Secret Six, Vol. 1: Friends in Low Places

Secret Six Vol. 4 #1

by Gail Simone, Ken Lashley (Illustrator), Dale Eaglesham (Illustrator)

Superstar writer Gail Simone (BIRDS OF PREY, BATGIRL, WONDER WOMAN) reinvents her fan-favorite super-team-up!

Six strangers captured, drugged and thrown together in a prison cell in the middle of the ocean. All of them with certain special abilities. None of them exactly superheroes.

How are they connected? Why were they taken?

With no answers coming, these unlikely allies must band together to escape the shadowy figure who locked them away and continues to hunt them down for reasons they don’t understand. If they can manage not to kill each other first, they may just stay alive long enough to get their revenge on the mysterious “Mockingbird.” And a taste for revenge, it turns out, is the one thing they all have in common.

Not quite heroes, not quite villains; one thing’s for sure—these ain’t the Justice Dorks.

Featuring art from Ken Lashley (ACTION COMICS), Dale Eaglesham (GREEN LANTERN), Tom Derenick ( GODS AMONG US) and more! Collects issues #1-6 and DC SNEAK SECRET SIX #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2016

About the author

Gail 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".

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

"This whole gang shows they care by hitting." -- Ralph 'Big Shot' Digby

"No one's mad, Big Shot . . . we're all just strays." -- Thomas 'Catman' Blake

Since I'll read anything by Ms. Simone I was curious about her Secret Six, Vol. 1: Friends in Low Places, although I was initially unaware this was a rebooted version of the group. Perhaps taking some inspiration from The Suicide Squad - or maybe going even farther back to the scruffy cinematic classic The Dirty Dozen - she assembles a new super-powered team of misanthropic and antiheroic oddballs for this origin story. While there were a few good character moments / traits - the caring father / daughter dynamic of middle-aged Big Shot and teenage Black Alice; the gender fluid Kari a.k.a 'Porcelain,' who is refreshingly accepted by the new cohorts without any drama or fuss; and the silent and mysterious 'Strix,' who is very curious about everything - this was actually sort of an underwhelming book. The best scene was an extended and energetic altercation between a trio of guest stars and this new team during their housewarming party. (Don't ask.) It was punctuated by some quippy dialogue - a Simone specialty - to pump life into the somewhat dull proceedings.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. Simone's previous Secret Six series was great. This series was confounding to me. You're thrown into the middle of it and given no answers until the last 2 issues when it's all just dumped in our lap. It was odd too because even though only Catman carried through both series, a bunch of other characters from the previous series appear in minor roles but have no knowledge of that previous continuity. It made everything very confusing. And then there's what they did with Sue Dibny. They retconned all of Identity Crisis by bringing her back to life. That was one of the major and best DC events of the last 15 years. At least everything presented in this arc was wrapped up.

On the art front, Ken Lashley does the first 2.5 issues before Tom Derenick and Dale Eaglesham take over. Lashley's new art style is awful. It looks like he's scribbling over his pencil art with markers. The book looks a thousand times better after he leaves. Derenick and Eaglesham mesh together much better.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a fan of Simone's original turn on Secret Six, so I was very excited to see that the title would be coming to New 52, with her writing. Should I have been? Hm, maybe. Catman is still the star of the book, a character who Simone singlehandedly rescued from the reject bin. Three of the characters I loved from Secret Six, Ragdoll, Scandal, and Jeannette, also show up, briefly, and it was good to see them again. As with the previous version of the team, Simone's main strength was creating a group of fairly terrible people and making them sympathetic (to a degree) and likable (again, to a degree). And that's what I always liked about Secret Six, anyways.

The story, on the other hand, is a bit of a mess. It's a disorganized in a way that doesn't feel intentional, and it's either too long for what is actually here or not long enough for Simone to have developed it the way she should have. I'm really not sure which. This could be partly because of the extended suburban nightmare interlude that really doesn't do anything for the story arc, as much as it contributes to character development. The abrupt change in art style didn't help, but that's what happens when an artist leaves a book after a few issues.

