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Suicide Squad by John Ostrander Omnibus Vol. 1
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
1064 pages, Hardcover
Published May 20, 2025
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42 people want to read
About the author
John Ostrander
2,087 books170 followersJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 13, 2025
I wasn’t sure I’d get this omnibus, as I have the TPBs collecting this entire run of Suicide Squad, but I’m glad I did. The essays about the development of the series are fascinating, and it’s nice to have relevant issues from other series included in the same volume. Also, I’m contributing to royalty payments for the creators of one of my favorite comics. Looking forward to the next 2 volumes.
August 24, 2025
(Zero spoiler review) 2.75/5
First off, whoever works at DC and decided to ruin that beautiful cover by putting that hideous digital blood and gun shot effect needs to be fired immediately. And fire them twice if the same person put the 'Foreward by James Gunn' on the cover as well.
I had high hopes for this. I really did. Ostrander was a name I felt I could rely on, and some late 80's DC was always going to illicit a purchase, but I must say, I fond this entirely underwhelming. First off: there are more cross overs and mini-series collected here than there are issues of Suicide Squad. Sure, some of the series like Manhunter and Checkmate were actually better than the main series, but still, it doesn't exactly help the flow and pacing of the book. Second, Ostrander an McDonnell's efforts on the main series were, for the most part, lacking. Storytelling is 'jumpy' with panels frequently feeling like they are missing. And the deaths are poorly built up or explained, robbing what should be quite meaningful and impactful moments of their impetus.
There is still a decent amount here to like, although I couldn't help but feel let down by the disappointing nature of so much of this. Here's hoping volume 2 lifts the standards. 2.75/5
OmniBen.
First off, whoever works at DC and decided to ruin that beautiful cover by putting that hideous digital blood and gun shot effect needs to be fired immediately. And fire them twice if the same person put the 'Foreward by James Gunn' on the cover as well.
I had high hopes for this. I really did. Ostrander was a name I felt I could rely on, and some late 80's DC was always going to illicit a purchase, but I must say, I fond this entirely underwhelming. First off: there are more cross overs and mini-series collected here than there are issues of Suicide Squad. Sure, some of the series like Manhunter and Checkmate were actually better than the main series, but still, it doesn't exactly help the flow and pacing of the book. Second, Ostrander an McDonnell's efforts on the main series were, for the most part, lacking. Storytelling is 'jumpy' with panels frequently feeling like they are missing. And the deaths are poorly built up or explained, robbing what should be quite meaningful and impactful moments of their impetus.
There is still a decent amount here to like, although I couldn't help but feel let down by the disappointing nature of so much of this. Here's hoping volume 2 lifts the standards. 2.75/5
OmniBen.
June 25, 2025
Highly praised and yet underwhelming for me.
There's some good and bad in here. The book is cluttered with cross overs and other books, where the Suicide Squad barely appears. It's the completionists' approach, which in this case dampens the reading experience, because a lot of those cross overs are bad.
Amanda Waller, who appears for the first time in here, is great. She is always angry and fighting against someone else in each issue. It's very entertaining. The Squad and it's setup on the other hand has some problems.
First, the members shift, because people die on missions, or get to walk away if they survive. The concept sounds great, but the execution isn't: The members who die, are always insignificant characters, that appear in said issue for the first time. The members who should be pardoned, aren't. Instead they join each mission and have the biggest plot armour.
Then, there's the secrecy. Amanda Waller doesn't want the Squad to be made public. This results in here being manipulated and blackmailed throughout the entire book. The whole concept is flawed here, in my opinion.
Putting that aside, the dynamics in the permanent roster are fun and there's even some character development, but it is muted by all the other problems.
