Flashpoint: Secret Seven #3 – Review

By: Peter Milligan (writer), Fernando Blanco (penciller), Scott Koblish (inker), Brian Buccellato (colorist)

The Story: This wouldn’t be an inappropriate time to bust into Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” right?

The Review: The key to a really great ensemble cast is a broad diversity of characters.  The more far apart in personality and background they are, the richer their interaction becomes.  In superhero comics, you also have to consider their power sets.  Too many redundant abilities, and the range of obstacles they can face drastically narrow.  Most of all, you need a writer who can give each member life and motivations of their own, so they don’t just disappear into the group.

Secret Seven has a great ensemble.  Whereas previous issues dragged from Shade’s ceaseless moans over his questionable sanity, the back-and-forth among the team once Zatanna, Raven, and Mindwarp show up has great pop and crackle.  Interestingly, despite their animosity and suspicion towards Shade (even after he admits he may be responsible for some of their deaths) they demonstrate a kind of sympathy, even loyalty, to him, trying to gauge how far he’s gone.

But once the kid gloves come off, none have any qualms about getting their hands dirty, a sequence made all the more entertaining by their specific range of powers, a mixture of the occult and psyche very much in tune with the spirit of this title.  Zee’s incantations, though put to some dark uses here (“Raet reh trapa!”), seem restrained in contrast to Enchantress’ wild magic, while Raven, Mindwarp, and Shade’s psychic manipulations prove capable of some grim effects.

It’s particularly good to see Shade in action, as we finally get a sense of just what his vest can do: “The M-Vest has used the psychic energy of their anger…to turn their souls into amorphous solids.”  We also see how unsettling his abilities can truly be; his attempt to reanimate the broken Amethyst’s corpse strikes a perfect chord of creepiness (“Hello, Shade.  Hello, June.  I’m twelve years…  I’m twelve years…”), showing why Shade’s grip on reality may have so degraded.

Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1 – Review

By: Peter Milligan (writer), George Pérez & Fernando Blanco (pencillers), Scott Koblish (inkers), Tom Smith (colorist)

The Story: Crazy people hunting down other crazies…that’s a reality show pitch, right there.

The Review: There are basically two traditions you can take in writing an Elseworlds (for lack of a more apt term) story: make pointed comparisons between the world you’re writing and the world it’s based on; or just tackle the Elseworld on its own merits, as if it’s the only world people would know.  Though each strategy has its pros and cons, generally it’s better not to waste too much time calling attention to the specific alterations.

Secret Seven essentially takes the second route, and of all the Flashpoint tie-ins, it feels most genuinely like an entity unto itself.  If not for the Flashpoint logo emblazoned across the cover, the events of this story could easily take place in the normal DCU.  This is good since the story and characters largely stand on their own; you’re not distracted pointing out what’s familiar.  It’s also bad because it doesn’t use the creative potential of the altered Earth to full advantage.

This issue focuses on two of the current Seven: Rac Shade, the Changing Man, and June Moone, the Enchantress, both relatively obscure characters.  Enchantress’ involvement with DC’s premiere team of mystics, Shadowpact, makes her more familiar to you, but that’s also because Milligan’s version of her sticks very close to the original.  Shade, largely absent from the stands since the mid-nineties, might as well be making his debut in this title, since you’re probably like me and have never even heard of him before.

Perhaps Milligan wants us to read this series less as a Flashpoint tie-in and more as a special mini featuring the DC character he’s best known for writing.  You’d have to be a Shade fan to fully enjoy this issue, as most of it assumes you have some knowledge of his mythos; concepts like the Meta Hightable, the M-Vest, and even the basis of his powers are thrown at you without much explanation, leaving you frequently puzzled as to what characters are talking about.