And yet, I still liked this volume quite a bit, and would very happily read more. Especially because the story had a lot of things left unresolved, some of which I'm actually anxious to see resolved.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The New 52 reboot was a weird time for DC. Superstar writer Gail Simone got the chance to start over with Secret Six, but the first two issues about Catman and new characters being kidnapped didn't work. Then it was a comedy again, about them living in the suburbs. Didn't feel right without Scandal and Ragdoll, though they showed up in the 4th chapter. I wanted to like it more, but the Six definitely peaked in the previous iteration...

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm an admitted fans of Gail Simone's work on Birds of Prey and the Secret Six series that came before this version (this was part of the new 52 DC reboot).

At the start I'm not in favor of this work, or at least not as much as I was with the prior series. We get some character carryover, one my favorites, Thomas Blake, and some new characters (or at least new versions of existing characters).

Excluding Blake's characterization things seem a bit off, or at least not quite as lighthearted as the prior incarnation. The new version of the Ventriloquist is thankfully not as annoying the previous version. Porcelain, Stryx and Big Shot are new (or at least Stryx is new to me).

As for the discovery of who Mockingbird is? Thank you Gail for not stretching that out tot he end of the series. I was quite happy to see the Mockingbiord storyline wrapped up in the first TPB.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secret Six v2 has big shoes to fill, since Simone's previous volume quickly became a deep, well-characterized story. But, the new Secret Six doesn't do a bad job. By issue #4, which is a well-writing character issue with a great structure, you're well invested in these new characters. Some of them, especially the Ventriloquist, are still ciphers, but most of the others are interesting people.

The plot is a bit weaker, since it meanders a bit in the middle. But the inevitable question of "Who is Mockingbird?" is carried well from the start of the book to the end.

The most irritating thing is this book is the return of most of the original Secret Six crew, but in extremely minor roles, and acting like they don't remember the original Secret Six at all. C'mon folks, it was just a few years ago, and there was no reason to reboot it in the nuWorld. But apparently DC did.

Any who, call it 3.5 stars.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this new Secret Six volume, it feels like a pale imitation of the original series, even down to much of the cast. Catman is the soul of the 'team' as always, and we get Black Alice as I think the only other returning member. The rest of the assortment is pretty motley, and the reason for their collection, the inevitable 'plant' and the resolution of this first volume are kind of random as well. I do like some of the new characters - Porcelain feels a bit like a diversity hire but has some potential and an interesting ability, and the new Ventriloquist gets to play a lot of the comedy relief between the woman and the doll. And Strix... well Strix is fascinating in her own right, but seems a little strange for a team-up.
All told, it's a decent start to the new series, but I spent much of my time reading it just thinking about how much more I liked the previous teams (a feeling only enhanced by some of the cameos).

[S. Wigget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a quirky crew!

[Brian Poole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secret Six brings the cult favorite team of anti-heroes into DC’s new continuity.

First arc Friends in Low Places opens with the mysterious Mockingbird abducting six rogues who fall into the gray area between “hero” and “villain.” The cast includes: the wild, ferocious Catman; teen powerhouse Black Alice; gender-fluid Porcelain; throwback gumshoe Big Shot; Strix, a mute Talon on the run from the Court of the Owls; and a new version of the Ventriloquist and Scarface. The Six wake up in captivity, with Mockingbird demanding an answer to a mysterious question and willing to torture and kill the anti-heroes to get what he wants. They turn the tables, escape and hide out in suburbia, where they encounter a trio of rogues compelled by Mockingbird to attack them. One of the Six is a traitor, precipitating an explosive showdown with Mockingbird.

