With director James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad due to premiere in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6 (see “The Suicide Squad Trailer”), DC has lined up graphic novels for newcomers looking for some Suicide Squad 101 reading as well as some deeper dives into the history of Amanda Waller and her team of antiheroes and misfits.

The Suicide Squad Case Files 1, by writer Gerry Conway and artist John Byrne, collects the first appearances and key moments in the stories of Amanda Waller, the convener of the Suicide Squad, and Bloodsport, Mongal, Polka-Dot Man, King Shark, Weasel, and the Thinker. The volume collects Superman #4 and #170, Detective Comics #300, Superboy #9, The Fury of Firestorm #38, Suicide Squad Vol. 4 #25, Vigilante #36, and Suicide Squad: Amanda Waller #1. The 216-page paperback will go on sale on July 20 with an MSRP of $19.99.

The Suicide Squad Case Files 2, by writer John Ostrander and artist Luke McDonnell, goes on sale a week later with more background material, including the debuts and important appearances of Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Rick Flag, the Ratcatcher, Savant, the Javelin, and Blackguard, among others. This collection includesSuicide Squad #44, Secret Origins #14, Detective Comics #585, Birds of Prey #58, Batman: Harley Quinn #1, Green Lantern #174, and Booster Gold #1 in a 224-page paperback. It will go on sale on July 27 with an MSRP of $19.99.

The Suicide Squad: Trial by Fire, also by Ostrander and McDonnell, is a new edition of the first volume of Suicide Squad stories with a new cover. This volume was director James Gunn’s inspiration for the film; it collects Suicide Squad #1-8 and Secret Origins #14. The 232-page paperback is scheduled for July 27 with an MSRP of $19.99.

Suicide Squad: Their Greatest Shots collects the squad’s adventures by a variety of writers and artists; issues in this collection include Suicide Squad #10 (1987), Suicide Squad #15 (2012), Suicide Squad #22 (2013), Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1 (2016), Suicide Squad #16 (2017), Suicide Squad #20 (2017), Suicide Squad #47 (2018), and Suicide Squad Special: War Crimes #1 (2016). The 200-page paperback is slated for July 13 release with an MSRP of $12.99.

Finally, for those who are ready for a new story, the Suicide Squad 2021 Annual, by writer Robbie Thompson and artist Dexter Soy, sends Superboy into the depths of a Task Force X black site and makes him question everything he thought he knew. The 48-page annual will go on sale on August 31 with a regular cover by Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, and Marcelo Maiolo and an MSRP of $5.99 and a card stock variant cover by Gerald Parel with an MSRP of $6.99.

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