Note: This post was originally a series of posts at www.berkeleyplaceblog.com in 2013. It is reprinted here because that blog moved all its comic book material here.
Now we’re into the volume that most people think of when they talk about the brilliance of Secret Six: Thirty-six issues, mostly written by Gail Simone.
I figured this panel, from issue #2, as as good as any to (ahem) “kick” this off.\
In the first arc, we learn that Batman eats burritos but wants to keep his dining choice a secret. Very funny. The first arc is marked by constant betrayal and crazy, wild, exuberant silliness. It’s terrific.
From #8:
Artist Nicola Scott gives a tombstone shoutout to some fanboys.
Secret Six is about bad guys trying to be good. But unlike Thunderbolts and similar titles, there’s no coercion, and no trick. It’s really a morality play. Some of them are more evil than others (Deadshot) and some are more more confused than good-or-bad (Bane, Ragdoll). They’re a team of misfits who really just want to proud of what they do–and maybe make some cash. Catman, spokesman for the animals of the African plains (but a white guy) is the most conflicted….
Gail Simone could have left this story to a “Catman thinks he’s like Batman and Bane knows he isn’t.” That would have been funny enough. But she uses the idea as a springboard for a whole story. Catman gets an inferiority complex while the Six patrol Gotham City in Batman’s absence. It’s a great little story, and we get to see Ragdoll at his level best as well…
