Secret Six #15
Brant Fowler on the issue
There were two books I considered for my Hot Shot of the Week this week, but the more I thought about this particular title it became clear that this one was going to win out. There were just too many elements of this particular story that stood out to me.
Just to give you a little background in case you're not familiar, the Secret Six came into formation somewhere between Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis, and quickly gained scores of fans and accolades. The concept took what some would consider six B-level villains and turned them into an anti-hero team. And it worked! True, the concept wasn't a new one, but for whatever reason the marriage of the particular characters used and the superb writing of Gail Simone made the Secret Six and instant success.
After a successful mini-series, the group was given a full on-going series, and I must admit the early issues did not hook me as well as the mini. But this particular issue, penned by John Ostrander with art by J. Calafiore, really made up for anything I was lacking in the story.
More of a done-in-one stand-alone tale, we get a glimpse into both the past and present of Deadshot, one of the members of the Secret Six and former member of the Suicide Squad. Speaking of, we see the return of a familiar character from those days as well. But this story, which was brilliantly executed through both the writing and the art, shined a giant spotlight on Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, in a way that made the character even more notable and relatable than ever before.
The issue opens with Lawton sitting in a cafe imagining himself killing everyone he sees, but it's done in a way where it flashes back and forth from reality to imagination from panel to panel. The use of red overlays on the "kill scenes" is genius and immediately conveys to us just what we're supposed to be taking from the interchanges.
As the story progresses we take a stroll down memory lane as we learn how Lawton/Deadshot is very connected to Wayne/Batman that gives us great insight into Deadshot by very simple means. We see what his family was like, what drove him to be a villain, and eventually what drove him to be a hero. We see the internal struggle, the growth and the maturity, laced with a bit of insanity, that is the make-up of Deadshot.
It's not often we get this much depth in a comic book story, especially one that is an aside to the overall story that just focuses on one character, let alone in a flashback sequence. This is just brilliant storytelling at its best, and I commend the creative team and DC for putting it on display for us.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Written by: John Ostrander
Art by: J. Calafiore
Cover by: Daniel LuVisi
Published by: DC Comics
Deadshot takes center stage! He's always been a killer, but now the urge to kill everyone is threatening to take him over completely. Can the mercenary pull himself out of these murderous depths? Or will he drown in the murky waters of his own addiction to death? Guest-written by John Ostrander, whose fan-favorite run on SUICIDE SQUAD helped define Deadshot.
PRICE: $2.99
IN STORES: November 4, 2009
blog comments powered by Disqus
