Preview: Legend of the Mantamaji Book Three, Available Soon

Writer: Eric Dean Seaton / Artist: Brandon Palas I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Preview copy of Legend of the Mantamaji, Book Three, and it wraps up the origin story of our hero, Elijah Alexander, nicely. I’m going to avoid giving too much away in this Preview: The suspense of what happens is really well drawn, and key to the fun. If you want to it all to be a surprise, just know that Book Three doesn’t disappoint. This is a graphic novel series that sets out to create a new Black superhero mythos and succeeds. It does so with a balance of good vs. evil, and enough grey area to keep the reader guessing. The art team of Brandon Palas (artist), Andrew Dalhouse (colorist), and Deron Bennett (letterer) do a good job, turning in a high-quality look and feel that is unique but also easy to follow. There are plenty of male and female characters, with the Mantamaji and their Sanctuant sisters working well together as the male/female halves of the universe. That is one of the key things I like about the series: that it doesn’t just have a female side-kick, but female allies that have their own different powers and purposes. In a work that wants to build heroes, this one gives us heroines too, ones that aren’t cookie cutter, or watered down. This is a fun graphic novel that is suitable for readers 10 and up. That said: SPOILER ALERT! As you expect, Elijah collects the last ounces of power that will make him able to stand up to Sirach as he learns the final lesson: How’s that f…