Martian Manhunter #1 (1988)

Martian Manhunter #1 (May, 1988)
"Fever Dream"
Writer - J.M. DeMatteis
Artist/Colorist - Mark Badger
Letterer - Bob Lappan
Editor - Andy Helfer
Cover Price: $1.25

Since we discussed Jemm, Son of Saturn yesterday, I figure why not check in with his sometimes analogue J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter?  I've had an affinity for the character ever since the bwa-ha-ha era of Justice League.  In the year since, I have gone back and checked out his time with what many refer to as Justice League Detroit.  He is usually quite a comforting presence, sometimes as the "straight man" among goofballs... other times just as the cornerstone among a pantheon of Godlike characters.

I was quite disappointed when The New 52! revoked his Justice League founder status in favor of Cyborg.  I've heard J'onn referred to often as the "heart and soul" of the League... and I find that quite the apt description.  He just belongs there... always has, always will.

Now let's turn that "comforting presence" on its ear and take a look at this spooky J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Badger miniseries from the mid-to-late 1980's.

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We open in Gotham City.  Batman has cornered a killer whose most recent victim was a young girl of only four-years.  The killer seems surprised that he is the target of the Batman, and maintains his innocence.  He is suddenly brought back to reality when he realizes he is holding a bloody knife and a baby doll.  So shocked is he by this realization that he throws himself off the... I dunno, fire escape (?) he is standing on.  Batman leaves and notes that the man really did not know what he had done.  It is then that he is approached by a wildly malformed J'onn J'onzz pleading with him for help.

We are soon swept into the titular "fever dream" of J'onn J'onzz.  He feels something inside of him... something he cannot touch, or even describe.  It is something that shakes him to his very core.  Before we get too deep, he awakens... inside the Batcave.  He tells Batman that he was the only one he could go to and immediately apologizes for getting him involved.  He feels that his association will only endanger him to whatever it is that is haunting him.

He is suddenly troubled by something he perceives as sinister.  Batman is confused.  He doesn't see whatever it is that has spooked his martian pal.  J'onn tries to escape the Batcave, however, Batman protests... thinking him unwell.  Batman tries to restrain him, and it ultimately comes to blows.  J'onn socks the Batman in the jaw with a thunderous right!

When Batman comes to he is rather thankful that J'onn decided to pull his punch... otherwise, his head would likely be in another area code.  As he gathers his druthers... he sees it.  The apparition that has J'onn so jumpy.  He reaches out to it... but it vanishes just after his hand goes through it.  He realizes it just might be time to involve the Justice League.

From here, we get back into the Martian Manhunter's head.  He is recounting his past, thinking about his arrival on Earth... and his association with certain Leagues who gather in the name of Justice.

He continues... and the name Erdel comes to mind.  Dr. Erdel was the man who unwittingly brought J'onn to Earth.  He had shot an energy beam into cross dimensional space... which somehow reentered the "real" universe on Mars... and, again... somehow results in J'onn winding up in the fella's lab.  Unfortunately the poor doc's heart couldn't take it... he dropped dead upon seeing our main Martian.

This trip down memory lane somehow brings about the realization that Batman was right... there was no apparition.  The entire thing was a result of a fever dream.  We learn that during an adventure with the Justice League, J'onn had absorbed a sentient cell... a spore into his body.  He sees this as the cause of not only his fever, but his bodily distortion.  He refuses to let this "fever dream" defeat him.

Suddenly... the apparition returns.  J'onn is steadfast in his belief that this is all just a manifestation of his fever... and ultimately all in his head.  The apparition thinks this belief is positively adorable, and taunts J'onn to no end.  The word "father" is repeated throughout this sorta battle between the two... the baddie informs J'onn that it sees a sickness in him... a sickness it intends to cure.  J'onn breaks away... and flees through the city.

