Absolute Martian Manhunter Issue 8 is published by DC Comics under the Absolute imprint with writing credits by Dennis Camp, art by Javier Rodriguez, and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
Catching Up
Absolute Martian Manhunter continues to be the most experimental and intriguing title in the Absolute line—and quite possibly the best ongoing comic book on the stands today.
When the series returned from hiatus in December, many fans (myself included) were skeptical about its transition from a tightly mapped miniseries to an ongoing title. Maintaining that specific momentum under the pressures of a long-form plot is no small feat. Fortunately, the two issues since the comeback have been perfectly up to par, delivering the same deep, introspective commentary on society, mental illness, and the core of the human condition.
While the threat of the White Martian still looms, we’ve now been introduced to the mysterious "Agency." Who are they, and what do they want? While definitive answers remain elusive, this issue successfully sheds more light on their dark motives.
Talking About The Plot
Issue #8 follows John as he attempts to repair his relationship with his estranged wife and son, while the Martian splits off to track the White Martian’s next move. Crucially, the Green Martian remains completely unaware that it is currently occupying John’s son as a host—a plot point that feels primed for a massive payoff. We also gain more insight into the “Agency,” which is clearly being positioned as the new "Big Bad" for the series. From the little we’ve seen, they are an incredibly promising addition to the lore.
The issue continues the fantastic social and metaphysical commentary that has defined the series. There is a particularly gnarly and memorable moment where John’s boss grills him while eating chicken; the meat itself oozes high emotional energy, lamenting its life and ultimate fate as livestock. It’s a sequence that feels both profound and refreshingly out of place for a traditional superhero book.
The narrative also excels at exploring social constructs and the various ways we distract ourselves from the existential reality that nothing truly matters in the grand scheme. At times, the tone reminded me of Grant Morrison’s seminal work, The Invisibles, with its shared focus on spirituality and secret conspiracies. It makes me wonder if Deniz Camp was influenced by Morrison’s run—a question I’d love to ask him.
The Gnosticism of Absolute
This issue really did a great job of feeling Kafkaesque in how it portrayed a quasi-societal conspiracy where humanity almost lives a lie in order to protect themselves from the unavoidable and suffocating Anti-Life Equation—a force that exists in everything and will destroy you if exposed for too long. The way John has this sudden awareness of everything since bonding with The Green Martian really reminded me a lot of John Carpenter’s They Live, which also features a massive alien conspiracy. Ultimately, I think this issue does a very good job of keeping the momentum of the series going; it keeps the reader asking questions about where the story is headed and even asking themselves deeper questions about the reality around them. The series has actually made me want to check out some philosophy books that explore similar metaphysical themes.
I personally feel that the series has been really great at establishing characters and writing them in a fantastic way, with dialogue that doesn’t feel corny or predictable but rather quite human, which has really helped me fall in love with them. In this issue, I really wanted John to mend his relationship with his wife, and I’m not really looking forward to the emotional blow he’ll suffer when The White Martian reveals itself within his son. To me, I feel that Issue #8 begins to give clues about the series’ wider place within the Absolute Universe and the nature of Darkseid’s universe—and how it could sustain itself. I mean, it is a reality built on the Anti-Life Equation and is therefore the entire opposite of what the regular DC Comics universe is.
Redefining Evil
It actually feels reminiscent of Gnosticism, with the belief that the creator of all things may not actually be a great divine being with our best interests at heart. Rather, the creator made us by mistake or potentially is outright evil, which is why there is so much darkness in the world, and only by ascending and becoming our best selves can we change the world. With us understanding that the Absolute world is built on Anti-Life, does that mean that humans are more predisposed to hurting themselves, and that the emergence of metahumans is changing that status quo? Maybe that's what the Agency is tasked with doing: keeping the status quo.
I think both DC's Absolute Universe and Marvel's soon-concluding Ultimate Universe share that interesting aspect in common: the idea of the creator of reality being morally evil rather than benevolent. However, I think Absolute Martian Manhunter is the only series to explore the implications of what this could mean in any meaningful depth. Honestly, this series inspires me to want to get into philosophy.
The Artwork of the Green Martian
The art of this series continues to be stellar and really heightens the book in tone and quality. I've talked in my prior Absolute Martian Manhunter reviews that the style reminds me of 90s and 00s indie comics such as Ghost World and Persepolis, which I believe still holds true and feels like a creative homage to those deep, introspective comics of the past. I think the fantastic inking really helps with the style, and without it, the artwork really would not pop as much as it does.
I think the choice of colors, especially when assigning them to different emotions or beings, really aids the story on its own. As much as I praise the art in this series, I really don't think it would work as much if utilized on Absolute Batman or Absolute Superman, because they are much different series with completely different tones that are trying to tell radically different stories.
In Conclusion
Absolute Martian Manhunter #8 proves that the series has legs, and that those legs are strong. At this point all speculation about the series becoming an ongoing has gone, and I feel very confident about its future.