The Idol-Head of Diabolu, a Martian Manhunter blog

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Doug Mahnke

2012-02-03T00:00:00.002-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Awesome scene of Green Lantern (Hal? Kyle?) saving the world from a giant monster while the rest of the JLA has a bad case of Monday morning. Flash needs caffeine, and Batman looks ticked that Superman used up all the cereal. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman has to fight Krypto for breakfast sausage. At least J'Onn looks happy with his Chocos.

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2007 "JLA basketball" art by Justin "Moritat" Norman

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

Click To Enlarge

"Colorist Marc Letzmann, threw down a challange at the end of Wizard world con LA.

He saw how exhausted I was and so being kind he said draw: the entire Justice League playing basketball. heheheh.

I got to a few of them before I ran off.

Colored by by Marc."

Women in Refrigerators, 13 Years Later

2012-02-01T03:41:00.000-06:00

In 1999, Gail Simone made her initial name in comics through Women in Refrigerators, a web page devoted to listing all the violent indignities inflicted against female characters over the years. For some reason, Women Write About Comics decided to discuss the site as a meme at the curious thirteenth year mark. I figured I'd try my hand at a Manhunter-centric list, but it's pretty weak. The truth is, women didn't play a large part in the Martian mythos prior to 1988. Detective John Jones was occasionally partnered with rookie Patrolwoman Diane Meade, and even sorta-kinda dated her in an issue of Justice League of America, but Jones was really one of the most chaste mainstream heroes. J'Onn's mom showed up a couple of times in the Silver Age, and a grandmother cameo'd once in the Bronze. J'Onn seemed affectionate towards Bel Juz in 1972, but his first official girlfriend (J'en) didn't debut until almost three decades into his career (and for only one story arc!) Readers would be forgiven for assuming there was something to that "Manhunter" handle.

Women didn't truly impact on the character until his unnamed wife and daughter were revealed in a 1988 mini-series, turning the character from a confirmed bachelor to a widower in mourning for decades. This tragic-romantic element became firmly ingrained in the character, greatly enhancing his appeal to readers of both genders. J'Onzz's celibacy continued, but it was now somber rather than queer, and he finally began a string of short term, problematic relationships in the late '90s. Around the same time, the Manhunter from Mars' untold history was thoroughly explored, and it was here that most of the violence against women took place (often under writer John Ostrander and related to an evil twin brother, Ma'alefa'ak, soon to debut in cartoon form.)

Bel Juz (in limbo since 1984)
Bette Noir (enslaved by Dr. Trap, in limbo since 2000)
Cay'an (in limbo since 2007)
Cha'rissa (adulteress, in limbo since 2000)
D'Kay D'Razz (executed)
Melissa Erdel (permanent brain damage)
Rio Ferdinand (in limbo since 2007)
Gypsy (left for dead, psychically molested, in limbo since 2010)
J'en (in limbo since 1984)
M'yri'ah J'Onzz (mentally raped, killed with daughter by engineered plague)
Sha'Sheen J'Onzz (mentally assaulted by son, lobotomized, killed)
Kishana Lewis (in limbo since 2003)
Diane Meade (brother murdered, in limbo since 2000)
Miss Martian (dissociative personality disorder, homicidal, brutally assaulted, left in limbo)
Mongal (decapitated by brother)
Moon Maiden (retconned, in limbo since 2000)
Primaid (stripped of individual identity)
Scorch (left in coma by Fernus, in limbo since 2007)
Shrike (insane, dead)
Karen Smith (betrayed and murdered)
Tronix (stripped of individual identity)

As far as why women are so mistreated in genre fiction, I have a few theories. The first is that, in our culture, women matter more. Heterosexual men view them as objects of desire and damsels in distress. Failing to protect them is a failure as a man, which cuts deeper than most personal defeats. The dark side of that is that they are also objects to be taken from men, and their (often sexualized) abuse can be titillating or otherwise satisfying for some. In the case of homosexual men, until relatively recently, open relationships with women were the only deep emotional attachments accepted by society. Women seem to hold the opinions of other women in highest esteem, and as traditional gender roles have broken down, women seem to be most deeply invested in other women over the transitory presence of men. As for homosexual women, at least in my own experience, there seems as great a tendency as anywhere to sexually segregate from men entirely. For children, women are their mothers and their emotional nexus, the most important being in their lives.

