Broken Frontier

The six villains who turned down entry into the Secret Society continue to plot their course of action. Can they get along long enough to enact it?

Cheshire, Scandal, Catman, Deadshot, Ragdoll, and Parademon have each spurned Lex Luthor in his attempt to form a Secret Society. And in return, Luthor has had his group enact some sense of revenge on each of them. This leaves these six villains with only one choice, form their own group to take out his, lead by a mysterious figure known only as Mockingbird. This issue starts to give a greater sense of interaction between the characters and how they feel about each other. Then they put the pleasantries aside and go out hunting for their revenge.

Gail Simone is having a lot of fun with these characters. Just reading the interactions between them brings out a chuckle. The only problem with that is sometimes the dialogue does not seem in character. I’m still confused as to whether Catman is a tough guy villain, a joker, or a hero. The dialogue itself is good enough to get you through it, but not good enough to make you forget it. Simone is never one to waste time with extemporaneous dialogue though so the story gets to the action quickly.

The artwork by Dale Eaglesham seems to make up for any of the book’s other shortcomings though. His work is just what is ordered for a book like this. He makes each villain highlighted seem powerful in their own way. Catman and Deadshot look like they’ve been training their whole life. Ragdoll maintains a sense of goofiness while Parademon stands taller over everyone else. And the women of the team, Cheshire and Scandal, remain sexy, reserved, and mysterious. Eaglesham knows exactly what to show off in each panel for the reader to understand the characters and their feelings towards each other. And his action scenes are easily followed and enjoyed. There is one thing about the artwork though that must be commented on. If they were going to remake Catman as a "bad dude," why not design his costume to be a little more than a Batman rip-off.

Finally, I’m left with only one question. These six villains decided not to join Lex Luthor’s group of villains, which is highlighted by basically every major villain in the DC Universe, and instead form their own group to take on the rest of them. I’m not saying it’s not an interesting concept of sorts; I’m just not sure I understand the logic in that decision-making process. If this turns out to be a miniseries where I’m presented a bunch of characters, see them built up, only to have them all wiped out at the end, I’m not sure I’ll be left with the best taste in my mouth.

-Sam Moyerman