ACW #640 - Speedy

Action Comics Weekly #640 (Speedy)
"Exiles V"
Writer - Mark Verheiden
Pencils - Frank Springer
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Letters - Tim Harkins
Colors - Julianna Ferriter
Editor - Robert Greenberger

Welcome to the final installment of Speedy.  It's been a long and winding ride for our second-or-third favorite archer... he's gone from being Nightwing's sidekick for a six-part arc... to a co-headliner with Nightwing for a nine (hundred?)-part arc... to a five-part arc of his very own!  That's a lotta Speedy, innit?  19 out of the 42 issues (remember, there were two chapters of Nightwing & Speedy in ACW #627) of Action Comics Weekly... had Speedy!

Today, we call it "run" for Roy... and enjoy the work of our old Secret Six art team!

--

We open with Speedy gazing over the crowd of protesters.  Our writer makes sure to point out that they probably "vote Republican"... because, if southern California is known for anything, it's it's strong Republican base.  Anyhoo, the protesters are carrying some pretty gross signs... the kind of signs that are so bad that you probably couldn't even post them online as an example of "bad" these days without people flipping out.  So, I won't.  You probably have a pretty good idea the sort of words appear on 'em.  So, Speedy heads outside to engage in some "crowd control", and by that... I mean he fires a net-arrow into the crowd... followed by a gas-arrow.  The numbers game soon catches up to our second-or-third favorite archer, and he starts getting his butt kicked.

Just then... a familiar face arrives on the scene!  Is that... could it be... no way, it's Randy Violent Sean Bauman!  He tells the crowd to "leave da kid alone" before entering the hospice.

Inside, Sean Bauman/Phillip Lossner is led to his brother's bedside... and we finally get to meet the man this whole arc has been built around, Donald Lossner.  He is, as you might imagine, quite ill.

The brothers have a heart-to-heart, which ends in an embrace.  Sean tells Speedy to keep his motorbike as a token of his gratitude.  I honestly thought we were going to wrap up with the cliche deathbed scene.  But alas, Donald will live to see another day... just not another comics panel.

With the job (well?) done, Roy heads off to meet back up with that date he abandoned at the bar... ya know, the one that probably doesn't want anything to do with him since finding out he has a daughter?  Yeah, her.  They reconnect, and... get this... she tells him she doesn't want anything to do with him, since he has a daughter.  Wonk, wonk.

We wrap up with our man returning to the offices of Owen Burley, P.I., and it looks like the goofball's got another gig for him.  Thankfully, it's one we're probably never going to see!

--

All's well that ends... right?

Boy, this wasn't all'at great... it almost feels like this arc was paced expecting a sixth chapter to wrap things up... but found out about the Human Target one-shot that will be taking the "slot" around halfway through.  Very odd pacing, on an already unsatisfying story.

Let's get into it... from start to finish.  We open with some weirdly-specific anti-Republican rhetoric.  I hate it when either side of the aisle pulls this kind of "drive by" commentary in comics.  It's just... "here's a bad guy... they must vote for the party I don't vote for."  It's an oversimplification and an arrogance that makes me think less of any writer who engages in it.

Speedy, again, slings before thinking... I mean, firing a gas-arrow into a crowd as a first resort?  That doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do.  Doesn't seem like the most legal thing to do, either.  Can you just attack people who are protesting?  Holding signs and chanting?  I mean, we might want to... especially in cases like this, but... can we?  That just seems like a way to punch your ticket to a night in jail.  The whole thing gets out of hand pretty quickly... but, we got this chicken/egg thing here.  Did the crowd grow unruly because they were always going to... or because a gaudily-clad archer had his bow trained on them?

Phillip Lossner arrives to defuse the situation... and to make peace with his ailing brother.  This was a pretty good scene, kind of boilerplate... but, not bad.  I am happy the sidestepped the cliche of Donald dying in Phillip's arms immediately after their heart-to-heart.  If I were a betting man, I'd have put it all on that exact thing happening.

