Pourin’ a 40 for my homey Ragdoll.

As Xander Crews might put it: “God. Dammit.”

From Villains United to the run into Hell, it’s been a damn good book. There was never a throwaway member. Okay, Fiddler was there to get his head blown off, and I think Harley Quinn was brought in for Misfit to fight in the Ice arc in Birds of Prey, but guys like Catman, Mad Hatter and King Shark were brought in to kick ass and look good doing it. And newbies like Parademon, Ragdoll and Jeanette shined so brightly under Gail’s pen, I can’t see them being written by anybody else. In fact . . . Gail, if you’re reading this, is there any chance Ragdoll could merge with either Jason or Ronnie in Firestorm? Just for an issue or two?

If only I drank . . . I could pour a “forty” while humming “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday.”

Well DC has finally put the final nail in the coffin for my monthly comic buying habit. Between Marvel and DC’s actions over the past several years they’ve managed to shrink what was 10-15 comics a month down to 1 and after SS # 36, 0.

I’m willing to be that DC’s average sales in one year will be less then they are today. I should be the the audience they’re trying to get back, yet not a single step they’ve taken has me interested in picking up an issue. I’m sure Secret Six wasn’t the bottom feeder as far as their titles go so killing a comic that was largely well liked seems dumb on their part.

I’m just thankful a book like Secret Six existed at all. Outside of books they’ve already cancelled, it was near the bottom of the DCU in terms of sales, so I can understand why it’s getting the axe. But I loved that book like I’ve loved few other comic books, and I’ll always have the back issues to crack open till I’m old and gray

Thank you DC, and my eternal gratitude to Gail Simone, Nicola Scott, Jim Calafiore, Dale Eaglesham, and all the other writers, artists, colorists, letterers, and editors that helped to bring my favorite group of bastards to life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy?

This is one of my fave books to read – it’s never let me down.

Such a shame.

I’ve been following this, albeit on and off at times, since Villains United. It’s too bad to see it go, even if the last arc I read in trade, “The Reptile Brain,” was shy of the usual standard of excellence. I’ll follow it to the end. The new Suicide Squad book, seemingly an ersatz book for Secret Six, doesn’t look nearly enticing.

I’m gonna miss Simone and her team of misfits and mercenaries. One of the best Dc books right now and I’m upset its ending. Glass has a long way to fill in Simone’s shoes. I’ll take a look at the new Suicide Squad but I’m still not happy over the cancellation.

That sucks. This was the only DC book I was still planning on buying. None of the new #1s look very good to me. Oh well. Saves me some money, at least.

darn i was afraid that dc might decide the secret six does not fit in their plans. for loved the book espically how gail made ragdoll come off as what a offspring of the joker would be like .sane though perverted plus loved what she did with catman making him some one you do not want to mess with in the dcu too bad dc can not let her make the secret six be the new suicide squad.

This is a HUGE mistake on DC’s part. It’s like cancelling Fables now.

It was their BEST DC Universe comic. Period. I’m hatin the whole reboot thing right now.

I’m pretty sure that in a year or two we’ll be back to the original numbering on many titles. It’s a damn shame about Secret Six though, it never failed to entertain and not many writers can pull that off, going to miss this one.

I really enjoyed the Secret Six series and I think Dc is making a mistake canceling it for a new Suicide Squad tile. Can’t ave to villain teams running around the DCU?

Oh, well. More money on my pocket every month, to buy even more french-belgian comics. A pity DC doesn’t want it.

Sad.

I have said elsewhere that a new Suicide Squad book would lessen the blow… but the looks of that cover down the page even makes that less likely. (God, that SS cover is AWFUL!)

I’ll miss this book, and want to thank Gail for writing it so well. It really was a highlight every time an issue was released.

No interest in the “replacement” Suicide Squad book or a revamped Deadshot, but at least the old Ostrander run is coming out in trade paperbacks. I’ll read those instead.

I know it was never on the top of the chart, but Secret Six has held steady the past couple years when other books have lost readers by the thousands. This book has always had a loyal following that will miss it greatly and I hope DC will notice that for the next re-whatever.

