Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Illustrated by Fernando DagninoIt’s the return of Mitch Shelly — and he’s still dead.
Resurrection Man can’t stay dead for long, though — and with each rebirth comes new and unexpected powers. But his many returns have not gone unnoticed, and forces are gathering to learn what’s so special about him — and to see which of them will finally stop Resurrection Man dead.
I didn’t read the original run of Resurrection Man; it occurred during my hiatus from comics. However, the concept is a really intriguing one: (for those who don’t know) every time Mitch Shelly is killed, he is resurrected a half hour later with a new power. This means that each issue has the ability to feature multiple iterations of the character and provide almost limitless possibilities for what he can do.
So, how did the first issue of this re-launched series fare? Do we need to kill it so it will come back different, or do we want this to stick around for a while?
Click below and find out.
The book does a nice job of bringing us up to speed on how the character works without too much needless exposition. We see Mitch waking up from death with a magnetic power, and then follow him on a mission that he really doesn’t understand. This reminds me a little bit of Dr. Samuel Beckett on Quantum Leap, insomuch as he never knows what his mission will be leading him to, but he has a hunch as to where to start. As a super-nerd, any allusion to Quantum Leap is welcome.
What the book doesn’t do so well is give us reason to care about Mitch; at least not yet. We see that he is a decent enough guy, and we can imagine the pain and frustration of his situation, but we know very little about him. Much more time and energy is spent exploring his (temporary) magnetic powers than his (permanent) personality traits.
The most interesting part of the book, to me, is the idea of both Heaven and Hell being after Mitch. This puts the character in an interesting position: would he rather fall into their clutches and remain dead, or continue to die over and over again?
The art, like the story, is good, but not great. Fernando Dagnino is a good fit for this book, as his heavy inking style fits with the shadowy feel it inspires. His art shines in the airport scenes, where he gets to draw “normal” people in great detail. Less impressive are the scenes of the big fight sequence a few pages later.
Actually, that is a pretty good description for the book in general. The stuff I found most interesting were the small moments that give us an idea of what the character is all about, rather than the action stuff, which felt a little over the top in scope but underwhelming in execution.
Because I was thoroughly confused by one small sequence, I did a little research and discovered a set of supporting characters known as the Body Doubles. Their scene is a relatively inconsequential two-page sequence, but I wish there was a little more to connect them to the main story. This was, however, another nice showcase for Dagnino – his attention to detail really shines here.
Overall, there is a lot here that has potential. This is an unusual book to resurrect (ba doom ching) for the new 52, but this book is positioned to be a great crossover comic. Because of his powers, Mitch will occasionally be called upon to fight the big guns, and so we may see some more traditional superheroes guest star. However, it can also be self-contained and far darker (no pun this time) than your average superhero comic. I wouldn’t rush out to buy it, but this could be the first chapter in a nice collected edition.
Final Verdict: 6.6 – Browse
