DCU Comic Book Reviews

SECRET SIX #1

Unhinged, Part One: At The Point Of Puncture

November 2008

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Nicola Scott

Inks by Doug Hazelwood

Cover by Cliff Chiang

Synopsis

At the Bear Trap Bar, Mr. Shelton is taken to visit Junior, the leader of the mob west of the Mississippi.  Junior is upset an unnamed woman and Shelton stole from him, so he forces Shelton to make a choice:  he dies or his family dies.  Shelton chooses his family.  Junior kills Shelton anyway.  Later, Junior tells his henchman he knows where the woman will be.  And he knows who will be helping the woman.  At the House of Secrets, Ragdoll attempts to cheer up Scandal, to little effect.  However, the rest of the team throws her a birthday party, including a dancer dressed to look like Knockout, Scandal’s dead lover.  It is enough to pull Scandal out of her stupor.  She tells the team they have a mission:  break Catalina Flores (aka Tarantula) out of prison and transport her to Gotham City.  At that moment, Huntress calls Catman to tell him not to take the job.  Junior has placed a $10 million bounty on the team.  She warns him not to mess with Junior.  When she hangs up, Batman tells her that a bloodbath is coming.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was a great, great first issue.  It does a great job of setting up the story with a mysterious, dangerous villain while at the same time providing the characterization of the titular characters that has marked Simone’s writing of this team.  Ever since their first appearance, Simone has had a great handle on these characters and they just come alive on the page.  To me, the core of the book is the relationship between Deadshot and Catman (love the conversation in the convenience store), although I liked the interaction between Bane and Ragdoll enough that I wouldn’t mind seeing them in a similar type of scene.  I also liked the fact that Simone addresses the death of Knockout, which I don’t think has had the chance to address in any of the books she has written. 

The only drawback may be for completely new readers who missed the team in Villains United and the mini-series as Simone builds upon those characterizations and doesn’t try to start anew or put down the foundation again.  Moreover, Simone understands that this is a book about villains, so she writes them as villains.  The tone is dark and gritty with violence and sex on prominent display.

Simone is walking on dangerous ground with this issue.  She has created two mysteries, who is Junior and what is on the card.  The characters talk about these things with a certain amount of fear and awe, which serves to heightened the tension of the plot and up the stakes for the central conflict of the story, but it can also lead to disaster.  The imagination of the readers can often elevate these things beyond what Simone was intending.  Junior has been painted as an unnerving, frightening creature living inside a trunk.  Huntress says the usual Batman villains are scared of Junior.  But when Junior finally appears, will the actuality match the imagination of the readers?   

The book is Secret Six.  There are four characters on the cover.  There are five members on the team.  The numbers don’t match up.  I’m just saying, that’s all. 

On the first page, first panel the henchmen in the red plaid suit calls the other one Aaron, but in the panel just below it, the henchmen in the green plaid suit calls the other Aaron.  I am going to assume the panel in the middle of the page is a coloring mistake.

 

	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.