Review by Ian Keogh

Surely Peacemaker must have been the longest shot ever to transfer successfully from the relatively few comics he’s appeared in to a genuine film and TV star. However, due to the way he’s been written and the way John Cena plays his confused and individual form of patriotism, that’s what’s happened, and Peacemaker Tries Hard is his first solo comic in decades. More recently, he’s been part of the Suicide Squad, where he’s not as funny.

Thankfully, Kyle Starks wastes no time in presenting the Peacemaker we know on screen, telling everyone in the supermarket how he’d kill for peace, and then just keeps feeding in DC’s most ridiculous villains. Have Steve Pugh draw up the pages and you’ve got yourselves one hilarious story that looks real good, and then make sure there’s plenty of swearing, you know, just like on the mean streets on the wrong side of the tracks, and it justifies the Black Label imprint.

That’s not being entirely fair, as considerable craft goes into making Peacemaker as dumb as he is, and Starks keeps the hilarity going until the end. On one level, part of the joke is the predictability. As soon as the War Wheel is mentioned, for instance, you know it’s going to make an appearance, and not just in flashback scenes, and Starks is creative enough to make that appearance really count.

It’s not comedy all the way through. Starks and Pugh actually reach some really dark places in flashbacks of the young Christopher Smith and his father, again taking their lead from the TV show in underlining why Peacemaker’s the way he is. Hell, he loves his dog, though, so in one way at least he’s not passing down the rot any further.

Anyone who’s enjoyed Peacemaker on screen is getting full value with Peacemaker Tries Hard.