What do you think?
Rate this book
Secret Six by Gail Simone Omnibus #1
Secret Six by Gail Simone Omnibus Vol. 1
Collecting the series that led into INFINITE CRISIS!
Six of justice's deadliest enemies band together to start a revolution.
Together, they want to take a stand to stop the super-heroic community from tampering with their minds and to prove how deadly they can be! But not everyone agrees to this agenda. Six rogues are recruited by the enigmatic Mockingbird, charged with opposing the Society and given assignments to thwart their rivals and even help their enemies.
Who is Mockingbird? Could it be one of the six? The status quo is rocked by the Society's formation and the revelations along the way make certain that when the Secret Six are done, nothing in the DCU will ever be the same!
Six of justice's deadliest enemies band together to start a revolution.
Together, they want to take a stand to stop the super-heroic community from tampering with their minds and to prove how deadly they can be! But not everyone agrees to this agenda. Six rogues are recruited by the enigmatic Mockingbird, charged with opposing the Society and given assignments to thwart their rivals and even help their enemies.
Who is Mockingbird? Could it be one of the six? The status quo is rocked by the Society's formation and the revelations along the way make certain that when the Secret Six are done, nothing in the DCU will ever be the same!
928 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2024
3 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Gail Simone
1,091 books1,240 followersGail Simone is a comic book writer well-known for her work on Birds of Prey (DC), Wonder Woman (DC), and Deadpool (Marvel), among others, and has also written humorous and critical commentary on comics and the comics industry such as the original "Women in Refrigerators" website and a regular column called "You'll All Be Sorry".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 6, 2024
WARNING: DC's ever-mediocre collections team messed up YET AGAIN. Read the six Birds of Prey issues AFTER the Secret Six v2, NOT like they're arranged in this volume. DC somehow managed to mess up the chronology (or maybe it was on purpose, they make really bad decisions about collections) and a major character event in Birds of Prey #109 will entirely confuse you if you read it before Secret Six v2, instead of where it belongs, afterward.
Anyway, aside from that tremendous blunder on DC's part, it turns out that Gail Simone's excellent Secret Six comic is even better when read in a big omnibus like this. That's because it really focuses on characters, a bunch of degenerate characters as it happens, as we really get to seem them grow and change over the course of this volume.
It's also a great look into the seamier side of the DC universe, following on great past works like the Secret Society of Super Villains. The difference here? This group may be trying to be good. Or not. Watching where they fall is part of the joy.
Anyway, aside from that tremendous blunder on DC's part, it turns out that Gail Simone's excellent Secret Six comic is even better when read in a big omnibus like this. That's because it really focuses on characters, a bunch of degenerate characters as it happens, as we really get to seem them grow and change over the course of this volume.
It's also a great look into the seamier side of the DC universe, following on great past works like the Secret Society of Super Villains. The difference here? This group may be trying to be good. Or not. Watching where they fall is part of the joy.
September 15, 2024
Gail Simone’s Secret Six, in all its iterations, has been the story of mercenaries for hire, loyal almost always to a fault only to each other. Whether helping grieving relatives get justice for a murdered child or protecting a slave trader’s dark fortune, the morality of a Six job hardly matters until it does. Should a job get too personal, a Six-er or their family threatened, or even one member’s own interests too far piqued, Six jobs can (and usually do) go wrong. But no matter how many times the Six betray or otherwise try to murder one another, they always come back together in the end, these personalities often nontraditional in gender or sexuality knowing where they fit in most is with one another. Secret Six is one of my all time favorite series; the art, writing, characters all come together in rare form. And the entire Simone/Scott run was magnificent especially Jeanette and Ragdoll. Again, I’m always happy to imagine the Six find their way back to one another, no matter the continuity and look forward to seeing them back at again in the near future.
October 4, 2024
Secret Six by Gail Simone.
When i was quite younger and strolling alot on the internet for cool runs to read, Secret Six was always one that came up alot. A ragtag group like the Suicide Squad, but different. These are real c listers 😅 Dead shot is the famous one, and Bane, but you have also guys like Catman a deadone clone of Batman, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll and Cheshire. They will take any job on the planet, and mostly make a mess of it. This is a cool DC run, and finally one i get to get into.
