Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Resurrection Man #1

By Garth the Geek
September 16, 2011 - 21:34

I wanted to like 'Resurrection Man.' I really did. It was right up there with 'Animal Man' for me. But while Resurrection Man had an interesting concept - the story follows Mitch, a man who cannot die; or, more precisely, a man who can die but always returns to life - Dan Abnett takes this concept and rubs its nose in the dirt like he was disciplining a naughty pup.

My problem with this issue is simple: IT MAKES NO SENSE. I capitalize this because, in my head, I'm actually shouting this statement while shaking Dan Abnett by the shoulders. Allow me to explain. On page fourteen, Mitch gets sucked into a jet engine, reducing his body into something I assume resembles a meat smoothie. He returns to life a mere 30 minutes later, whole and wearing tattered clothes, because the same powers that resurrect his body also, it would seem, conjure up clothing.

Now rewind to page one. Mitch awakens on a morgue table, after, it would seem, an autopsy. It's the stuff b-horror movies are made of. Imagine the scene: a young doctor is examining a dead body, its ribs cracked open and the lungs and heart exposed. The heart starts to beat, suddenly, and the doctor, realizing the man is alive, begins to back away in horror. The body's hand shoots out, grabbing her and demanding she puts him back together.

Of course, none of this happens. He awakens shortly after the autopsy has concluded. He's alone, naked and penniless. His solution? He steals the clothes and wallet of someone working the night shift. So here are my questions: If it takes only 30 minutes to come back to life (as it does later in the issue), how is it his body was found, pronounced dead, transported to the morgue and undergone an autopsy all before he comes back to life? And why does he feel no guilt in stealing from an innocent man? Yes, he does justify to himself, as he withdraws money from the man's bank account, that the victim's insurance and bank will cover it all, but these aren't the actions of a good man. This is someone who does bad things and then comes up with reasons why it's okay so he can sleep at night

My second problem concerns Mitch's 'odd compulsions', which he always seems to have after returning to life. His current compulsion is to fly to Portland. Only - and I don't understand this at all - Mitch seems FULLY AWARE that SOMEONE ON THE FLIGHT WILL TRY TO KILL HIM. This is where most people would turn around and run away. Mitch, on the other hand, perhaps sporting a death fetish to go along with his strange post-resurrection compulsions, spends his time in the waiting room playing 'let's guess who's going to kill me' with the other passengers.

My third problem concerns the minor characters. Let's take the air marshal, for example. Here's a man who gets paid to keep the airways safe. And yet, even though this flight has no more than 10 people on it, he doesn't notice that a hot girl has boarded the plane AFTER THE DOORS HAVE SHUT. Mitch noticed, but the eagle eyes of the law somehow overlooked it... The world seems populated by incompetents.

What I was hoping for was a well-paced fantasy/horror along the lines of 'Hellblazer.' Something that was character-driven. What I got was a story that can be summed up with one word: shallow. I read somewhere that it's possible to drown in something like an inch of water. With 'Resurrection Man', I feel confident I could lie face down in its story and not even get wet. There's just no depth.

OVERALL: If you've got $2.99 that's burning a hole in your pocket, pick up a second copy of Animal Man and give it to a friend. They'll thank you for introducing them to a great comic, and you'll thank me for helping you avoid an uninspired read.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12