CREDIT: DC Comics
Rating: 3.5/5 – Grabbed My Interest and Left Me With a Lot of Questions.
by ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas
It’s great to see Martian Manhunter back with a series of his own again. The long time DC hero has had numerous series in the past, but none of them lasting all that long. In the late 1990s he had a series that spanned the course of 30+ issues, but the series after that lasted just eight issues. Martian Manhunter has always been best as a supporting character, but there’s quite a bit of depth to the founding member of the Justice League that can make for a compelling and long lasting series.
Eddy Barrows’ art in this first issue is fantastic. Because of the story, Barrows gets to draw some creepy moments that give this book a horror-like feel to it. Not only that, but his character designs that include the strange and curious “Mr. Biscuits” are memorable and imposing. My complaint with the art would be in the colors. Colorist Gabe Eltaeb uses a darker tone on most of the book that really works well in the closing scene, but gives the daylight and indoor scenes a washed out look. I also have to complain about that logo. It looks militaristic and the “M” in both Martian and Manhunter give the single letter a separated feel. A nitpick I know, but I love a good logo, and this one just isn’t fitting of an alien from Mars.
Story wise, Rob Williams is giving us just enough to grab our interest, but there’s plenty of questions yet to be answered. Who is Mr. Biscuits, who is the Catwoman-like thief in the middle of the story, and who is the woman J’onn reaches out to for help towards the end. I felt a bit lost by not reading the preview story in last month’s Convergence crossovers, but not so lost that I couldn’t follow along. The story is clear and flows smoothly, there’s just a lot of story still to be told.
Again, I’m glad that the Martian Manhunter is back in his own series, A hero with the strength of Superman, and an alternate identity as a detective can provide the right writer with a wealth of potential. Rob Williams touches briefly on some of these aspects of J’onn’s life, but there’s room to dive deeper. Although the first issue of Martian Manhunter has its moments, it remains to be seen whether or not this series will last. I’m hoping it does!
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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