When i was quite younger and strolling alot on the internet for cool runs to read, Secret Six was always one that came up alot. A ragtag group like the Suicide Squad, but different. These are real c listers 😅 Dead shot is the famous one, and Bane, but you have also guys like Catman a deadone clone of Batman, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll and Cheshire. They will take any job on the planet, and mostly make a mess of it. This is a cool DC run, and finally one i get to get into.
June 8, 2024
I love every single page from this book. One of The greatest, bloodiest and funniest books in mainstream comic book. I was considering go for 4 stars because of huuuuge mapping mistake (they put Birds of Prey Crossover before S6 miniseries which makes Zero sense but i dont wanna spoil you anything… you will get it when you read it) but i enjoy whole thing so much i just cant go lower then 5!
October 12, 2024
Gail Simone may be the best orator of minor characters since Geoff Johns’ JSA. You can start reading this knowing nothing about the characters in the Secret Six and come out loving every one of them.
The only dig on this run is how it ends with a thud. Up until the last couple issues, this is a 6/5 book.
The only dig on this run is how it ends with a thud. Up until the last couple issues, this is a 6/5 book.
July 3, 2025
a number of acquaintances had sold this to me as some sort of cult/underground/vertigo-lite/morrison's doom patrol-esque subversion of the medium.
it is none of those things. the story by gail simone is very uneven, but this is unsurprising since simone, who entered comics as fan who wrote for some of the same sites (CBR, Psycomic IIRC) and messages boards that i did. like the others who entered the "biz" around that time from similar places, her work veers between 2-3 pages of great setpieces and many pages of curious characterization, filler, corny stuff (matt fraction and others showed up in this same manner, and have many of the same faults). they're trying to do a "cool" comics that emphasizes the writer-as-talent (bm bendis, an artist, was the peak of this style; g ennis was among the better purveyors of it). in this case, i'd be turning pages rapidly for 10-15 minutes, then utterly dismayed by a recent or lame scene that feels almost like fanwank. not bad, but characteristic not just of her work but this entire generation of creators.
the art, on the other hand, is very good. brad walker's stuff, particularly his mad hatter illos, are quality, but nicola scott (one of the best "normal" artists of the period, good at action sequences, and the penciler of that memorable darkwing "rear end" shot that became a meme) and dale eaglesham (especially eaglesham drawing catman) steal the show, ensuring the that art overshadows the narrative (which is essential here). is this good comics? no, definitely not. but i got a review copy of this monster manuscript and for the price of FREE it was decent, particularly given that i ignored it at the time because i'd largely written off spandex after the comic-con in 03 when i saw how much all this crap was merging with the mainstream and online cultures generally.
recommended. not really, but this was decent timepassing toilet bowl material.
it is none of those things. the story by gail simone is very uneven, but this is unsurprising since simone, who entered comics as fan who wrote for some of the same sites (CBR, Psycomic IIRC) and messages boards that i did. like the others who entered the "biz" around that time from similar places, her work veers between 2-3 pages of great setpieces and many pages of curious characterization, filler, corny stuff (matt fraction and others showed up in this same manner, and have many of the same faults). they're trying to do a "cool" comics that emphasizes the writer-as-talent (bm bendis, an artist, was the peak of this style; g ennis was among the better purveyors of it). in this case, i'd be turning pages rapidly for 10-15 minutes, then utterly dismayed by a recent or lame scene that feels almost like fanwank. not bad, but characteristic not just of her work but this entire generation of creators.
the art, on the other hand, is very good. brad walker's stuff, particularly his mad hatter illos, are quality, but nicola scott (one of the best "normal" artists of the period, good at action sequences, and the penciler of that memorable darkwing "rear end" shot that became a meme) and dale eaglesham (especially eaglesham drawing catman) steal the show, ensuring the that art overshadows the narrative (which is essential here). is this good comics? no, definitely not. but i got a review copy of this monster manuscript and for the price of FREE it was decent, particularly given that i ignored it at the time because i'd largely written off spandex after the comic-con in 03 when i saw how much all this crap was merging with the mainstream and online cultures generally.
recommended. not really, but this was decent timepassing toilet bowl material.
March 13, 2025
Gail Simone's magnum opus. Spiritual successor to John Ostrander's Suicide Squad. One of the best comic runs about supervillains ever written. Morally ambiguous... philosophically challenging...