Writer Gail Simone’s last Secret Six series was a quirky fan favorite. She creates a similar atmosphere for this new iteration, working an “anything goes” attitude that takes the story to some wild and offbeat places. Simone puts the focus on the group dynamics of the main cast, mining them for humor, pathos and action. Friends in Low Places does a good job of moving along and paying off various mysteries set up at the outset. Mockingbird turns out to be a very well-known DC villain. Big Shot’s true identity will be a crowd pleaser for fans of a beloved hero who’s been off the board for several years. And Simone even manages to bring in popular characters from her last series in interesting and amusing ways. It’s entertaining work that’s a nice mix of action, humor and suspense.

As strong as Simone’s writing is, though, the art is all over the place. Secret Six suffered from massive production and release delays that sapped its momentum early on. From the narrative side, those issues are ameliorated by the trade format. But on the art side, they’re glaringly obvious. Original art team Ken Lashley and Drew Geraci managed only two complete issues and part of a third before dropping out. They work in a dreamy, soft focus style that is an interesting fit for the shadowy mystery. Cover artist Dale Eaglesham (who settled in as regular artist after the break for Convergence) steps in for another issue-and-a-half, working his crisp, stylized approach quite effectively. The rest is filled out by journeyman Tom Derenick, doing his usual basically competent but rather uninspired work. Colorist Jason Wright provides some continuity, but the tonal shift from Lashley to the other artists is rather abrupt. This was a book without a strong visual identity to match Simone’s creative work.

Secret Six will appeal to fans of the previous iteration and to Simone’s devoted following. There’s enough here to warrant paying attention to, even if it’s not worth going out of your way for just yet.

A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I'm not an expert in comics, I think the story was a bit disorganized. I couldn't like any of the characters, not because of their weirdness, but because they didn't seem interesting enough to follow their stories.

The story in general was good, and had some twists that got me interested. The art was great! I liked the graphics and the vivid colors.

I'm not quite sure if I'll keep reading these series, but I'll definitely look for more DC Comics.

I won this book through GoodReads and I thank to the publisher for providing me this copy but this fact didn't influence the review.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Six are back!

Well, not exactly. A (mostly) new team, with cameos from teams past, this series is back with a bang (or several, on the couch). There was some fragmentation coming from a shaky publication schedule and artist inconsistencies, and Mockingbird's motivation was a bit weak. However, Gail Simone's trademark character humor was in full force here. One of my favorite monthly purchases, and I book I will buy until it's over.

[Simon Traschinsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this one is missing the magic of Simones original run. The choice of characters is great and intriguing, but they dont click nearly as well as a group. The plot about the initial hook, who captured them and why, is pretty underwhelming and construed. Here and there, especially with Thomas "Catman" Blake, Simone is able to show signs of the old magic, but the overall book has a rushed feel and gives of a that, just like its character, it does not know where it belongs

[Paweł · Rating 2 out of 5]

Komiks mocno próbuje uderzyć w tony Doom Patrolu. Grupka uciekinierów z tajemniczego więzienia na dnie morza próbuje wspólnymi siłami dociec kto stoi za ich niedolą. Większość komiksu to interakcje pomiędzy głównymi antybohaterami, a na koniec wszystko wyjaśnia się w leniwym zwrocie akcji. Miało być tajemniczo, a wyszło chaotycznie.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had never picked up writer Gail Simone's Secret Six, so I started here because it was marked vol 1. Before the end of the first issue I felt like I might be missing something, and whaddya know! I absolutely was.

For the uninitiated like me, this is volume 1 of the Secret Six *reboot*, circa DC's "New 52" publishing initiative. Simone still handled the reins on this book, even folding in a few key players from her previous Secret Six teams. For example, about the only thing I knew about Catman was that he featured heavily in Simone's first run on the title. So I was a little confused by his appearance here being more akin to a CW Arrowverse character than the grizzled suicide mission veteran I'd expected.

