The Suicide Squad makes its final push against the League, an offshoot of the League of Assassins, with each member of Task Force X at a cross roads of who they are, and who they want to become.

The most interesting thing about the Suicide Squad is the interactions between characters. These are inherently not good people. Each of them is a violent criminal, forced to do good. This creates an incredibly interesting dynamic as each person struggles to find their own sense of identity in a world where they are told what is right and wrong; causing them to question their own beliefs. The most interesting of the dynamics comes between Harley Quinn and the Reverse Flash as they fight through the League’s base. Their struggle comes from trying to find out if they can become more than their violent past has led them to believe they are. It is this search for understanding of oneself, that author Sean Ryan truly shows his grasp on who these people are. Moments such as watching Deadshot struggle with his physical limitations, making him rethink who he is, or Black Manta searching for some larger purpose he feels he has been missing as he battles with the League ideals after he infiltrates their ranks, are the high point of this story. The actually story involving the League is less important, as it mainly serves as background to who the Squad is becoming, but, it still wraps up very nicely and the ending is both captivating and creates an interesting set up for the next issue.

The only real problem with this issue is the price point. New Suicide Squad #1 Annual feels like just another comic book wrapping up a long arc. The story comes in at 42 pages but, the story never uses the full extent of that to turn this from a slightly longer comic book finale, into an actual one time event like an annual should be. It does not seem like a story that is fully worth the $4.99 price tag despite how well it is put together.

The artwork does exactly what it needs to here and does not distract from the story. It is a very clean style that allows the story to flow smoothly and at no point is there a panel that seems off or in any way unnatural in the course of the narrative. Artist Phil Briones does a very commendable job switching from character to character and scene to scene, considering the vast array of events and emotions on display.

Overall, this is one of the stronger recent issues of Suicide Squad with the entire arc coming to a very satisfying close however, it just does not quite feel unique enough to warrant the annual label.

Story: Sean Ryan Art: Phil Briones
Story: 8 Art:7 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read