Saturday 11 June 2011

Secret Six: We hardly knew ye

It's maybe not the most surprising omission from the DC reboot's September titles (that honour probably goes to the JSA - and all the Golden Age characters...) but it's the one that has had the biggest affect on me. Gail Simone's brilliant Secret Six has been cancelled. So allow me to take a moment to eulogise my favourite comic (and, as a long-standing Bat-family fan, that's a big statement for me to make). The Secret Six formed in 2005 in Villains United, a mini-series during Infinite Crisis, and led to a Secret Six limited series in 2006, before finally getting an ongoing in 2008. There have been changes to the team over that time (Knockout, Mad Hatter, Harlequin) but they soon settled on the dream team of Scandal Savage, Catman, Deadshot, Ragdoll, Bane and Jeanette. Like the team themselves, Secret Six was the outsider at DC, out of place alongside black-and-white heroes and villains, but always managing to scrape through and triumph when, by all rights, it should have been cancelled a long time ago. It's hardly family friendly, it repaid the long-term rather than casual reader, and never sold huge numbers. But it was critically acclaimed by anyone who ever picked it up and many comics creators named it as a favourite. It survived beyond its natural shelf-life by sheer talent. It was one of the best books DC was putting out with as passionate a fanbase as any title could ask for.

Secret Six's unlikely survival thus far led fans to hope it would live to fight (and bicker, and kill, and dress up monkeys) another day after Flashpoint. But sadly it was not to be. I understand why. But my initial reaction was still FUCK YOU DC!!

But on reflection, sometimes it's best to have something short and sweet. This way we fans get a perfect contained series, with closure, steered the whole way by Simone. I would have hated to see the Six palmed off on another writer, as I doubt anyone else could acheive Simone's twisted balance of humour, hyper-violence and pathos. No other writer would have even considered giving wacky psycho Ragdoll a heroic moment, rising to his full height and standing up to Deadshot, or of developing an odd father-daughter relationship between Scandal and Bane.


And let's not forget the artists, with especially Nicola Scott and J. Calafiore capturing the characters and the dynamics of the books perfectly. And those covers are works of art. But hey, I'm a writer myself, I can't help but praise them higher than the artist.


Much has been made of what Secret Six did for LGBT fans and female fans. The team leader Scandal, is a lesbian, Ragdoll is a eunuch, Jeanette is a strong enough lady to actually bring down Wonder Woman, Catman is hunkified in a way usually reserved soley for Dick Grayson, and, of course, we can't forget the slash-friendly bromance between Catman and Deadshot.
But it seems wrong to praise the series for its political agenda, because I don't think it had one. It's not populated with LGBT characters - it's populated with good ones. Deadshot was the only character with any real credibility when the series first started. Catman was a joke and Bane was a fairly one-note villain. Simone made them better than they'd ever been. Ever. Which, admittedly, in Catman's case wasn't hard. But who would have guessed that he'd work so well with Deadshot, or that by the time of the Cats in the Cradle arc he'd be an utterly believable bad-ass, someone who, had it not been for defining events in childhood, could have actually been the hero he always wanted to be. His dying line in the brilliantly bonkers Western one-shot was just so perfect, coming as it did directly after the conclusion to Cats in the Cradle.

The new characters have also made an impressive enough impact to, hopefully, survive in the DCU outside of the comic that spawned them. Ragdoll is probably the weirdest character ever to grace the pages of a mainstream comic book (see his musings on slavery/butterflies). Jeanette's reveal as a Banshee was genius. And as for Scandal Savage, the immortal estranged daughter of Vandal Savage, she's probably the best of the bunch. She's come a long way from the emotionally-detached, strait-laced coordinator she was in Villains United. Now Scandal is just as likely to lead with her heart as Catman is, making Jeanette and Bane, of all people, the level-headed team members. The four core members - Scandal, Catman, Deadshot and Ragdoll - are as believable as any fictional family.


I, like many other comic readers, could easily have missed Secret Six altogether. Luckily, someone at my local library is a massive Six fan. My library doesn't have a single Batman trade post-2008, but it somehow has every trade of Secret Six. So, thank you whoever it is that keeps ordering them in - you introduced me to the only team of villains I've ever cheered for, the ultimate DC underdogs, mercenaries with hearts (yes, even Deadshot), funny and dark and tragic. If you haven't read it yet, go out and pick up Villains United or Six Degrees of Devestation. You'll owe me one.


I look forward to seeing how Simone wraps the series up - I'm sure it'll be the perfect ending for the comic that brought me Ragdoll in Wonder Woman's boots and the line "our secret weapon is a hat junkie".