By contrast, men are historically less emotional in general, and less likely to become attached. They are not as central to home life, with the expectation of being breadwinners in the workplace. Men tend to handle the material functioning of society, rather than nurturing. Biological and emotional bonds aren't as strong, as one man can impregnate many women without necessarily being responsible for any of the consequences. It is part of societal expectation for men to be sacrificed to protect and serve the tribe. As the physically dominant gender, they are the most likely to victimize the weak, coloring perceptions of the sex. Men are least likely to be victimized themselves, at least as adults, and their being sexually abused remains a taboo to be suppressed as thoroughly as possible. Violence is expected from and against men, so it lacks the sense of shock or transgression. It doesn't hurt the audience as much to hurt a man, and there's even a weird sort of valor taken from torture of the male. These views are changing, but it's still part of our culture.

One other thing I think is worth noting is that comic books shifted from short, unconnected action stories in the Golden Age to long form, character-based serialized tales ever since. In doing so, comics adopted many of the tropes of a feminine skewing genre, the soap opera. Perhaps because of the rapid changes in gender roles in the industrialized world and through the sexual revolution, women's entertainment has often struck me as sadomasochistic. Where men are more likely to prefer simple conflicts of good versus evil, the lowest common denominator in women's entertainment seems to be stories of manipulation and abuse. Comics' tendency to put women in harm's way, especially as executed since the Silver Age, seems derived from the conventions of the soap opera and wrenching feminine fiction as a whole at least as much as geeky white male writers working out their personal issues in a ghettoized medium. Just a theory, though...

Stormwatch #4 (February, 2012)

2012-01-31T00:40:00.001-06:00

" Projectionist, this is the Midnighter. I hope you're listening in on my cowl mike-- because that monster that was sent from the moon--? It just absorbed all your teammates. The ground here is still erupting-- and the creature's using your team's powers-- including... the Manhunter's telepathy... trying to make me throw myself into that thing."

At the Eye of the Storm, the Projectionist offered to send a door to teleport Midnighter away. "--You're not one of us. You don't deserve this." Midnight argued that the scale was too big to walk away from, or leave to super-team "amateurs." As it happened, Apollo was falling like a meteor into the vicinity of the monster, which worked with the vigilante's plan.

Inside the monster, Adam One acknowledged his poor leadership had killed his team, the Engineer conducted futile analysis, Jenny Quantum wondered if a better self-understanding would have helped her save the day, Jack Hawksmoor prepared to die, and Harry Tanner remained an enigma. Martian Manhunter observed, "I cannot probe its diffuse mind. I must stop it using my mental powers-- even if that kills me."

Midnighter had the Projectionist hack his cowl sensors so that she could show him how Stormwatch's satellite headquarters worked, without either having actual knowledge. "I have an intuitive understanding of control systems. I think I know what I'm looking at." Midnighter sweet talked Apollo into trusting him (complete with cheek stroking,) then had the Eye fire a massive beam of collected sunlight at him.

Apollo felt more powerful than ever, blasting through the monster and freeing its undigested Stormwatch members. Manhunter went straight to checking on young Jenny. Somehow, Tanner knew that the ancient hidden city Hawkmoor had been trying to contact was named Alba Umbra, which allowed "the God of Cities" to finally established benign contact with its eternal spirit. The aged lady asked, "Are... the beasts back? They... killed all my people. I had to use the alchemy in me to... hide." Alba Umbra was convinced to unearth itself, sending the moon monster reeling.

Adam recognized the city, but couldn't recall details with the holes in his memory. Jack surmised that it had been attacked first because of its alchemical abilities, "changing the nature of stuff..." The Engineer dismissed Adam as leader, then sent Jack and Midnighter to find the city's power source. She would join Apollo and Harry in fighting off the monster, to which Midnighter replied, "Good. Finally! That's how I'd have called it." She didn't enjoy the mutiny, but "I'm an engineer. I fix things. And this was so not working... But I remember when we were a team. We could still be a good team"

Martian Manhunter followed Jack and Midnighter, then did something with his hands to analyze "this transformative crucible." He couldn't see its use, but Midnighter could, and had the also present Jenny activate it... explosively... knocking J'Onn for a loop. Harry pleaded ignorance about the moon menace as he watched Alba Umbra transform it into glass. Engineer noted "Once our team might have put all these jigsaw pieces together. But Adam just seems to like staring at what this chaos is producing."

The team marveled at their mess, then were suddenly whisked away by an emergency teleport door. A cosmic being was on the bridge of the Eye, stating "I represent the Stormwatch Shadow Cabinet. I'm here for Adam. He's failed as your leader. So it's time for him to die." Projectionist added, "He keeps saying that!"

