf.
* Suicide Squad: The Black Vault - This 2016 series by writer Rob Williams, published as part of the DC Rebirth event, is a soft relaunch/retooling of the previous comic. It's in the same continuity and can be read immediately after the previous run, but it's designed as a jumping-on point for new readers. I'm including it separately because I think it's also a lot better than the preceding New 52 era comics. The new #1 issue was timed to coincide with the first Suicide Squad movie, and it leads directly into DC's 2017 blockbuster crossover event Justice League vs. Suicide Squad.
I hope you enjoy these books! Let me know in the comments if you do wind up reading them, I would love to hear your thoughts. If you're a long-time Suicide Squad fan with strong ideas about where new readers should start, please also let me know your opinions.
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