Secret Six #1

History

Writer E. Nelson Bridwell — then best known inside DC as a continuity expert and Mort Weisinger's assistant — conceived the Secret Six as DC's answer to the hit television series Mission: Impossible, which had debuted in 1966. Where that show featured a volunteer elite, Bridwell's key twist was blackmail: Mockingbird compels obedience by holding each member's darkest secret over them. The book was edited by Murray Boltinoff and launched without a Showcase try-out, going directly to its own bimonthly title — an unusual vote of confidence for a wholly original concept at DC in this era. Frank Springer handled both cover and interior art for issue #1, with the story structured across three continuous segments spanning 24 pages; notably, the cover image functions as the literal first page of the story, a device that was singled out by later DC staffers as one of the issue's most inventive formal touches.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of all six members of the original Secret Six: scientist August Durant, escape artist and stage magician Carlo Di Rienzi, model and martial artist Crimson Dawn, Hollywood stuntman King Savage, French makeup and disguise expert Lili De Neuve, and former heavyweight boxer Mike Tempest (code-named Tiger Force).
• First appearance of the enigmatic antagonist-handler 'Mockingbird,' whose true identity — one of the six team members — was intentionally left unresolved when the series was cancelled after seven issues.
• Created by writer E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Frank Springer; Murray Boltinoff served as editor; the issue was published by National Periodical Publications (DC's corporate name at the time) with a cover date of April–May 1968 and an on-sale date of approximately March 1, 1968.
• The cover of Secret Six #1 doubles as the story's splash page — the narrative begins on the cover and continues without interruption on the interior's first page, an unusual formal technique for American comics of the period.
• The team's first mission pits them against the villain Zoltan Lupus, who has developed a weapon capable of stripping oxygen from the atmosphere; Lupus is killed by issue's end.
• The series was directly inspired by the television phenomenon Mission: Impossible (premiered 1966), with Bridwell paralleling that show's mix of specialists — strongman, model/makeup artist, stage magician — but adding the blackmail mechanic as a distinguishing twist.
• Issue #1 was reprinted in The Brave and the Bold #117 (February–March 1975); the original seven-issue run has never been collected in a trade paperback.
• A television drama based on the Secret Six franchise was announced in development at CBS in October 2018, with Bill Lawrence attached as showrunner and Rick Muirragui writing the script, though no production updates followed the announcement.

Cast · 6 characters

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