"The Dark Side: Part Four" was by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda. Paul Cornell kept telling everybody that all the wack-a-doo b.s. going on in this book would amount to something. Apparently, that something was the readership's collective sigh that the dude bails after #6. Not one-- not two-- but three gods pop out of boxes to tell plotlines from the first three issues to talk to the hand. "Those sixty pages you read earlier? That 'plot?' Nope. Stops right here." They're really tired contrivances too, like "Let's fill the energy guy up with enough energy to shoot super-energy that'll wipe out the bad guys in one fell swoop" and "Our secret bosses show up to fix everything." GTFO. Midnighter coming on to Apollo was less like all those cynical, sarcastic British techno-thrillers they're known for and more like the sorts of panels from '60s Young Romance comics Roy Lichtenstein would have swiped from. The rest of the paper doll version of the Authority just goes through the motions of a post-Morrison team book as written by an incompetent acolyte. Also, artist Miguel Sepulveda shows a Rob Liefeldian hatred of feet. Lacking the common courtesy to offer spontaneous manifestations of fog or smoke or dust clouds, Sepulveda just draws toes like Charles Schultz drew Charlie Brown's hair. At least we're 2/3rds to completely done.

New 52's Day

Aquaman #4 (February, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
Green Lantern Corps #4 (February, 2012) @ DC Bloodlines
The Huntress #3 (February, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman

2011 Yashuntafun Miss Martian "Casual Outfit" Cosplay Gallery

2012-01-30T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Enlarge

Megan says "Hellloooo Megan! I’m a big fan of comics and love the show Young Justice! A friend of mine suggested I make this costume since I love the show anyway and I’m also named Megan. I was hesitant at first because of the need for green body paint, but then I decided why not? It was a great idea and I had a lot of fun with this costume, and it wouldn’t have happened without his support!"

In case you were wondering, "my alias Yashuntafun comes from the name of the road I grew up on. It’s a weird name, I know, but I’ve had to spell it out for people from as early as I can remember and its uniqueness has stuck with me. Luckily it’s pronounced exactly as it looks: Ya-shun-ta-fun."

See more photos from this shoot, including some with special effects, right here. It's a nice set, and it'll give bishōjo Trekkies an aneurysm.

Superboy #200 (January-February, 1974)

2012-01-29T03:11:00.001-06:00

Here's one I've been meaning to get around to for years, but a more current spark was lit by Jim Shooter in September, although it took a December Dork Review to finally get me to blow it out. I'm not going to go deep into details, as the book has already been thoroughly mocked by Steve Does Comics and Comics Bronze Age.

The gist is that in the 30th Century, lame Legionnaires Duo Damsel and Bouncing Boy got married, becoming the Reed and Sue of their era (complete with super-villainous gatecrasher.) Since the wedding took place on Mars, the artist thought it would be funny to have J'onn J'onzz in attendance. What sets this apart from most amusing non-canonical cameos is that a character legend identifying all the attendees explicitly names "J'ONN J'ONZZ, MANHUNTER FROM MARS." Of course, the Edgar Rice Burroughs character Tars Tarkas also showed up, "who has apparently hidden two of his four arms." A couple of decades later, Tom and Mary Bierbaum were inspired by this throwaway moment to insert the Martian Manhunter into legitimate continuity as part of a Mordru arc, and other creators have drawn connections between the properties since. Given J'Onn's tendency to be an extant Superman Family member by virtue of his similarities to the Man of Steel, it feels appropriate.

"The Legionnaire Bride of Starfinger" was by Cary Bates & Dave Cockrum. As I understand it, DC's refusal to return the art for this two page spread led to Cockrum's quitting the title and co-creating the All-New, All-Different X-Men. Hope it was worth it to whoever at DC made off with it.

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Tom Mandrake

2012-01-28T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Tom Mandrake is still the only ever ongoing artist on the only ever ongoing Martian Manhunter series, and it seems like he never got sick of drawing Darkseid, either. He's also arguably the best (and certainly the most devoted) Spectre artist, another understandable inclusion. To better cover the JLA base, and because he's likely a big fan with brief brushes of work in the past, there's also the Batman.

By the way, evoking the Ostrander/Mandrake era, Scott Kolins may have offered Darkseid as an official Martian Manhunter villainous parallel to the JLA, alongside Lex Luthor, the Joker, Cheetah, Captain Cold, Sinestro, and Ocean Master. Alternately/more likely, he also just felt like throwing in a portrait of the Lord of Apokolips on the back cover.

JLA 100 Project

Ramon Fernandez Bachs @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
Mike Kunkel @ Justice League Detroit
Alan Davis @ Power of the Atom

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Fred Hembeck

2012-01-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Hembeck! kicks it Maguire style with an old school twist. The entire founding Justice League of America, including early inductees Green Arrow and Hawkman, plus Snapper Carr. "Remember us?" Well, I kind of remember the Atom joining between Ollie and Carter. How about that, Fred?

