Above the jump, I’ve not much detail to offer on Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez’s Absolute Martian Manhunter Vol. 1: Martian Vision, lest I spoil any of the wonderfulness within. Whether this is the best of the Absolute Universe books, all of which have been very impressive so far, I’ll leave others to debate; however, most of the “Big Three” Absolute books have had distinctly manga flavoring, and I will say Absolute Martian Manhunter is the most “indie darling” of the bunch.

Rodriguez’s work reminds of Rob Guillory on Chew and the whole thing is in a very Image vein — a deceptively restrained detective solving crimes against deceptively restrained art, short of the weirdness spiraling swiftly out of control in the background. It’s a thing DC struggles sometimes to reach, but reach it here Camp has.

I will say, too, starting Absolute Martian Manhunter, the book seemed to embody all my worst fears about DC’s Absolute Universe, and then by the end, it had assuaged them quite heartily.

[Review contains spoilers]

Again, so far Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, and Absolute Superman have all been great. I do still wonder the point of all of this, though. Is there a great audience out there clamoring for younger versions of our heroes, Clark and Bruce without kids and so on (and isn’t that why the New 52 ultimately didn’t last)? Is it this obsession that I don’t really understand of having our heroes interact with their own dopplegangers, incessant crossovers where two Supermen get together, marvel at the fact that they’re both Superman, and then return to their separate corners? Or is it that comics are like sharks, dying if they’re not constantly moving to produce something new, even when, when Absolute Batman gets up in the #100s, what’s new must always get old and something even newer must replace it, the craving never satisfied?

And then we have Absolute Martian Manhunter, clearly written and drawn brilliantly, that’s obvious almost immediately. John Jones driving around next to this hulking invisible martian is fantastic, Harvey done by way of superheroic suspense horror. But it is tonally so different from the other titles, so clearly existing in its own world (and aesthetic world), it’s hard to imagine how this will ever have anything to do with the rest of the DC Absolute Universe. Has DC done too well here, created a Martian Manhunter that doesn’t quite jibe with the rest? Will they have to re-reinvent the Martian Manhunter for the inevitable Absolute Justice League, rather like the New 52 having to reinvent its Hawkman?

And then, and then … oh, they got me. Camp’s story is reaching its gripping climax, night has fallen on Middleton and riotous violence lurks around every corner, one madman threatens to cut John open while another breaks into his family’s house, and it’s all because … Darkseid is. For the first time for me, explicitly, in the Absolute Universe Vol. 1s, it is “our” Darkseid, shown to be involved in machinations behind the scenes. We’ve seen it from the perspective of the DCU, but we’ve never seen it from the perspective of the DCAU until now, in the title that felt least likely to be the site of a major crossover event.

It doesn’t answer the question of “why” the Absolute Universe necessarily; Absolute Martian Manhunter could as easily have been Camp’s Elseworlds take on the Martian Manhunter mythos. But the “how” at least is assuaged, or, at least, the question of whether, if DC lets writers like Camp do such out there takes on the characters, will that require revamping and re-revamping the characters when it comes DC needs something more mainstream? Well, if Darkseid in Absolute Martian Manhunter is any indication, apparently they’re intent on making it work.

Martian Vision, the story itself, is such a clever mix, the martian in the backseat waxing philosophical one minute and beaming at playing “action-hero” the next. The chummy relationship between the martian and John, an alien buddy comedy, belies events that get horrific and more horrific and more horrific still, mass shootings and people set on fire, police brutality and child murder and outright riot. In some places, it was rather more violence than I would have expected for a DC Comic, if still just slightly off screen. And Middleton, presented as a town of immigrants, feels not accidental, the story of one big green visitor coinciding with visitors to this country never knowing when violence may be just around the corner.

We have many times had alternate versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, such that we already know the touchpoints to make the foreign familiar — Steve, Etta, Barbara, exile, and so on. Less so Martian Manhunter, and so I thought what Camp carried through was interesting. John Jones, of course, FBI agent, but then also the Human Flame, classic Martian Manhunter villain (one of J’onn’s few rogues). We do get the words “J’onn J’onzz,” but whether that’s the martian’s name or a phonetic spelling of “John Jones” isn’t yet clear. A white martian is again the villain (and much credit to Rodriguez’s use of color for how this at once feels so modern and also like a four-color pulp). Clearly Camp’s evocation of “Chocos” is a nod, though smartly here as a site of horror rather than a tasty snack.

One would hope the DC Absolute Universe doesn’t get to a place where Clark Kent is a Metropolis reporter for the Daily Planet (I don’t know, maybe it’s already there); I guess at that point I’d have to wonder again, what’s the point of this? But it’s hard to believe John Jones won’t be the Martian Manhunter (though I’m in no rush), and that did lead me to question whether the martian is actually there. He’s in John’s head, no one can see him — I do indeed love the buddy comedy, but I couldn’t help but think there’s another trick being played on us here.

Too, that much of John Jones' own history in Absolute Martian Manhunter Vol. 1: Martian Vision is obscured. We don’t as yet know why he brought his family to Middleton nor the outright mission of the Stochastic Terrorism Task Force; there are here the obvious mysteries, but I think Deniz Camp is hiding some less obvious ones between the panels, too. Javier Rodriguez’s book is a joy to look at, another Absolute title with a character design that rather begs for variant covers (the inevitable martian action figure should be a treat, too). Another winner, despite whether an Ultimate line is really the thing DC needs.

[Includes original and variant covers, cover gallery, sketches and clay sculpts]