Roy gets dumped by that lady he picked up during a moment of (her) weakness... because she ain't fittin' to battle Lian for Roy's attention.  Fair play, right?  At least she isn't leading him on... or, worse yet, trying to unseat Lian as Roy's top priority.  Our man doesn't quite see it from her perspective... and, in an incredible showing of maturity, chucks a few ice cubes in her direction.

The non-ending... I mean, is there anyone out there hoping for more of this?  Like, the "Further Adventures of Speedy and Burley, P.I.'s"?  Yeesh... some characters aren't headliners... and, ya know what... that's okay.  While I didn't dig this much at all, I will say... this is the sort of thing that Action Comics Weekly is all about.  Odd little "try out" stories... some are going to hit the mark... and others, well... just ain't.

Tomorrow: Welcome to Hell

ACW #630 - Secret Six

Action Comics Weekly #630 (Secret Six)
"... The Mockingbird Still Singing O'er its Grave..."
Writer - Martin Pasko
Pencils - Frank Springer
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Tim Harkins
Editor - Bob Greenberger

Today we come to the end of another road.  The second of our "Original Six" features concludes... never to be seen, heard from, or possibly even ever referred to again.

The Secret Six will take their final bow today... but, will it be in their perishing... or peaceably retiring that we say our goodbyes?

--

Our final chapter opens with Carlo "Mockingbird" DiRienzi wrapping up the story of how he survived the sabotage of the VTOL way back at the start of this thing.  If you recall (and I don't blame you if you don't), Carlo was an escape artist... so, ya know, escaping and defying death is sorta what he does.  I'm not sure this explanation required a whole two pages of this final chapter, but whattayagonnado?  As Carlo yammers on, Fenedy pulls up to the gate of the estate... and shoots the absolute bejeezus out of a stationed guard!

Back inside, Carlo reunites the Six with his son Rafael.  Turns out that after Carlo assumed his new role he planted that security box for his son to find.  Betcha forgot about that!  I know I did!  Anyhoo, he claims this was done in order for the new Six to learn about the deaths of the original Six from someone not-named Mockingbird?  I... uh... guess?  As this story meanders, Fenedy bursts through the front gates.

Inside, DiRienzi's portly guard rushes over to inform his boss about the to-do on the estate.  Vic and the Six ready themselves for action, but Carlo calls them off.  He doesn't want the Secret Six to risk their lives anymore... as he sees it, their job is done.  The Sixers (who actually refer to themselves as such) rush off regardless.

Carlo tackles Vic, knocking his Bebop/Rocksteady style gun away from him.  As he scrambles to nab it himself, Fenedy swings in from the skylight.  It's always the skylight with these people.  Anyhoo, Fenedy lands and shoots "Mr. Byrd" right in the chest.  Vic responds by spearing the "S.O.B." through a nearby railing!

Fenedy falls to the floor below, and winds up impaled by a big ol' spike of wooden railing.  Whoops.

Oh, and Mockingbird's dead.  There's that, too.

We wrap up with the New Secret Six being retired... allowed to walk off into the sunset with their miraculous "gifts".  So, all's well that ends well for the folks we've grown to know and love over the past eight months.  They say their final goodbyes back at their San Francisco headquarters... however, once they leave... a monitor powers up.  On it appears... Mockingbird???

--

Ya know, I was all ready to start bagging on this for its poor pacing when we got a quarter of the way through the chapter, and were still in "flashback land".  I didn't think such special attention needed to be paid to how Carlo made his escape.  All we really had to know is that he did.  And we've known that for the better part of a month now.  It could've been one panel of dude with a sly smile on his face reminding us that he's an escape artist.  Didn't need to see the whole show.

I guess I did decide to bag on this for its poor pacing.  Hmm... that really wasn't my intention.  What I was trying to say was, this final chapter didn't really require a full eight pages.  the back three-quarters were (mostly) high octane action, parlayed into a pretty satisfied (dare I say, thrilling?) conclusion.