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

Legion Lost #5 (March, 2012)

2012-01-26T00:19:00.001-06:00

I never read the original 2000 Legion Lost mini-series, using it instead as a jumping-off point from five and a half years of buying two LOSH titles. I also haven't picked up an issue of the DCnÜ Lost series, since the only Legion of Super-Heroes stories I've enjoyed in the past eleven years were during Jim Shooter's truncated run. However, I will probably buy the sixth issue, since it will feature an unannounced guest appearance by Stormwatch. I was alerted to this fact by friend of the blog Anj of Supergirl Comic Box Commentary. As I understand it, a bunch of the Bronze Age Legionnaires are stranded on modern day Earth and are trying to contain a virus from the 30th Century called "Hypertaxis."

Most of the team fought a battle against the villainous Alastor in this issue, while the proto-Wolverine Timber Wolf got stuck carrying the virus victim Chameleon Girl around on his back. Off on their own, Timber Wolf caught the scent of a new aggressor, and snarled as the figure hovered over his head...

"Your presence here is extremely dangerous. And the Martian Manhunter intends to get answers."

"Under Pressure" was by Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods. The "Martian Manhunter" part of that speech incorporated his 1988 logo, which I've seen more than once amidst the New 52. It amuses me that while every other hero got a new logo this year, J'Onn finally returns to what works after several years with his blah 2006 one. If you'd like a more in depth look at the issue, Anj will provide, and I'll thank him again for offering the above scan!

Duffy

2012-01-25T00:00:00.001-06:00

Alter Ego: Duffy
Occupation: Former police officer
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Unnamed father
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Denver, CO
First Appearance: Showcase '96 #9 (October, 1996)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Strawberry blond

History:
The Duffy Family formed a "glorious blue line," as they "proudly served the Denver citizenry for two hundred years..." That was, until the latest generation of police officer was stripped of his uniform in disgrace. Duffy was convicted of an unnamed crime by jury trial thanks to the testimony of fellow officers. Abandoned by his own family, Duffy conceived a revenge plot involving murdering the "traitorous witnesses" against him and stealing their eyeballs. Eight officers had been beaten to death and mutilated before drawing the attention of former Denver Police Detective John Jones, including his old friend Thomas Lappas. Uniformed officer Sergeant Phillips had been assigned the case, so Jones established a telepathic link with him. Jones then used his shapeshifting powers as the Martian Manhunter to assume the role of a local beat cop, hoping to serve as bait for the serial killer.

A technique Duffy employed was to play a tape recording of a "victim's" screams in an abandoned apartment to attract officers' attention, blind them temporarily with a bright light, then permanently by gouging out their eyes. This was what he used against Sergeant Phillips, who managed to defend himself despite his traumatic injury. Duffy escaped Phillips' gunfire by running up a fire escape, but dropped one of the sergeant's eyeballs while running across rooftops.

Alerted by his telepathic link, the Martian Manhunter arrived to help Phillips. Pulling a latent image from the officer's amputated eye, Jones identified Duffy. After taking Phillips to the hospital, the Manhunter confronted Duffy in his home. Duffy was unable to resist as Jones dunked his head into a fish tank of severed eyeballs he had been collecting, and was soon carted off to jail.

Powers & Weapons:
Duffy wore a Denver Police uniform while committing his crimes, and had a substantial collection of firearms. Through unknown means, Duffy came into possession of an intricate device which could remove an eyeball whole with surgical precision.

Quote: "That sniveling coward got blood on my uniform! But that's all right, father, I fixed him-- I fixed him good."

Created by Peter J. Tomasi and Eduardo Barreto

2011 Martian ManHunter art by Timothy Green II

2012-01-24T00:00:00.003-06:00

Click To Enlarge

"Such a cool character, I might do another one."

To date, he hasn't. It occurs to me that it's ironic how few artists named "Green" have drawn the Martian Manhunter in comics-- or the Hulk, or Green Arrow, or Green Lantern. Think it's an editorial mandate against puns or something?

Timothy Green II

Aquaman @ Justice League Detroit
Deathstroke @ DC Bloodlines
Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman

Comrades of Mars: R'ell

2012-01-23T01:46:00.001-06:00

First Appearance: Detective Comics #311 (January, 1963)
Height: Approx. 7'0"
Eyes: White
Hair: Black

History:
R'ell is in some way involved with law enforcement on a parallel world from Earth in another dimension. R'ell pursued a pair of criminals who had stolen plans for a powerful weapon to a remote lab. R'ell learned from an injured scientist that the fugitives had fled through a temporary space warp that he had accidentally opened. R'ell feared that with the plans in their possession, the criminals could end up controlling whichever planet they had escaped into. Taking the chance that he could end up trapped forever in an alien land, R'ell followed the crooks. Unarmed, R'ell's pursuit quickly turned against him, as the twin hoodlums fired on him with their energy rifles, driving him into hiding.

