Secret Six #22
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Jim Calafiore
I can’t remember the last time I read a book for nearly two years and never felt even the slightest dip in the consistency. Secret Six has been a complete joy as Gail handles her stable of baddies and quasi-baddies. Catman is as close to A-list as a guy named Catman can be, Black Alice finally has a book where she actually belongs, Ragdoll is the creepiest bastard ever, and I just love Deadshot. Is the book perfect? Nah, but it’s damn fun, and this issue is no different from the rest of the run.
The arc being wrapped is a lot of Catman, as Thomas hunts down the men who kidnapped his son and brutalizes them along the way. Meanwhile, Black Alice vs Scandal over….Ragdoll?
Black Alice is the perfect degree of unbalanced for this book, as you can truly feel for the troubled young girl, but at the same time…..she’s got a lot of troubles that are quite….troubling. And I mean, the fact that she spends most of the issue channeling the demon Etrigan doesn’t do her much favors….though the fact that she’s calling ‘Doll her boyfriend and doesn’t seem to realize he had his man-bits removed can only lead to much hilarity. ‘Doll actually gets some great moments out of this, one in particular stands out, but I’m not going to spoil it.
Catman is a man possessed, however, as he goes after his and Cheshire’s son who was kidnapped to start the arc. And while I don’t want to give away too much, I will say the following:
- Never call Catman a pussycat, or a pussy.
- Cheshire needs her tubes tied
- Catman is one of the most intriguing characters in the DCU
Now on art, Jim Calafiore is no Nicola Scott, but I won’t complain. I’ve always liked his style, and I think he does great on a book like this. Things are grim and gritty when needed, and the characters all have unique looks about them. And there’s this one fight scene, brief as it may be, holy crap. So well handled.
If you’re not reading Secret Six by now, then I want to call you a lost cause. If you would like to fix that, go out next month and buy number 23, as it begins the next story arc. You won’t regret it.
Overall?
8/10
