Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay #1

2018
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Matthew Dow Smith
Colours: Tony Avina
Cover: Ryan Benjamin

Wow, look at that scene! Think it'll appear in this issue? Mmmmmm....... no.

My husband and brother weren't keen on this cover - calling Harley mongoloid looking, doubting if she could take on Bane and generally being dismissive of an obvious sell out cover featuring Harley.

True, she does not look her prettiest here but I don't mind that too much. I mean, it's a fight scene. Looks don't matter too much. I do question why Harley is fighting Bane of all people, why her corset is barely hanging on by the tiniest of threads, and yeah, why she's on the cover when she was barely in the movie this comic is based off.

Yes, this is a sequel to the animated movie Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay - even though the comic came out just before the release of the DCD/Blu-ray for some reason. Didn't a similar thing happen with the Batman and Harley Quinn movie? Well, at least this movie was better than that one.

Anyway, after procuring the 'Get out of Hell Free' card, Waller wants to check it's authenticity so she goes to speak with Jason Blood AKA Etrigan and Madame Xanadu... all the way followed by a mysterious Spectre. Heh heh... see what I did there? Subtlety. Yeah.. nailed it.

Neat trading card collection!

Waller talks to someone over the phone while heading into New Orleans - Flag? Maybe. 

She meets up with Jason Blood and he confirms that the 'Get out of Hell Free' card is authentic and provides interesting information about how it appeared in different forms throughout the ages. 

He also delivers a bummer... someone's already redeemed it. 

Waller finds out who exactly redeemed it (as we saw it the movie it was Deadshot giving it to Bronze Tiger) and tries to see if it can be reactivated. 

A jab at Suicide Squad's live action disaster and Wallers inclusion of a magic user on her team? LOVING IT. 

Xanadu and Blood explain more about the ominous spectre and note that it's strange that he's taken so long to act on Waller. They decide it's because Waller is balancing her own scales by doing some good work to counteract her evils. Blood thinks of one more thing that might help but it's rarer than the 'Get out of Hell Free' card. 

The Short End of the Jester Schtick

Well - I liked this a lot. It reminded me a lot of the Secret Six - a comic series where the 'Get out of Hell Free' card turned up as well, and appears to have been inspiration for the Hell to Pay movie.
I enjoyed the various jabs at the Suicide Squad movie - even though technically they're not in the same 'universe' and shouldn't make sense. I don't care, it was hilarious. Plus, for once you see Waller both admitting a mistake AND showing fear. That's rarer than any 'Get out of Hell Free' card!

Also, there were references to Death and bringing Scandal Savage back into the action. The interactions between Waller and the magic users felt realistic (irony!) and Xanadu was hilarious!
The art isn't my cup of tea but it worked really well and even though Xanadu and Blood were naked for a good chunk of this issue, it was never exploitative.

And as I predicted - Harley Quinn fighting Bane did NOT get anywhere near happening in this comic, and apart from brief mentions (the Squad as a whole) and a cameo via tarot cards, she isn't even in the issue at all. So there you go.

Wotta Comedian!

Waller: Don't worry, I'm not going to try and put another one of them on the squad. It's all science-based creeps for me. 

Blood: Vandal. The only one I could talk to about the old days. When he wasn't trying to kill me.

Xanadu: She has a terminal condition, it's in one of her precious files.
Blood: Ah. Planning for the afterlife is thorough, very on-brand. 

Waller: Two more questions. DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS RIGHT NOW... and ... IS THERE A WAY TO STOP HIM?

Waller: Maybe I'll send my squad to kill whoever's causing global warming, buy me some time.

Waller: How do we know the key is still in existence?
Blood: If it were gone, the entry itself would disappear. 
Xanadu: Like a Craigslist ad!

Xanadu: There's that karma again. 

Waller: I guess we all have our inner demons. 
Blood: Well -- I do. The rest of you torture yourselves for some unknown reason.