R'ell was spotted in a forest by the Manhunter from Mars, who had already encountered and arrested the fugitive aliens. R'ell cleared his own name by explaining his circumstances, then warned that no simple jail could contain his fellow aliens. R'ell's assumption was correct, so he joined the Martian Manhunter in relocating and confronting the escapees. With the assistance of the mischievous animal Zook, another exile from R'ell's dimension, the criminals were apprehended. J'onn J'onzz flew R'ell and the captives through the space warp before it closed. R'ell thanked the hero, and bid him farewell.

Powers & Weapons:
Although R'ell carried a holster on his belt, he exhibited neither the weapons nor the powers displayed by his fellow visitors from the space warp.

Distinguishing Features:
R'ell has red skin and large eyes which appear to spiral. Though his hands are humanoid, his large, webbed feet have only three toes each. These features appear to be racial, as they were shared by the criminals and scientist R'ell encountered.

Quote: "...There is no time to lose! I must find those criminals and get back before the warp closes!"

Created by Jack Miller and Joe Certa

2011 "Have Peace Eduardo Barreto" art by Michael Netzer

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-06:00

Click to Enlarge

Read Netzer's accompanying farewell text here.

Martian Manhunter: American Secrets #3 (November, 1992)

2012-01-21T00:00:00.004-06:00

Dr. McNider proceeded to tell Detective Jones that there were no Lizard-Men, and that his group were victims "of the strangest mass hallucinations of our very strange times." McNider and Director Hoover agreed, "that we 'heroes' had somehow sprung from and embodied a spirit of national terror... and summoned up a dark side, in the bodies of our foes, that enabled us to exorcise a nation's terror through bizarre and repetitive combat... And the Director's wisdom was borne out by what happened when we chose to continue after the war. Hysteria. Suddenly Americans were seeing flying saucers. Fearing the breakdown of this magnificent society. Imagining a 'mafia.' Director Hoover is very explicit about that: There is no 'mafia.' Just as there are no 'communist conspiracies' in our government. That's the fear that our enemies want us to suffer." Detective Jones was incredulous. "I just met an agent of the F.B.I. He turned into a lizard... What enemies?" McNider responded, "The Communists."

"But you just said..." noted an increasingly irritated Jones. "That's the point! 'Red Scare' hysteria is a Communist ploy! And demagogues like Senator McCarthy were communist dupes!" Jones sat silently for a moment, staring daggers at the former Dr. Mid-Nite before scowling and leaping from his chair. "This is insane! You come here promising explanations and you talk in circles! Our fears are false, created by the people we fear so we won't fear what we should fear-- which is them? This is hog-wash! You just don't want us to trust what we see!"

"No detective! I just want you to serve the right side. Your government needs you. It needs all the Martians it can get." McNider's enhanced vision could see through J'Onzz's human form, as he claimed the JSA's "retirement" in protest of congressional red-baiting was a cover for their enlistment in the F.B.I., a role they wanted Jones to share. "That was a calculated little blow against the Red Scare. In truth, we've all been serving our country in quiet, invisible ways. The way every good American should. Beating our super-powers into tract homes, as it were. Why, heck, if the government couldn't find a use for powers like ours, they'd probably have to kill us! Ha ha... The F.B.I. is on its way, Jones. If you don't help them, they'll do what they have to do. Do you understand? Well then... ZOPRBETIE!" Jones seized McNider at that, demanding the meaning of his parting word. A little joke phrase old pal Melvin Keene used to toss around, someone that now had to be protected from trouble at times because of "that silly magazine of his."

McNider left, and Detective Jones considered his words. "Lies. But lies so big and ugly that he had to know I'd spot them. 'No mafia.' The kind of lies only a government could try to pull off... I thought I could trick them, negotiate something with them. But their negotiations could make prisoners of us-- slaves of us!" Perkins Preston believed McNider, to which Jones angrily protested, "You believed your A&R man. You believed in Leavitzville. Both nearly got you killed!"

The F.B.I., Whitey Bright in tow, came calling. Perkins Preston let them in over Jones' continued objection. "They won't hurt us, Patty Marie! They're the government." Patty Marie hugged Jones around the waist. Inspector Anole quickly led Preston into the outside hall, promising, "we'll discuss what you can do for your F.B.I." With the entertainer out of sight, the feds circled the resistant pair remaining. The returning Inspector Anole drew his flame pistol, but Jones snatched up Patty Marie and headed for the window. Whitey "Skeeter" Bright lunged for the girl's feet. "I've got plans for this little girl!" They likely did not include his losing his grip and being tossed through the window to his death. The fugitives followed after to make their escape. Inspector Anole declared, "No more subtle gestures."