Both of our (assumed) antagonists wind up biting it at the end.  Fenedy and Carlo are no more... both dying as a result of their own bravado, more than anything.  Sure, it would've been nice to get a bit more "closure" after all the time we spent chasing (and being chased by) these characters, but, who knows what the future plans were for this property at the end of 1988?  For all we know, Pasko may have already been planning a "Gen Three" Secret Six team.  The sorta-kinda twist ending suggests that very well might have been in the works.

Who y'all think the new-new Mockingbird in the very last panel was?  Probably Geno.  I mean, it's almost gotta be.

I was happy to see our new Sixers get the opportunity to walk away... and keep their "gifts" to boot.  It isn't often that sort of thing happens... and this explains why we've never heard from these folks again.  I gotta hand it to DC... in an era where they're rehashing and reheating every damn thing (I mean, there was a Dingbat in New Challengers), they've let these folks remain in retirement.  At least, as far as I know.  I might've missed Johns and Didio killing them all in a single panel... or referring to having killed them all off-panel.  We'll just assume they're still around, living their best lives.

I'm happy we made it through this Secret Six feature... as it, along with Blackhawk, struck me as the two (of the original six) that I would probably struggle the most with.  Having little experience with either concept (outside of the pre-Flashpoint take on the Six), I feared it'd be a slog.  Turns out the toughest part of the Secret Six feature was the restraint it took not to mention... for thirty weeks... that New-Sixer Mitch Hoberman looks exactly like Terry Long.  Whew... it feels so good to finally say that.  It was as though I was holding in a sneeze for eight months!

Tomorrow: Fellows of the Fellowship, Fellowing!

ACW #629 - Secret Six

Action Comics Weekly #629 (Secret Six)
"Beginning of the End"
Writer - Martin Pasko
Pencils - Frank Springer
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Carl Gafford
Editor - Robert Greenberger

You ready for some answers?  Well, buckle in... we're about to learn everything we ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask, about the Secret Six.

--

We open at the Georgetown Estate where Mr. Fenedy is receiving a phone call most urgent.  Judging by the events of last issue, we have a pretty good idea what that might be all about.  Nearing on an hour later, we join the New Sixers arriving at a mansion in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  They are swept inside, where they finally come face to face with... Mockingbird... aka. Carlo DiRienzi.

The New Sixers are a bit taken aback... they were sure that Mr. Byrd was actually August Durant this whole time.  To which, Carlo informs them that August, in fact, was Mockingbird.  He was actually the original Mockingbird.  Ya see, sometime back during the mid 1960's, Durant fell ill due to exposure to a virus culture created by the Soviets... one that the United States government designated "V73".  Durant was hospitalized and spent the next little while slipping in and out of a coma.  One night, he was visited by a man (who looks a lot like Fenedy... though, for all I know is that Hunter Thompson-looking guy before succumbing to male pattern baldness) who forced a pill down his throat.

This pill did the trick... August's symptoms had all abated.  Here's where it gets a bit dark.  The "Agency" offers to keep Durant alive, one pill at a time... so long as he acts in their interests.  He was tasked with assembling a secret team of six individuals, with a focus on dealing with international crime.  Durant would be both a member of this task force as well as their hooded leader/order-giver, Mockingbird.  And so, the original Six were born.

They remained a team until 1969... something, something, Richard Nixon.  After disbanding, Carlo DiRienzi would hold five-year reunions at The Enchanted Forest magic club (wow, been awhile since I'd thought about that place!).  Recently, DiRienzi and Durant spent some time together... August came clean about being the OG Mockingbird, and expressed that he needed help putting together a plan to neutralize a threat he considered more dangerous than full-scale nuclear war.  What he was talking about was a mutated strain of V73 being created via a partnership between TechnoDyne and Jefferson University.  This is, of course, V74... a strain that would have no antidote.  Durant proposes that the original Sixers come together and train an all-new team.