I can't exactly fault the new designs, as "something different" is exactly what one should expect from a reboot! However, I do feel that if I'm judging these prior Secret Six characters based solely on what they do in Friends in Low Places, I was a little underwhelmed by their motivations. So despite some plots that plod and plow through at light speed alternately, Simone's dialogue always works no matter the situation the characters are dropped into and I cannot single out a single exchange that wasn't perfect for the tone she set.

This is all to say: as a reinvention of this entire power player 3-D chess circle of the DCU... I kind of loved it? Some otherwise familiar (Big) players show up unexpectedly, and I loved the way thesw Extra Special Guest Characters are handled against their pre-reboot expectations, with my particular praise going to how artist Dale Eaglesham depicts them. The way Eaglesham handles every character deserves some exceptional praise while I'm at it.

Overall, I was surprised by what I thought this book would be going into it, then surprised again by how well it works for what it actually is. The pros far outweigh the minor dings I have on this book. Easily 4 stars for me.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kolejny tytuł z tych bardziej zachwalanych i niestety kolejne rozczarowanie, bo oczekiwałem zjawiska, a dostałem w gruncie rzeczy dobrą historię, aczkolwiek nazbyt przewidywalną, przynajmniej według mnie. A zaczęło się świetnie...

Wyobraź sobie, że do baru, gdzie przebywasz wbija kilku typów przedstawiających się za władze federalne. Gruba sprawa, ale dla Ciebie to w zasadzie nie pierwszyzna i poznajesz odgrywaną lipę. W wyniku konfrontacji z szemranymi typami nie udaje Ci się jednak wygrać, a potem budzisz się w jakimś pomieszczeniu. Okazuje się, że nie jesteś tu sam. Jest tu pięć innych person i jest to zgraja naprawdę barwna, a po chwili pogawędki na ściance pojawia się wyświetlona zagadka. Trzeba ją odgadnąć, bo kogoś z pomieszczenia spotka śmierć w wyniku porażki. Myślę sobie. "O, coś jak Cube czy Piła. Dawajcie".

Zadanie wydostania się z kabały stoi przed niejakim Catmanem, któremu przyjdzie dowodzić naprawdę dziwną gromadą ludzi. Dowodzić to też słowo nad wyrost, bowiem te indywidua zdaje się łączyć jeden aspekt. Przemoc i zbrodnia. Takie Suicide Squad pomyślałem, tylko że gorszego sortu. Nie jest tak do końca, bowiem nie można ich dokładnie określić jeżeli chodzi o charakter. Część z nich to osoby zagubione, nie znające swoich mocy, stojące w szarości pomiędzy dobrym, a złym wykorzystaniem swoich umiejętności.

Black Alice to bodajże postać, która jako jedyna jest powiązana z poprzednią serią, a jej moce były dla mnie zagadką. Porcelain to istota która zmienia swoją płeć i lata z młoteczkiem, bo potrafi mocą kruszyć każdy metal. Big Shot to dosyć dziwny osiłek, o dobrotliwym serduszku, który jak chce to zwiększa swoją siłę i rozmiar. Strix jest mi znana z serii Batgirl i bardzo się ucieszyłem ją widząc, bo liczyłem, że ta przedstawicielka Szponów zostanie jeszcze jakoś zagospodarowana dalej w New 52. Strix jest też niemową, więc porozumiewa się za pomocą ołówka i kartek. Świetny motyw, zabawny i naprawdę ją polubiłem. Ostatnią członkinią jest niejaka Ventriloquist z kukiełką zwaną Scarface. Z nią zdecydowanie miałem najwięcej ubawu, bo teksty jej kompana czasami potrafią być naprawdę trafne/szowinistyczne/zboczone.

