REVIEW :: Secret Six #18
Sometimes, you’ve gotta wonder about the decision-making process of the bigwigs over at DC Comics.
For instance, why would they publish a comic book starring Magog — a character that most readers have never heard of … and others just hate.
Oh here’s another one: Why kill a ton of the members of the Justice League International only to bring some of them back in a bi-weekly series? Or why cancel Birds of Prey? Or why turn the Teen Titans into a cemetery? So many questions … so little time.
My latest “WTF DC?” moment came after reading the newest issue of Secret Six, which is the final part of the comic’s Blackest Night tie-in story arc. First thing I thought after reading the book — which co-starred the Suicide Squad and was co-written by former Squad scribe John Ostrander — is: Why doesn’t the Suicide Squad have its own book?Why doesn’t the Suicide Squad have its own book?
Back in the day, the comic — starring a bunch of villains and anti-heroes who are forced to be heroes — was one of DC’s best monthly reads. Seeing the Squad again in the Secret Six — DC’s current comic starring a bunch of villains and anti-heroes turned heroes — shows how interesting and viable this team actually is. Watching the sometimes-noble Bronze Tiger battle it out with Cat-Man, the morally complex Amanda Waller face off against Scandal Savage and the haunted Nightshade throwdown with Black Alice (among other cool moments), I was sold on the idea that these bad/good guys have story potential that could be mined for years.
And, yes, I know DC published a limited series starring the group a short while ago, but that doesn’t count because it was designed more as a way to clean up continuity. C’mon Mr. Didio — even Matt Murdock can see it’s time for an Ostrander-penned Suicide Squad ongoing.
Carlton Hargro is Editor-in-Chief of Charlotte’s Creative Loafing free weekly newspaper. You can read more of Carlton’s reviews at the magazines Comic Proportions blog.
Sadly, Ostrander is battling pretty severe glaucoma these days, so I doubt it’s in the cards. He is still on Star Wars: Legacy though, which is probably the strongest of the SW titles Dark Horse is publishing.