Secret Six #36

If you're going to go out, go out on top. Not only does the team go down with this attitude this issue, but the series writer Gail Simone does too. This has been a spectacular series, one of the most consistent titles on the racks, and it is a crime that it isn't being renewed once the DCNu hits in December. I'm not going to follow the team into the new Suicide Squad, but I will keep an eye out for Bane. I'd bet he has some big stuff ahead of him.

Bane had rallied the team into one big push to take out Batman once and for all, but due to some poor personnel choices, the team never really gets the chance. Instead, we get an awesome display of guest stars as a TON of big guns arrive to take out the team that everyone underestimates. Simone does a great job just piling on the heroic reinforcement. Even if you thought the Six could defeat that first bunch, no way could they handle the rest.

Jim Calafiore does a great job not only delivering the goods with the heroic pinups, he also has some great action. It was a lot of fun perusing the pages and seeing who takes out who when the fists start flying.

I'll miss this series.

Good

Secret Six #35

I have faith in Gail Simone (how could I not after this many great issues), but I am sure going to miss this noble Bane. I figure the guy is being re-set to his status quo so that he can show up in the reboot and in the new Batman movie. That means the venom plugs are back in Bane's head. Of course, maybe things will go a different way that I expect. Either way, it is going to be interesting.

This series has always been about who will dominate who. Each arc, a different character steps forward, putting his goals in front of the team. Usually, the team goes along, and they do it here again when Bane sets out his desire to break the Bat once again. This time, he wants to destroy Batman's family. It seems fair, Bane is surrounded by "a failed phalanx of broken individuals." Why wouldn't he be a bit jealous of Batman's touchy-feely relationships?

I'm happy that Knockout is recovering, she's such a fun character, there's no reason to let the Fourth World ban stick around. If everything is getting rebooted anyway, why not give Scandal a few issues of happiness?

And King Shark is always happy! That guy loves his job, and it is wonderful seeing Jim Calafiore drawing him constantly putting things in his mouth.

Good

Secret Six #34

You can almost see Gail Simone saying goodbye to Bane. As the DCU wraps up and the characters align a bit more closely with their mass media counterparts, we can all expect Simone's complicated, soulful, violent Bane to be replaced by whatever the bosses have determined his "core character." Too bad, I love the big lug as Simone writes him. He's the one guy who beat Batman!

I was a bit shocked at how quickly the whole stripper stalker storyline is resolved, the Six just tracked the dude down and took him out. I mean, not everything would be tough for such a skilled group, but still... The issue is packed with small moments wrapping up the last few story arcs as the Six gradually accept that they have become family for each other.

The Six sure seem to be good friends to have. Sure, you end up dragged into their depraved and violent world, but at least they'll torture the hell out of anyone who wrongs you.

Fair

Secret Six #32

"My name's King Shark. I'm a shark." That really says it all, doesn't it? I love the ever-expanding cast of the Secret Six, but man, I especially love the always awesome King Shark.

Gail Simone is still doing amazing things with the characters in this comic, even with them trapped in hell. Ragdoll gets a few nice moments, but I think the coolest developments happen with Catman. He and Etrigan sort of ditch the rest of the Six in order to deal with some personal issues. Catman carves up some devils and demons all to get to someone who I think he isn't quite done torturing. These are some messed up characters...

Deadshot and Jeannette are nicely loyal, which is odd for Deadshot. He's often the guy running off, but I suppose a shootout in hell is a pretty good way to act upon Deadshot's deathwish.

Jim Calafiore does a nice job with a few characters who return from the grave to appear in this issue. It's not surprising to see either of the two big reveals, but it is still fun getting more Simone-written dialogue for them. Any chance the two fallen characters can join the cast full-time?

Good

Secret Six #31

Gail Simone is a genius. She's totally warped my expectations for what makes up a bad guy in a comic. The villains she's used in this series are so depraved and easy to hate that I automatically cheer for the Six. It was only the Doom Patrol crossover last month that helped remind me that these guys are actually villains. In any other comic, they'd be the antagonists.

Simone is at it again this month as she introduces another insane bunch of bad guys. There's the stalker going after Scandal's girlfriend, but we also get to see one of the best tweeners in the DCU, Etrigan the Demon. There's a bit of a row at the clubhouse when Scandal goes up against Ragdoll. Ragdoll wisely points out that people seem to forget he's a psychopath. Sure, he's funny, but he's also dangerous. Now the Six are descending to hell to cash in their "get out of hell free" card, and things are looking ugly. It seems either Ragdoll or his sister are waitnig for them. Heck, it could be both!