Edwards Air Force Base scrambled an assault against the flying Martian. J'Onzz took evasive maneuvers, riding alongside a fighter as a means of cover. Another pilot was ordered to fire on his fellow, in order to "hit the target at any cost." The explosion that followed set Patty Marie afire while separating her from J'Onn J'Onzz. "Help me! Catch me!" she cried. "Fire. Even this far from her, it burns me. Closer it could kill me." Closer he came, cradling the child in his arms as his powers failed him. The pair landed on the desert floor with a heavy thud, lying all too still until the sun rose. J'Onn J'Onzz reverted to his human guise. Patty Marie could no longer do anything at all.

"I have been here before. Somewhere before I've seen children killed and been left alone on a dead world. Seen children devoured on a funeral pyre and learned to fear the flames. Again I'm a speck in the desert. Blood on the snow. With the fiery eye of the world looking down on me. Is there anywhere to run? With all their eyes trained on me? Their eyes see everything. And ours? They see lizards. Is this your 'prize-to-be,' Patty? You might have been better off with the lizards. I'm sorry, Hon. Maybe this is just what comes for the ones like us. The ones who can see... Do we see what the rest don't? Or are the others just happier with their mouths shut?"

Checking the corpse of a downed pilot, John Jones found documents regarding himself and several JSAers. Further, he discovered an extra-terrestrial fungus wrapped along the pilot's nervous system. "Why? So he won't see? Or so he'll catch fire if he tries to talk?" Using the pilot's knife, Jones performed an autopsy on Patty Marie, and found her body to be fungus free. Going over the new and old information, J'Onzz realized where all the clues were pointing. Prize To Be. Beto EZ Rip. Zoprbetie. All letters found in "PTO. Iberez" in Cuba.

"A long drift down the Colorado River, then flight through the hills of Mexico and a stint as a Cuban sailor across the Gulf. Where I find the strength to keep going I don't know, unless it's the rum and the conga." Making his way to Havana, Jones learned about the American gangsters' stranglehold on Cuba. "I ask questions. Not too direct to bring the lizard-dogs sniffing, but direct enough to get quick answers... There are rebels in the hills, between here and Puerto Iberez... Mr. Gioconda's men are running weapons for the government troops. 'Strange weapons,' I'm told."

Jones met a poet who's book of verse was identical to the one he heard at the start of this all in New York. "The truth is written by many people in many places... Poetry be easy. But it's as near as we can get." The fungus held the poet's tongue, so he spoke cryptically at first of Latin America and "people who crossed a vast gulf, came like gods to colonize, to plant... to shape... Cuba is an island, isolated and alone. So we reach to cross our ninety miles of aloneness. Agriculture and horticulture link Cuba to the world. In her dark interior valleys the horticulture is rich." Jones noted, "You're all islands on this planet." Less one, as the poet reckoned, "And now, I'm afraid I've talked to much. It's time for me to burn for that ancient communion with the night!" His eyes bled, his face bubbled, and then he combusted. Jones fled the scene invisibly.

"I am with you in Cuba, and on the roads of America and the streets of New York. I am with you, and Melvin Keene, and all of you who see the truth but cannot speak it because of that terrible horticulture of your conquerors, that fungus in your brain. I am with every one of you who has been burned alive, and every one who risked that burning by sending coded messages of the truth. The truth of the shape-shifting conquerors who came to Earth during the terror of war, who used that terror to infiltrate governments and communications cartels, to spring the sleep of sameness over this boiling, fertile world. The truth bent into strange new shapes by profiteers and power-handlers, willing to lie down with lizards whether they could see them or not. I am with you, the defenders and the victims of the truth. I am with the murdered, and the frightened and the fooled."

J'Onn J'Onzz was with Perkins Preston, who happened to be playing at the Club Mona Lisa for Mr. Giaconda, who alerted the Master Gardener. Most notably, he was with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, who he spurred into a raid on Puerto Iberez against the invading aliens. Perkins Preston was in turn with J'Onn J'Onzz, after learning the aliens had been using his songs to distribute subliminal messages, but he still had reservations. "These folks... they're not communists, are they, Detective Jones?"

"Communists. And what are they? Beings who live through the group-- and not themselves? Is this baseball playing warrior, this self-assigned savior a communist? There are no communists on this world. There were on mine. They're all dead now."

Perkins Preston confronted a lizard horticulturist in his garden of domination with what he had learned. "If you know this much, you must be one of the chosen. And that means I don't dare kill you. What do I do with you? What would the Master Gardener want?" The concern was taken out of the lizard's hands by the Manhunter's own, in the form of a fist. The Martian then assumed the horticulturist's likeness, and led Preston past troops with saurian-dogs. "But I am something they can't see inside. Why? Why have they failed to catch me... even now? Even here?"

