Daily Breakdowns 022 - Forgotten, But Not Really

Manhunter Vol. 5: Forgotten
Written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Michael Gaydos with Carlos Magno, Dennis Calero, Fernando Blanco, Brad Walker & Livesay
Published by DC Comics. $17.99 USD

I'll tell you, I've got about a dozen or more books on my nightstand, and even under my bed, that I've started and not yet finished. There are some great comics there, and little by little I'll get through them. But this weekend, what I felt most like reading was this, the fifth and final volume of Manhunter. I'm not one of the loyal followers who helped keep the title alive a little longer -- I started reading the trades maybe six months ago, and it wasn't long after I started that I heard the series was being canceled. But for this brief time, it was one of my favorite contemporary superhero books.

Now, I like a team book fine. I like the iconic solo book, too. But what I find I like most are the books about the lesser superheroes, the ones without so much continuity baggage. They're generally a little more self-contained, and have time and space to build their own worlds and supporting casts while the hero makes plenty of mistakes rather than always knowing the right move. For thirty-eight issues, Andreyko and company delivered a smart, attractive superhero book that was funny, sexy, mean and kind. Lead character Kate Spencer, the latest to take the name of Manhunter, was severely flawed and pretty darn unlikeable, even for a lawyer, but Andreyko put her through enough trials by fire, and with substantial growth, that readers who stuck around had a character to care about. And then there was the supporting cast, from original characters like the horny, slovenly tech genius ex-con Dylan Battles to familiar DCU characters given better dialogue like Obsidian, Director Bones and Cameron Chase.

This last volume features two storylines. The first one reflects not just Kate's core values as seen in the very first issue, but it also reflects her growth. She learns of hundreds of Mexican women having disappeared over the past several years and the possible connection to a large pharmaceutical company in the region. Being Kate, she virtually charges in, but now that she's proved herself a bit, she gets some help from the Birds of Prey. The adventure costs her her DEO gig, and arouses the ire of Amanda Waller, but serving justice as both Manhunter and a lawyer is worth it. In reading the book, I was kind of reminded of the television series, Weeds, which is about another single mom with a strange job, making frequent, dangerous mistakes but with usually good intentions.

Andreyko's stories feature the requisite action, and it's done with tension and humor, but it's not really what the book is about. As good a clue to this as any was bringing in Michael Gaydos as the artist for this last round of stories. Gaydos impressed readers on the Brian Michael Bendis-written Alias for Marvel, but it was with his real-looking, non-glamourous characters and atmosphere he brought. He does the same here, even in settings such as the El Paso scrub, and it's maybe a little distracting that Kate looks a lot like his design for Jessica Jones, but it's not a bad thing.

Rather than trying to tie up all his loose plot threads in the final two issues of the book, Andreyko takes an admitted tip from Alan Moore and skips ahead several years to tell a story about legacy heroes. Kate's son, Ramsey, who was shown to have some powers in the prior storyline, is now an adult and ready to go into the hero biz himself, along with his lover, but Kate's protectiveness conflicts with the stubborn streak she passed onto him. It's not a perfect story -- one wished for a little better ending for Dylan and Cameron, or maybe a better villain than Sweeney Todd, but it's still a pretty effective conclusion. The series started out as a distaff Daredevil -- lawyer seeks a different kind of justice after hours -- but over the three-plus years it became a story about personal responsibility and sacrifice. And family, always family. In a larger sense, it's sad that the various depictions of gay love and gay/straight friendship are so rare in superhero comics, but that shouldn't take anything away from Andreyko's accomplishments in making these some of the stronger, warmer elements of the book. Perhaps it's an example that there may be a good deal more freedom of expression available in superhero comics than suspected, and Andreyko made something notable and even a little noble with his freedom, while others just wanted to explain how yellow works or something like that. There are usually two or three special, under-the-radar superhero books every year. For three years, this was one of them.

Christopher Allen
September 21, 2009