Anywhos, I've managed to only dabble in reading a few new comics over the last few, moneyless years, but am starting to get back on track now. It's kind of hard to break back in, though, and I only remembered that Gail Simone is an awesome comics writer
who has written lots of stuff I haven't gotten to read yet because of a "Shortpacked" strip about Catman being bisexual. Basically, the next day, I rushed downtown to the comics store and purchased a collection (Secret Six: Unhinged) and some random direct issues. Then I spent my entire day off reading up on this team of complicated pseudo-villains that includes a lesbian leader, a bisexual, sort-of defender of animal rights, a contortionist eunuch, and so much more.There are reasons why I don't read DC and Marvel comics very often, some of them being that even with a great writer like Gail Simone, the stories are often short on character development and chaotically packed with battle-to-end-all-battle scenes, difficult-to-explain plot twists, and mish-mashes of hastily shoe-horned-in-back stories. This was all great when I was nine years old (although I must admit that the storyline where Kraven commits suicide kind of messed me up back then) but now I end up with a feeling of frustration.
However, I found reading this collection of Secret 6 really entertaining. I love the way Simone packs in as much humanization of her characters as possible within the limits of the medium. It's also nice that she is an intelligent person who is socially aware, and can write about lesbians, bisexual men, survivors of sexual abuse, and people without genitals and not make them hollow, two-dimensional caricatures of freaks, completely sexually objectified, that no one can possibly understand or relate to (except for Ragdoll, who I feel is supposed to be a little like that). I read the Unhinged collection (DC Secret Six direct issues 1-7) with little to no knowledge of the character backstories, powers, affiliations, or recent activities, but it was still a good read. Nicola Scott's tight, believable art helps make it such an enjoyable experience.
As my new "thing," here is an excerpt of (surprisingly, the only) slash fiction involving Catman and Deadshot I could find in a five-minute search. It was written by stormtroopersaresexy on FanFiction.net. Just ignore use of the word "stucked."
"You know Thomas I'm glad you didn't cry, Thomas, Tomcat. You know in that case I wouldn't have any other choice..."
Thomas Blake felt Floyd's knee pushing on his thigh and when he raised his arm he realized he had stucked his nails in Floyd's neck and now they were all covered in blood. He didn't care, but the mustache. The mustache.
A mumble was the only answer Thomas gave Floyd.
"Exactly my friend. Instantly. I would've shot you instantly. Like real friends do."
It was not the nitrogen oxide.
It was not the radon.
It was not the neon.
It was the subatomic, ancestral explosion of tongue against tongue and bloodless lips against somebody else's teeth and they didn't even understand the purpose of this violence, but it was the sweetest thing they'd ever felt.