And so, Durant's home was transformed into a base of operations, and teams of researchers and scientists scoured the microfiche looking for folks who had just been in accidents... who might be willing to work for their "miracle cures".  Fans of Doom Patrol might think this all sounds a little bit "Chiefy".  Well, at least Durant didn't cause all of the accidents, right?

As we saw very early on in this series, the Original Sixers were all set to fly to San Francisco to train the next generation... when everything went a little bit "ca-ca".  Mr. Fenedy had tampered with the VTOL's computerized auto-pilot, causing it to crash.  The only one to survive was... you guessed it, Carlo DiRienzi!

We wrap up with Fenedy arriving at the smoldering fiery mess that was, just a few hours earlier, his "Workshop".  He vows to exact vengeance on the Secret Six... for this time, it's personal!

--

Well, well, well... we wanted the truth, but tell me this, friends... could we handle the truth?

Well, yeah... it's really not Earth-Shattering stuff here... but, these are the answers we've been waiting to get for over a half-year now!  That's one of the more fun byproducts of turning the blog into Action Comics Daily... this is as close to "real-time" as we're going to get to experience these stories.  We're getting one chapter a week... just like the folks back in ye old 1988.  If it took them six-months to learn who Mockingbird is... it's also going to take us that long (that is, if we can control our Googling).

I appreciate how everything was tied together here... from the original incarnation of the team, to the "current".  It all has a similar "bloodline", and wasn't just a name DC decided to reuse because (for whatever reason) they didn't want to refer to the post-Infinite Crisis team as the Suicide Squad.

Now, reading this... and getting all of the context is great.  It doesn't exactly inspire me to go back and read the original run.  I have a couple of those in my collection, and all I can recall about them is that they are very, very dry.  I am, however, interested in re-flipping through the Villains United miniseries that parlayed into the post-Infinite Crisis run... just to see if these New Sixers get a passing mention.  I'm hoping to have some sort of "Where Are They Now/Then?" to share with you all next week.

I've done a fair amount of research on this team, and have found that they will never appear again after our next and final chapter.  There could be any number of reasons for that... including the most obvious one: none of them make it out alive.  I have not read the final chapter yet... so, I couldn't say one way or another how it's gonna wind up going.  I will say, however, I'm looking forward to it!

Overall... a smashing good chapter, one that almost makes reading the rest of this run worthwhile.  Well, maybe just some of it.

Tomorrow: Into the Secret Sanctuary!

ACW #628 - Secret Six

Action Comics Weekly #628 (Secret Six)
"Remains to be Seen"
Writer - Martin Pasko
Pencils - Frank Springer
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Carl Gafford
Editor - Robert Greenberger

After last week's cop-out unmasking... do I have any shot in hell at convincing you all that there will be a legit... "facing the camera" unmasking today?  I mean it, gang, this is it!  We will see the face behind the mask... and it's going to be spectac... er, fairly underwhelming and predictable.

Let's do it anyway!

--

We open with Mockingbird reaffixing his mask while his so--... Gino stands by dumbfounded.  An attendant enters the room and informs Mr. Byrd that there's a goings on requiring his attention in the Communications Room.  Ya see, the New Secret Six has infiltrated "the workshop".  I hate tugging on these same threads in my synopses, but... didn't Mockingbird already "discover" this last time?  We shift scenes to "The Workshop", where the Sixers are blasting the bejeezus out of some drab-clad workers.  Meanwhile, Mitch finds himself stood before a wall full of drawers.  He shoots the lock off of one and makes a most grim discovery.

Over the course of the next several pages... feels like we're just eating up paginal real estate here... several Sixers exchange fire with the bad guys, while Maria and Luke send each other DMs.  Mitch calls in his findings, and by now we can see that he's opened several more drawers.

