Friday, July 4, 2008

1997 JLA Gallery Martian Manhunter Pin-Up by Simon Coleby



You might not think of J'Onn J'Onzz as a patriotic character, but consider this:

  • Anglicized name to "John Jones" without pause.
  • Though he walked the Earth in his first appearance, chose to settle here.
  • Immediately looked for gainful employment as a tax-paying police officer, mostly with the civic service in mind.
  • Despite repeated opportunities to return to Mars, chose to remain in Middletown, U.S.A.
  • Starred in a mini-series with "American" in the title.
  • Joined "Justice League of America," and remained with that branch even as the team went international.
  • Spent a few years in the 60's as an expatriot, but returned to the U.S. for good.


Wasn't Simon Coleby a Marvel U.K. artist (I know he's done work for Wildstorm?) Goes to show that while we treat the Manhunter from Mars as just another dark-skinned immigrant, the rest of the world recognizes an American hero. That, or he's jerking our freakin' flag the heck out of his native soil. He gets uptight about that sort of thing...

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