Rachel Reads & Reviews

FBI Agent John Jones has a problem. His brain has been infected by an alien consciousness calling itself “the Martian,” and its perception of reality is utterly incomprehensible to the human psyche. Now he must navigate this new status quo, all while balancing the deeply grounded and important duties of his day job! Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez take the Martian Manhunter into the Absolute Universe on a mind-bending, psychedelic trip!

A mind-melding new interpretation of the Martian Manhunter mythos, the art is what I got to talk about first. Rodriguez’ psychadelic layout takes readers right into the double-occupied mind of John Jones. It feels like classic sci-fi horror with the posession of John’s mind by an alien, screwing everything he sees and thinks. I also like how the color serves to visualize his telepathic abilities instead of only using thought bubbles.

Narrative-wise, Camp builds tension with John trying to regain control and come to a compromise with the martian inside him, and with the unstable psyche, raders have to question the crime scenes John is investigating. Camp also brings emotional pathos as John’s martian abilities can serve as a metaphor for mental illness or insert other abnormality and how much he wants to be normal again, and pushes away his wife/child, and learning to embrace her unconditional love and that he’s still himself. Readers may be disconcerted with the unlinear narrative and schizophrenic hallucinations, but I found the experimental style befittng for the telepath’s space horror genre.

Wally West’s world has been turned upside down. Now quite literally on the run from the people he once trusted, he must navigate an impossible world full of dangers he never knew existed – and he must do so without the help and guidance of his former mentor. The Flash joins the Absolute Universe in a bold new take on the DC Universe’s Scarlet Speedster, written by award-winning author Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth), and illustrated by Nick Robles.

While the Rogues have fresh takes in design,  motivations, and how their powers work, Wally’s story feels like a slightly modified reboot of the flash origins. You know, wannabe scientist, gets mentor  only Barry is more morally grey and evil. Oh, and Zoom is here wrecking chaos as usual. I’m sure Flash aficianados might have more to admire in regards to the complexities of being trapped in the Speed Force and the ethics of using unstable science stuff to get a person out of it, but I was invested beyond Wally and the rogues briefly teaming up. At least Robles’ art was vibrant with the Silver-Age color palette with the realism of modern character design.

Black Lightning and his family bolt into a new era of the DC Universe with a brand-new series! Jefferson Piece is a cornerstone member of the newly founded Justice League Unlimited, but his work with the team is far from the only thing on his plate. Shepherded by writer Brandon Thomas and artist Fico Ossio, the Pierce family must battle against new threats like the Masters of Disaster with the help of old allies like the Steelworks!

Black Lightning hasn’t gotten onto the Absolute DC label yet, but I read it last year and forgot to review. So here we are. Thomas’ five issue mini-series is not solely a Black Lightning story. It’s about family and grapples with the varying viewpoints of superpowers metas in a chaotic world. Taking on several real world allusions of politicians decrying the other while utilizing their labor behind everyone’s backs, Thomas shows why the political is personal for Black Lightning and his daughters.

What makes Black Lightning stand out is how embedded he is in the community, as a civilian and as a superhero, making him feel more on-the-ground hero compared to the Trinity in their revolving space tower. 

So, when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman suggest that his daughter, Grace should be taking a break since her recent losing control of powers in public makes metas look bad, you feel the stakes of underdog vs alpha even though they’re technically on the same side.

Grace’s arc of regaining confidence in herself was well-paced and liked the team up with Steel/Natasha Irons. Anissa’s relationship drama was confusing to me as it relies on previous history I’m not aware of, and I kept thinking “Anissa, more important things are happening besides your gf! Get it together!” 

The Masters of Disaster worked with their thematic powers although they were one-dimensional in their motivations except Volcana’s double-cross which is murky and might be set-up for something else. Unsure, but it’s clear that Waller and the future mayor of Dakota City have big plans that will shake up the DCU in the future. Thomas is signed up to do more Black Lightning, so I look forward to see how the next arc will unfold. Ossio’s artwork was sizzling, pun intended, and were particularly vivid in depicting the different powers for dynamic fight scenes.