At a roundtable event CBR attended, Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev discuss their new three-part Suicide Squad miniseries for DC Black Label.
Since its debut in 1959 The brave and the brave # 25 from Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, Suicide Squad has entertained audiences with a wide range of unhinged antics. The upcoming release of James Gunn’s film is already putting the anti-hero team back in the spotlight, but it’s not the only new Suicide Squad story this week. Writer Brian Azzarello and artist Alex Maleev have teamed up for the first time to launch Suicide Squad: Get Joker # 1, the first of a three-part miniseries for DC Black Label. The next series will follow a version of the Suicide Squad led by Jason Todd on a mission to kill the Joker.
In anticipation of Suicide Squad: Get Joker # 1 at launch on August 3, CBR attended a panel discussion with Azzarello (Batman: Cursed) and Maleev (Mate). The debut issue of the DC Black Label series focuses on Jason Todd and Harley Quinn working alongside a cast of lesser-known DC characters, including Wild Dog, Plastique, Firefly, Silver Banshee, and even an entirely new character named Meow Meow. Task Force X leader Amanda Waller assigns the motley crew to take down Gotham’s clown prince of crime and, of course, insanity ensues.
The first questions Azzarello was asked revolved around Suicide Squad’s unconventional cast and whether or not the upcoming film influenced his writing process. He explained: “No one has done anything with [these characters] for years. “I wanted to avoid using characters that would appear prominently in Gunn’s film.” I wanted to use characters that hadn’t been around in a while that I could really do something with, “he added, noting that the lesser-known DC characters would give him more creative freedom. The veteran writer went on to say that the series will be tonally similar to the one. movie in a sense. “This book is rated R,” he said, then added that his top priority was to tell a unique and original story.
When asked why he chose to center the story on Jason Todd, Azzarello was quick to point out that despite Todd’s time as Robin, his vigilante days in Red Hood make him a criminal like anyone else in the Suicide Squad. . I wanted to incorporate all of Todd’s complicated and tragic story into a nuanced storyteller. Jason Todd from Azzarello is angry without being “foolishly angry.”
The conversation eventually moved to Azzarello’s experience working for DC Black Label and its prestigious format. Azzarello replied, “I can see myself doing more of this.” The writer expressed how much he appreciated being able to work on independent stories, adding, “I think continuity really gets in the way of storytelling.” Azzarello, who also wrote Batman: Cursed Y jester for DC Black Label, in addition to a large number of series owned by creators, is no stranger to this type of work and expressed his fondness for maintaining creative autonomy.
When Alex Maleev was asked about his process of working on the design of the Joker character, he mentioned that he used himself as a reference for the villain’s facial expressions and poses. However, he stated that his main priority for the Joker was to convey a degree of insanity, stating: “[Joker’s] the unpredictable nature is what scares him … And that madness is what I look for when I draw it. “
As the conversation began to calm down, the creators were asked what they were most proud of about the series. Azzarello said, “You are going to like the characters and you are not going to want to see them die,” an idea he returned to frequently throughout the discussion. At one point, he even went so far as to say, “The point of this book is that they could die.” Maleev expressed his pride in how well he and Azzarello collaborated together, adding: “If we get together and we’ll come up with something, like a good, oiled jazz band.”
Co-created by Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev, Suicide Squad: Get Joker # 1 goes on sale August 3 from DC Black Label.
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