Gail Simone’s magnum opus returns to shelves this week in the form of a brand new volume. Needless to say, expectations are huge as Simone’s original series won a lot of people over due to her excellent characterization and her ability to provide these villain characters with sympathetic backgrounds that made them seem almost heroic. The team frequently saw new members join as old members either died horribly, quit through means of betrayal, or both. With a team populated by villains, this shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, but somehow Simone always managed to shock audiences with every turn of events.
Because DC doesn’t like us to have nice things, sadly the new series isn’t a continuation but a fresh start. Issue 1 see’s Catman, who originally had a very prominent role in the first incarnation of the series, is front and center of this issue as we find out what this New 52 (at what point do we stop calling it new?) incarnation of Catman is capable of. Unfortunately the pacing of this book makes it hard for readers to get a closer examination of the characters outside of Catman. Although characters do make minuscule first impressions, it fails in comparison to the attention given to Catman. Admittingly, this is a good first issue, but it may leave little to be desired by hardcore fans of the series as it left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. While some of these characters are new to this series, plus the modifications made to the returning characters, the core of what Secret Six was can definitely be could definitely be felt, and fans of the previous volume should be willing to give this iteration a fair shot.
Source: Tajaye Williams at blacknerdproblems.com