Martian Manhunter #5 Review

Writer: Steve Orlando / Artist: Riley Rossmo / DC Comics Martian Manhunter returns where the last issue left off — a confrontation between J’onn and an angry Martian from his past hellbent on revenge. To echo Andy Kubert’s quote on the front of this issue: This is a story about balance. From the narrative craft, the art on the page, and the relationships between the characters, this book is about juggling more than one point of view. The strongest instance of this is the way that the book is structured. We spend equal amounts of time in the present and the past. We see life on Earth and on Mars. It’s been really intriguing to see J’onn’s story unfold in a way that shows us more than it tells, but his life on Mars and his past have always been separate from his life on Earth and his present. What I find really interesting is that when those two things intersect, J’onn’s life is thrown astray. This is mirrored by J’onn’s relationship with his partner Meade. When they’re working together, everything is great, but now that J’onn’s lost Meade’s trust (you know, when she found out he was an alien), they’re separated and things couldn’t be much worse for J’onn individually, and the case they’re working on.

All of that is simply because the balance has been disrupted. J’onn was living a lie, but he was living. He had a second chance at life, and he was taking advantage of that every chance that he could get. You could argue that this wasn’t sustainable, but for the time being, it…