Resurrection Man (vol.2) #1 (2011)
Resurrection Man (vol.2) #1 (November, 2011)
“Pronounced Dead”
Writers – Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist – Fernando Dagnino
Colorist – Santi Arcas
Letterer – Rob Leigh
Editors – Eddie Berganza & Rex Ogle
Cover Price: $2.99
We took a look at the first volume of Resurrection Man yesterday… and, as luck would have it… I was able to procure the first issue of the second volume last night in a 40-cent bin!
Let’s do that compare and contrast thang.
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We open with our friend Mitch waking up at the morgue… that is, waking up from being dead of course. This doesn’t seem to surprise him, so we might assume this isn’t the first time he’s experienced the sensation. He mentions that he has the taste of metal in his mouth as he breaks into a doctor’s locker and steals his identification and credit cards.
Next we know Mitch is at the airport and he’s headed to Portland. Why? Well, he doesn’t know… it’s just a compulsion. It would seem that with each resurrection our man is given, in addition to a new power… a “mission”. He observes his fellow travelers before boarding the plane.
As they take off, he is joined by a “hot in a Gaga kind of way” woman (with a teardrop tattoo). He didn’t even see her get on the plane… but, here she sits.
She tells him all about the other passengers… what is compelling them to Portland. Thinking it’s just a flirty game, Mitch plays along. Things then turn deadly serious when Gaga informs him that his soul is “overdue”. Oh yeah, she also transforms into a crazy half-demon/half-angel thing… so there’s that too.
Mitch takes the fight outside as to keep the other passengers “safe”. I mean, the roof of the plane is torn off… so, unless Superman’s in the area… or Mitch’s new power is being Superman, these poor folks are about to wind up on that island with the smoke monster.
Remember how I said that Mitch mentioned that metal taste? Well, that’s about to come home to roost. Mitch grabs the Angel/Demon, and his newfound magnetic field gets them both zapped by lightning.
Then… he gets sucked into one of the planes engines, and he… along with everyone on board… dies.
He wakes up in a forest… maybe the did land on LOST island! Nah, these woods are on fire… and as he runs we see one of the lazier “New-52 Number Ones” Pandora cameos.
He notices a group of fire fighters… and engages in his new power, uhhh… turning into water?
Back in the city we started in, the new-look Body Doubles have arrived at the Coroner’s Office in search of their “John”… that is, “John Doe”, not sure that was clear. They’re pretty crazy… questioning people while they’re gagged. And when they don’t spill the beans (because, ya know… they’re gagged) they kill ’em.
Back in the woods, we see that one of the firefighters has that same “Gaga” teardrop tattoo… so, the chase will continue. It’s also alluded to that this might turn into a war between Heaven and Hell for Mitch Shelley’s soul… at the very least, a “bidding” war.
We close out with a look at Madame Xanadu as she flips through her tarot deck… which, is pretty much all she ever does. She is puzzled that no matter how many times she shuffles, the Resurrection Man always comes back.
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This take, while a bit different (at least as far as I’ve read), is still really good. I definitely dug this.
This time around Mitch is used to the resurrecting routine… and has a grasp on everything that comes with it. It’s sort of like a Quantum Leap approach, wherein every time he “leaps” into a new life, he has a mission he must complete. Here, he was given his metal/magnetic powers… likely with the express purpose of facing off against that teardrop Angel/Demon entity.
During the brouhaha, the Gaga-gal tells Mitch a thing or two about fate. She informs him that none of the passengers were ever supposed to arrive in Portland anyway. The plane was always going to crash… which, I suppose might assuage Mitch’s “guilt” in the situation.
Just like in the first volume, we do get more than one resurrections, which I wouldn’t expect to be the norm. Though, this title does unfortunately get canned pretty quickly, so perhaps they are able to rack up the body count throughout.
Art here was really good. Definitely suiting the tone of this “darker” DC book… I really dug it. Really liked the coloring too. Just like the pencils, it went from kinda muted (but not in a Vertigo sort of way) to bombastic and back again.
It’s a shame this book couldn’t find an audience either time, as it’s a pretty interesting concept, and an overall fun read. Including the “missions” and a potential war between Heaven and Hell really ups the urgency here… adding to the mythos of the Resurrection Man character without really contradicting what’s come before.
I’d say this is definitely worth a glance. It’s a short run (13 issues), and it’s very likely sitting in your local cheap-o bin. If you want it, and need it right this very second… it is available digitally (for a buck).
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