Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Javier Pina(p), Ferndano Blanco(i), Steve Buccellato(c)
Publisher: DC
This week really hit me with just how much I have grown apart from DC. Not counting Powerpuff Girls, I purchased exactly one DC book, and that book is Manhunter. Let's look at the reasons why.
Manhunter is a strong, cunning female character who has the full use of her spine. She is also while very tough, very human and inviting to the reader. You want to root for this character because she acts like a super-hero. She has a very clear and concise plan. If she cannot successfully prosecute her prey in court then she will hunt down the killers and end their lives. She wants to fight crime. She wants to be a super-hero. She does not see her costume as a curse. I would argue that she is the true inheritor of the Huntress' legacy. Not the inferior mobbed up generic dipstick who bears Helena Wayne's alias.
Manhunter a.k.a. Kate Spencer is multidimensional but without relying on unrealistic or stereotype problems and issues. She doesn't merely express one emotion. She makes genuinely clever jokes. She can display believable awe at another person's skill. She can issue compassion and empathy as well as disgust. Her battle against the nicotine demons exhibit her dedication to being a super-hero.
As Kate Spencer, she has friends and therefore a history. The appealing Cameron Chase visits Kate. Her colleague Damon stops by to say a quick hello. While attempting to refrain from killing her ex-husband, she continues to work at her relationship with her son. She even makes a good impression to guest star Josiah Powers.
The presence of Powers brings into the game continuity. Everybody's just starry-eyed that Geoff Johns will soon be DC's continuity cop. I'll admit that the news raised my gooseflesh, but certainly not in a good way.
Marc Andreyko employs shared world continuity when its needed. Last issue Kirk DePaul a former Manhunter and former member of the Power Company was killed. Naturally, the leader of the Power Company would show up to identify the body.
Other moments of the shared world continuity arise but do not cloy or confuse. The robotic Manhunters haunt Mark Shaw's dreams. Cameron Chase mentions that she faced Batman and survived the encounter, and all of this continuity does something to strengthen the story or the characterization.
You do not really need to know the entire history of the DC multiverse in order to comprehend what occurs. Andreyko breezily explains Josiah's relationship with LeKirk. The Manhunters in Shaw's dreams are self-explanatory and segue to metaphor. Manhunter is one of those rare books that can appeal to fans of the pre-Crisis of both varieties as well as to new readers.
The story respects the readers intelligence. Marc Andreyko ingeniously comes up with a logical, clever fairplay solution to the identity of the Manhunter Murderer, and this nicely sets up the finale next issue. DC really should be promoting such a quality product better.
Marc Andreyko's natural storycrafting ability is matched by artists Javier Pina's and Fernando Blanco's skillful rendering of Manhunter and her world--still based on Jesus Saiz's original designs. This is a rather quiet issue building to what should be a slam-bang conclusion, but the artists make the quiet interesting. They make the cast proportionate and adhere to an aesthetic that pays attention to space, scale and realism.
Manhunter is a book that could have been printed before DC decided to erase their sixty plus year history with the Crisis. It's that good.
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