The Suicide Squad spoof you never saw coming

Got this from my buddy Randy a couple days ago who knew I would find this interesting. From the pages of Excalibur written by Chris Claremont. I'm guessing Claremont or whoever that worked on that title was a fan of The Squad and or The Amanda Waller character. Of all the postings anywhere on the internet about The Suicide Squad I know you damn well never saw this coming.

Millennium Week 4 with The Suicide Squad

Any of you remember the late 80s DC 12 issue maxi-series Millennium? It was similar to Marvel's Secret Wars II in which it was it's own title but also crossed over into just about every DC title at the time including Suicide Squad issue 9. So tonight I was browsing at this Millennium TPB at a discount book store after work and came across a couple pages of unknown (at least to me) clip art which is actually a prelude to Suicide Squad #9. I took a couple of pictures of this page with my iphone for your viewing pleasure.

What a pleasant surprise, a real nice way to end my day by getting to read some Ostrander era Squad stuff I previously was unaware of. On the this page the Squad is informed that their going to be transporting a bomb to the Manhunter's fortress in the Bayous. Slipknot and Boomerang initially refuse to take part in the mission upon which they are informed that not only are they going to go but also will have to wear explosive bracelets. And if you want to see how that worked out in Suicide Squad # 9 you can have a look here . . .
http://daveslongbox.blogspot.com/2005/06/lame-ass-villain-7-slipknot.html

Suicidal Tendencies with Shadowpact

Shadowpact 10

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So I was in LA this past weekend and found a really cool comic shop (Golden Apple Comics) where I picked up some Shadowpact back issues (1,2, 9 and 10) from their $1 discount back issue boxes. Between having some former Squad members (Nightshade and Enchantress of course) on the team and with my growing interest in Ragman I've been meaning to check out some Shadowpact stuff for a while now.
Those issues were a good read I'll be on the look out for more. Aside from just the all around good writing I liked the some what subtle Suicide Squad reference in issue 10. And on some what of a side note I went ahead and grabbed a copy of Checkmate 10 which guest starred Shadowpact. In that issue Checkmate enlists the aid of Shadowpact to counter act a magic based ritual process that Kobra uses to expose Checkmate and other government agencies infiltration attempts. . .
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Checkmate_Vol_2_10

Ragman and The Hayoth team up fan art

I've always been a fan of the Israeli meta human team know as The Hayoth who first appeared in the pages of The Suicide Squad and would later be seen in The Specter and Checkmate in the old DCU. But more recently I've been getting into the Ragman character since having read some stuff with him (Ragman Suite of Souls one shot and Day of Vengeance #1)  I've found in back issue discount boxes. DC has other Jewish superheros like Atom Smasher and Batgirl but what I liked about these particular characters is that their powers and identity as heroes centers around Jewish lore and mysticism.

Oct. 3rd Update: 
I decided to add this clip art of Ragman in action from Day of Vengeance #1 (2006). Something interesting I learned about Ragman's suit in this issue is that the new souls that are collected often try to resist helping Ragman when called upon. Kinda think of it as a new prison inmate who hasn't learned the rules yet and think they can act like they're still on the outside. Well we know how that eventually plays out.

"...and then he suggested I could have a job only after I gave him one."

Yep that's actually a line in episode 1 of Vixen. Talk about an animated show with an edge! So apparently CW Seed isn't a TV cable channel it's some sort of CW network site. And the new Vixen series are actually just these 5 minute long mini episodes. So far 6 have been produced and depending how successful they are Vixen might become a live action show which I think would suck (pun intended) just like every other comic book based TV series out there. I say just make it a full length 30 minute episode animated series and leave it at that. Anyways, loved the first episode top notch writing and animation can't wait to see episode 2
http://www.cwseed.com/shows/vixen/episode-1/?play=f4cef08a-4fd7-4ab5-941a-b97e88800872

RAGMAN: Suit of Souls one shot (2010)

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So this past weekend I was at a comic shop that had a discount back issue box (50 cents each or 5 for $2). I decided to go for the 5 issue deal which included this Ragman one shot issue. I enjoyed it so much I decided to write this posting even though it's not Suicide Squad related. The issue is basically an origin story about the Ragman suite as told from the perspective of the current Ragman (Rory Regan) who is grappling with conflicted feelings about his deceased father who happened to be the former Ragman.
But what exactly is the "Ragman"? Simply put, a council of Rabbis hundreds of years ago who had once created the mythical protector known as The Golem used a variation of those Golem spells to create a suite made from rags. But unlike the Golem which is just magically animated clay the suite would be worn by a person and hence forth have a soul and a conscience. The suite gives it's wearer increased strength, speed, agility, limited flight, partial invulnerability and a slowing of the aging process. It can also capture the souls of evil people which it's wearer can draw strength and knowledge from.

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The former Ragman was a Jew who fought the nazis as Ragman in Poland during World War II and later immigrated to America where he retired the suite and changed his name in order to assimilate and start a new life. When it came to his son Rory he kept his Jewish heritage a secret until his mid teens. He was eventually murdered by gangsters who wanted to use his pawn shop as a drug dealing front. After Rory found the suite and took up the Ragman mantle he began to learn about his father's true origins which triggered a mix of feelings. On one hand he felt pride for his father's Ragman legacy but harbored feelings of resentment and confusing over his secrecy about his Jewish heritage. With the help of a local Rabbi Rory works through his feelings about his father and using the suite's abilities to communicate with captured souls he learns a deeper truth about his father's motivations and ultimately finds some peace of mind and closure. Preview the first few pages of the issue here . . . http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=6716

Suicide Squad Convergence, worth the read if . . .

