Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

The first part of this was Danse Macabre.  I didn't really check what issues were in each volume since I was getting them from the library; I just went through and asked for everything with Deadshot, or the Secret Six. 

My bad.   

That being said, I reread Control because I like that story enough, and skimmed through the rest of Danse Macabre.   The second storyline was Cats in the Cradle and had to do with Catman going after his infant son who had been kidnapped.   There's still a disturbing blankness in Deadshot; his son was kidnapped, and killed.   Death was very clearly on the table for Catman's son from the beginning, and Catman and Deadshot are supposed to be as close as Deadshot gets to anyone - with the exception of Zoe and her mother - so I figured he'd be at least slightly upset.  

He was, but he played it cool.  He said a couple things that made me think he was upset, but it was mostly what he said earlier: you connect to anyone, and you get hurt.  I think he was connecting to Thomas Blake - Catman - and so he was hurt.   As usual, he buried this deeply so it wouldn't hurt him more. 

While this was Catman-centric, and focused mostly on his character development as he tracked down those responsible for taking his son, it also had a lot of time and development with Black Alice and Ragdoll.  I'm both creeped out and charmed by their budding relationship; they are both extremely damaged goods, and while I think they care deeply for one another and that this might be good for them, I'm also deeply disturbed. 

My favorite stories were the stand alone issues at the end, though.   In one, the Six act as prey in a most dangerous game, and it's fun to see them go through that.   Ragdoll singing 'what do you do with a bendy sailor' at the end made me giggle like crazy, too. 

I loved the Western AU even more, though.   It was dark, felt honest to these characters, and tried to show how they would work as a more heroic bunch - without shining up their armor too much.   The Jeanette/Deadshot relationship and the fatherly tone of Bane toward Scandal were present in this story, too.   Dark, a little depressing, and yet so much fun.   I know it's unlikely, but I would love to see more Western!Deadshot!

Overall, I have more love for this series the more I read.   Onto Caution to the Wind!