Martian Manhunter # 1 Review
Author: A.J. Lieberman
Penciler Al Barrionuevo
Inker: Bit
Colors: Marta Martinez
Martian Manhunter is one of those characters that never got the justice he deserved. He is not an A list character, but he is popular enough to be teamed up with A-listers on an A-list book, but not strong enough to carry his own title in years. I've always liked J'onn though, being the last of his kind and not looking like a human being always gave him that loner factor to him. But is he the last of his kind?
From the beginning of the book J'onn J'onzz finds evidence that he is not the last son of the Red planet. Everything he's believed was wrong and now he finds himself against humans. The main reason this has been happening is because he is no longer recognized by humans. He changed his look because he is no longer alone. He looks more like a Skrull with his ridged chin and I don't entirely buy why he changed his look to begin with. There are some villains that are capturing Martians and torturing them to make weapons for the military.
Lieberman writes this issue in a way that those unfamiliar with J'onn can follow. However, this book will prove far more interesting to those who have long loved the Martian Manhunter and wished he were given a greater role in the comics these days. Yes there is some clichéd storytelling, but hey it worked in Enemy Mine, for some reason I kept thinking of that movie when I was reading this book.
Barrionuevo does an amazing job with the storytelling. Other than the Skrull looking Manhunter design his panels are easy to follow and can be intense at times. It’s a good start for new readers to J'onn's world and a nice enough fresh story to keep old readers interested. B
J’onn getting darker, what's not to like.
I was surprisingly impressed by this, particularly since I didn't care for the preview in Brave New World. I only picked it up because it was a 75 cent special through my sub service.
The story had some nice sci-fi elements going which I think is more interesting than the detective style takes on the character I've seen in some of his other series. He is from Mars after all, so I prefer to see stories exploring his heritage rather than his efforts to fit into his human identity. I'm not totally hooked yet, but I'll definitely give this one a few issues.
I also really dug the art. Never even heard of this guy before, but he's pretty impressive. Marvel may have their "young guns" (many of which have been around too long to fit that category IMO), but I think DC is really finding some great new artistic talent. Between this guy, Freddy Williams II on Robin, Jesus Saiz on Checkmate, Greg Tocchini on Ion, Shane Davis on Mystery in Space and Daniel Acuna on Uncle Sam, amongst others, DC really has a solid stable of "young guns" all their own.