The “Secret Six” have become without doubt my favorite team of contemporary “super anti-heroes.” From their beginnings in Villains United through their first few adventures, they seemed to solidify a growing trend in superhero comics: the lines between heroes and villains have gotten very blurry, indeed, when the “heroes” are psychopaths. Danse Macabre brings that home in a very clear way.
Case in point: Floyd Lawton, “Deadshot.” Lawton’s only problem with killing people is that he wants to be in control of the urge, and not the other way around. That’s the gist of the first story in this collection, “Control,” which incidentally also gives us the backstory on Lawton — and sets up an interesting anomaly in his continuity.
“The Rabbit and the Grave” gives us another taste of this — hmm, what shall I call it? “Phenomenon?” “Personality quirk?” At any rate, this time it’s Thomas Blake, “Catman,” giving advice on the bloodiest and most brutal way to torture someone to death. What gives him pause is not that he did it, but that, after overhearing him, a girl — “Black Alice” — approaches wanting to join the team: she needs money.
The title story shifts the focus back to Lawton: Amanda Waller, “The Wall,” wants him back on the Suicide Squad for a mission. Lawton’s not interested. Waller is determined, and as ruthless as anyone else in this universe. There’s a wrinkle, though: someone is resurrecting dead villains — and occasionally heroes — through the use of the Black Lantern rings. And they’re not on anyone’s side.
The first two stories, by John Ostrander and Gail Simone respectively, are nice, tight little gems. “Danse Macabre,” a collaboration between the two, seems to lose focus: it becomes little more than a series of set-pieces, as the various members of the team meet their counterparts on the opposing side, and the new kid goes completely out of control, and the resurrected villains get involved, with appropriate — which is to say, somewhat overdone — gloating of the “You can’t defeat me!” variety. It all gets a little trite, and while there’s plenty of snappy dialogue, somehow the underlying irony is lost.
J. Calafiore’s drawing for “Control” and “Danse Macabre” serves well enough, staying within the stylistic range established in previous collections by Brad Walker and Nicola Scott, although with enough individuality to keep things interesting. Layouts are not quite pedestrian, but certainly not adventurous — the narrative flow is regular and unambiguous. Peter Nguyen’s pencils for “The Rabbit and the Grave” fall pretty much within the same parameters.
Danse Macabre is not the strongest entry in the Secret Six canon, but it does serve to build some background for the characters. I miss the bite, though.
(DC Comics, 2010)
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