365 Comics...261: Action Comics Weekly #629 (1988)

I've been waiting 25 years (almost) to know who Mockingbird is in the Secret Six corner of Action Comics Weekly.  It's not something I've lost sleep over, but the persistence of "say, who was Mockingbird anyway" would creep up in my brain probably once a year or so.  I never did spoil it for myself by reading up on the series -- not that there's a whole lot to read up on -- but this issue, as promised by the cover -- The Secret Of Mockingbird!  And, well, it's disappointing if only because it's had 25 years to build up to something of meaning in my brain.  In actuality it's not really much of consequence at all.  We always suspected that Mockingbird was one of the original Secret Six, and, well, that suspicion has completely panned out.  I don't know why it was so enticing to me, considering I have no sentimentality, or familiarity, even (outside of this series at least) towards those originals, so this reveal landing with a nonchalant "Huh."  And, in actuality, it was revealed who Mockingbird was last issue.  This issue just gets into depth how he survived the plane crash and what his ultimate goal was.

I admit, I liked believing that Mockingbird was a bit of a nefarious character, even if his objectives were good.  It was a great fake-out by Pasko and made for some truly engaging reading (well, for me anyway, can't say the same for so many of the lettercolumn yahoos who seem to like Green Lantern at its most dire).

The lettercolumn this issue, actually, was replaced by what I think to be the cover of the next issue (I don't have a copy...yet), sporting an image of Superman under the big top with an elephant on his back.  I like the image so much, I'm posting it here:

The great Action Comic Weekly reader's poll - my submission:
1. Secret Six (I guess the Mockingbird reveal was still worth it)
2. Blackhawk (always a charmer)
3. Black Canary (Duburke's art: stunning)
4. Superman (a rare good chapter)
5. Green Lantern (it's not good, but it's not bad either)
6. Nightwing (it's says Nightwing on the cover but it's all Speedy, getting beat up, again)