Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum is a no holds barred prequel comic to Rocksteady's new game

Art from Suicide Squad Kill Arkham Asylum #1
(Image credit: DC)

Rocksteady's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Suicide Squa♈d: Kill 🔯the Justice League is one of the year's most talked about games so far. It sees a new line-up of DC's anarchic 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Task Force X assembled by 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Amanda Waller to take on a real mission impossible: assassinate the corrupted Justice League! Set in the universe of Rocks♏teady's Batman: Arkham games this is a tough and edgy take on DC's heroes and villains.

As it turns out, however, Kill The Justice League is not Waller's first run in with 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, King Shark and Deadshot. A new four-issue comic, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum, launches next week from DC and acts as a prequel to the game. Written by 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:John Layman and drawn by 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Jesús Hervás, with coloring by David Baron, the new comic sees Waller visit 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Arkham Asylum with one thing on her mind: find st🤡rongest, smartest, and most brutal killers in order to join her new Suicide Squa🎶d.

We've got an exclusive interview with Layman and Hervás below about the new book and the game, but first, ch൩eck out this gallery of covers for the♈ first issue featuring work (from left to right) by Dan Panosian, Ariel Olivetti, Kyle Hotz, Steve Beach, and David Nakayama. 

Newsarama: How would you sum up the story of Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum in a few sentences?

John Layman: Amanda Waller is looking to create a team of (expendable) superheroes to cou𒆙nter metahuman threats. She has an idea that kills a few birds with one stone: get rid of a bunch of dangerous bad guys while finding out 🀅who the MOST dangerous bad guys are, and manipulating them into working for her.

The comic acts as a prequel to the upcoming game. Was there a list of elements that needed to be included in the comic to get it in line with the game?

Layman: Yeah. The book ends right where the game begins, so we had to get to that place, while following continuity set up in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the previous Arkham games. There were some challenges to it, one big one in particular, but I can't꧟ really get into it without giving away too much. Suffice to say, I saw it as ꦐa fun challenge, and I think it worked out pretty well.

Jesús Hervás: We had a very solid base that we had to respect. Luckily the conceptual work of the video games (both from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the previous Arkhamverse games from Rocksteady Studios) is great,♔ so it was a big plus to be able to start from that material to develop our own ideas in the series.

Art from Suicide Squad Kill Arkham Asylum #1

(Image credit: DC)

The book is brutal! Jesús, is it fun to draw scenes like King Shark biting a guy's head off, or the big Batman fight in issue one?

Hervás: Sure! bloodsplatter is one of the most enjoyable things to draw!ꦗ From the first moment our goal was to make a fun book above all else, so we have many of those scenes wi𒅌th gore and cool fights. This was very fun to draw and I hope the pages show that feeling.

Harley Quinn features heavily. She's grown into more of a hero/anti-hero in some other comics, so how was it going back to the full on maniacal Harley?

Layman: Yeah. I think Rated-R Harley is fun Harley. All the lea🔯ds were fun to write, but Harley was my favorite. And not tܫo toot my own horn, but I write a damn good Harley. DC should give me more Harley work.

Hervás: Harley is a wonderful character in any interpretation of her, but I think both John and I r𓃲eally enjoyed having this Harley doling out sledgehammer🎐 blows in the most joyful way.

Art from Suicide Squad Kill Arkham Asylum #1

(Image credit: DC)

Amanda Waller is really in the spotlight at DC at the moment. John, what's your take on this character? Who is she to you?

Layman: She's interesting, because in ♏many ways she is more ruthless than the so-called bad guys, but she's working💝 for the good guys. That's sorta Suicide Squad in a nutshell: devils working on the side of the angels.

Jesús, how has it been working with colorist David Baron? What qualities does he bring to your art?

Hervás: I think David's work here is great, he always knows how to give each page what🐓 it needs and he achieved that prison story tone for the series that I wanted.

Layman: I'm just gonna add here the David🦩 Baron is one of my best friends in the world, so I lobbied to get him on the book. Fortunately, it didn't take much prodding, because Baron is also a fantastic colorist. He and Jesús are an ideal match. The book looks fantastic.

Art from Suicide Squad Kill Arkham Asylum #1

(Image credit: DC)

Have either of you played the Kill the Justice League game yet?

Layman: Nope! ꦛI have extensive notes and documents on what's GONNA happen, but I haven't played it yet. Can't wait to tear into it. Any excuse to write less comics, make less money and miss more deadlines!

Hervás: We had accesไs to a lot of material to make the series but I haven't played it yet. Obviously I'm looking forward to it.

Are there any Easter Eggs for the game in the comic?

Layman: I'm not sure about specific Easter Eggs, but there are a couple questions raised in the book that gets answered in the game, and scenes that have mo🥂re resonance to game players if they've read the c🙈omic.

Hervás: As I said, we had access to a lot of game material during the process so it wouldn🏅't hurt for readers to keep an eye on the details just in case.

Suicid💙e Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #1 (of 4) is published by DC on February 6.


Discover the history of Task Force X with our guide to the best Suicide Squad stories of all time.

Will Salmon
Streaming Editor

Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic ✃Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJ🌠O, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.