The pair walked into the cavernous den of those engaged in "the cultivation of human culture." Strange organic television monitors displayed various aspects of media currently in circulation, their hidden messages made clearer as they overlapped. The concealed Martian tried to use Perkins Preston to access the Master Gardener when his vizier appeared. "The Master Gardener knows of this human, as he knows of everything. You will follow me, horticulturist... along the canal." This river teemed with the organisms that spawn the fungus. "It calls to me, strangely. Like these dark, cool chambers of sentient fungus call to me. Like an echo of my lost life."

The pair were presented to the Master Gardener in his throne room. "The human... He should show me his gratitude... that I crossed the starry gulf to bring his competitive, conflict-ridden world together... in perfect peace, serenity, equality, and order. I've given you Leavitzville! I've given you Skeeter! I've shown you how to keep your children! All I ask in return is that you give me a place to end my lonely wanderings through the stars... a place to call home."

The still incognito J'Onzz responded, "...we undermine their faith in the truth! Our quiz shows reduce truth to bits of entertaining information! We teach them to memorize rather than think!" The Master Gardener responded, "... you know how easy it is to train the masses. The artists are harder. And the heroes. They had to be manipulated. Deals had to be made, with subversives like Keene... But heroes can be tamed! ...And you can serve better than any!" The horticulturist asked, confusedly, "Me?"

Perkins had previously proven himself able to see even an invisible Martian Manhunter, and this held true when he become conscious of the fact that the Master Gardener was not what he appeared to be. Before the duo's eyes, it changed into a natural form Martian! "Haven't you wondered why my people have been reluctant to kill you? I was the Master Gardener of Mars!" He explained how he came to power among the Lizard Men, then offered J'Onzz the chance to join him in resurrecting Mars on Earth. "Join me, brother! I don't know how you came across space and time to find yourself here-- but it can't be accident! Destiny brought you! Destiny placed you among Earthlings, so that you could understand their souls better than I! Help me save our new children! From themselves! Help me give birth-- to a Mars regained!"

"I know your pain, brother. But I won't pervert a world to ease it."
"You believe what they believe! Forget what Earth taught you! Remember MARS!"
"Mars is dead."

Attacking the Gardener both with ideology and fists, it wasn't long before J'Onzz attracted lizard guardsmen. Firing their flame projectors, the lizards scored a direct hit against their ruler. "But master...the fire doesn't hurt us!" The Master Gardener chuckled as he fell to an immolation-induced apparent death; "Do you hear that...brother? The fire...doesn't hurt...'us.'" J'Onzz swept the lizard guard off its feet, then ordered the Lizard forces to bomb the valley using the Gardener's communications equipment. He next succumbed to another blast of flame.

"I hear through the flames the wailing of my family. Then not that, but a deeper sound. The thunder of bombs. I am lifted and carried away. By the Fire-God, I think, to his Parlor of Red Death. But it's the canal I feel. So cool. So dark. It calls me strangely." J'Onzz was seemingly carried into the safety of the canal by Perkins Preston.

Back in the States, John Jones read a newspaper announcing Preston's death in a plane crash over Cuba. At his side was Charles McNider, who noted, "I suppose we won't be able to discuss the truth behind recent events for a long time. So long as our nervous systems are bearing our little... 'guests'..." Jones promised to finish apprehending the loose bands of directionless Lizard Men, affirming, "...eventually, this world may pour forth its 'great individuals' again." The former Dr. Mid-Nite asked if John was tempted by the Gardener's offer. "I might have been, McNider. Until that moment in the desert. When I was truly alone. And I could finally see the truth. By the time I met him, McNider, he and I were strangers to each other.
You see, he was a Martian. I'm a beatnik."

Book three of three was by writer Gerard Jones, artist Eduardo Barreto, colorist Steve Oliff, letter Pat Brosseau, and editor Brian Augustyn.

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Ken Lashley

2012-01-20T00:00:00.002-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Aquaman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman and Martian Manhunter with the Flash running underneath. Whenever Ivan Reis leaves Aquaman, Lashley would be an ideal replacement,

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

The Empty-Head of SOPA

2012-01-19T00:33:00.000-06:00

If you're like me, you spent a lot of your time Wednesday visiting websites that were blacked out in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (Wikipedia's participation being especially frustrating.) If you stopped to read any of them before groaning and clicking the "back" button, you probably caught a lot of high minded speechifying and pleas to sign some hippie granola petition that probably won't do much good. Still, I wanted to take a moment to discuss how SOPA could effect a blog like The Idol-Head of Diabolu.

