After being relatively grounded for the first few story arcs, I love that now we're getting some completely outrageous adventures from Simone and the Secret Six. After blowing my mind with an out-of-time-and-space Western one shot a few issues back I wasn't sure how the Six would cope coming back to the real world. The answer? Well... they don't. Yet. It's like Simone wants to gradually bring us back into the DCU once more by throwing us into yet another genre piece. But this issue, and this story arc as a whole, aren't just a fusion of superheroics and sword'n'sorcery (although I can't shift the mental image of Ragdoll's Superman underwear...). This issue is *dense* with action, razor sharp dialogue, a surprising level of gore from non-imprint book, plot twists and intrigue. It also features some hilarious costume changes with no apparent reason other than to conform to genre type. And you know what? I'm okay with that! Watching Waller shut down Spy Smasher made me grin, even if there was a bit of Deus Ex Machina involved in that real-world twist. It was only slightly less satisfying than watching Oracle beat the crap out of her in Birds of Prey. I also find Tremor one of the more interesting characters introduced in this arc (has she been around before? I'm not sure). I like her power and her composure under pressure, although the opening voiceover is strange to hear in an outsider's voice. Oh, by the way. Bane totally rides a fricken T-Rex in this issue. And it's every bit as awesome as the cover makes it look. As for the art, it's uniformly gorgeous with only a few odd faces here and there among the extras. The colours are deep and rich except for a couple of dramatic panels in which the sun is placed behind the characters to create a hazy effect which totally works. I do still occasionally miss Nicola Scott, though. Overall Secret Six continues to be a pocket of awesome in my pull list, easily my POTW.