Although not as widely known as Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman, the Martian Manhunter is nevertheless a beloved hero among DC fans. And soon he’ll take flight again in a 12-issue series from writer Steve Orlando and artist Riley Rossmo.
“He’s always been my favorite character since I was younger,” Orlando told The Hollywood Reporter, “so to be able to fire our best shot across the bow of doing an evergreen story with him, it’s super exciting. Every day I’m writing, I just can’t believe it; there’s no character I wanted to work on more.”
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Orlando and Rossmo will re-examine J’onn J’onzz’s origin and emotional journey, while also playing on the character’s roots as a detective, with the alien hero finding himself caught up in a murder mystery that may be tied to his past, before he was taken from Mars.
Martian Manhunter (and friend) by Riley Rossmo
“In the past, J’onn has been too perfect,” Orlando said. “One of the reasons people have not connected to him is that he was a perfect upright cop on Mars, and yes, his family died but it was no fault of his own, and then he came to Earth and he was perfect. Our favorite characters, that’s not them, you know? Spider-Man let the burglar go. Bruce Wayne was too afraid to save his family. This book gives J’onn that moment, and that’s the keystone as to why this book will be, is, the Martian Manhunter story, because we finally know the why. Why he strives to be so good on Earth, why he has this journey, because he’s never really had one before. All of our favorite characters overcome their faults, and we hope he’s going to do it here, but he has to have them first.”
Martian Manhunter will launch in December from DC.
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