Jim Calafiore continues his solid, if unspectacular work. He's clearly got the characters down, including newbies like King Shark. his Etrigan is pretty impressive too.

Good

Doom Patrol #19

It looks like this title is one of the many cancelled in anticipation of Flashpoint, and judging from this issue, that's a sad thing. I really like how Keith Giffen portrays the attitudes and outlooks of this group of weirdos. I'm not sure Ambush Bug really fits in (does he ever?), but I'm a sucker for growth powers, so I loved seeing Elasti-Girl use her powers so effectively throughout the issue. Robotman is always fun, he's basically Ben Grimm in the DCU.

I did find it interesting that the Doom Patrol essentially win their fight with the Secret Six. On a pure power basis, I just think that the Six bring more to the table. I suppose the magical pelican and Danny the House each taking out a member of the Six does even the odds a bit.

Matthew Clark and Ron Randall draw Bane without his mask for the whole issue. I read too many comics to remember if that happened because of something in Secret Six (part I of this story), but it's a bummer for me. A lot of these pages would be vastly improved with a luchadore mask instead of Bane's terrible haircut. I do like how the artists play with perspective and scale on the Elasti-Girl scenes; she wouldn't need to maintain "normal" ratios with her stretchy body.

Fair

Secret Six #30

What a stunning cover! Just amazing work from Cliff Chiang.
Unless my count is off, this book has more than Six members now, right? Bane, Scandal, Ragdoll, Jeannette, Deadshot, Black Alice, and King Shark make seven. Not that I'm complaining, I love King Shark and want him to stick around.

Gail Simone gets some funny moments from Bane's attempt to enter the dating world, but I thinks she's playing him a bit too awkward. I mean, isn't he a genius, even if he's socially warped? He seemed too far gone in his interactions with his date.

Simone does a nice job playing up the Doom Patrol. They are the guest stars, but they are also the closest thing this book has to heroes, so they get portrayed in a pretty positive light. I'm especially amazed how well Simone mimics Keith Giffen's dialogue for Robot Man and Negative Man. They sounded spot-on. I don't buy Doom Patrol regularly, but I guarantee I'll be picking up the second part of this crossover.

Jim Calafiore does his normal solid job on the art. Nothing jumped out as being incredible, but the storytelling is clear and everyone looks good.

Fair

Secret Six #29

I must confess I feel a tad lost picking up this issue of Secret Six. It's not like Gail Simone's story is too complicated or anything, but I'm not sure why Vandal Savage and Lex Luthor are facing off. I love seeing Ragdoll narrate an issue again, the dude is a nutbar, and his dialogue guarantees some humor. This is one of the lighter Secret Six issues, and that's saying something considering we finally get Scandal Savage's tragic origin. Bane gets few good lines, as does Deadshot, but Catman and Jeannette don't have a lot to do.

I though the last storyline ended with Black Alice leaving the team, so I'm a bit confused seeing her still hanging around. Didn't King Shark join last issue?

Speaking of Vandal Savage, I'm thrilled he's back to his well-dressed caveman roots; he was terribly stupid with the burning scarred face when he was going by Cain.

I don't recognize Marcos Marz's style, but he's pretty solid. He's a mix of Ladronn and Pete Woods. I never would have figured someone could mix their styles, but that's what Marz reminds me of.

Fair

Secret Six #28

It's weird that I enjoyed this issue, but feel the storyline as a whole was rather pointless.

There are some nice moments as the two Secret Six teams face off once again in Skataris. The issue is worthwhile because of the great moments with Bane and Scandal. The two of them have such a wonderful, warped relationship, it just gets sicker and more tender. Deadshot and Black Alice actually have a few nice moments of conversation too. Catman doesn't do much more than get some nice pin-up moments, but his presence is still in the book. The closing is pretty interesting, with Amanda Waller combining the teams. Am I reading it right that King Shark is taking Black Alice's place on the team?

Gail Simone gets to write an acceptable close to Dwarfstar's murder of Ryan Choi. GIganta finds out what happens, and Giganta hands out some nice revenge for the readers who liked the new character. Black Alice is such a sad character, I hope she's getting a happy ending here, it would be nice to see someone end up happy.

