Secret Six #36: Caution to the Wind Part 2: Blood Honor

Cover by J. Calafiore
and John Kalisz

Secret Six #36: Caution to the Wind Part 2: Blood Honor (August 3, 2011)

Writer: Gail Simone

Penciller: J. Calafiore

Colorist: John Kalisz

Letterer: Travis Lanham

The current DC Universe is slowly dying out to make way for the re-launch next month. While all the classic series will be rebooted, there are a great many that, sadly, will not be revived. Secret Six is one such series and, as written by Gail Simone, is one that fans of DC are currently mourning most fervently.

After reading #34 and #35, I knew I had to see this arc conclude and what should become of this ragtag group of villains. Though I am still struggling with keeping track of each character and their backstories, I have definitely become enamored with each of them and their ability to be engaging, dynamic, distinct, honorable and funny characters while still openly being villains. Simone’s run on the Secret Six has only emphasized her strength as a writer for me. She managed to never let me forget that these were in fact, the bad guys (and capable of terrible deeds) but she also made me care about them greatly.

It also speaks to her talent that she managed to give this series a pretty awesome conclusion, one befitting the characters’ personalities and relationships to one another.

Secret Six #35: Caution to the Wind

Cover by Daniel LuVisi

Secret Six #35: Caution to the Wind

Writer: Gail Simone

Penciller: J. Calafiore

Colorist: John Kalisz

Letterer: Travis Lanham

After being thoroughly intrigued by Secret Six #34, I was very excited to get my hands on the next issue, Caution to the Wind. Once again, I am dealing with characters that I have very limited knowledge and background with but after these two issues (and a quick trip to Wikipedia), I am beginning to grasp a better feel for their personalities and motives.

The Secret Six are unlike any characters I have encountered in my still beginners-level of comic book collecting. I think because they’re the main characters and still somewhat unfamiliar to me, I expect them to be the heroes of their story arcs. Instead, I am repeatedly shocked whenever Simone reminds me that these are characters willing to engage in extreme violence and even murder. They’re barely anti-heroes, just straight up villains. I’m frankly not used to seeing the “bad guys” work together in tandem as a cohesive group and still enjoy it as a reader. Simone manages to not make the concept of the Secret Six seem gimmicky and the members themselves, even as they plot the murders of some of my favorite characters, still likable.

 

Secret Six #34: The Jagged End of the Chainsaw

Cover by Daniel LuVisi

Writer: Gail Simone

Penciller: J. Calafiore

Colorist: John Kalisz

Letterer: Travis Lanham

I follow the great Gail Simone on Twitter and there’s been a lot of talk recently on her work with Secret Six, a group of villainous anti-heroes that I really know nothing about I(and which sadly, is ending with the DC re-launch in September). Once again, as a very new fan of anything not directly Batman-related, I struggled for a bit with keeping track of each character and what their motives/goals were while reading this issue. But, as always, it was the strength of Simone’s writing that kept me entertained and thoroughly interested in this issue, even when I wasn’t completely sure what exactly was going on.

Secret Six #34 opened right in the middle of a tense situation: Knockout is being tortured by a murderous fanatic who claims he is doing God’s work by killing Knockout and, as Catman hints, a number of sex workers. The remainder of the Secret Six arrive to rescue Knockout and seek their own brand of justice on Knockout’s torturer.

As I’ve said before, Simone does not shy away from incorporating dark scenes of violence or extremely grim moments. I really appreciate that and find that instead of using violence as an exploitive measure, Simone manages to balance it and give the comic depth and a profound sense of despair. The violence in this comic is not glorified, which is a danger when it comes to comic books, but instead, treated as a grim reality of the Secret Six’s lives.