Thanks for the memories, Gail! And fuck you DC. Okay, maybe I'm still working out my anger issues on this one.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

DC Reboot

I've been through all the stages of grief that are to be expected when such monumental news is announced. Some were stronger than other (denial lasted a while and keeps making a comeback) but I'm tentatively feeling my way to acceptance. Thank God we're not going back to year dot and that recent, brilliant characters still have a home (Damien is safe. Phew.) I can see why this is a savvy business decision. To be honest it might even make me start picking up some books (as it stands I read trades rather than comics). But I have a number of requests. Blind hopes, perhaps.



So, DC, pretty pretty please...


Don't get rid of Oracle



Too late for this, perhaps, as it seems a fully-mobile Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl. Let's scoot right over what this means for Cass and Steph (will they never have been Batgirl in this universe? Will they even exist?) and even ignore the PC implications in getting rid of their only main character who uses a wheelchair. Instead, let's look at what this means for Babs. She was recently voted DC's most kick-ass female by DC Women Kickin Ass. If she had remained Batgirl all this time, she would have been booted out in the preliminaries. Fact is, Babs became infinitely more interesting when she emerged from a pointless and misogynistic editorial edict intended to make her a victim as someone far stronger than the perky cardboard cut out superheroine she had been before. As Oracle she became one of DC's best characters, of any gender or physical ability. Babsgirl, in comparison, is dull and uninspiring.


I'm still hoping that this cover is a fake-out. The background is an Oracle shade of green and Gail Simone's write-up about the series is slightly open to interpretation. Could this actually be the Batgirl online avatar that Grant Morrison teased? Might Babs be some sort of web-only Batgirl, with Steph or Cass still donning the suit in the real world? I will cling to that hope until DC prises it from my sad and disillusioned fingers. Also, the fact that Simone is writing this book also gives me hope - she's the writer largely responsible for why Oracle became so popular.


Don't make Damien well-adjusted

If he's not still an arrogant, stab-happy borderline psychopath I will be sorely disappointed.


Don't cock up the Birds of Prey



Initially I was put off by a man on writing duties (Duane Swiercszynski - who?) but then I remembered that some of my favourite superheroine books were written by men (Palmiotti and Gray on Power Girl, Brubaker on Catwoman) so I got over my blatant sexism. But where is the dream team of Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress and Lady Blackhawk? I'm currently fearful for the fate of the latter two.


Fix Roy Harper

He seems to have both his arms now, which I hope means he also has a daughter in tow. Being a single father was his superhero USP and I liked it. You can keep the drug addict history - I like that too. Kind of excited about seeing him, Red Hood and Starfire in a book together (although I don't like the idea of them turning the gloriously happy Starfire into a 'dark' character) If Cass Cain no longer has a home in the Batfamily, she could do worse than popping up in this book with the fellow screw-ups. Renee Montoya could have a home here too.


Actually follow through when you say that the reboot makes the DCU more diverse


So far I'm not seeing a heck of a lot of diversity, except for Cyborg in JLA and Static Shock getting a book. Oh, and Vixen in JLI. You know how you could make the DCU more diverse? If Red Robin and Superboy were totally doing it.


Bring back Zatanna's fishnets!


And not just because it means my cosplay is already out of date. DC have decided to bring about equality by giving their female characters trousers, in the world's most spectacular failure to grasp the point. The costumes aren't the problem. Wonder Woman's star-spangled knickers are no more ridiculous than Superman's red trunks over blue tights (although it seems those have gone now too). It's an iconic costume, just like Zatanna and Black Canary's fishnets. The problem is that the artists constantly draw women in provocative poses and the writers keep writing them into peril. That's what you need to address. Not Supergirl's miniskirt.


Find awesome things for the following characters to do


Power Girl, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, Renee Montoya (who should still be The Question, please), Sasha Bordeaux, Donna Troy, Raven, Wally West (is the Flash Barry Allen? Is Kid Flash Bart? Where's Wally?!), Guy Gardner, Ravager, Roy Harper. Also, please take this opportunity to give John Stewart a personality and bring Crispus Allen back. In fact, bring Gotham Central back. Ta!


Keep Secret Six running with no changes whatsoever


I feel very strongly about this one. Obey me or lose me forever, DC.


There are a couple of things that have got me excited. The return of JLI is promising (I loved Giffen's run) and the idea of JLA Dark is far more exciting than the main JLA, as is John Constantine's return to the DCU. I'm also excited about Dick's return as Nightwing, but worried about what will have happened to his brilliant relationship with Damien.


Well done DC, you've got our attention. Now dont piss off the hundreds of thousands of fans who have put many hours and days of our life into the last 25 years of continuity. Pretty please.