Continuing on the theme of the new series, I realised that given how many years I’ve been reading comic books now, there aren’t very many DC Comics series that premiered after 2011 that I haven’t heard of or at least read. So imagine my surprise when I was going through my entire collection and stumbled upon a Martian Manhunter series. Now despite him being one of the all-time strongest powerhouses in the DC universe, I hadn’t read any of his solo novels, so I was psyched to see what DC could come up with.
‘The Epiphany’ starts with J’onn J’onzz, aka the Martian Manhunter, being asked by NASA to fly to Mars to check on some of their astronauts that were on a mission there, and hadn’t been heard from. As J’onn takes a trip down memory lane, he is met by a White Martian who has killed all the astronauts and declares “The Epiphany is here”. We are then introduced to three separate characters, Agent Wessel of the F.B.I., The Pearl, who is a female thief working in Dubai and Mr Biscuits, a large alien with an affinity for biscuits. Cut back to the Martian Manhunter who has realised that he is a living weapon designed to wipe out the Earth so that Mars can live again. He attempts to destroy himself but is stopped by members of the Justice League. Nevertheless, he is successful, and the world has to cope with an invasion of White Martians. We cut back to our three mysterious characters who are being led towards each other by a disabled young man named Lee. Agent Wessel attempts to get to the bottom of the reason why Lee killed his mother, only to stumble upon Mr Biscuits who informs the agents that he is the Martian Manhunter. Confused the group make their way to a mysterious island where The Pearl is waiting with an old man named Mould. What exactly is the connection between these four people? And where does Lee fit into all this? Can “The Epiphany” be stopped? All questions that the novel attempts to answer!
I think straight off the bat, I expected this novel to be a little better than it was. I had high hopes and although the first few issues started well, the rest of the novel seemed to be a confusing mess. I can appreciate what the writers were attempting to do with the story, but it was complicated and in my opinion, did not pay off. As the first novel in the series, I would have liked more Martian Manhunter action, rather than his destruction, followed by some random mystery to do with some random villainous plot. In that sense, there was little character development. I think I’d probably like more interaction with other characters going forward because I do believe the J’onn can be the heart of the DC universe!
The artwork was just average. I had nothing bad to say about it, but I also had nothing good to say either, unfortunately. The covers were interesting, but overall, they were not enough to save this rather mediocre novel. I certainly hope that the writers can turn things around in future novels!
Favourite Panel:
People forget that this guy is one of the most powerful DC heroes ever!
Favourite Character:
It’s Mr Biscuits. I know they’re all part of one character, but that’s not the point. Why does he love Oreos so much?
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★½
Artwork: ★★½
Enjoyability: ★★
Re-readability: ★
Level: Impossible