The Dream Is Collapsing — Reviewing ‘Suicide Squad: Dream Team’ #3

Dreams and nightmares occupy a space divided only by the very thinnest of lines. Outcomes are dependent upon the beholder’s eye. Basically, one person’s dream is another’s nightmare, and vice versa.

That’s the space where Dreamer and Amanda Waller find themselves in Suicide Squad: Dream Team #3, with Waller’s latest involuntary squad caught in the middle. Nicole Maines, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Jose Luis, Adriano Di Benedetto, Adriano Lucas, and Becca Carey creep the DC Universe one step closer to Absolute Power.

If they haven’t already, DC Comics needs to get Maines on a regular ongoing series, stat (as long as that’s what she wants of course). Making the leap from the world of television or movies to writing isn’t easy, the path is littered with examples of series that prove as much. There was a period of time from the late 90s through the 2000s where the publishers were enamored with the idea of slapping the name of a director, actor, or other studio related person onto a comic for big sales boosts.

Some worked, others floundered, and some lay dormant awaiting conclusions that will never see the light of day. Maines though made the leap seem quite easy. Bounding way from the screen where she played Dreamer on Supergirl for years and slipping easily right into the frenzied world of writers. Showing that yes, she can write the character she played on television, but also just inherently can write and understand the DC Universe front to back.

There’s a great interplay here between the characters as the tension steadily rises, showcasing the wonderous levels that Dreamer’s powers can take her and everyone else. Not only that but if you came and told me that actually Maines had been writing Waller, Deadeye, and others for years I would believe it. That’s how developed and weighty everything feels here. Like it has purpose, power, development, and emotional depths that are just waiting to be mined even further.

Matching that beat for beat is the artwork, which captures the gritty darker heavy feeling through and through. Barrows has a naturally rough feeling that the inks from Ferreira just enhance in every way. Right there alongside it blending and feeding off the same energy is the work that Luis and Benedetto bring to the issue, as they join the series. A mixed team of artists works wonders when they are all on the same wavelength, pulling from similar stylistic energies.

Rich detailed work that allows the world to feel vibrant and alive, letting every panel be its own little slice of the larger world. Choosing to let backgrounds slip in and out of focus as needed, keeping our top attention on the characters and what is happening around them.

Lucas’ colors always bring this sort of energy, no matter which type of book he might be working on. This isn’t a superhero book, just part of that cape filled world, so the colors aren’t going to bright and shiny. No, they are vibrant and poppy at times, but darker tones and shadows take a bigger foothold here. Keeping the characters and their actions in that murky darker realm where they belong. Giving this slice of the DC Universe the right mix of outlandish meets grounded gritty reality that it needs to hit the spot.

While very serious, these are also ridiculous characters doing a lot of ridiculous things. We feel that both in the art and the colors, but also the way Carey presents the lettering. Flowing words through the pages, steadily and logically. Letting the voices ring out, shifting things around with fonts and bubbles to make sure the tone or volume are at the right levels. Dropping in colors, shifting shapes, and more to give it some uniqueness but also that more fun edge.

Suicide Squad: Dream Team #3 is now available from DC Comics.