Arthur Curry's fishsack, that was close!
I'll admit my bias right away, I'm a big fan of the Secret Six and Gail Simone. However, with recent issues I've started to lose interest and faith in the characters. I'm really glad I decided to stick around, though, because Simone really managed to collect all the frazzled pieces and stick them back together in a fun and tactful way.
Good Things:
I was really getting sick of Black Alice. I went from liking her (from when she appeared in Birds of Prey) to really finding her irritating (recent Secret Six issues wherein she forges an extremely odd relationship with Ragdoll) to liking her once again. Simone pulled out enough of Alice's humanity to show that she is a real character and worth caring about.
The book found it's roots once again by back tracking to the marvellous days of carefree insanity during all-out bloodbath battles. Part of the reason I love the SS is because Simone manages to make them seem completely normal in the most ridiculous of situations.
Without giving too much away, I like the inclusion of Waller and her ultimatum. It seems like an appropriate segue back to the way the series started out. Also Giganta is a great addition to any comic, in my opinion, especially enjoyable when Simone writes her. Hopefully she'll stick around, we'll see.
Bad Things:
Scandal and Bane. It makes me cringe. Their relationship is based flimsily on Scandal's "father issues" and Bane's need for companionship (or love for Scandal, whatever). It's one of the reasons I am becoming irked by this title, which is one of the only titles I care about. The Secret Six works so wonderfully because of the disjointed relationships between the characters. Deadshot and Catman's "friendship" is always a treat to read. Even Alice and Ragdoll are tolerable together. But Bane and Scandal is gag worthy because it seems so cheap and uncharacteristic. I enjoy reading both characters and were it not for their strange little "connection" I would love to have them continue on the SS together, but at the moment this is not a highlight of the title.
Overall:
Definitely a great read because Simone throws in those little gems, the laughs amongst the mayhem, that make the SS just that amazing. This feels like the first real return to the feel of the Secret Six in a long time. Now, after the character's have undergone so much it's good to see them coming home and sticking together in that fantastic, dysfunctional way only they know how. My faith in the title has been fully restored and I can't wait for more. Solid 5/5