We shift scenes to poolside.  We're at Fenedy's sprawling Georgetown estate (maybe?), where he is chatting up a man wearing an oversized hat (which, naturally, obscures his face... not that we'll recognize him anyway!).  It's alluded to that he's a member of White House staff... so, maybe that's why he's gone "faceless here".  Anyhoo, they exchange both pleasantries and threats... and it's an overall dull conversation.

Back at The Workshop, Vic, Luke, and Tony reconnoiter with Mitch in the room full'a drawers.  At this point, Vic makes a flippant remark about August Durant being Mockingbird... to which, Mitch unzips the bodybag inside the drawer, revealing the corpse of that very same August Durant.  Whoops.  Mockingbird decides to make his move, and taps into the VTOLs computer system to chat up Maria.  He tells her that he's totally cool with everything they're doing... but, she and LaDonna have gotta get out of the VTOL P.D.Q., cuz that sucker's about to blow!

Then, after setting a bunch of charges, and bringing all of the workers to safety... The Workshop (including the VTOL, and very likely the bodies of five members of the original Secret Six) is blown to smithereens!

We wrap up with with... the actual un-masking of Mockingbird!  Turns out it's... wait for it... the man behind the mask is... oh boy, here it comes... the brains behind this entire operation is... oof, my goosebumps have got goosbumps... it's... it's... it's... exactly who we all thought it was, Rafael DiRienzi's father, Carlo.

--

Well, there ya have it... all these months, and Mockingbird has finally been revealed as being "original sixer" Carlo DiRienzi.  I don't wanna project, but I'm pretty sure most of us following along figured that out several weeks ago... maybe even longer!

Really not sure what to make of him.  Is he a good guy?  Is he a bad guy?  Is he one'a dem shades of grey (bro?).  On one hand, we've got him sorta-kinda brainwashing his Son into acting like an infant?  On the other, he seems to be really against killing... at least in this instance?  I mean, he had no problem feeding a dude poisoned meat a few months back... but, this time out, not so much?  I dunno.  This feels less "complicated" and more just "confusing".

This chapter felt a bit uneven... almost like they were buying time to ensure the unmasking scene was our cliffhanger.  That's fair enough, and makes good sense, but... the lead up was kind of redundant.  Feels like we got an extra page or two of firefight... though, I should probably count my lucky stars we didn't get an extra two pages of Fenedy!  That bit of this story is still very very dull.

Overall... I guess we'll see where this goes.  The "reveal" didn't rock my socks... but, at least it (mostly) made sense.  Only two chapters left for this feature... so, we should be expecting 16 exposition-heavy pages in our future!

Tomorrow: The Man Returns!  Blackhawk's Back!

ACW #627 - Secret Six

Action Comics Weekly #627 (Secret Six)
"A Bird in the Hand"
Writer - Martin Pasko
Pencils - Frank Springer
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Carl Gafford
Editor - Robert Greenberger

Ya know, I been having more and more trouble coming up with pre-rambles for these pieces of late.  Uh... did I mention that Nightwing and Speedy are back this week?  Yeah?  Hmm... did I show off the new trade-dress for their feature?  Yeah?  Hrrrmm...

--

We open with tail end of Luke wrestling his way free of the Agency goons.  Once they're kayoed, he swaps clothes with one of 'em so's he can tour the facilities without being spotted.  I guess he supposes the rest of the Agency won't realize that the bald fella has been replaced by Matt Murdock... er, a tall blonde dude.  At that moment, over at the Secret Six Bunker, the rest of the team has begun putting all of the pieces of this mystery together.  "The Agency" is run by Walter Fenady, who they believe was responsible for sabotaging the original Six's VTOL... which might seem to let Mockingbird off the hook, at least for this.

Also, TechnoDyne, that corporation from alllll the way back in ACW #601, was contracted by The Agency to transmutate the V74 virus that original Sixer, August Durant had into the less treatable, and thereby more fatal V75.  So, I guess that wasn't a misprint all them weeks ago!

