Absolute Martian Manhunter took me by surprise when it first debuted. Not only was it out there compared to the rest of DC’s Absolute comics, but it also doesn’t look or read like most comics on the stands. Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez continue to push the boundaries of what you can do on the printed page, with Absolute Martian Manhunter #4 showcasing what happens when people’s emotions boil over – figuratively and literally.
A massive heat wave has gripped the city of Middleton, leading to temperatures and tempers alike spiking. John Jones races to solve the crime, but thanks to the presence of the Martian Mindf**er, he knows that the cause is more than the heat. He races to solve the case, unaware that it’s putting an immense strain on his marriage…and that things are about to get worse than he imagined.
Once again I have to point out how amazing Rodriguez’s art is. From the very first page, there’s some mind melting imagery, both figuratively (a figure with a pure white orb for a head takes off its head and places it in the sky, letting the rays hit Middleton) and literally, with smoke climbing out of people’s ears. That smoke is a recurring visual, adding an ominous cloud of white to everything…and eventually leading to literal explosions of emotion that fill up the page.
DC
Those explosions are displayed in vibrant color, making it feel like Rodriguez threw buckets of paint on certain scene. But his best use of color has to be with John’s wife. In one of the very first pages, he says her emotions are written all over her face, and they quite literally are. Rodriguez’s lettering, combined with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s colors, gives each different emotion a special color. Words like “absent” and “alone” are rendered in dark orange, while “not happy” stands out due to being a vibrant pink. In fact, Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering continues to shift throughout the issue; one person keeps thinking “literal = metaphor” while walking by a doughnut shop and his thoughts take the form of a circle, showcasing how our environment can shape us.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #4 wouldn’t work without Camp’s pressure cooker of a script. Throughout the issue, he shows a series of incidents that escalate with the heat: spilled coffee leads to a bloody fistfight, an argument in a bowling alley sees pins and balls alike being flung into people’s faces, and a dispute over a property line escalates into an armed standoff. While there are extraterrestrial moments at play, Camp also isn’t afraid to point out how the small and petty things we hold in can boil over if given the push. It dovetails rather nicely with the rising tension between John and his wife, resulting in an ending that goes for the emotional jugular.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #4 sees temperatures and tempers rising, all of it captured in the way that only its creative team can pull off. Just when I think I’ve seen everything this book can pull off, it continues to surprise me. Camp and Rodriguez are pulling off something special here, so if you haven’t added this comic to your pull list, what are you waiting for?
You must be logged in to post a comment.