Colourist: Rain Beredo, Letterer: Steve Wands
The original run of Secret Six is a comic that I've not read in a long time, but one that I'd very quickly name as one of my all time favourite series. It was so good that even after more than a decade of not having read it I'm still remembering it fondly (which reminds me I should pick up the swanky omnibus at some point); as such, and book that's going to carry that title on is going to have some big shoes to fill. When this new volume was announced the line-up was pretty interesting, featuring some characters who's been on the team before, Black Alice, Catman, and Deadshot, alongside three newbies, Superman (Jon Kent), Dreamer, and Gossamer. The returning characters are some great picks, and I think both Deadshot and Catman feel like must haves for the Secret Six, and the new trio are bringing some interesting baggage with them following the events of Absolute Power.
And Absolute Power is a big influence on this new series, and out of all of the titles launched since that event this one feels like one of the most direct follow-on's. At the end of Absolute Power Amanda Waller was put into Belle Reve prison, her memories of all of the super heroes secrets wiped from her mind thanks to Dreamer. It's here that our story begins, with Jon Kent helping to detain Waller's formerly mind controlled Bizarro II, who's in the process of escaping the prison. It shows that despite the sense of victory that came in Absolute Power there's still a lot to be cleaned up, and a lot of problems remaining.
This is only highlighted when Jon goes to see his boyfriend Jay, who perhaps lost the most during Absolute Power. Thanks to Waller's machinations Jay's nation was destroyed, and his mother was murdered. As such it's not hard to see why he still holds a lot of trauma, and why he's especially angry for those responsible. Unfortunately, one of those people is Nia, the hero Dreamer, a good friend of Jon's who was blackmailed into working with Waller. Despite saving Jon more than once during the event, and even giving up her life, Jay blames her as much as Waller; which leads to some uncomfortable moments when she appears on their doorstep to tell them that Waller has gone missing. Thus begins their mission to get into Belle Reve to get some answers; a mission that will lead to them being forced to work alongside a trio of criminals.
If you haven't read Absolute Power the first issue of Secret Six is throwing a lot of new information at you, however, Nicole Maines manages to deliver it in very concise, easy to understand pieces throughout the book. We're slowly given what we need as it becomes needed, such as starting with Jon and learning about Waller's actions, before moving on to learn about what happened to Jay. A lot of this is delivered through some handy narration boxes, delivered by Jon, but a lot of it comes up quite naturally in the dialogue; especially when Jon, Nia, and Jay are together. It would have been very easy to bog these moments down in exposition, or to have them become angsty screaming matches, but Maines manages to walk the line between expository and realistic well, and I actually really like the interpersonal moments, even if I think Jay is being too much of a dick to Nia.
This trip relationship is definitely the heart of the book, and it's been interesting to see how it's evolved from the comics leading up to Absolute Power to now. If you've read all of those you can't help but feel bad for Nia, who was forced into an impossible situation and did everything she could to set it right. But, you can absolutely understand why Jay resents her. Poor Jon is the one stuck in the middle, trying to make it work, wanting to support his boyfriend and friend both, which can't be easy for him when he clearly sees Jay's anger as misplaced. I'd seen people talking about this trio several months ago, talking about how it seemed to them that they were being set up to become a polyamorous relationship, and whilst I didn't see that myself it's certainly an interesting dynamic that this could be building towards. I'd be very interested to see this kind of relationship explored more in comics (previous Secret Six titles did this too), and one that starts off more antagonistic would be a neat twist on that.
The art on the book is really well done, and it was one of the first things that jumped out at me when it was announced alongside Stephen Segovia's cover. I love the designs for the characters, especially Jon and Catman. Jon has gone through a lot of different looks over recent years, which feels in part a response to DC editorial not really knowing what to do with the character. His look here is very different, darker in colour, slightly armoured looking without it being some kind of mech suit, and it just kind of works for me, especially with the darker tone this title's going for. Catman I big for his new cape, particularly the big collar he has. It gives him some bulk, and changes up his shape a little so that he doesn't just look like 'Batman but a cat'. He's got his own thing going on here and I really like it. Rain Beredo's colours also go a long way towards making me really click with the art style too, as I like the moody edge it has, and the shades that have been chosen for the colours.
This series was going to have to be really good for me to consider it worthy of using the title Secret Six, and whilst this is only the first issue I was more than just pleased with what we got, I was massively impressed. I ended the issue ready to jump into the next one, it hooked me in just the right way. I think Nicole Maines has done a terrific job here, and anyone who might try to claim that she's working in comics purely because she played Dreamer on television is going to have to shut up after this issue, as it showcases that she's a superb up and coming comic book writer who's sure to have a fantastic career.
