Secret Six #11

This is going to be a rather brisk review, so hang on tight. As usual, Secret Six is written by Gail Simone.

-This issue begins with the team debating the merits of working for known slaver, Mr. Smyth. It seems half the team is of the mindset of carrying out the contract they accepted from Smyth, while the other half doesn't like the idea of working for a slaver. Ragdoll has the quote of the comic when he states(correctly)that he can't understand why certain members of the team have difficulty working with a slaver, but have no problem working for murderers and despots. Amen Doll!

-It seems Smyth has managed to capture an Amazon named Artemis, who Smyth intends on breaking and forcing into labor for him. We also discover Smyth is forcing his slaves to build him an enormous prison... OOOOOK...

-During the night, the Banshee breaks Artemis out and tries to help her get away, but is met by the rest of the Six. Everybody takes sides, Catman, Deadshot and Ragdoll want to return Artemis to her cell and finish out the contract, while Scandal, Banshee woman and Bane want to just forget about the contract and leave the island with Artemis. This leads to a teammate vs. teammate brawl, which ends when Wonder Woman arrives on the scene. WW checks Artemis, who seemingly died during the skirmish(Huh? When the hell did she die???)and then WW demands to know who she'll be beating the hell out of for killing her fellow Amazon.

See, I told you I was going to be brisk! The main reason I rushed through this review was because I'm really not digging this storyline. As a matter of fact, I'm really not all that enthusiastic about this series period! I loved the two mini-series that preceded this series(Villains United and Secret Six), but these last 11 issues really haven't won me over. Normally I love Gail's work(I adore her work on Wonder Woman)but this series just seems stuck in reverse. These characters, who were once fresh and exciting, are now dull and boring, and the stories have just been uninspired. For example, I don't understand why some members of the Six are so dead set against working for a slaver. Yeah, slavery is a horrible thing, but so is murder, and every member of the Six has committed a few murders. Hell, they're all mercs, so they take money TO murder people! This whole storyline just seems like a lame excuse to have the Six members beat each other up for a few panels. My score here shouldn't be much of a surprise, I'm going with a 3 1/2 out of 10. Please Gail, end this dumb story and return the Six back to their earlier, badass persona's!