There's so many different storylines and crossovers in here, it might be worthwhile to look at each of them individually:
Legends #1-6: An event in 1986, that sets up a new status quo right after the Crisis of Infinite Earths. I like the usage of Darkseid, but I dislike his proxy villains on Earth. This sets up both the Justice League and the Suicide Squad. It works fine, but it's nothing more than a lenghty setup. [3/5]
Secret Origins #14: A double sized issue that recalls the history of the Suicide Squad, Rick Flag & Amanda Waller. The best I can say about this, that it is boring and irrelevant. [1/5]
Suicide Squad #1-4: A fight against another Superhero group, the Jihad. I did enjoy this quite a bit. Each member gets paired against a villain and has to battle it out. I like this style of storytelling and it works especially well, when it is used to introduce the cast. There's also a fight against a Vigilante Nazi in here, but that's quite forgettable. [4/5]
Firestorm #62-64 & Annual #5: The Suicide Squad barely appears here. Instead, Firestorm wants to disable all the nukes in the world by force and is opposed by the world leaders. It's a good story, but I would have omitted it from this Omnibus, as the Suicide Squad barely gets to do anything here. [4/5]
Suicide Squad #5-8: The Suicide Squad takes the fight to Russia in the prime time of the cold war. I'm conflicted on this one. The political tensions feel realistic and the stakes are high. It's a mission where everything goes wrong and I get the feeling that the whole concept of the Suicide Squad is questionable. I suppose it's intentional, but it feels weird throughout these pages. [3/5]
Millennium #4, Suicide Squad #9 & Detective Comics #582: The absolute low point of this volume for me. The crossover is atrocious and attempted to retcon all supporting cast members among all books with robots. Nothing matters, the joke is on you. The writing in the Batman Comic is as enjoyable as pulling teeth, to the point where I can't follow the story. And the story ends with a meaningless sacrifice. It perfectly encapsulates why I dislike DC books in this period. [1/5]
Suicide Squad #10: Batman invades the HQ. Fun and I like the fighting, but the resolution is lackluster. The whole concept, that is based on secrecy is really questionable, especially when facing Batman. [3/5]
Suicide Squad/Doom Patrol Special: Another meaningless cross over, that acomplishes nothing. The Doom Patrol was quite boring before Grant Morrison was writing them and there's nothing here beyond a big brawl that spans 50 pages (!), where a bunch of Suicide Squad members are killed that haven't appeared anywhere else. Better left unread. [1/5]
Suicide Squad #11-12: A fight against the drug cartel. No real stakes, uninspired and forgettable. [2/5]
Checkmate #1: A new ongoing series that covers a new group, that is a secret organisation, working for the government. One of the most boring and lengthy comics I've ever read. Why is this collected here? [1/5]
JLI & Suicide Squad #13: My favourite cross over in this collection. A meaningful continuation of the adventure in Russia. The JLI issue itself might be the best one overall in this omnibus and the writing blows the Suicide Squad comic out of the water. I love how the members of the two teams interact with each other. [5/5]
Man Hunter #1: Spinning out of Millennium, the worst kind of cross over; another mediocre book. Why is this here? [1/5]
Secret Origins #28 & Suicide Squad #14-16: The story of Eve is intriguing and I really like how it ties into a second member of the team by surprise. This was great, at least until Shade the Changing Man appeared and everything got really confusing. [4/5]
Suicide Squad #17-18: A rematch against the Jihad. It's fun, but I wish it was less one sided. [4/5]
Checkmate #8: I checked what happened to Checkmate. The comic was cancelled and the characters never appeared anywhere else. Figures, I wish they wouldn't clutter up this or other collections. [1/5]
I do believe, that the stories might be better in future volumes, but I'm not willing to give it another chance. Your mileage may vary.
There's some good and bad in here. The book is cluttered with cross overs and other books, where the Suicide Squad barely appears. It's the completionists' approach, which in this case dampens the reading experience, because a lot of those cross overs are bad.
Amanda Waller, who appears for the first time in here, is great. She is always angry and fighting against someone else in each issue. It's very entertaining. The Squad and it's setup on the other hand has some problems.
First, the members shift, because people die on missions, or get to walk away if they survive. The concept sounds great, but the execution isn't: The members who die, are always insignificant characters, that appear in said issue for the first time. The members who should be pardoned, aren't. Instead they join each mission and have the biggest plot armour.
Then, there's the secrecy. Amanda Waller doesn't want the Squad to be made public. This results in here being manipulated and blackmailed throughout the entire book. The whole concept is flawed here, in my opinion.
Putting that aside, the dynamics in the permanent roster are fun and there's even some character development, but it is muted by all the other problems.