Simone bawi się z nami, serwując zmianę klisz fabularnych, bo wydostanie się z pułapki zaskakuje samego tajemniczego złoczyńcę zwanego Mockingbird, a który to umieścił omówione postacie w takiej, a nie innej sytuacji. Za to plus i gdybym miał oceniać na podstawie pierwszego zeszytu to była by piąteczka. Niestety im dalej w las, tym gorzej dla tomu. Nasi narwańcy uciekają przed ludźmi tego złego, trafiając do domu bodajże Big Shota. Czy to było inteligentne posunięcie, pojawić się tam, gdzie będą nas szukać w pierwszej kolejności? No nie za bardzo. Takich głupotek jest naprawdę dużo. I niekorzystnych zmian w historii, bo zaraz na początku dowiadujemy się, że cała szóstka jest w takiej a nie innej sytuacji, bo jedno z nich zrobiło coś złego, wtedy w domyśle odpowiadało za czyjąś śmierć.

Ta niepewność napędzała moją ciekawość, która została pod koniec zdruzgotana. Bo obstawiany przeze mnie antagonista, okazał się właśnie tym kogo typowałem. A zaraz potem wypłynęła ta sprawa nieszczęsnego skradzionego diamentu i także bezbłędnie wytypowałem złodzieja, choć autorka w sumie nie daje tu żadnych podpowiedzi. Szkoda, bo liczyłem na coś szalenie oryginalnego, a dostałem końcowo średniaka, który ma zadatek na coś więcej, ale nawet kończy się słabo.

Ken Lashley zaczyna opowieść niezłą kreską, która pasuje do dusznej sytuacji. Jest mrocznie, ale wyraziście. To dzięki niemu na początku czułem tą duszną atmosferę. Potem jest już nieco gorzej, bo kreska Dale Eagleshama czy Tom Derenicka to już nieco inna bajka, a postacie czasami wyglądały karykaturalnie, o dziwnych proporcjach ciał. Nie powiem, z lżejszym, czasami zabawnym nastrojem w drugiej części opowieści łączyło się to nieźle, ale ja wolę to co zaprezentowano mi na wstępie.

Pierwszy tom rebootu serii Secret Six spełnia swoje zadanie, ale nie jest dziełem idealnym. Daje nam naprawdę fajnie interakcje pomiędzy bohaterami, ale jednocześnie serwując mi pewne fajerwerki fabularne, nie potrafi nimi zaskoczyć. I dlatego tylko 3.5/5. Ja się bawiłem świetnie, ale nie bez takiego jęku zawodu w trzech momentach...

[Darik · Rating 3 out of 5]

... Hmm.

As a huge fan of the initial Secret Six run by Gail Simone, I absolutely despised the team's New-52 reboot when it first came out. The cast was mostly different (only Catman and Black Alice are carried over from the original team), the new conceit wasn't very clear... it just didn't work for me. But now that the New 52 is firmly in the rearview mirror and a new Secret Six book is hitting the shelves WITHOUT Simone's involvement, I thought it was time to take a second look at this one.

And lemme tell ya', this series is... weird.

To begin with, the book makes a dramatic tonal shift after only the first two issues. Initially, the artwork by Ken Lashley is scratchy, desaturated, and action-oriented, and the starting premise is a mystery box straight out of a J.J. Abrams TV show. Six villains, all strangers to each other, are captured by a mysterious mastermind called Mockingbird and thrown into a prison cell together. They're given six Eyes Wide Shut-esq masks and presented with the ominous prompt "WHAT IS THE SECRET?", then told that one of them will be killed unless they can answer it. They do manage to escape... but a sense of foreboding and dread hangs over the book even then.

But by issue three, the group has taken up residence in the suburbs, and the tone becomes a bit brighter. Then issue four hits, and suddenly Dale Eaglesham has taken over the art and given the book a cartoonier, more colorful aesthetic. Gail Simone's more empathetic character writing and bawdy sense of humor bubbles to the top, and the big scary mystery is all but forgotten. By the end of the issue, she just flat-out tells us that Mockingbird was the Riddler, and the following two issues are all a big, silly comic-book confrontation-- in which we also learn that Simone has used the book as a backdoor to resurrect Ralph and Sue Dibny.