As the Six readies to head into the belly of the beast to find their pal Luke, we shift scenes back to our Geno and Mockingbird cliffhanger from last week.  Turns out Rafe knew he was being drugged... and so, he "flushed" the parts of his meal that contained the sedative.  How he was able to figure out which portions of his meals contained the drug... I couldn't tell ya.  I am very tired of this storyline, however, so I don't think I'm going to press for things to make sense.  Anyhoo, Mockingbird then........ unmasks!  Er, with his back to the camera, naturally.  Geno is, however, quite shocked.  Something tells me we're not going to be quite as shocked or impressed when we finally see his face.

Back to Agency H.Q. (the "Workshop"), Luke-in-a-suit relieves an Agency goon from their shift in front of the monitors, and proceeds to get to work procuring as much information as he can, in order to wrist-radio it all back to his team... which he does, with the quickness!

The Six arrive on the roof of the Agency Building just as an "Intruder Alert" alarm begins to sound.  Luke finds himself surrounded by, and caught in a firefight with the Agency Army.  Meanwhile, Mitch uses his robo-mitts to punch through a door.

We wrap up with the Six busting into the Agency's H.Q. with reckless abandon... just opening fire on anyone in their way.  Bout time, right?  Mitch notices a Records Room and decides to once again lets his robo-fingers do the walking.

--

Welcome to the "home stretch", my friends!

Things are finally moving forward, and despite there being a bit of confusion over who's the real big-bad here, and who "knows" what... I'm hopeful that we're in for at least a semi-satisfying endgame.

There was a bit at the beginning of this chapter that I kinda glossed over... mostly because I wasn't sure what was supposed to have been said.  I will never deny that I have the potential to be rather dense, and miss things that are completely apparent to the next reader... but, the way the Sixers were talking... I couldn't tell whether or not they knew Mockingbird had been listening in... and so, they said exactly the thing he wanted to overhear... or, if I'm just reading too much into Maria's semi-vague monologue?  I dunno... and, I suppose for this chapter, it doesn't really matter all that much.

The Agency and Mockingbird are clearly "bad" guys... so, they're both going to have to be dealt with before we put this one to bed.  Speaking of Mockingbird... boy, are we being led down the "primrose path" with this one.  I've kind of avoided talking about this... it was kind of the "elephant in the room" all along... but, I mean, no matter which "Original Sixer" is under the hood (though, it's pretty obvious which one it's going to turn out being), who's gonna care?  Is anyone on the edge of their seat for this reveal?  Like I said during our discussion of the very first chapter of Secret Six:

This is a very obscure property... and one that had been dormant (after only seven appearance) almost two full decades at this point.  What are the stakes here?  We're going to find out that one of six people most of us couldn't point out in a lineup on our best day is the one responsible for the whole magilla?  Just seems like this was destined to be underwhelming... and if that's the case, what's the point?  Ya know?  Oh well.

Overall, I'm happy to see this one edging ever-closer to its conclusion... fingers crossed we get a measure of satisfaction when all the dust settles!

Tomorrow: Black Canary... no longer the ACW Anchor?!

ACW #626 - Secret Six

Action Comics Weekly #626 (Secret Six)
"Capitol Offenses"
Writer - Martin Pasko
Pencils - Frank Springer
Inks - Frank McLaughlin
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Editor - Robert Greenberger

"int" is usually how I begin laying out my patented comics-reviewing format.  I fill in the credits... hit enter twice... type "int"... hit enter twice... type "--"... hit enter twice... type "syn"... hit enter twice... type "--"... hit enter twice... type "rev".

Now you know all of my Secrets.  Were there Six of 'em?  I lost count...

--

We open with Sixers, Vic, LaDonna, and Maria attempting to evade a helicopter in the skies above Arlington, Virginia.  Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, Tony and Mitch play dress-up with some Imagik prosthetics.  They kinda playfully bicker back and forth, which feels like it comes out of nowhere.  Back in VA, Vic leans out of the VTOL and blasts the chopper to bits... it falls, and crashes into what's gotta be an Olympic-sized swimming pool in some random backyard.