The one thing that slightly confuses me is whether DC canceled Secret Six because of the relaunch or if it would have been canceled no matter what. I, too, thought sales were good enough to keep it going at its current numbers, but perhaps I was mistaken.

so it was doing well as a trade book, and a loyal following? I don’t get it. Why kill it. Both BOP and SS were the only two books I really cared about. booo.

A shame, but 50 issues of a series without a headliner is an extraordinary achievement these days. (6 Villains United, 1 Villains United Special, 6 issues of the miniseries, 36 issues of the series, and Suicide Squad #67=50.)

The one thing that slightly confuses me is whether DC canceled Secret Six because of the relaunch or if it would have been canceled no matter what. I, too, thought sales were good enough to keep it going at its current numbers, but perhaps I was mistaken.

But with the possible exception of Legion (which has been through so many reboots it would hardly even notice another one), are ANY of the DCU’s books ongoing? It seems like all of them are ending and either starting over or not. It’s like when a company reorganizes by firing everyone and having them apply for their jobs back. My guess is that if there were any real status quo it would have more of a lifespan, but there isn’t, so it’s something that gets tossed out to make room for Xtreme Xombi or whatever.

But it is one of the two DC books I was still buying (and I’ve been a pretty loyal DC guy since, um, 1976). After the relaunch, I dunno, we’ll see if I’ll be buying any at all. Maybe one or two from the (sigh) “Dark” line if they manage to impress me. What I’m not interested in, at least at this point, is learning yet another status quo. I’ve flipped through the FlashPoints stuff in the store, but it didn’t interest me at all.

S6′s art often wasn’t my cup of tea, but Simone’s books were the only superhero stuff du jour that I’d regularly check out from the library. Dang shame, and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

I just started buying it after the crossover with Cornell’s Action Comics, so I don’t have the attachment a lot of people do, but it is a shame to see it go all the same. That said, as Jeff (and Gail, really) put it, they had a very impressive run for a series that had the Suicide Squad “island of misfit toys” approach to building a cast. And hey, they’re getting the chance to give it an ending, which is a positive in my book.

This certainly explains the first page of issue #34, with Jeanette seemingly addressing the reader: “Death. Do you not smell it? It’s all around. The end is near. I’m sorry.”

Very clever, since Gail Simone very likely knew the issue would drop aroudn the same time as DC’s relaunch announcements.

Hrm.

On the one hand, I absolutely agree that the book(s) had an amazing run. Big thanks to Gail & team, DC & my fellow fans who created and supported a unique “superhero” book. It is awesome that they are getting the opportunity to wrap up on their own terms, and, if the numbers are accurate, it should have a long life in trade for future readers to discover and enjoy.

On the other hand, this totally sucks, and seems more than a little boneheaded on the publisher’s part. Secret Six is the kind of book that DC should be emulating in their relaunch – telling good stories that develop and elevate existing characters with a minimum of external knowledge/backstory/history required. This is a book that proves that relatively self-contained stories can be used to deepen their stock of DC Universe properties AND sell.

The first mini with Dale Eaglesham was amazing and completely set the tone for me.

I stopped reading Secret Six a while back – but have recently got back into it in trades. And I’m glad I did. So while its disappointing its ending. At least Gail was able to give it the ending she wanted.

@AndyB – If you’ve seen the 52 new titles and nothing interests you?at all? I hate to say it, but there is no way DC will be pleasing you. So just make sure to shut the door on your way out.

@Jeff R – Make it 56 as their arc from Birds of Prey (written by Simone) is also essential reading!

The latest trade recently topped the New York Times Best-Seller list, so I can only assume that they’re cancelling it because they want to use Bane for some stupid Batman storyline soon.

Also, I have to say that since All-Star Superman ended (and even during parts of its run), Secret Six was easily the best comic book being published. Great, nuanced character work, dealing with complex relationships and questions of morality, excellent art that showcased solid action, and just a sense of fun and danger that never quit.