Was that "THE SECRET"? No. What WAS "THE SECRET"? I don't think they ever actually bothered to tell us!

I did enjoy this book, and found that there's actually a lot of the same appeal here as in the original run. The new members are decent: Strix is basically Cassandra Cain if she were a Talon instead of Batgirl, the new Ventriloquist is the team's resident kook, and while Porcelain doesn't get much character development, I liked the conceit that she's a gender-fluid shape-changer-- presenting as typically masculine some times, and typically feminine others. But the problem is that the book has a shocking lack of FOCUS... leading me to think that there was probably a good degree of editorial meddling along the way.

Still, I'll take it. At this point, even second-rate Gail Simone feels like a breath of fresh air...!

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

DC kindly do a better job distinguishing your series. I thought this was the good one.

Let’s list the good elements before I get into the many things that hold this story back. It does do a good job of writing The art is great at being dynamic and chaotic yet comprehensible. All of the characters are at minimum intriguing with some being fantastic. In particular, I find Stryx and this version of the ventriloquist very compelling. The entire encounter with scandal savage is just perfect no notes.

Unfortunately, A lot of these better elements are undone by a climax reveal that I’ve read 5 times and yet still cannot understand fully what happens. Like the overarching villan has this absolute nonsense joke of a plan that both requires them to be exceedingly stupid yet omniscient levels of intelligence at the same time. And it kind of ruins its incredible initial set up because of it. Also, the reveal of the big bad guy is really boring, and uninteresting and the characterization is nothing.

Plus the reveal of who one character’s identity is so bizarre I’m still not sure it’s really him. and I know it’s new 52 and I’m not even that against some ideas of this reinterpretation but overall it feels like it does a disservice to that character and a waste of potential of its own ideas. Furthermore, the choice to write the character as at the very least mildly homophobic and yet do nothing with that characterisation really is a bizarre choice. And that feels like a lot of this bizarre and odd for its own sake without actually using that to explore these odd characters. The explicit sexual imagery especially feels forced in without any thematic significance or even as a means of showing character.

Despite some great writing, it does have some pretty bad stuff. Like a lot of Blake’s dialogue, I think it’s meant to be badass and cool. But it just makes him sound like he has a number of very specific fetishes which is fine but everyone in the narrative seems to think these are cool badass lines and they just don’t work that way. It struggles to maintain a measure of time which adds to the confusing presentation of its plot.

Overall, it just comes across as a mess. With some genuinely great characters not being given a time to shine and instead focusing on a needlessly complicated plot. 4/10

[Jason Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most annoying aspects of the New 52 relaunch was how muddled the reboot was. You had some stories, like Batman Incorporated and Green Lantern, which continued from the old continuity with barely a hiccup, you had stuff like Batgirl which was partially faithful to the old continuity up to a point but still excised Oracle entirely, and then you had stuff like this, which is a complete rewrite.

I was pretty invested in the pre-Flashpoint Secret Six, and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the New 52 version. It wasn't a bad story, but it kind of wiped away the stuff about the team that I'm interested in.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the Dibnys in this.

That is not to say there wasn't good stuff in there. Because there was. I think that there was good stuff in there about subjects like polyamory and gender fluidity. The character work was solid. And Blake rescuing animals in his own particular way is always a plus.

But I'm just not quite feeling the magic of the old book yet. That could change.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A recurring DC comics problem of the past decade or so is that multiple reboots create this fuzzy continuity. Most of this group are characters I know, but instead of recognition I have to devote time to figuring if they have any continuity with previous versions, and whether they're much like them at all (one character is just too different from past versions for me to accept). And the current take on the Riddler as a Joker-like psycho, just a less effective one, has never worked.
That's a shame because the story is pretty good. A mystery figure catches a half-dozen criminals and traps them for interrogation in an undersea jail. They break out, hide out in suburbia (which freaks most of them out) and try to stay ahead of their mysterious foe. If it had been part of the original Secret Six continuity, I'd be giving it more stars. But that's not where we are.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

