I received this from Edelweiss and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars on this one. Two things jump out at me with this volume. First, it seems like a good portion of the story is missing, like the tie-ins weren't included, and those likely included vital plot points. Second, Max Lord is an extremely boring villain.

The one saving grace for this volume was the artwork, which was very good. ( )

I actually liked this quite a lot, and I had been a little worried what it would be like since the Justice League and Suicide Squad are such different sorts of titles.

Before anything we get introduced to Caitlyn Snow, aka Killer Frost. It's always interesting to see how close the comics want to get to what's being put on the TV, and the movies. Parts of the TPB are definitely close to the DCTV stuff, and other parts very far away.

And while it is Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, there's also a thrid group that complicates everything for everyone. And yikes... that ending.

I got this ARC through Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment. ( )

I know it’s cliché but what drew me in first was the art work. I felt like Jason Fabok and Tony Daniel did a great job in creating these amazing eye catching shots that just pulled you into the story even more. The details, colors, and clarity worked well with the story Joshua Williamson built in this graphic novel.

Speaking of the story. I didn’t feel like if you had little to no familiarity that you could easily pick this up and grasp all of the context and nuances of the stories and characters. If you go in not knowing who these people are, how they became the superheroes or villains that the story revolves around you will either not appreciate or completely grasp it all; you may even end up feeling confused as to what Williamson was trying to convey.

Despite it being JUSTICE LEAGUE versus Suicide Squad I felt there was more focus on the latter than the former or even a balance between the two so maybe in future issues will see that happen. I think I was just surprised because the Justice League movie is coming out and assumed this was being released to coincide with the marketing of the movie, you know to create more interest in it. It actually would’ve been better served to come out closer to Suicide Squad but since it doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with either movie I guess it doesn’t matter.

One of the things I felt Williamson did a great job fleshing out is the moral issues these characters, at least the Justice League, faces which put some heart into the plot. He played up the chemistry and personality quirks between the characters which brought out their humanity. Seeing Killer Frost given such a prominent role was intriguing especially as her screen time got beefed up quite a bit on Flash as she battled her good/evil side. ( )