We rejoin Batman as he addresses the Justice League at their New York Embassy.  He pleads his case, and requests their aid in assisting the Martian Manhunter.  They all seem on board, however, Captain Atom... of all people, is the lone voice of resistance.  Well, maybe resistance is a bad word for it... he's just really uncertain.  Batman takes this as "whining" and actually calls him out for it.  This kind of feels out of character for both of these gentlemen... but what do I know?

The chapter draws to a close back in the mind of the Martian Manhunter.  He repeats the word "father" some more... and appears to feel some sort of calling... something might just be calling him home.

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Yeah... this one was a lot of fun.  I did not see this coming.  I gotta be straight with you... I'm not sure I understood some of it, but the story is so intriguing I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.  I'm not sure just what this is that is haunting J'onn... and it's been so long since I've read the Justice League that I have long forgotten whatever this "spore" was.

The Batman bit at the open... really not sure where that's going... or even if it is going anywhere.  It's an awfully specific thing to include, so I would imagine it will be addressed down the line.  A serial killer whose victims include young children seems a strange thing to add to a story for no reason, right?  I will say that Batman appearances are a bit gratuitous, however, in this instance... it both fit and worked.

I gotta give it to J.M. DeMatteis... he does some fine mental/emotional anguish.  We really get this... unbalanced... unhinged... and uncomfortable feeling inside of J'onn's head.  His memories are repeatedly interrupted by whatever it is inside him... the "sentient cell".  There are repeated mentions to "father"... it's all quite nebulous... but I'm sure there is a payoff on the horizon.  One that... unfortunately, I'm going to have to track down.  This series isn't one I come across all that often... or at all.  Gonna have to add the remainder of this series to my "watch list".

Now... the art.  I'm sure this is the most contentious bit for most readers.  I... really dug it.  It's not a style I would seek out... however, for a story such as this... it's really quite fitting.  We get strange scenes of body horror... and Mark Badger's art really aids in getting this across... without being too graphic or visceral, which... if you ask me, would not have served this story all that well.  This is not supposed to be that kind of story... it is far more cerebral than that.  His take on, the Justice League for example, may not be to everyone's (or even my) liking, but I maintain he was the right artist for this project.

Overall... yeah, definitely worth checking out.  This isn't a "single issue" recommendation... however, if you come across the entire four-issue mini at a decent price, you shouldn't hesitate to snatch'em up.

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Interesting Ads:

Green Lantern (vol.3) #37 (1993)

Green Lantern (vol.3) #37 (March, 1993)
"The Final Game"
Gerard Jones - Friscophile
Mark Badger - Clevelandista
Romeo Tanghal - Voorheesian
Albert De Guzman - Edisonite
Anthony Tollin - Fairfielder
Eddie Berganza - Babylonian
Kevin Dooley - Cosmopolitan
Cover Price: $1.25

I was so excited to begin reading Green Lantern.  Back in the early 1990's, I was a Marvel kid.  I did not read any DC Comics (barring the Death of Superman story line), and I had decided that Green Lantern would be "my" DC title.  My comic-reading friends, also Marvelites, had all broadened their four-color horizons to include DC books... one picked up the various Lobo books, another got into the Legion of Super-Heroes, yet another stuck with the Superman titles following the Death and Return story line.  I was determined to also get into a DC book, and Green Lantern was my pick.  The first issue I was to grab was #37...

Imagine my disappointment when, upon arrival after waiting a couple of weeks (which may as well have been forever) to finally start my GL journey, I find this comic.  Hal Jordan looks positively ancient on the cover... and he's fighting demons... on a football field.  This is the kind of cover that would adorn an inventory/fill-in issue of Web of Spider-Man.  I picked it up, flipped through it, and... yeah... he's fighting demons on a football field.  I sheepishly placed the comic back on the shelf, and did not revisit Green Lantern until around the turn of the century.  By then Hal Jordan was a distant, yet persistent memory, and the book was starring he who would become "my" Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner.

In the years that followed, I have attempted to fill holes in my Green Lantern library.  I am a back-issue bin junkie, especially those of the 25 and 50 cent variety.  Often in those cheap-o bins, you come across a concentrated cache of a certain title.  Last Summer (2015), while scouring a... I wanna say 40 cent (yeah, forty) bin, I came across a few dozen GL issues from this era... including the one that I had thrown back those many years before.

