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Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2
DC Comics

Comic Books

‘Peacemaker Tries Hard!’ #2 gushes with vulgar humor

Starks’ impeccable ability to capture the tone and humor of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and the subsequent Peacemaker series is a perfect match for DC’s Black Label.

With Bruce Wayne, Peacemaker’s precious new pooch, in the clutches of the Brain, Peacemaker must make a choice: Accept the villain’s perilous mission or allow his fancy little gentleman to perish. Unable to choose a third option consisting of punching everything in sight, Christopher Smith agrees to help Brain. Wishing to build himself a new body, the villain tasks Peacemaker with infiltrating General Immortus’ lair to steal Deathstroke the Terminator’s genetic material. Teaming up with Peacemaker on this John Wick-inspired buddy cop adventure is Monsieur Mallah, a gorilla with genius-level intellect and Brain’s partner in crime. Will this unconventional duo be able to accomplish their mission, or will Bruce Wayne suffer the consequences? Given Christopher Smith’s track record, maybe the Brain would have been better off capturing Batman’s dog.

SPOILERS AHEAD for Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2!

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“Dude, I’m way better than Batman.”

Gushing with more vulgar humor than you can reasonably rinse off with a hose, Peacemaker Tries Hard #2 will leave you smiling. Starks’ impeccable ability to capture the tone and humor of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and the subsequent Peacemaker series is a perfect match for DC’s Black Label. Additionally, the writer’s adept handling of Christopher Smith’s dialogue feels like it’s meant to be read with John Cena’s inflection. The marriage of Steve Pugh’s artwork, Jordie Bellaire’s colors, and Becca Carey’s letters do a superb job of capturing the humorous tone and each action sequence. The result is a book that is a pleasure to read from cover to cover.

Whether it is Peacemaker’s diatribe on why he won’t eat honey, mouthy teens savagely tearing apart our hero with mom jokes, or a member of the Demolition Team demanding his union-guaranteed thirty-minute lunch break, one of the biggest selling points for Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2 is Starks’ use of humor. The writer gets a lot of mileage from the unconventional team-up between Peacemaker and Monsieur Mallah.

By having Mallah only speak in French throughout the issue, Starks allows Peacemaker to do what he does best: hilariously and extemporaneously expound about anything and everything. As a result, Starks nails Peacemaker’s voice. It’s impossible not to hear John Cena’s iconic delivery as Christopher Smith and Monsieur Mallah bounce from one punch line to the next. Starks’ mastery of the character makes helps land every joke throughout the narrative.

My only concern is that this type of humor will start to wear thin as the series progresses. Throughout the previous issue, a few of the jokes are dangerously close to rehashing punchlines from The Suicide Squad. On the surface, eating a bag full of turds, or a beach full of dicks are two similar-yet-different tasks. (There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write in a review.) Although I am sure that Starks is using this to establish which iteration of Peacemaker we are reading, the pacing of each joke and punchline are so similar that it took me out of the moment. To my knowledge, Starks manages to avoid these retreads throughout Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2, and, as a result, the poop jokes feel fresh.

I just worry that as the series progresses this style of humor will begin to reek of seven-day-old, sunbaked doggy-do. This is problematic as the series’ reliance on humor bolsters the relatively straightforward narrative. As a reader, if you’re looking for deep storytelling with meaningful metacommentary, you’re barking up the wrong tree. However, if you’re looking for unadulterated vulgarity and humor, this issue is comic book bliss.

Despite the straightforward narrative, Starks does an excellent job of adding layers to the story through the use of song lyrics. I love how the lyrics foreshadow the terrifying twist from this book’s final moments. It’s a beautiful touch that reminds me of Gunn’s cinematography and forced me to pay attention to all the finer details in this book.

“I’m a swindler, a grifter, the king of the scam, a lovable con-man.”

Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2

DC Comics

I would be remiss if I did not mention Steve Pugh’s artwork, Jordie Bellaire’s colors, and Becca Carey’s letters. The entire team does an excellent job of conveying the humorous tone and each action sequence, and the result is a book that is a pleasure to read from cover to cover. Pugh’s pencils do a perfect job of capturing each character’s facial expressions. This adds humor and depth to the delivery of each line of dialogue. Additionally, Pugh’s work does an excellent job of delivering any visual punchlines in the narrative. Specifically, Peacemaker lovingly looking at Bruce Wayne as he licked his butt was incredibly funny. (There’s another sentence I never expected to write.)

Jordie Bellaire’s colors perfectly convey the tone of each sequence as they bounce from explosive action to vulgar comedy. Additionally, Becca Carey’s letters add to each moment as they help deliver the action. For me, the culmination of Steve Pugh’s artwork, Jordie Bellaire’s colors, and Becca Carey’s letters arrive in a single panel. As Peacemaker combats the Demolition Team, he uses his helmet’s special power to eliminate the threat. In this panel, Peacemaker fires a laser beam composed only of the F-bomb at his enemies. Bellaire’s colors perfectly capture the vibrant colors of this ludicrous beam as Carey’s lettering for the F-bomb conveys its power. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it.

Gushing with more vulgarity and potty humor than you can reasonably rinse off with a hose, Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2 will leave you laughing once you close its back cover. If you’re looking for deep storytelling with meaningful metacommentary, you’re barking up the wrong tree. However, if you’re looking for unadulterated vulgarity and humor, this issue is comic book bliss. Starks’ ability to capture the tone and humor of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and subsequent Peacemaker series is a perfect match for DC’s Black Label. Steve Pugh’s artwork, Jordie Bellaire’s colors, and Becca Carey’s letters do a perfect job of capturing the humorous tone and each action sequence.

Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2
‘Peacemaker Tries Hard!’ #2 gushes with vulgar humor
Peacemaker Tries Hard! #2
Gushing with more vulgar humor than you can reasonably rinse off with a hose, Peacemaker Tries Hard #2 will leave you smiling. Starks’ impeccable ability to capture the tone and humor of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and the subsequent Peacemaker series is a perfect match for DC’s Black Label.
Reader Rating1 Vote
8.8
Starks' use of vulgar humor is perfect for DC's Black Label.
Starks nails Peacemaker's voice.
Starks' use of song lyrics to foreshadow plot points is perfect.
Steve Pugh’s artwork, Jordie Bellaire’s colors, and Becca Carey’s letters do a perfect job of capturing the humorous tone and each action sequence. 
Although this issue manages to keep this style of humor fresh, I am worried it might grow stale.
9
Great
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