Suicide Squad/Banana Splits Annual #1 (And The Snagglepuss Backup) Review: Combining Sweetness And Sourness Leads To A Hit

The Suicide Squad/Banana Splits Annual #1 special is a boatload of fun, from start to finish. What more could you expect from a group of singing animals teaming up with a group of deadly assassins? I admit, I've never actually watched the original Hanna-Barbera show, but that wasn't necessary to enjoy the story. Even if I hadn't done some research on the characters beforehand, the introduction would have caught me up almost instantly.

"And if you thee the Muppets, tell them to thtep off or Stompy will thow them just how he got his name!" "HONK!"

Most of the humor comes from the sheer absurdity of a band of singing animals and the sheer zaniness that ensues. Some of it satirizes modern situations, such as the aforementioned picture. Obviously, the police officers don't react well to them and draw fire, leading to the comment "It's open season on Animal-Americans!"

Some time spent in Belle Reve adds to this, with a group of animal-themed metahuman criminals urging the Banana Splits to stay with 'their own kind' and join up with their gang. Unfortunately, the jovial band doesn't really understand what they're talking about, and the resulting chaos leads to Amanda Waller recruiting them as a backup Suicide Squad. Most of the best jokes just come from the Squad and the Splits interacting.

"Please don't kill us, Waller said we're expendable! Wait..."

It's a wonderful story. If I had to make one criticism, it would be that the revamped look of the Splits at the end isn't very interesting. I preferred the bubblegum pop edition, if only for the novelty. Also, there was no song during the final battle. If you want to read an amusing, unlikely crossover event, I definitely recommend it. Also, I present this image with zero context. Enjoy!

As for the backup feature, it's a fairly short teaser for Mark Russell's next DC Comics project, a Snagglepuss tale. It stays completely true to the original tone of the character while also giving a powerful lesson on ethics and morality. It's also hilarious, with Snagglepuss giving snarky answers to a group of grumpy politicians. The Flinstones may be ending in June, but Mr. Russell will still be writing wonderful stories for years to come.

Suicide Squad/Banana Splits Annual #1 is written by Tony Bedard, drawn by Ben Caldwell, inked by Mark Morales, colored by Jeremy Lawson, and lettered by A Larger World's Troy 'N' Dave. "House Fires" is written by Mark Russell, drawn by Howard Porter, colored by Steve Buccellato, and lettered by Dave Sharpe. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

Critical Hits & Misses #92

• Are you ready for this? Margot Robbie is reprising her role as Harley Quinn in a just-announced DC female villains film based on the comic book run, "Gotham City Sirens." Robbie is also executive producer on the project, and is teaming up with Suicide Squad director David Ayer to do it. (Ivonne)


• In yesterday's Critical Hits & Misses, we mentioned MTV's Sweet/Vicious, a show about a vigilante duo that fights assault on college campuses. Today, check out an interview with show-creator Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, which goes into the reality behind the show’s premise as well as how to build a humorous, heightened show around such a serious topic (Tova)

For today's musical hit, it's Lady Gaga's "Million Reasons" because Lady Gaga is a queen (not to mention an awesome LGBTQ+ ally) and her music is awesome.

Today's critical roll:

Who is your favorite female villain from the comic books (doesn't have to be Marvel or DC either...)?

— Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be a cheesy Batman supervillain. In fact, don't be a villain at all.

Critical Hits and Misses #8: August 5, 2016

Genevieve Valentine writes about Stranger Things; the way it succeeds in its nostalgia, and the way it fails its female characters. (Tova)

Valentine’s twitter thread on the responses she’s received to the article, and the strange notion that you can’t criticize a thing you love, is also worth a read.  (Tova)

Meagan Damore at CBR explores how The Killing Joke could have avoided objectifying Batgirl. (Megan)

Love Suicide Squad? Read about Kim Yale, the unsung heroine that helped make Suicide Squad happen back in the 1980s.  (Ivonne)

This video from Above Average is about cliches for female characters in movies. (Zachary)