Was it as awful as the cover would suggest?  Was I a fool to have dismissed it by its cover alone?

Let's find out.

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We open on Hal Jordan discussing his relationship with Carol Ferris with his mechanic... Pie.  It's still odd seeing a character referred to as "Pie" (short for "Pie Face", natch... the Silver Age was a different time).  Whenever I reread Green Lantern from the Gerard Jones era, I find myself enjoying the more mature Hal Jordan.  He is no longer a "Hard Traveling Hero", he is now a "Hard Traveled Hero".  Hal is torn on whether or not to accept Carol's marriage proposal.  He has left her hanging for over a month, and is both scared of losing her... and committing to her.  This is a fun side of Hal to behold.  It seems post-Rebirth Hal is almost too cool, seeing him sweat humanizes him.

He invites Pie to accompany him to the SuperBowl, where his favorite team the Bay City Gold-Miners are playing against the Mudville Maroons (who just so happen to be Guy Gardner's favorite).  The book never outright says "Super"bowl, instead referring to it as "The 'Bowl".  It's makes some of the dialogue seem unnatural and stilted, however, its obvious why they had to do it.  The more I type the word "bowl" the stranger it looks... like it shouldn't be a word.

Upon arrival, Hal and Pie are unpleasantly surprised to find themselves accompanied by Guy Gardner and his date, runway model Lacey Lovitz... though Pie says he's never seen her on Hal's runway.  A demon called Sapolu requires immense power in order to break through dimensional walls and invade Earth.  This demon decides that the power created by the excitement created when the fan-fave Gold-Miners win the 'Bowl would suffice.  As Hal sees it, he needs to make sure his favorite football team does not win the Big Game.

Before he can put a plan into action, the Miners score a touchdown.  The excitement generated from the TD is enough for Sapolu to break on through.  Guy Gardner rings up some football gear (this was during Guy's time wielding a yellow power ring), and charges at the demon.  He spears the demon out of the stadium, where the excitement "energy trail" wanes.  Fearing it will ultimately become chained to this Earth without its power, Sapolu high-tails it back through a dimensional breach.  Ultimately the day is saved, and for the first time ever, the 'Bowl ends... in a tie.

--

This was a much better issue than its cover would suggest.  Nothing amazing, nor anything offensively bad... just another issue of Green Lantern.  Not really worth seeking out, unless you're a Green Lantern completionist, or if you can nab it on the super-cheap.  Hal's characterization is novel in comparison to how he has been depicted post-rebirth, there is no emotional spectrum, and the story takes place on Earth.  I always preferred a more grounded Green Lantern.  The cosmic stories are fine, however, after so many of them, I find them harder to truly care about.  I am glad that I put this one back on the shelf 20 odd years back, I would not have appreciated any of the character beats, and would have found the action to be far lacking when compared to my regular Marvel fare.

This era of Green Lantern has never, to my knowledge, been collected.  The first story line of this volume has been (along with the Emerald Dawn miniseries'), however the trades had not continued on to include this issue.

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Interesting Ads:

Fairly disappointing ads this time out... a few 16-bit video games and some trading cards.  A few neat house ads, however...

How to Draw: Lobo
(Hope yer takin' notes!)

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Quotes:

Hal: "Hey, ask any superhero you want if he'll go up against Sinestro or Entropy and he'll say 'Lemme at 'im!'  Then ask him about marriage and see if he sounds so brave!"

Sapolu: "No, Green Lantern!  You've been called for pass interference--by the great referee Sapolu!  HaHaHaHaHa"

Sapolu (to Hal): "No, You are not Green Lantern.  You are like Green Lantern, but your hair isn't cut in a bowl!"

Chubby: "Hey, Skeeter!  You want to go spit off the bridge?"
Skeeter: "Gee, Chubby, only if we don't get in trouble!"

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Enjoy the Super'Bowl!