There's so many different storylines and crossovers in here, it might be worthwhile to look at each of them individually:
Legends #1-6: An event in 1986, that sets up a new status quo right after the Crisis of Infinite Earths. I like the usage of Darkseid, but I dislike his proxy villains on Earth. This sets up both the Justice League and the Suicide Squad. It works fine, but it's nothing more than a lenghty setup. [3/5]
Secret Origins #14: A double sized issue that recalls the history of the Suicide Squad, Rick Flag & Amanda Waller. The best I can say about this, that it is boring and irrelevant. [1/5]
Suicide Squad #1-4: A fight against another Superhero group, the Jihad. I did enjoy this quite a bit. Each member gets paired against a villain and has to battle it out. I like this style of storytelling and it works especially well, when it is used to introduce the cast. There's also a fight against a Vigilante Nazi in here, but that's quite forgettable. [4/5]
Firestorm #62-64 & Annual #5: The Suicide Squad barely appears here. Instead, Firestorm wants to disable all the nukes in the world by force and is opposed by the world leaders. It's a good story, but I would have omitted it from this Omnibus, as the Suicide Squad barely gets to do anything here. [4/5]
Suicide Squad #5-8: The Suicide Squad takes the fight to Russia in the prime time of the cold war. I'm conflicted on this one. The political tensions feel realistic and the stakes are high. It's a mission where everything goes wrong and I get the feeling that the whole concept of the Suicide Squad is questionable. I suppose it's intentional, but it feels weird throughout these pages. [3/5]
Millennium #4, Suicide Squad #9 & Detective Comics #582: The absolute low point of this volume for me. The crossover is atrocious and attempted to retcon all supporting cast members among all books with robots. Nothing matters, the joke is on you. The writing in the Batman Comic is as enjoyable as pulling teeth, to the point where I can't follow the story. And the story ends with a meaningless sacrifice. It perfectly encapsulates why I dislike DC books in this period. [1/5]
Suicide Squad #10: Batman invades the HQ. Fun and I like the fighting, but the resolution is lackluster. The whole concept, that is based on secrecy is really questionable, especially when facing Batman. [3/5]
Suicide Squad/Doom Patrol Special: Another meaningless cross over, that acomplishes nothing. The Doom Patrol was quite boring before Grant Morrison was writing them and there's nothing here beyond a big brawl that spans 50 pages (!), where a bunch of Suicide Squad members are killed that haven't appeared anywhere else. Better left unread. [1/5]
Suicide Squad #11-12: A fight against the drug cartel. No real stakes, uninspired and forgettable. [2/5]
Checkmate #1: A new ongoing series that covers a new group, that is a secret organisation, working for the government. One of the most boring and lengthy comics I've ever read. Why is this collected here? [1/5]
JLI & Suicide Squad #13: My favourite cross over in this collection. A meaningful continuation of the adventure in Russia. The JLI issue itself might be the best one overall in this omnibus and the writing blows the Suicide Squad comic out of the water. I love how the members of the two teams interact with each other. [5/5]
Man Hunter #1: Spinning out of Millennium, the worst kind of cross over; another mediocre book. Why is this here? [1/5]
Secret Origins #28 & Suicide Squad #14-16: The story of Eve is intriguing and I really like how it ties into a second member of the team by surprise. This was great, at least until Shade the Changing Man appeared and everything got really confusing. [4/5]
Suicide Squad #17-18: A rematch against the Jihad. It's fun, but I wish it was less one sided. [4/5]
Checkmate #8: I checked what happened to Checkmate. The comic was cancelled and the characters never appeared anywhere else. Figures, I wish they wouldn't clutter up this or other collections. [1/5]
I do believe, that the stories might be better in future volumes, but I'm not willing to give it another chance. Your mileage may vary.
July 9, 2025
Diluted a bit by some side trips I have no interest in (well, there's Manhunter), but make no mistake: this is one of the finest things that the mainstream was doing at the time
November 23, 2025
While legends does set up post-crisis DC, it along with other characters of the fourth world showing up feel more like editorial mandates than interesting situations that should actually arise.
Darkseid in general (in legends, etc) feels like he's written slightly out of character compared to how Kirby wrote him in the fourth world, but the way Byrne, McDonell, and Kesel portray him in the art is sick.
I was unaware that secret origins of this run is where modern DC brought back dinosaur island from various war stories with the history of the suicide squad up to this point. This was definitely foundation for "The New Frontier" a few years later.
Love the firestorm arc, but I wish they included firestorm #65 to have a little finality to it rather than just returning to the suicide squad issues.
Darkseid in general (in legends, etc) feels like he's written slightly out of character compared to how Kirby wrote him in the fourth world, but the way Byrne, McDonell, and Kesel portray him in the art is sick.
I was unaware that secret origins of this run is where modern DC brought back dinosaur island from various war stories with the history of the suicide squad up to this point. This was definitely foundation for "The New Frontier" a few years later.
Love the firestorm arc, but I wish they included firestorm #65 to have a little finality to it rather than just returning to the suicide squad issues.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews