Id originally avoided Suicide Squad due to bad word of mouth but picked it up out of curiosity when Ales Kot came on board for Suicide Squad #20. Since then its been one of my absolute must reads. Hes shown not only that he has an incredible grasp of these characters, but an equally impressive talent and variety. It really felt like he was building up to something big and delivered my favorite Suicide Squad story since Ostranders run. Its hard to see something you love with so much potential cut short, but Kot goes out with quite a bang and leaves something behind. Though he ties things up fairly well he leaves just enough untied or unanswered for the next writer, Matt Kindt, to continue on with. Read Full Review

Ales Kot is leaving SUICIDE SQUAD with an explosion of craziness and laughs. From Deadshot resting his head on King Shark to Harley Quinn shattering the fourth wall to the most absurd drone strike you'll ever see, this is an issue overloaded with lighthearted goodness and a few subtle touches on just how morally messed up this whole scenario really is. The narrative he was building never really had an opportunity to soar to great heights, but man, he delivered a whole lot of fun in the process. Read Full Review

The one problem with this issue is the change of artists. I felt that many panels looked off and it was very distracting when it wasn't all too appealing. Not everything looked bad, but too much which made it look inconsistent. That is a problem when it was something I could usually compliment about the book. Read Full Review

Sadly, the one element that drags down Kot's final issue is the lackluster art. Patrick Zircher is gone, having moved on to his impending Forever Evil work. Filling in are Rick Leonardi and a legion of inkers. Gone is the gritty, espionage-flavored vibe of the previous three issues. In its place is a series of pages that don't seem to know if they want to be traditionally superheroic in tone or something darker. With flat characters and haphazard action sequences, it's all moot in the end anyway. Read Full Review

What a brief, bittersweet affair this has been. It's hardly the finale Kot intended or deserves, but even to the end (and even though Leonardi's insipid art), he gives us glimpses of the greatness that might have been. Dropped. Read Full Review

Whatever the circumstances involving Kot's departure, it certainly seems his heart isn't with the series in his final moments. “Suicide Squad” #23 bears the wounds present in many New 52 books, like the work of some deranged serial killer bent on eliminating exceptional story-telling. Matt Kindt is a more than adequate successor, but one has to wonder if even he can mend the damage. Read Full Review

The dialogue and the pacing was perfect and it was certainly nice to see someone from Amanda's past come back to haunt her, but I honestly don't know what happened at the end and I blame it in equal parts on the artist who botched such an important issue and the editorial team for scaring away one of their greatest writers on the payroll. Read Full Review

Talk about a disappointment. I'm not sure what their reasons were, but DC Comics has definitely fumbled the ball with their handling of Suicide Squad. What was once a black action comedy of surprising quality has choked at the finish line, as Ales Kot has been yanked off the book before he could really strut his stuff. There were so many plot threads that will likely remain untouched after his departures, as Matt Kindt becomes the latest writer to take on this increasingly hopeless title. Perhaps it's fitting that a book called Suicide Squad is the book that winds up shooting itself in the foot. Read Full Review