Secret Six:
Six Degrees of Devastation Trade-paperback
Review
by Jason
Page
Wow,
why oh
why
didn’t I
buy this
as a
monthly!
I loved
the
Villains
United,
but when
the
Secret
Six mini
came out
last
year I
was in
the
process
of
cutting
titles
and
couldn’t
convince
myself
to add
this one
no
matter
how good
the
previous
series.
I’m glad
that I
didn’t
make a
second
error by
passing
on the
trade-paperback
because
the
creative
teams of
Simone,
Walker,
and
Palmiotti
are
really
on the
top of
their
game.
Many
times I
find the
morally
ambiguous
anti-heroes
to be
far more
interesting
from a
storytelling
perspective
than the
truth
and
justice
type
superhero,
and
Simone
teases
you with
just the
right
mix of
ruthlessness
and
humanity
with
these
characters.
Simone’s
portrayal
of
Scandal
Savage
and
Deadshot
best
typify
this
dichotomy
with
there
complex
personal
relationships,
and
there
ability
to
transform
from
parents
and
lovers
to
brutal
killers.
Scandal
also has
one of
the best
lines of
the
series
when as
she is
kicking
the crap
out of
Catman
she asks
him,
“Don’t
you have
some
eggs you
should
be
cooking.”
Filling
in the
missing
sixth
spot of
the
roster
after
the
deaths
and
betrayals
in
Villains
United
is none
other
than the
Mad
Hatter.
The big
reveal
at the
end of
the
first
issue
had me
questioning
the
Six’s
sanity,
but he
proved
to be an
intriguing
choice
that
really
added an
extra
dimension
to this
group.
The
scene at
the end
of this
series
will
have you
laughing,
disturbed,
and
wanting
more all
at the
same
time.
Fans of
Villains
United
shouldn’t
worry
there is
plenty
of
interaction
between
Catman
and
Cheshire
throughout
this
story,
and
Ragdoll
is just
as weird
as he
ever
was.
Walker
and
Palmiotti’s
art is
dead on
for the
story.
The mind
set of
the
characters
can best
be seen
by the
background
coloring
and
shading
than the
word
bubbles,
but
there is
so much
detail
in
virtually
every
page
that
it’s
just fun
to look
at even
after a
second
or a
third
reading.
Diddio
should
keep
these
guys on
speed
dial for
the next
Doom
Patrol
mini or
monthly
because
their
pages of
them in
the
fourth
issue
were
perhaps
the best
of the
series.
Storytelling
is
always
more
important
to me
than
artwork,
but what
these
guys
enhance
Simone’s
story so
well
that it
makes it
all the
better.
The question that I found myself asking over and over again throughout my first and second reads of this trade is why hasn’t a monthly series been announced yet. This is a great read, and a lot of really interesting characters. Interaction between the Six and the Suicide Squad, Checkmate, or the Outsiders would all make for intriguing storytelling, and Simone has done such a great job with back stories for each of these characters that even if another writer was given this challenge there are plenty of stories to explore. This is a great story and one that you will probably find yourself picking up again and again.