While those Sixers set down and try and figure out their next move, we shift scenes to that Hunter S. Thompson-looking guy.  He's chatting up another Agency member about how Fenedy has called a morning meeting.  Then... he deduces that there might just be a new Secret Six!  What's this... nine chapters in a row where he has this revelation?  Dude, get over it... you were right the first time!  Take the win and move on!

Next, we check in with Luke... who had been taken captive at the end of last chapter.  Some Agency goons approach his prone body, with a sizable hypodermic in tow.  Luke manages to get the upper hand and fight off the pair of geeks.

Back at the VTOL, Tony (disguised apparently as the wizard Shazam) arrives to fill in his teammates on everything he'd learned during his West Coast excursion.  He believes it was this "Agency" that downed the original Six, and not Mockingbird.  We get some awkward (which is to say, wrong) word-balloon placement here, which kinda muddies things, but I feel like we're smart enough to know who really said what.

More than that, Mockingbird also knows who said what... ya see, he's got the entire operation "bugged".  He's tickled pink that his new Sixers are blaming Fenedy and the gang for all of their troubles.

But not everything is going quite as well for ol' Mista Byrd.  Ya see, his current captive is taking his sweet time "coming around".  That captive is, of course... wait for it... Rafael!  Wow, we haven't seen that guy in ages!  He's looking far less Bert Convy-like here... and more like Namor the Sub-Mariner when the Fantastic Four first found him.  We join him as he's sitting on a floor playing with a train set.  Seems as though he thinks he's a little boy... or something.

Well, no, not really.  As one of Mockingbird's goons enter with his evening meal, Rafe overpowers him... with a toy train, then makes a run for it.  He is found, almost immediately, by Mockingbird who mocks him for being unable to escape... after all, his father was an escape artist!

--

It feels like we might finally be getting somewhere with this one!  Though, we gotta keep in mind that there are still four chapters left to go...

Let's break this one down.  Four of the Six have been reunited... and have shared intel.  That intel may not be the most accurate, but we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.  We finally get to see Mockingbird "in the flesh", as in, not just as a talking head on a monitor.  While it's pretty hilarious that he wears his full cloak even when cloistered away in his headquarters, it was still cool to "see" him.

I remember way back in the long ago, when I was reading ElfQuest.  There had been ongoing in-story rumblings about the half-Elf/half-Troll character, "Two-Edge".  I never thought we'd get to see him... then, we did!  The Mockingbird appearance was... well, a lot less cool than that... but, still... forward momentum!

Rafe being "brainwashed" into being a child?  Okay, it's interesting... but, doesn't get enough "build".  It also... kinda tips the creator's hand a bit, doesn't it?  We got Mockingbird talking about "genetics"... he's got Rafe acting like a little boy... we know Mockingbird is one of the original Six... and Rafe is the son of one of the original Six.  Ya see where I'm goin' with this?

I'd be remiss not to mention how Hunter Thompson deduced that there might just be a new Secret Six... again!  Would somebody please just pat this guy on his bald head and tell him he's right?!  This reminds me of making the mistake of laughing at a joke a little kid tells... they try and "recreate" that moment for the rest of the day, and that just ain't fun.  So, Hunter-looking guy... from me to you: You're right, buddy!  Good job!

Overall, I'm pleased that this feature is moving forward.  Lord knows it's been mostly stagnant since its return!  I will admit though, I am kinda looking forward to referring to this one in the past tense.  The art, which I don't mention nearly enough, is still strong as ever!

Tomorrow: Off-Roading!

--

Your Moment of Vartox:

From Power Girl (vol.2) #7 (February, 2010)
Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (w) / Amanda Conner (a)

The Main Man squirts some of his... musk in Power Girl's direction... only to learn that it had no effect.  This is the unsubtle (but funny!) "let's write him as he looks" era of Vartox... just to be clear.