The problem with the overall storyline is that I was never really concerned about Skataris. I didn't know any of the super-powered villains. My only connection to the story was the development for the core cast.

Good

Secret Six #27

Things take an odd turn in this next chapter of the battle of the Secret Sixes. Bane's team faces down Scandal's, but after things get serious with Bane's injury, everyone decides to calm down and talk things out. (Well, Jeannette decides to stop the combat, overriding Deadshot and some others).

Scandal's team goes to team up with some other Skataris folks, so that each Six now have their own back-up army. I must confess I know absolutely nothing about any of these guys. I know Catman puts on Warlord's costume, but I don't know about who the surprise-return villain is, I don't know who the good guys are, and I'm not sure if I need to care...

What Gail Simone does a great job on (once again) is the interaction of the leads. The two Sixes have some great matchups, with the King Shark/Ragdoll fight being the strongest. And Amanda Waller shows why she's one of the craftiest plotters in the DCU. Spy Smasher is simply out of her element going up against the Wall.

Jim Calafiore has settled in as penciller, I like his heavy blacks on the big guys like Bane and King Shark. I still miss Nicole Scott, but Calafiore isn't bad.

Fair (would be Good if I understood Skataris)

Secret Six #26

So Deadshot knew who Mockingbird was! Very nice. The high point of this issue doesn't have any fighting at all, instead it features Amanda Waller and Spy Smasher vying for the upper hand as they attempt to out-spy each other. There is great violence and fun one-lines in the Skataris-based part of this one, but for me, it doesn't get better than Amanda Waller doing her thing.

I'm still not loving the talkative King Shark, but I like the character so much I'm just glad he's being used. Gail Simone is still getting each character a remarkable amount of character work with just a few lines. I loved Catman's swim with a lake monster; even better was Deadshot's comment about CM didn't used to walk around shirtless so much when he was chubby. Great stuff.

I'm really worried about Bane, but Simone has earned the right to do what she wants with the character. He's an awesome enigma who gets at least one wow moment per storyline. I have a feeling Scandal will still try to do right by him, even after she slashed his throat.

Jim Calafiore is fine, but man, I miss Nicola Scott's expressive artwork. Calafiore gets the job done and the storytelling is clear, but I wonder if the emotional beats of this book would hit even harder with Scott's pencils.

Good

Secret Six #25

So it seems last month's excellent Western story was a one-off, this issue picks up with Catman crazy and the Six in shambles. Jeannette and Bane are working with their new team on typical Six-type missions. While I love the original Six, I must admit I love the new team too. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when Dwarfstar's contract-kill of the Atom comes up, I can't imagine Giganta will take it well. King Shark is a lot more talkative and funny than I remember, but I don't suppose that's a problem. Lady Vic is awesome as always, she's one of my favorite Chuck Dixon creations (along with Bane). Gail Simone has a great eye for characters with potential.

Meanwhile, Catman is still bugging out, although the team's new contract could help. Mockingbird wants the remaining Five (Deadshot, Scandal, Catman, Ragdoll, and Black Alice) to head to a lost land (Skataris?) to head off Bane's crew. Bane is claiming the land for the US, and Mockingbird wants to stop them. Now, unless I'm confused, I thought Amanda Waller was Mockingbird? What's up here? Or am I misremembering?

Jim Calafiore is a nice fit for the title. His dark art fits the tone of the story nicely. And how about that cover, what a fantastic idea.

Good

Secret Six #24

I have absolutely no idea where Gail Simone is going with this book, but wow, what an issue.

I just started watching Deadwood, so this is perfect timing for me as the entire issue takes place in the old West. The Six are re-cast as gun-toting toughies with various roles in an old West setting. Deadshot is a bounty hunter, Catman is a trapper, Scandal is a sherriff (with Bane as deputy), and Jeannette is a whore. Of course, Ragdoll is an insane puppeteer. What else could he be? Even in these new roles, the true characteristics of the cast shine through. In fact, I'm a little shocked at how well the Six work in this setting. The bad guys of the piece are Slade Wilson and Ragdoll's sister. I like it, because she's been about the worst villain in the whole series so far.

There is something going on with alternate lives, but I can't exactly figure out what. Are the Six bouncing through alternate lifetimes trying to be heroes? I'm not complaining, this set up has given Simone some of her best deviant-dialogue in months. Rag Doll's puppet show is almost enough to make this book MAX on its own!

