In issue 6 of SIX, everything is taking a step up with some downtime. We've been getting plenty of issues of set up and now it's time for some big pay off. McQuade's team has been assembled and we know there can only be action to come- and does it ever.The issue begins with a small party going on at Sarah's coffee bean farm where everyone can relax a little. And through this opening we get insights into many of the characters and what they are like when not fully on the job. Each character has been made quite distinct and a great addition as a specialist on the team, and this issue only makes that more apparent.
Every one on the team matters. These aren't just nobodies, they are the five-one Sand Scorpions that served together in Iraq. They are coming together out of an important bond and they are focused on keeping that together. George Pelecanos (the Writer/Producer of the HBO show The Wire) has made damn sure these characters are fleshed out, and writer Andi Ewington has done a perfect job of giving us realistic and believable dialogue.
McQuade and Sarah talk circuitously around their past romance, Blink and Abe discuss guilt and PTSD, and Stonewall display's an uncharacteristic soft side. But this small celebration is a wonderful contrast for the second half of the issue when the action hits. The Mexican drug cartel has been watching and planning, using their still unexplained knowledge of this team to try and take them down. The cartel finally takes action and when the SIX fight back, all hell breaks loose.
This issue has a tremendous contrast between the way it begins and the way it ends. Starting with a comfortable get-together with everyone laying low and enjoying themselves and swiftly ramping up to an end that is an all out war zone. It proves to be such an amazingly effective dichotomy that I was slightly taken aback. The writing and art flow so seamlessly that I was genuinely surprised that I had actually read over 40 pages so quickly.
This issue of SIX has raised the stakes, filled us in on some intriguing backstory to flesh out the characters, given us exceptional action sequences, and left us on one hell of a cliffhanger of an ending- meaning that it has not only done everything we want from a comic book, it's done more.
SIX issue 6 has brought the eight issue series to a new level. Pelecanos, Ewington, and Chater have created a series to keep an eye on. It's engaging, action packed, and sets a great standard for comic book entertainment.
The comics company 451 Media has come out of nowhere and surprised me with continually amazing stories with Self Storage and Sunflower, but SIX is easily overtaking them as my favorite. There's no better praise I can give other than to tell you to go out and buy these books. I've got more reviews for Humbug, Bad Moon Rising, and Ex Mortis all on the way, and I absolutely cannot get enough of how good all these books are. They've definitely got #ImaginationToBurn. Seriously, these are all comic books to follow, and there is no way I want to miss an issue.
SIX issue 6 will be available Wednesday April 27th.
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*SIX issue 6 review copy provided by 451 Media
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