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Obsession Unknown: Suicide Squad Bound

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It’s as good a time as any to talk about my love for the Suicide Squad. It’s a specific kind of love.

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Let’s start with this bound collection of comics: every issue, every crossover, every letters page, every Who’s Who entry, every pertinent sheet of Squad related newsprint or baxter paper is included here (ending with the final issue #66, of course. Anything after that just gets in the way of the best ending this series could hope to have). I spent a while compiling these books, putting them in a very specific order. I cannot stress that enough; Very. Specific. Order.

Having these comics bound in such direct, no frills hardcovers made reading & storage so much more enjoyable & practical, but I also loved the idea of a curated collection of essentials. For this specific set of books, I got the idea to hit up a few of the related artists to put their own touch on the inside covers…

Luke McDonnell

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Karl Kesel

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Geof Isherwood

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These busy gentlemen were kind enough to honor my character requests & deal with book shipping (since none of these were convention commissions). Their efforts and patience remain appreciated.

Oh, god, it doesn’t stop there. I had to have the RPGs…

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… the Who’s Who loose leaf entires…

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… and the cards. The trading cards.

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I’m perfectly fine with drawing the line when it comes to toys, statues, cartoon appearances, or cosplay. Toys would be cool, actually, but I’m into the art more than anything else when it comes to any sort of non-comics merch. Really, all I care about are the comics.

I really like the way these books turned out (thanks to Houchen Bindery Ltd). Took me years to plan and assemble and I loved every second of it. I can see how one can get swept in the excitement of binding everything, but I think it’s safe to say that there are not many titles I feel this passionately about.

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22 replies on “Obsession Unknown: Suicide Squad Bound”

Deadshot is in the (I think 3d episode) of the live action “Arrow” TV show. It’s streaming on Netflix so I watched a few over the Holidays. I can’t say it’s a good show, but I was taken aback that Deadshot appeared. That is all.

He’s been popping up everywhere, huh? That show and a few video games, too.

You better not say these comics were “after your time”, Mr. I Was Too Busy Drawing Green Lantern To Notice.

You go! Thanks to your enthusiasm, I’ve been seeking and finding a few issues at a time of the series. Great comics!

Pretty sweet collection. Beats the hell out of my loose pile of Suicide Squads that don’t have their crossover tie-ins (and, like, every other issue of SS seemed to tie in to something). T-Money Hamilbones might be advocation watching Arrow for a Deadshot fix, but if you’re gonna netflix anything, watch episode 17 of season 1 of Justice League Unlimited, “Task Force X” (I guess they couldn’t say suicide in the cartoon). Deadshot, Amanda Waller, Rick Flagg, Captain Boomerang– and it’s told from the Suicide Squad’s POV– the JL are basically guest stars.

I share your love of the (original) series, and only consider Ostrander’s more recent mini-seriest at all “of a piece” with it. Though the New52 series recently got a little better under Kot and Kindt, I can’t force myself to read what came before.

Binding the whole thing is sheer insanity, which is the only geekery I truly respect.

Michel, you know how I feel about the Squad.Your bound SS books ….ROCK!! Can you please tell me what Luke McDonnell is doing now?? What a great artist.

Thomas, all I know is that he did color work for IDW/Yoe Books’ Popeye comic and that he’s on Facebook (so perhaps available for commissions).

Siskoid, I really like From the Ashes as well, but you can’t get a better ending than SS #66. In my mind, that entire world can perfectly end with that issue. Still, leave it to me to try and make a “Book Four”!

George, you weren’t wrong! That was a great episode, sans costumes and all.

It’s posts like these that make me feel better with my Eclipso, the Orb and Taskmaster collections … Are the compendiums coming back to print? The time’s right to test COPRA.

Thanks!

Wow, thanks…you jerk. I’ve fallen into a black hole looking at these comic book binding websites. I was interested in this kickstarter but the project fell through. I think getting a good hard bound copy of your own singles is the FUTURE! Or at least for me. Neato.

Copra hard bound anybody?

All I can say is holy shit..it amazes me that Suicide Squad hasn’t been collected in any form worthy of its genius, but your binding does it justice. I discovered Suicide Squad about a decade ago while working at kicking heroin/scavenging through 50 cent bins..it didn’t take me long (just a lot of digging and flipping through copies of Early Image, random Valiant and X books) to assemble a complete run (crossovers and all). I often test how cool a comic fan is by whether or not they have read and appreciate the boys and girls of Task Force X.
Having felt that the series ended as best as it could I had no interest in reading any Non Ostrander Squad and having just picked up/devoured a complete run of Copra (from Chicago Comics..Compendium 1 & 2 along with the remaining individual issues) I have had my hunger satiated (great stuff!!)…however, I am now going to have to dig through my long boxes and begin reading SS again.
Thanks for the good read!!

Oh, that’s awesome to hear! So glad an old school, hardcore SS fan likes Copra… it’s like a test has been passed.

I felt the same way about non-Ostrander SS stuff, even the mini that he wrote himself. I came around and found it to be enjoyable, actually. But like you mention, #66 is the prefect ending. Serialized comics don’t get many of those.

Truthfully, I had forgotten about the Squad mini by Ostrander. I know I have the hardcover somewhere and I am fairly certain it involved a returning Rick Flag, but I remember not having my ridiculously high expectations met. In JO’s defense who knows what type of editorial constraints he may have been working under.
However, I do remember a Deadshot mini DC put out, I believe pre 52/Infinite Crisis, by Chris Gage which was a pretty fun read in the spirit of Ostrander’s Squad.

Ok..time for a question, as a die hard Squad fan, how bummed were you at how they played out Captain Boomerang, post Task Force X, by having him die while killing Robin 3’s dad? Obviously, whoever wrote that one never read the same books as we did 😉

Stan, it didn’t ring true to Capt. Boomerang’s character. I think the writer just needed a “lame” disposable character to serve that specific function in the narrative. However, I remember liking how Deadshot shot his own neck in order to escape Green Lantern’s power bubble.

…what the fuck was that last sentence?

It was meant as comic snob dig at whoever wrote the “Death of Captain Boomerang”. I believe it was Best Selling Author (so I am told) Brad Melter who (unlike you and I) probably never read any issues of the Suicide Squad. This was followed by a 😉 in an attempt to indicate/acknowledge the ridiculousness of my disdain for the treatment of a “D List” fictional character in a corporate funny book.

As I type this on my phone I am beginning to remember that in the same mini as Cap’s demise Doctor Light (also, of Squad roots) was made a rapist..so it coulda been worse for Boomer….However, thinking on it (briefly, for a few seconds) he perhaps would have made a much more credible rapist than the bumbling overweight hired killer he was depicted as..While still being a big fan of his, I sadly imagine somewhere on his Central City rap sheet is a sex crime or two.

Fiffe, you’re the king of this newer generation of small press cartoonists who are able to have an appreciation of the cream that rose to the top of the Marvel and DC churn. But be careful, don’t let your hardcovers out of your sight. Most alt comix guys would probably want to burn and eat them on a hamburger bun.

What service did you use? I need to do this with my back issues of Rom Spaceknight and Micronauts.

I have just been introduced to the ultimate Suicide Squad fan (I thought it was me).
Luv the binded collection. Long Live the Squad.

[…] know those characters at all, I’ll leave that to Comics Alliance’s Chris Sims, or to Fiffe himself to explain why. No matter what the title, however, readers of a certain age will likely identify […]

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