Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Martian Manhunter #8

By Hervé St-Louis
March 27, 2007 - 23:37

The Martian Manhunter mini-series introducing the character to the DC universe, again ends with some conspiracies solved and a whole lot of plots unresolved.

This series ended as it started, badly. Lieberman pulls out a special surprise out of his bag just to let us know that the Martian Manhunter had been tricked by someone better than him. All the talk about the Manhunter felt jealous about Superman went out the door. This issue was a complete waste of a complete waste of a mini-series. The Martian Manhunter is one of my favourite characters. His appearances in the Justice League cartoon series have made him a strong contender for serious handling by DC Comics.

Instead of reviving the character, Lieberman made his whole history more convoluted and weird. It made his appearance more strange and less appealing to readers. The Martian Manhunter has not gained anything here and I didn’t even care about the ending of this series. A decade ago, Gerard Jones wrote a three-issue series that had lots of spin, intrigues and where the Martian Manhunter second guessed himself every step of the way. The conclusion to the current series is not so far off the old Martian Manhunter American Secret series, however, the treatment of the character was wrong. Everything from the monologues to the long exposition and padded stories that should have been no more than a four-issue series made me long for the older series.

Instead of reprinting this series in June 2007, DC Comics should offer a new collected edition of the American Secret series instead.

The artwork continues to be middle of the road with some panels looking better than others. I’d like to know since when can Martians shoot energy out of their hands? Is that what they call an artistic license?

6/10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12