With a slight reworking of the team from other presentations of them in the last few years, the Secret Six return in their own monthly title in this first graphic novel compilation.
What They Say:
The Secret Six are back in an all-new ongoing series that promises to deliver some of the darkest, most twisted action-adventure the DC Universe has seen since…well, the last time the Secret Six got together!
Join Catman, Scandal, Deadshot, Ragdoll, and their two newest members as they hit the road on the run from some of the world’s most dangerous killers! A contract has been put out on the lives of the Six, but the sly team has some tricks – and a whole lot of bullets – up their own sleeves! Prepare for an adventure that will take them through a gauntlet across the seediest parts of the DC Universe, and will ultimately pit them against a foe more monstrous and murderous than any they’ve ever had to face!
The Review:
The Secret Six has had a varied history since it’s introduction decades ago but it gained a new audience when it was revived in a quasi-villainous form in the 2005 series Villain’s United. The group proved popular enough to take a spin through a mini series which in turn had them appearing in a few other series since then. DC Comics, always looking for something that’s a little different, decided to give the cast its own book starting in late 2008. This collection brings us the first seven issues which makes up the opening storyline of the series. Like the start of most series, especially one that’s had a pretty busy past with other books in the last few years, it’s a decent introduction to the core characters as the situation is set up and we see how everyone works together.
Gail Simone has brought together a fairly interesting crew here, one that you can see them rotating out a bit over time though nowhere near the same way John Ostrander used to do in Suicide Squad. The core group that we’ve seen from the start is here with Scandal Savage operating as the leader, though Catman tends to take more of the point when out on the assignments. Deadshot continues to fit in well with this group, that it tends to lean more towards doing good which has him feeling like he’s maybe going a bit soft. Ragdoll adds the really creepy aspect of the group while Simone has brought in a surprising new member to help balance it out in Bane. But not the Bane we’re used to for the most part as he’s refusing to use his venom due to its addictive nature. He’s also a bit more touchy feely at times as he’s taken on the role of an adoptive father for Scandal as he looks out for her best interests regularly in his own way.
The opening story to the series is a fairly decent one though it has some elements that keeps it from feeling like it’s too firmly placed in the DC Universe as it plays to convenience more than continuity. The group is contracted by a mysterious client who wants them to break out a woman known as Catalina Flores, the Tarantula, from Alcatraz and bring her to Gotham with a special card that she has. A breakout from Alcatraz is difficult enough but this mysterious client isn’t the only one that wants Flores. A mob boss of the west coast named Junior, who apparently controls all of the mobs out there which feels out of place, desperately wants both her and the card. Junior is the kind of overly creepy and disturbing villain that’s shadowed and not seen for his true form until close to the end of the storyline. No expenses are spared in Junior’s mind for getting this card back which is why he’s made an open bounty of ten million dollars a head to any meta who brings in those of the Secret Six.
There’s a certain predictability to the storyline here as there’s the mystery of what the card is about and how it’s all designed to really cement the group. It’s a road trip of sorts where Scandal tells them they have a set plan to follow for the client by hitting Alcatraz and then going to Vegas so they can meet up with their contact there, a woman named Jeanette that Scandal knows who will become the next member of the team. The interpersonal relationships complement the action well as the characters fit well for that conflicted area of whether they’re good guys or bad guys. Catman is trying to deal with his violent tendencies but he’s got an amusing ego about him as he deals personally with Batman in the first and second issues after Huntress tries to warn him off the mission. Batman always hits a new series early on so it wasn’t a surprise but the two have an intriguing history between them and the banter is spot on.
In Summary:
All told, the material we get here does a good job of setting up a lot of potential for the future. The “Unhinged” storyline lets us know the characters, especially the more original ones created for the group a couple of years ago, while tying them to more established ones. Bane is an intriguing addition to the group since he’s not what we’re used to from his Batman breaking days of when he ruled a South American country. His relationship with Scandal is confusing to most everyone and even Scandal seems to misread a lot of it. While the actual story for this arc is nothing to truly write home about, the character interactions along with the humor is what sells it. The action is alright and the use of a lot of villains coming in out of the blue to hunt down the gang lacks something compelling but as a whole it works well and leaves you wanting more to see where they go with it. With a larger view ahead of it compared to previous turns in the Villains United and the limited series, there’s a different feel here but the core of it is what made those previous runs good. Definitely recommended if you like something in the murky gray realm instead of the clear cut superheroics.
Grade: B
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