*DC: DC had floated a couple of ‘Suicide Squad’ series before, but the idea, despite the catchy name, had never ‘caught’ until 1987, when it was brought fully into the DC Universe with Villains, Psychopaths, Misfits and Ne’er-do-wells forcibly recruited by the formidable Amanda Waller – a lady who could make Batman back down – to undertake missions that entailed almost certain death, in exchange for pardons or remissions of their sentences – should they survive. Powerful and gripping, Suicide Squad took characters that were disregarded or forgotten, and under the skilful hands of author John Ostrander (later aided by co-writer Kim Yale) gave them a new lease of life, often turning them into viable properties in their own right. This premise formed the basis for the flawed but successful Suicide Squad movie of 2016, and saw the premiere of Barbara Gordon’s second (and vastly superior, if you ask us) nom de guerre, Oracle in #23. We have most of the first 40 and the First Annual of this series, plus a couple of stragglers, newly promoted to our catalogue ranks. Depicted are #1 FN+ p £20 and #23 NM- p £25; all others may be found in our online listings.