Jim Calafiore must have had a great time working on this. Deadshot and Jeannette knock boots in a bathtub (less romantic than it sounds!) and Ragdoll's puppet shows are great (starring Joker and Harley). Calafiore always does a nice job with action, and he does so again here. He's no Nicola Scott, but he's a solid artist for the title.

Excellent

Secret Six #23

John Ostrander knows how to deliver a done-in-one. This thing isn't high art or anything, but we've got a classic theme (Most Dangerous Game) and some great action combining to give us a stock little Secret Six story. What I like about it is that I can imagine this is what life is like for the Six. Sometimes their missions go bad, sometimes they work, and sometimes they get totally screwed (probably in that order, actually). Ostrander does a nice job channeling Gail Simone's voice for the Six, especially Bane and Rag Doll. Actually, Jeannette sounded spot-on too. Catman, Scandall, and even Deadshot are a little easier fits for Ostrander, especially with all his experience with Deadshot. I'm impressed at how well he captured the odd nobility in Bane and the freakiness of Doll. Jeannette carried her weird "classiness" too, nicely done.

RB Silva does a good enough job on art. Sometimes the characters' heads seemed a bit too, balloon-y or puffy. But the action is clear and the storytelling is fine, so I can't complain. I'm perfectly happy with this level of fill-in.

Good

Secret Six #22

There is no way Gail Simone could keep up the frenetic pacing and maniacal plot from the last three issues, so I'm not surprised this issue was a tad more subdued. (It is hilarious that fighting an electric meta and tossing an old man through a window is considered "subdued.")

We complete a couple secret origins here. We see Thomas Blake's relationship with his parents come to the only logical end it could, and we see the reason why that old dude has started this war with Catman. It all makes sense, but I'm a tad worried that the Jade that is about to be unleashed on the DCU might be pretty awful. That lady is going to be mad.

The whole Black Alice thing didn't quite ring true, I suppose upset teenagers will be illogical, but I'm pretty sure she's quitting the team, right? And we still haven't seen Bane and Jeannette's new group in action yet! I'm hoping Catman can come back from this, if he believes what that old dude said, then he at least stopped a cycle of pain.

Jim Calafiore does a nice job on the art, particularly with the flashback pieces. They have a nice little big-cat border that drives the point home.

Good

Secret Six #21

Man, sometimes I worry about Gail Simone. She fills this issue with another slew of sickos, both in sad flashbacks about Catman's childhood and in the current story.

The issue shows us Catman's childhood, and as far as I know this is the first time we've seen this era of Thomas Blake's past. Blake's Dad was a big game hunter and a real jerk. He's abusive to his wife, son, and any bystanders unlucky to know him. He's a sociopath and a big game hunter, so a bad combo for a chubby kid like Thomas. It's actually amazing that Catman turned out as altruistic as he did with this horrific past. Of course, he's channeling his childhood rage and emotion when he's hunting down those responsible for taking his son.

I still think that Catman's kid will be alive, because surely Simone has some mercy for her readers? But in any case, it was a mistake for these guys to cross Catman. Catman is on a rampage here, threatening and sneaking his way to the next of the kidnappers he targeted last issue. This time he goes up against a South African meta-human with super-strength. It does him absolutely no good, Catman takes him out FAST.

There is the normal great dialogue between the core team as they track down their feline buddy. Black Alice is hilarious possessive of Rag Doll. Deadshot is really worried about his buddy and it seems to be softening him. Scandal clearly belongs in the field. I love the replacement team Bane and Jeannette have put together. Giganta and Dwarf Star are old pet charactes of Simone's, so they fit in nicely. Lady Vic and King Shark have shown up enough that I can't wait to hear more from them. King Shark's comment about his little problem made the issue for me (He has a unique problem. He likes eating people with eating disorders.)

I'll always miss Nicola Scott, but Jim Calafiore is doing a nice job on the book. His blocky characters and heavy inks work nicely for the dark tone of the series.

Good

Secret Six #20

Hoo boy, those guys have gone and done it. They forgot one important rule of blackmail; make sure the subject is capable of being blackmailed.

After last issue's tremendous set up, things kick right off. A gang of thugs is threatening to kill Catman and Cheshire's son. They state that the kid is already dead, but he gets one more year of life for every member of the Secret Six that Catman kills. There is a fantastic moment where Catman actually seems like he might act on that threat, but then he turns things around. He tells the kidnappers it is too late for them, go ahead and kill his son. He is going to make them pay. Yowch!

