Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 was yet another success for DC’s Absolute line. The Absolute DC Universe boasts the best superhero comics right now, and Absolute Martian Manhunter, by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez, may be one of the best single issues of the Absolute line. DC’s Absolute line has changed a lot about the characters, but that’s not the only reason that the line has been so successful. Absolute Martian Manhunter shows off the other reason that people love the Absolute line — the fact that it’s pushing forward what superhero comics can be. Absolute Martian Manhunter is an example of two creators doing amazing work on a book that they are obviously excited about. The series has already been extended, all because the artistry of the book has grabbed reader attention.
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Comics are one of the more maligned creative mediums out there, mainly because of the view that comics were just for little kids. However, that has never had to be the case. Over the decades, comics have become more and more of an artistic medium, one that Absolute Martian Manhunter shows perfectly. Comics can be fine art, and Absolute Martian Manhunter is a book that shows this off wonderfully.
Comics like Absolute Martian Manhunter Are More than Just Words and Pictures
Comics started their road to artistic evolution in the Silver Age. Pop art was all the rage back then, with artists like Andy Warhol taking the visual language of the mundane and showing it from a new perspective. Comics played perfectly into the idea of pop art, with creators like Jim Steranko creating intricate pieces of art that still look amazing over sixty years later. However, comics were still seen as a medium for children, so even the best creators weren’t given the type of adulation that they would have if they worked on any other kind of art. All of this changed starting in the ’80s, when the work of creators like Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Art Spiegelman, and others started bringing a new maturity to comics. Since then, there have been many comics that would be considered “art”, that highest form of human creativity, but the medium is still looked down upon by others in more artistically acceptable mediums.
The best example of this is the way that comics are talked about by the fans of superhero movies. There is actually very little respect in the film industry for comics, despite MCU fans pretending that it’s otherwise. Writers, directors, even actors seem to have a disdain for comics, looking at them as a less mature artform than film, which is why superhero movies are so likely to change so much about their adaptations. Before the days when Marvel Studios made superhero movies into billion dollar box office success, comics on the big screen were often quite different from what readers got on the page, as the creatives involved look down on comics. There’s even a lot of that in Marvel Studios to this day; there’s always the feeling that the people who work there don’t really feel that the stories they are adapting deserve the kind of artistic respect that film gets. MCU fans in particular are also quite disrespectful to comics with the popularity of the movies not exactly translating to comic interest.
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Comic books can be a very simplistic medium. Superhero comics, for example, are often just simple morality plays crossed with soap operas. However, there’s something about the medium of comics that is actually perfect storytelling. The first human art we’ve ever found has more in common with comics than something like film or even novels, and there’s something about the union of art and words that allows comics to put the reader into the story that other mediums just can’t. The only medium that can really compare are video games. Comics are very much built around audience participation, with the reader giving the story movement and informing the events of the book from memory. This interaction with the medium, and the way that the reader can understand the characters, makes comics an amazing way to tell stories meant to connect with people.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 takes everything that comics do so well and push it to new directions. The writing and art establish a vibe from the first page, dropping the reader into the head of a character who doesn’t know who he really is and what’s going on in his life. There’s a sense of confusion, of dark secrets, that a film wouldn’t be able to give the audience in the same way. The art is perfect; it informs the script and brings it to life, with Rodriguez using mindbending visuals to take the readers into a world unlike they’d experience. Each page demands of the reader an amount of attention that is very different from other mediums; the fact that the reader controls the pace of the story allows them to marvel at the pages of the book. The story has a depth to it, pulling the reader in, and making them want to see what comes next, learn the meaning of the story, and why everything is so insane. Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 could never be brought to another medium and work in the same way; in fact, it’s even the kind of the book where owning the physical copy is actually important. There’s something about interacting with Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 physically that brings a facet to the story can’t be replicated.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 Is a Unique Piece of Art That Deserves More Praise
Comics, in general, aren’t given the type of respect that they deserve as an artform. Sure, there’s comics like Watchmen, Maus, The Sandman, and others that are respected by people outside of the comic community, but there’s still the stigma that comics are a kiddie medium and therefore don’t deserve the kind of artistic appreciation that a film, novel, or painting get. Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 is an example of what comics can be when the creators decide to really cook.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 is a colorful pop art masterpiece that’s visuals can draw anyone in. The bright colors and strong line work reveal more detail and secrets the more you look at them, taking readers on a hallucinatory journey into the life of John Jones. Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 is “merely” a superhero comic, but the way that the issue uses art and words to create a story that draws reader in shows just what a superhero comic can be. It’s an experience unlike anything else out there in the artistic world, and it needs to be praised as such.
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