there are at least 3 "Secret Six: Vol 1" by Gail Simone. This is apparently actually Vol 3 after her Secret Six characters moved over to the New52. And, as a Vol1, it falters. You need to be familiar with characters already though they don't know each other in the opening scenes.... which makes them buddying-up so quickly oddly suspect. And while the villain behind the curtain seems scary in the beginning, the reveal makes them silly and very un-scary.
Basically this makes one wonder what is the purpose of the Secret Six existing in the same world as Suicide Squad?

that being said, trying to find this in Goodreads led me to believe the other Vol. 1's might be worth checking out and might also be what Gail was referring to for the upcoming Omnibus release which is what led me to check this out in the first place

[Jacob Shaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems most people didn’t like this run or at least don’t review it well. They say it doesn’t touch Simone’s previous pre-New-52 run so I have to imagine that shit is sooo good because this first 1-6 collection is good!
I came here looking for Ralph Dibny after where we left him in 52, and where he was waiting for me I did not see comin. That was a lot of fun. I like the twists and the turns, I like the Doom Patrol vibe we’ve got going here as far as rag tag team, humor and attitude. I also like the reason this aforementioned team is brought together in the first place. I’m excited to pick up Volume 2, and looking forward to reading Gail’s previous run in the future!

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75. Starts incredibly strong with a Saw-like trap to introduce us to our dysfunctional little group of villains. It has a strong focus on Catman which I enjoy as I found his trauma and “broody bad boy” vibe to be excellently written. After that it all gets a bit worse. The characters and their dynamics aren’t bad; it just never coalesces into something extraordinary. The quirky suburb parts were fine but the ending with Mockingbird / The Riddler all just sort of felt unearned and a bit of a nothing burger. You can tell she really enjoys the characters and wants to do a found family thing but it’s only working so much.

[Will Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first few issues with interesting characters (always have loved Simone's take on Catman) and the return of **** (to my knowledge)! But I didn't like something else-see spoilers below:

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
I LOVED when Wells turned out to be Ralph Dibny! Yay! But then Sue was a bad guy? I don't like that. The Dibnys are one of my favorite couples in the DC universe and this book somewhat undid everything that happened in Identity Crisis.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, not really my cup of tea. I enjoyed the opening issue of this series, but the rest of the story arc didn't live up to the tension at the beginning. I enjoyed some of the jokes/gags, but otherwise, this didn't hold my attention, and I didn't love either of the artists.

I should read Gail Simone's original Secret Six run, since that's what I meant to read before accidentally picking up this New 52 reboot.

[The Lost Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stunning art and good characters. I didn't feel passionate about the plot, but it is entertaining enough for one to get to the last page feeling amused. The characters are wonderful. Even if you're not to much into Batman's lore or his villains, these guys feel magnetic. I think that not giving too much information about most of them is part of what makes them so interesting. The artwork is the best part of this comic. Some pages are pure wonder.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm....certainly not my favorite incarnation of The Secret Six. While the typical Gail Simone wit is here the team doesn't mesh at all for me. I don't necessarily mean mesh as a team but as a creative unit. The mystery and reveal of Mockingbird wasn't what I was hoping for. Ken Lashley's art in the first third was sketchier than his previous work. Overall, the story isn't bad but the bar is set so high for this series.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 it was ok. I liked the latter issues better than the first couple (the art style was more my preference).

I didn't realize this was a DC-universe related graphic novel when I picked it up. Might have skipped it had I known.

The story was ok. The characters are a mixed bag (I only really like 3 of the 6 of them).

I don't plan to read more of this series.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only character i even really knew was the villain, who wasn't revealed until the last couple issues...

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as strong as Simone's original series.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es curioso toparse con lo más cercano a Saw (sin casquería de más) en el Universo DC.