 . . you find it for free on youtube which I happened to by chance last night. I had no idea what this whole convergence shit with DC was but based on these two issues I guess it has to do with some sort of old and new DCU cross over. So we do get to see some of the classic Squad but it's pretty scant on development. They did a descent job on the plus size Waller but we get far too little of old DCU Bronze Tiger, Poison Ivy and Count Vertigo. Bronze Tiger gets one line and Vertigo doesn't say a thing in either issues. Too much of the writing was spent on DC characters they already use frequently in the new DCU in particular Deathstroke and Deadshot. Kinda mediocre art work for both issues. Nice try DC but I'm still not spending any of my hard earned income on your new comics.

Convergence Suicide Squad 1 and 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9pAVucJnAU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY387p2T89o

Finally some new fan art from The Squad of the old DCU

Awesome sketch art by guinnessyde

I dunno about the rest of you but it's just fucken Harley Quinn over kill for the past couple of years now. So sick and tired of seeing nothing but "Suicide Squad" cosplay or fan art piece with Harley and a giant mallet or baseball bat. This is aside from my over all disdain for the false DCU it makes me not want to bother with looking for cool Suicide Squad related stuff to post any more. And lately all this shit from the upcoming movie has been saturating the net. I know I'll see the movie at some point but like with the new Star Wars movie I refuse to get caught up in all the hype. Any ways, this morning I just gave it a shot and looked for some stuff and as luck would have it I found this. A damn good sketch from The Ostrander era Squad, that's a potent combo.
http://www.deviantart.com/art/01292015-Suicide-Squad-510509352

False God, false Universe

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I'm sure by now most of you have seen that Batman Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer with that scene of the Superman statue with the "False God" graffiti right? It made me think of this panel from Checkmate 24 (2008) in which Superman teams up with Checkmate in order to take down a Kobra plot. Fuck the new DCU for having some cheap Kobra knock off (Basilisk) instead of the real thing. The New DCU, a false universe.

Suicide Squad 30 (1989)

The splash page that's in your face

I recently came across the final issue of this 6 issue mini-series in a $1 box.  As a result I was giving the whole series another look this past weekend. Can't believe I forgot about this page in issue 2. I'm posting it here because it begs to be shared with all of man kind. In particular that portion of mankind that doesn't get laid much.

Justice League Throne of Atlantis review

I was planning on buying it this weekend when just last night I discovered the latest DC animated feature was already on youtube in the form of a series of videos making up a total of 6 parts. So, the 3 or 4 of you reading this here's what I thought of the movie. In a nut shell it was a sequel to Justice League: War wrapped in an Aquaman origin story line. Before you read on this review is really intended for people who have seen the movie not because I have spoilers but because it will make better sense if you have.
Overall it wasn't a bad movie and it entertained me for the most part. Did it have the epic grandeur of Justice League Flash Point? The character development of Batman: Under The Red Hood? Or the entertainment value with it's dialogue and action as seen in Batman: Assault on Arkham? No, not really but that's not to say it didn't do a decent job of developing the individuals of The League such as the budding love affair between Superman and Wonder Woman and Victor Stone coming to terms with his life as a cybernetic organism. And of course we get to see more of the usual smart ass quips from Green Lantern along with some adolescent male humor provided by Captain Marvel. The Mera character was something of a surprise as a supporting role for the heroes that I liked and as for the villains . . Orem and Black Manta I would describe as adequate.
As for Aquaman himself they did a fairly good job with him as an origin story although there was some shit that annoyed me like a knife shattering against his skin as if a knife is made of a brittle material that would break like that. His journey as someone with a mixed heritage with a mystery back ground to becoming part of The League was handled fairly well I especially liked how he was a booze hound at the beginning of the movie. The high point of the final battle was definitely the way Aquaman defeats Black Manta although the battle it's self was otherwise . . . standard and kinda under whelming. On a high note the post credit scene of Lex Luthor visiting Belle Reve certainly intrigued me.

Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAzRRbqAkr4

Suicide Squad article from 2008 BACK ISSUE magazine

BACK ISSUE magazine from TwoMorrows Publishing is a fairly recent discovery I've made only as of late last year. I love how they have old copies of their magazines easily available for free to read online. The commentary on the second page of the article was pretty funny but you can read this entire Suicide Squad article at this link  . . .
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=619

The Bat vs The Spider

So here we are my first bit of fan art 2015. I just did this on a whim this past weekend which was a nice and relaxing one I must say. For a little while now I've had this idea in the back of my head to do something with Black Spider. As a ninja version of  The Punisher in the DCU I'd like to see the character get a bit more notoriety.

Along came a Black Spider

I was really enjoying the mano a mano throw down between Black Spider and Batman in Assault on Arkham it's too bad it got cut short by a mis thrown boomerang by the good Captain. Have a look at the rest of The Squad files from Assault on Arkham . .  .
http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2014/08/05/batman-assault-on-arkham-meet-task-force-x

Speaking of DC animated films I just got done watching Justice League War on youtube I finally found an actual full movie upload as opposed to the bogus channels that just have in the title "full movie" only to find some bullshit. It wasn't as good as Assault on Arkham or Batman Year One but it was still fairly good even though the parademon/Darksied fight scenes got to be a bit tedious. Can't wait to see Throne of Atlantis it's probably gonna be the only thing from DC worth looking forward to in 2015.

I'm posting this old school fan art of the Martian Manhunter (8 1/2 X 11 oil on canvas 1996) just for the hell of it. Some retro fan art to help usher in the new year as it were : )