From the second you venture into Absolute Martian Manhunter No. 1, you're grabbed by the phenomenal artwork and beautiful colors of Javier Rodriguez (Zatanna: Bring Down the House). Then, the story starts. Writer Deniz Camp (Ultimates) begins with philosophical questions of why people do the things they do. For example, “Why do some people become firefighters, and others arsonists?” That’s on top of the immediate hit of an explosion that should have killed the lead character of this story. All of this nearly sensory overload happens in the first few pages.
Absolute Martian Manhunter No. 1 creative team
- Writer: Deniz Camp
- Artist: Javier Rodriguez
- Colorist: Javier Rodriguez
Things continue to get better as the issue continues, as our lead character (Agent John Jones) starts to realize that something is wrong with him and how he sees the world. There's colorful smoke in places there shouldn't be, and he knows things about people that he shouldn’t. After freaking out and running after an interview for a case, it’s revealed that it’s not a miracle that John survived the explosion. He was saved by the Martian Mind****er.
The fans recognize how amazing the first issue is by its support and DC Comics sees the series' potential. That’s why DC knows the right thing to do would be to keep Absolute Martian Manhunter going.
In a post on Bluesky, Deniz Camp revealed the news, saying, “I can now officially say that Absolute Martian Manhunter, thanks to your overwhelming response, has been extended to 12 issues.” While Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman have had two artists during their runs, that won’t happen with this series. Camp said, “Every issue will be by the same creative team, no fill ins. :) It's going to be great.” With Scott Snyder’s Absolute Batman officially getting a two-year run, this news shows that DC Comics' newest Elseworld isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
As this article is being written, there are four comic books in DC Comics' Absolute Universe (they star Batman, Superman, Wally West as The Flash, and Wonder Woman). Up next is Absolute Green Lantern, written by Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk and Immortal Thor) with artist Jahnoy Lindsay (Luke Cage and She-Hulk). It was also announced that a major event will take place in the Absolute Universe.
In regards to the upcoming Absolute event, Scott Snyder said, "We're planning, without giving too much away, but big spoiler, we're planning a second beat of that meta-story, a big event towards the end of this year.” There’s not much to go on there, but, hopefully, it will be the first time Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman meet.
There aren’t any other Absolute Universe comic books set to debut in the near future, and no other titles have been revealed. However, with this Elseworld’s success, more creators should be getting an opportunity to bring altered versions of our favorite heroes and villains to life. There are a lot of artists and writers that can do amazing things to characters like Aquaman, Red Hood, and more. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to see who’s next.