Secret Six #4: The Flashback

Banshee takes down the team in Secret Six #4’s opening pages, dividing them in the fight’s aftermath. Jay is left on his own, annoyed by Jon’s choice to save Catman instead. Meanwhile, Catman regails Jon with a story of his past with Deadshot and a reminder that not everything is perfectly cut and dry.

Maines spent the first three issues of Secret Six setting the various team members against each other. Along the way, she kept Jon somewhat above the fray, playing peacemaker. In doing so, Maines has set up a situation where Jon is no longer a bystander to other characters’ conversations. Additionally, Maines’ choice to write little dialogue for Jon in Secret Six #4, literally rendering him speechless, makes the character come off as unable to respond to some ugly ideas that others consider perfectly acceptable if not necessary.

Jay’s early scenes in Secret Six #4 play into Jon’s character arc as well. The series’ first three issues put stress on their relationship thanks to Maines not writing Jon as reflexively agreeing with his boyfriend. Though this aspect is not explored in detail–limited only to Jay’s internal monologue in the issue’s opening pages–it furthers the ongoing theme.

Jon’s character arc advancement comes by way of Catman relating a story of a past mission involving Deadshot. As an object lesson, it highlights the shades of gray that Jon refuses to consider in his current situation. Maines continues to avoid explicitly defining Catman and Deadshot’s relationship (Catman’s “we’re not” can mean many things in context), and that mystery makes the story within the story especially compelling.

Catman’s story is an excellent example of how visual cues can enhance the emotion in a flashback sequence–in this case one that is critical to the issue. Beredo uses a softer color palette for the flashback, making it stand out visually as much as it does narratively. The story Catman tells isn’t less violent than Secret Six has been to this point. Nor are there touching character interactions. Nevertheless, the softer tones give the flashback sequence a special quality–especially in light of the still vague relationship between Catman and Deadshot.

Beredo’s color choice especially lessens Catman’s angst which carries much of Secret Six #4. The more vivid color choices, combined with thicker lines and starker shading effects, amplify Catman’s expressions and the mostly negative emotions he gives off. The character isn’t appreciably different in the flashback, but the color and art choices create the illusion that he is. For a brief period, Catman is a considerably more sympathetic character.

Further enhancing this flashback sequence is a choice Wands makes with dialogue bubbles. Catman’s explicit retelling of the story–that is, what he is saying to Jon–is handled in the same red caption boxes as his normal off page dialogue is. The dialogue bubbles in the flashback, though, are a very soft akin to burnt sienna–a color not very different than Catman’s costume. It gives the sequence a more personal quality beyond the explicit story he’s relating to Jon.

Outside the flashback, a moment early in Secret Six #4 showcases how very subtle art choices can foreshadow what is eventually revealed in text. As the team reels from Banshee’s assault, one page centers on the response of several team members to an emotionally traumatizing moment. Particularly effective is a closeup on Jon as tears stream down his face.

Alone out of the five characters this page focuses on, Jay doesn’t give off the same sad vibe. Though there is a suggestion as to why, Maines doesn’t dig into the moment explicitly. Rather, Jay’s apparently angry response is communicated by a difference of expression–largely through narrowed eyes that are looking specifically at something out of panel. It’s a relatively subtle difference in the presentation of the character, but it plays very effectively into Jay’s following scene when his internal monologue focuses on the above mentioned stress between him and Jon.