Secret Six #1 Review: Catman is back With a Vengeance
Reading time: 3 minutes
Another day. Another Universe. Another Secret Six. When author Gail Simone launched her acclaimed Secret Six title in 2006, the comic was built with so much praise leading towards an incredibly beloved tale of six misfits that were lumped together. While the entire series as a whole is often highly acclaimed by comic fans, the material involving Catman was a particular standout amongst those who were interested in the character. Secret Six was always about taking absurd characters and lumping them together in brand new situations. With that mission statement in mind, Thomas Reese Blake a.k.a. Catman might as well be a brand new character. The new hero makes his debut in DC’s revival of Secret Six. Blake comes back with a harsh battle cry that sings about the new direction of the series.
Much fan attention was called when Simone revealed over Tumblr that Blake is a bisexual, and while there is little information within the scope of this first issue to prove if this version of the character retains that quality, it’s safe to say that Catman is still an incredibly interesting character.
One sort of ethereal quality of this comic book that served the title throughout its last incarnation was Simone’s use of the literary aspect of comic books. The cover to the first issue offers a couple of thematic teases at that direction, including a cover that almost appears to be some sort of inverted game of snakes and ladders, with an array of ominous looking masks. It’s hard to tell if that is simply a great cover design by Dale Eaglesham or a true mission statement for the series.
Ken Lashley’s art brings something entirely new to this series. His style is both abstract and cartoonish. Characters aren’t drawn like many readers of the previous series will be expecting, as Lashley’s brings out the complexity of Catman’s hair as his defining physical trait. Jason Wright’s colors also do a lot of the heavy lifting. At a certain point, it almost seems like Lashley took a step back and let Wright fill in the rest of the page with his big and expressive color palette. This leads to a comic that is downright unconventional in the way it is being told to the reader. Panels are filled in with a painterly burst of color that adds some expression to this story. It could simply be because of the multiple inkers permeating the space of this comic, but at time the panels do have a major disconnect that is hard not to notice. Some panels look vastly different than others, almost like they are from a different comic.
This comic is playing its cards close to the chest right now. While we do not know what the supposed ‘secret’ is, or in fact almost anything about these characters at the moment, putting them all together in such a fashion proves to be an interesting character study. Catman is shown to be a character with real flaws, as the beginning depicts him as someone who is brash and overconfident. Blake pays his debts for the sin towards the later moments. He is ushered towards a place that is anything but safe.
While the greater cast isn’t fleshed out to an absurd degree, it seems as if each member gets at least a small chance to shine throughout the issue. Strix and Ventriloquist are already starting to grow certain personality quirks caringly developed by Simone.
Fans of the series won’t get déjà vu reading the new version of The Secret Six, but that might be a good thing. These six are wholly new characters who will share different personalities and aspects with the reader. This new version of Catman also serves as a strong anchor for the title, getting new fans acclimated to the incarnations of the team. The voices in this title are complex and interesting, and the things that make Simone an interesting writer are all on display with the title. Fans of Simone, Secret Six, or DC should take a look at this title.
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