Comic Book Digressions: Get Your Fix of the Six

Five years ago, I might have laughed hard if anyone told me I would still consider an Infinite Crisis spinoff as bad-ass.

Even when Gail Simone steps away from Secret Six, I cannot consider it anything but captivating - and, well, bad-ass, even if I generally avoid that term. But Simone leaves me little choice. When the Six got a mini-series after Infinite Crisis, then went into limbo except for the occasional guest appearance, it was a letdown. The ongoing series improved on their original appearances by adding Bane as a team member - the man who broke Batman's back has become their moral compass at times - and has delivered nothing but solid storylines punctuated by character-building one-shots.

The ongoing kicked off with the gang protecting a supervillain with invaluable cargo - a "Get Out of Hell Free" card courtesy of Neron, DC's version of the Devil (well, one of them). Other arcs involved Wonder Woman and the Amazonians, while Simone plumbed the scarred psyche of Catman to great effect in one that just ended. These characters simply pop off the page.

The cast evolved since Villains United - Fiddler, Cheshire, Parademon and Mad Hatter, we hardly knew ye. Aside from Deadshot and Bane, it's strictly C-list and D-list: Catman (one of the best revamps of the past decade), Ragdoll (son of the original, ten times as twisted). Scandal Savage (daughter of Vandal Savage), and Jeanette, a banshee character created by Simone. I never find myself wishing for one of these characters to get a solo book (sales won't allow it anyway), because such action would strip away the smart interplay among this crew. Simone could get away with a book of just Deadshot and Catman hanging out - granted, they would probably beat on some criminals between quips.

This gang has slivers of morality, They frequently cross lines, but not without consequences – except for Ragdoll, who violently removed Mad Hatter from the team for being one freak too many. DC's attempts to drag it into "event" books have found the Six turning tables and not letting said events trounce all over the plotting. There are obvious comparisons to Suicide Squad, with whom the Six have clashed, but the Six are a different animal.

It's amazing DC lets such a twisted, amoral comic remain in its stable. Let's hope that does not foretell a similar result as the last book I praised - DC shortened the Great Ten from ten to nine issues, forcing Tony Bedard into one of the most awkward final installments I ever read (it still wasn't a bad read, incidentally).

July's Secret Six issue, the 23rd, finds John Ostrander on fill-in writing duties for the second stint. Forget the old - and usually correct - stigma about fill-in issues. As with his in-depth look at Deadshot earlier this year, the book doesn’t miss a beat when Simone takes a month off. Unlike the Deadshot issue, Ostrander sets up as solid an entry point for new readers as the Six will ever receive. The art might not be the greatest, but I'm not reading for that. As long as it's servicable, it works here.

With a simple plot - the Six take an assignment on an uninhabited island, not knowing they are tapped as prey for a group of wealthy thrill-hunters - great characterization holds everything else into place. Oh, and leaving a single bullet in one of Deadshot's wrist guns? Not the brightest idea.

Don't any misgivings about Simone's work on Wonder Woman color your opinions of Secret Six. It's her best work for DC, and arguably the company's most compelling team book. I have to wonder if this book will soon run out of chances. No matter how strong the material, it happens to most monthlies if they go unread.

Besides, where else will you get dialogue like this. Catman talks of going straight to Deadshot before they encounter some neo-Nazis. Deadshot drop tosses this nugget while ribbing Catman afterwards: "And when you broke all that guy's teeth with you foot? I think I seen Captain Marvel do that once. For charity, if I recall."

Characters such as these might only get one chance at a starring role. Simone has made the most of their moment, for however long it lasts.