Martian Manhunter #2 Review

Writer: Steve Orlando / Artist: Riley Rossmo / DC Comics Reading this book is like taking a drive through Topanga Canyon in Southern California. So many twists and turns emotionally, but the views are worth every second of it.  One of the strongest things about this series is the pacing. It’s very much a story that takes place equally at two different times and places. On Mars before everyone died and on Earth while J’onn is a cop. But you never really feel like you’re being pulled in either direction. It always feels like a natural transition even though it’s actually bouncing back and forth. This is mainly because each story is linked to the other emotionally. Understandably, J’onn is stuck in the past. He’s happy to be alive, but his heart is with his family and his people who are no longer around. So, any given instant on Earth can trigger a memory into his happy life back on Mars. But what’s a really strong point for the book is that these scenes in the past aren’t just flashbacks for flashback’s sake. Sure, they’re a great contrast to the stuff going down on Earth, but they inform the events to come just as much as the scenes with humans do. This is one of the rare instances where living in the past is probably gonna be a good thing.

It’s only issue 2 out of 12, but the clues to what’s gonna happen in this story are still pretty sparse. All we know so far is that it’s gonna take Manhunter’s policing skills and that it’s somehow linked to the past. But Orlando and Ross…