Catman goes ballistic and he's on the hunt for these guys. They truly don't understand the hell they've unleashed for themselves. Even better, four other members of the Secret Six are speeding along to back Catman up. Scandal, Deadshot, Black Alice, and Ragdoll are all helping their feline pal for their own reasons (Deadshot's are the best, he doesn't want Catman to sink as low as the rest of them already are). Meanwhile, Gail Simone is giving us another membership drive as Bane and Jeannette are going to fill out the Six's roster with "four other known metahumans." I don't have any real guesses, buy maybe Livewire from Simone's Superman run?

I guess Jim Calafiore is the regular penciller on this title now. He's not glamorous, but his storytelling is clear and he has a nice take on costumed characters. He did a nice job making the three kidnappers unique too, even though they don't have costumes.

Good

Secret Six #17

I missed the first part of this storyline (I'll be picking it up though) so I started off a bit lost, but Gail Simone and John Ostrander are pros, so I found myself caught up right away.

It seems Amanda Waller is aiming her Suicide Squad at the Secret Six, and this is giving us some great fights. Nightshade & Count Vertigo vs. Bane & Black Alice. Scandal Savage vs. Multiplex (sort of). Rick Flagg vs. Deadshot. And the fight I want to see more of, the one featured on the cover; Bronze Tiger vs. Catman. Simone and Ostrander do a fantastic job giving us a quick, dirty fight between these two master fighters. And since there is no clear winner, both guys get to save face and neither loses any status in the DCU.

The Black Lanterns are almost a distraction here, I'd be totally fine with a Six/Squad battle. But having the Lanterns show up does complicate things nicely, because these two teams have killed an awful lot of people. Another great bit is Deadshot's emotional color: black. He has his emotions so rigidly controlled that he only has cracks of red and green showing through.

Jim Calafiore does a decent job with the art, but I do really miss Nicola Scott. Calafiore's pencils are rather generic after Scott's distinctive takes on the core cast.

Good

Secret Six #16

I don't think Black Alice's legs are connected to the rest of her body on that cover...

Hmm. This is two average issues of Secret Six in a row. After blasting out of the gates and being one of my favorite comics, things are slowing down quite a bit over the past few months. Gail Simone is bringing another of her creations aboard the Secret Six as Black Alice "auditions" to join the team of mercenaries. The Six let it all hang out, and I think Catman and Deadshot figured their skeevy qualities would scare Alice off, but instead she doesn't even blink and still wants to join the team. I'm amused at how accepting the team has been of Bane's takeover. It seems Scandal is still around, so really it will be more of a Secret Seven, but Bane is the guy who kind of takes over and makes a decision on Alice. I'm ok with Alice joining the team, mostly because it seems like Simone is aware of all the potential things that aren't as cool about her (the goth/emo thing, the sulky kid personality, etc.)

I'm curious to see how the team will get along now that one of their most powerful members is essentially a surly teenager, but it will make things interesting. I might have figured an issue with super-villain strippers would be a bit more exciting, but this was more a foundation-laying issue, leaving it fairly bland.

Peter Nguyen's art is serviceable, but losing Nicola Scott is a huge blow. She's made this book her own, so losing her to Blackest Night: Wonder Woman for a few months is making these issues seem even less important. Unfortunately, it feels a bit like the book is treading water until Scott returns and things can ramp back up to the previous level of quality this book enjoyed.

Average

Secret Six #15

Sometimes you can come home again. John Ostrander returns to Deadshot for a nice little character piece, and he picks up right where he left off. Father Craemer even plays an important role in trying to help Deadshot deal with his current obsession with killing. Deadshot never minds killing, but now it is all he can think about. Deadshot and Craemer take a nice little walk down memory lane, hitting on Deadshot's past, both personal and "professional." I never knew that Deadshot made a brief (and fake) attempt at being a popular hero, but I always like seeing the contrast of Deadshot and Batman. Having Deadshot's current crisis of conscience relate to Batman's death is an interesting take on the situation. The best part is how Deadshot deals with it; he likes Craemer's analysis, and that's good enough for him, case closed. Craemer naturally wants to continue their counseling and get DS real help, but we all know that's not what Floyd Lawton wants.

Jim Caliafore's pencils are decent. There are some weird proportions at times, most obviously during Batman's big appearance; he has tiny arms. But he gets the point across.

Fair