To hear the other books we discussed on episode 81 of Weekly Pulls, click here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793148/episodes/16914346
Last year when the Absolute universe was announced I was pretty damn excited. I love Elseworld stories, they are a place for creatives to do things they normally wouldn’t do with established characters. Let’s be honest, I’m sure there are boundaries for even the most successful writers on what they can and can’t do with certain characters. While I understand it from a business perspective, it gets stale. I wanted to see some wild and crazy ideas in the Absolute line, but so far it’s been pretty by the numbers. Sure, they are small changes to characters like Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman but as a whole it’s pretty much business as usual. The only book I’m still reading out of the original three is Superman.
Written by Deniz Camp and art by Javier Rodriguez, Absolute Martian Manhunter right out of the gate is exactly what I was hoping for with the Absolute universe.
We follow John Jones, who is a government agent and just survived a bombing attempt and is having very strange experiences. He’s able to hear and see thoughts, emotions and having visions. I’m not familiar at all with Martian Manhunter, but this was an absolute (yeah, I know) blast.
The artwork is phenomenal. The use of color, shades, tones and shadows is one of the most impressive I’ve ever read. Yeah, I know that sounds hyperbolic but it’s true. This book is a feast for your eyeballs. So many small details in each page and the use of color was especially impressive. I also have to applaud DC for adding some extra perks to the physical edition. There is a page you can hold up to light and see an image, how often does stuff like that happen?
The story is a psychedelic train ride. I don’t know where the story is going or if this level of artistry and creativity can be maintained, but I fell in love with this first issue. When so many books on the shelf are just telling the same stories over and over again, it’s refreshing to see something so out of the box and imaginative. I’m not sure how award nominees are named but I’m sure this book will be on a lot of lists.