For f%@$'s sake, this is the book that made Catman cool.
Why aren't you reading this RIGHT NOW?!
For f%@$'s sake, this is the book that made Catman cool.
Why aren't you reading this RIGHT NOW?!
June 24, 2025
overall the best omni I’ve read! my first Gail Simone read and i love her now. I’ll be checking her work out from now on… maybe her Birds of Prey run next? i liked the overall tie ins especially with them.
The first six issues?? Amazing!
towards the end tho, Simone kept having the secret six betray each other and it kept meaning less and less.
The first six issues?? Amazing!
towards the end tho, Simone kept having the secret six betray each other and it kept meaning less and less.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2026
This is the most deeply philosophical, tragically sad, funny, depraved comic ever written. No one could have pulled it off but Gail Simone. Lesser writers would have been too restrained or shocked you for the hell of it. She magically walks the thinnest line in the world.
It’s not for the faint of heart, and don’t show it to grandma. But this is a true work of brilliance from the master herself.
It’s not for the faint of heart, and don’t show it to grandma. But this is a true work of brilliance from the master herself.
January 11, 2026
Fun, dark and sometimes too edgy for me but, really enjoyed it over all. Im a total Scandal fan too now. I like that she is a complex, human, adult woman in the DCU
Extra content in the omnibus was a nice addition too
Extra content in the omnibus was a nice addition too
June 16, 2024
Just a wicked fun delight from start to finish, with superb art from a variety of artists, and top notch writing from Simone. Hope DC hurries with the second collection.
June 19, 2025
Great art, super fun stories, and I rly love this team
February 14, 2025
I love this omnibus so much. I’ve reviewed Villains United, which kicks it off, elsewhere, but it’s one of the best Countdown to Infinite Crisis miniseries, and I happily reread it here. The Secret Sux comics that follow are so strong; Simone goes to some dark and perverse places and I’m so here for it. You’ll never see the Mad Hatter or Ragdoll the same way again. Top marks across the board, except…
There is one MAJOR issue with this omnibus, and that is the incorrect sequencing of the stories. The Birds of Prey arc that is included is intended to come AFTER the first Secret Six series, not before it. To read it in the order printed is confusing and spoils a major character death. So if you happen to see this review before reading the omnibus, read Villains United, then jump ahead to Six Degrees of Devastation, then go back to the Birds of Prey story, then ahead to Secret Six vol 3.
There is one MAJOR issue with this omnibus, and that is the incorrect sequencing of the stories. The Birds of Prey arc that is included is intended to come AFTER the first Secret Six series, not before it. To read it in the order printed is confusing and spoils a major character death. So if you happen to see this review before reading the omnibus, read Villains United, then jump ahead to Six Degrees of Devastation, then go back to the Birds of Prey story, then ahead to Secret Six vol 3.
October 23, 2024
Super fun read! Gail Simone's writing is fantastic.
The Secret Six are a colorful menagerie of sleazeballs on their haphazard road to moral redemption. The cast of characters have intricate interpersonal who often clash but you can see real bonds between each and ever one of them. Well, except for poor old Jervis Tetch, maybe. That guy will never catch a break.
The plotting is dark, twisted, humorous, and above all, very engaging.
The Secret Six are a colorful menagerie of sleazeballs on their haphazard road to moral redemption. The cast of characters have intricate interpersonal who often clash but you can see real bonds between each and ever one of them. Well, except for poor old Jervis Tetch, maybe. That guy will never catch a break.
The plotting is dark, twisted, humorous, and above all, very engaging.
November 18, 2025
Darkly humorous and morally complex volume that offers a distinctive spin on villain-led team books, though the tone and pacing can be uneven at times.
The Secret Six feature characters like Deadshot, Catman, and Ragdoll, who navigate betrayal, blackmail, and bizarre missions while wrestling with their own twisted codes of honor.
While the team dynamic is compelling, Simone's writing isn't always consistent and not every arc sticks the landing.
The Secret Six feature characters like Deadshot, Catman, and Ragdoll, who navigate betrayal, blackmail, and bizarre missions while wrestling with their own twisted codes of honor.
While the team dynamic is compelling, Simone's writing isn't always consistent and not every arc sticks the landing.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews