Legend of the Mantamaji: Book Two

Writer: Eric Dean Seaton / Artist: Brandon Palas Legend of the Mantamaji: Book Two is out now and WOW did Eric Dean Seaton and his artistic team nail this one. I reviewed Book One back in November and any of my hesitations about Elijah Alexander (our hero) are put to rest in Book Two. Elijah steps out of a number of comic book tropes to become his own character. He develops into a Black American version of Black Panther, arrogant and cool, perhaps to a fault, but also passionate and engaging. He comes out swinging, driven by revenge and his new-found powers, but he does have a sense of right and wrong, which barely tethers him to his mentor, Noah. Together they take on the Four Horsemen, a new take on the old title.The Four Horsemen, (in order left to right) Touch of Death, Rage of Fire, Wrath of Plague, and Force of Stone, are an international conspiracy of rich and powerful, but low-profile, villains, supporting Brother Hope/Sirach in his ultimate goal — establishing a New World and bringing some select people back from the dead in the process. We also learn more about the female half of the old powers, the Sanctuants. These women can conjure biogenic energy from within their bodies, manifesting it as flame or force or just plain old ass-kicking. I was disappointed that they didn’t get in on some of the fighting action in this book, but they definitely establish themselves as a force to be dealt with, one that has no allegiance to either of the remaining Mantamaji. In Chap…