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Review – Suicide Squad: Get Joker #1

5th August 2021

Suicide Squad Get Joker! Issue #1 Writer: Brian Azzarello Artist: Alex Maleev Colours: Matt Hollingsworth Letters: Jared Fletcher Publisher: DC Black Label Release Date: 4th August 2021 Variant Cover Artist: Jorge Fornés The Joker Must DIE Tasked with ending the trail of broken, bloody bodies left in the Clown Prince of Crime’s wake, Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad – now led by the Red Hood – must hunt down Batman’s greatest foe in the hopes of putting him six feet under. The former Boy Wonder and current Red Hood, Jason Todd, agrees to help track down the Joker out of both duty and a lust for revenge against the monster some think killed the second Robin. Now side by side with some of the world’s most ruthless villains – including Harley Quinn, Firefly and Wild Dog – the Red Hood must decide who he can trust and who’s really pulling the strings of the Squad once the Joker turns the tables on Task Force X. Writer: Brian Azzarello With the recent release of James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” in cinema’s, DC Black Label has decided to add another layer of marketing in comic form with Suicide Squad: Get Joker! I’m a sucker for an anti-hero and Suicide Squad has always filled that niche nicely. It calls out to the deep, hidden caveman section of the old reward pathway. Now, pair that with what some would consider the most tragic of anti-heroes, Jason Todd and you can count me in. This issue sets the scene nicely, leaving the majority of the violence for the last quarter and opening with a 10-page monologue that helps fill in the gaps for new readers without overstaying its welcome. I’m under the impression that pacing can make or break a comic and even though this isn’t as action-packed as some might hope, every panel has a purpose and Azzarello is tying the strings to make the marionettes dance later down the line. The issue concludes with some good old DC Black Label ultraviolence, a foreboding cliffhanger and a rather strange realisation that the Clown Prince of Crime has the words to Milli Vanilli’s 1989 hit “Blame It On the Rain” memorised… weird. Art/Colour: Alex Maleev/Matt Hollingsworth Alex Maleev’s art in this book is very clean and easy to follow. Coupled with Hollingsworth’s colouring, it helps pull readers into Gotham City with the familiar cold and grimy aesthetic. There is one section in particular, with a neon-lit bar and a little mindless violence that shines through. The dreary backdrop of the city streets steps back, allowing vibrant colours and a more bombastic, stylised few panels that help portray the intensity of the situation the Squad find themselves in. All in all, this is a Gotham story. Darkness and shadows are key, but they can get a little depressive and monotonous. I had hoped for more flashy, colourful segments in future issues to keep the eyes entertained. In Conclusion… If you are looking for a book that will have you pondering life’s big questions, this may not be for you. Suicide Squad has always been about having fun with the characters and this seems no different. Although there is nothing out of the gate that has me wowed, it’s been absurd enough that I’m interested to see where Azzarello’s Squad end up and I’ll be picking up issue #2 when the time comes. [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Look out for this comic at your Local Comic Shop Buy tickets for BGCP Comic-Cons in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

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Review – 1922

27th July 2021

Review – 1922 Directed by: Zak Hilditch Written by: Zak Hilditch (Screenplay) Stephen King (Novella) Produced by: Zak Hilditch & Sammie Astaneh Starring: Thomas Jane, Molly Parker & Dylan Schmid Release Date: October 20th 2017 Earlier in the year, I wrote a review for the Netflix adaption of Gerald’s Game by Mike Flanagan. 1922 was another Stephen King story adapted for Netflix, released just a month after the surprisingly phenomenal Gerald’s Game adaption. This meant that although 1922 is a very different movie to Gerald’s Game it was inevitably compared to Mike Flanagan’s surprise triumph upon its release. Going back to revisit 1922 for review four years later, it is in no way a bad film and it is unfortunate that it was released in the shadow of Gerald’s Game. The movie is set up nicely, showing an older, shaken man writing out his confession in hopes of appeasing the guilt that has plagued him since he murdered his wife Arlette. We then see a younger version of the man. His name is Wilfred and we learn that he is very protective of the three things that he feels, ‘belong,’ to him; his son, his wife and his land. Arlette professes a desire to sell the farm and move to the city, an idea that Wilfred outright refuses to go along with. The land that the farm is on belonged to Arlette’s father and so it is now in her name, meaning she has the final say officially on selling the land. Wilfred tries to bargain with her, saying that he will buy the land from her in instalments, but Arlette knows that she can get a better price elsewhere and won’t have to wait years to receive the payment. This leads Wilfred to start planning his wife’s murder. Wilfred knows that his son wants to stay on the farm as well and so he manipulates him into helping him carry out and cover up the murder. From this point on we have our ghost story. I’m actually rather hesitant to call it a ghost story, even though strictly speaking, it is one. This is more a tale of how guilt haunts a man beyond carrying out the heinous deed and how no bad deed goes unpunished. I don’t want to spoil too much here for those who reading who still have yet to see the film, but what follows is a relentless and depressing tale of regret and loss. The cast in this film are great, Thomas Jane does a great job in the lead role of a man willing to go to any morbid lengths in order to retain what he believes belongs to him. Molly Parker and Dylan Schmid also do well in their roles as Arlette and Henry, respectively. The supporting cast is also solid. The other stand out thing in the movie for me was the set design. I found the farmhouses and barns to be extremely believable and felt that the sets really added to the overall tone that the movie was going for and sold the era effectively as well. My main complaint of the movie is the lack of any significant scares. The movie sets up a fairly creepy atmosphere at times, but never capitalises on it. A Stephen King ghost story that released the week before Halloween should be way scarier than this. Back when the film first dropped in late 2017, I thought I was getting a truly chilling movie to sink my teeth into. Instead I got a movie showing a desperate man’s fractured psyche and the guilt he has to deal with in the aftermath of a despicable deed. Sure, all of that still makes for an interesting idea for a movie, it just isn’t exactly what I wanted out of this movie. Overall though, 1922 is a very well made movie and for what it is it is great. Although it didn’t quite meet my personal expectations that I had for it back when it released that is my own problem rather than the movie’s. Four years separated from the trailers and build up to this film’s release, I actually feel like I can appreciate the film more and would even go as far as to say it is a hidden gem. As with any Stephen King story, the plot of 1922 makes for an interesting adaption and takes you on a dark journey and leaves you wondering about you own moral decisions in life. The film is no doubt successful in what it sets out to do. I just wish that it had scared me slightly more. [yasr_multiset setid=2] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=2] If you enjoyed Dan’s review of 1922 and are into your Stephen King stories, you can check out our review of It: Chapter One here. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Discord and join our official Facebook Group. Check out our new Podcast and subscribe to the channel on Youtube, Spotify, Apple and Google. Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews and News from Glasgow, Scotland, UK and the US, HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

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