13 has always been my favorite number and Suicide Squad #13 reminded me why. Rob Williams continues the “Burning Down the House” arc on the front end of the issue. Part three of the arc is no less compelling than its predecessors, in fact, part three turns the action up to 11 and, I’m here for it. Williams gives us the Suicide Squad actually being a team. He shows us peak Harley loyalty, some wicked hacking mainframe battles we also see a Squad member confront Waller’s killer.

We get a glimpse into Rustam’s plan as he holds a couple of squad members captive and he makes all of the Squad a pretty compelling offer. This issue gives us infighting, someone’s power being revoked, and during the final battle during this comic I actually was humming the song Burning Down the House and it seemed to match perfectly with the rhythm of the fight!!

A special shout out goes to the art team on this issue! John Romita Jr. who provides a great base line for Richard Friend to lay down the ink giving us the killer visuals. Dean White and Jeremiah Skipper step in and give us a color game so strong that I forgot I was reading for a minute. The mainframe scenes alone made we want to go grab some popcorn and the before and after panels made me wish I had nachos.

“Burning Down the House” is such a beautifully crafted story, with art to match, that I really felt like I was in a movie. There was so much attention to detail, character motives, and background that I found myself getting sucked into the Squads’ world and I was happy to go on the ride.

This marks the end of this particular arc and the creative team did this story justice and actually lived up to its title.

The second half of issue Suicide Squad #13 “Hero or Villain” is also written by Rob Williams. Williams takes amazing care in crafting a short, sweet, poignant story that not only sets up the next full arc but breaks us of our preconceived notions of who is who. The People’s spy is revealed and a Squad member falls because of it all. Harley examines her feeling for Flag, June thinks about a future with Croc, and Hack thinks about work as they enjoy a much-needed girls’ night out. There’s a nice calm and a real moment of pure love that occurs in the second half of this issue making the ending all the more sad and powerful.

Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Adriano Lucas provide the pop inspired visuals that brought this half of the issue to life. The intermittent bright pops of color with the hard lines shadows gives an ominous tone to the story. The artwork engages the reader and prepares us for that gut check in the final panel.

Burning Down the House 
Story: Rob Williams Art: John Romita Jr., Dean White, Richard Friend and Jeremiah Skipper
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.2

Hero or Villain 
Story: Rob Williams Art: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Adriano Lucas
Story: 9.4 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.3

Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review