As a fan of comics in general and the Martian Manhunter specifically, I've spent well over four years writing daily blog posts, many rather long and filled with strong opinions. I've also featured a lot of artwork on those 1600 or so posts. Currently, my taking a panel here and there to illustrate my words falls pretty squarely under "fair use," a limited exception to copyright law for the purposes of "commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship." A lot of that ties into stuff folks feel rather passionately about, like free speech rights. The problem is that I'm a human being who can express himself verbally until I'm blue in the face, but my blog is not. Despite fair use laws, under SOPA, some pencil-pushing weenie at a corporation somewhere could take exception to my making a crack about Dan Didio or lambasting an issue of Stormwatch and my entire blog could go blank forever. If I died tomorrow, there might not be very many updates in the future, but at least the blog would still be here. Under SOPA though, years of thought and work could vanish without my being notified in advance, without receiving any semblance of due process, and without my even legitimately infringing on anyone's copyright. The blog is about the Martian Manhunter, which is the property of DC Comics. That alone could be the end of our little clubhouse here.

Personally, I am strongly opposed to piracy and favor the rights of copyright holders. Hell, I hewed so closely to fair use laws that for years my readers suffered through lengthy posts with only a solitary image breaking up reams of text. Other blogs will reprint half a comic and hide behind "low resolution" or some such. None of that matters though, because we're all in the same boat. The worst part of course is that while we all live under the specter of censorship and corporate bullying thanks to poorly written legislation, SOPA won't do a bit of good against piracy.

For starters, what part of "pirates" is not understood? Pirates are already breaking clearly defined laws with substantial associated penalties and getting away with it because they operate outside legal jurisdictions using computer skills greater than those who would pursue them. The people who take advantage of stuff like bit torrents also tend to be pretty computer savvy, so this won't impede their ability to take advantage of the pirates' services. All SOPA ends up doing is inconveniencing law-abiding citizens while allowing a meaty power grab for copyright holders. Maybe if you're not reading my blog you'll buy some crappy comic I'd have warned you off of, or maybe a lack of YouTube videos will get you to watch broadcast television again.

I believe the real problem is an outmoded business plan. I used to work at a video store, and I was always being asked to rent out movies that were still playing in the theaters. Movie studios wanted those people to go to a cinema and pay individual inflated admission prices. The smart money would cut out video rental altogether and offer simultaneous VOD for homebound families while daters and cinephiles like myself continued visiting the silver screen. Instead, some guy at work knows a guy who'll burn the family copies of a new release torrented off the internet and sold for the same $1-3 a months old release would cost at Blockbuster or Redbox. I used to visit a fried chicken franchise that routinely played newly bootlegged movies on their in-store TV. Who profits from that?

I remember paying nearly twenty bucks for catalog CDs fifteen years ago, but I wised up quick and switched to $5-10 used copies. Then DVDs of multi-hour long feature films with a plethora of special features started selling new out of $5 discount bins. Why should I pay that or more for a half hour of audio? What is wrong with the recording industry that this disparity is still prevalent all these years later? Why would I pay the same price for a Lady Gaga CD as a full season DVD set of a TV show? If I could be bothered, and not feel guilty, the album could be downloaded in minutes for free.

Anyway, the good news is that SOPA and its little sister PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) are already losing steam thanks to all that internet grandstanding. Still, I wanted to take a day to open up a dialogue about this business. These bits of bad legislation are still out there, so maybe you could take a minute to turn to a family member or co-worker and discuss why they're a bad idea. Petitions are nice, but a stubborn constituency bucking against corporate dollars jacking with their interwebs is better. Also, the truth is, a lot of people are guilty of taking advantage of piracy. That really is stealing money out of the pockets of creative people who would like to continue earning a living by entertaining you. It isn't enough to keep crumby legislation off the books-- we have to also figure out a way to keep the entertainment industry alive so that their desperation doesn't drive them to such politicking, not to mention killing outlets for artistic expression. Entertainment is not an entitlement, after all, so maybe we need to figure out a better way to keep speech free without shortchanging the business of show (not that they couldn't stand to at least meet their public halfway sometime?)

Martian Sightings for April, 2012

2012-01-18T00:05:00.000-06:00

DC Comics have had Martian Manhunter making a bunch of unannounced guest appearances, so we'll start off with some retroactive alerts:

JANUARY:

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #5
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN and SCOTT HANNA
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
On sale JANUARY 18
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
RATED T
Guy Gardner must assemble a strike force to invade the genocidal Keeper’s dimension and rescue his imprisoned teammates, John Stewart and Vandor! And Guy’s recruits are the nastiest Green Lanterns to ever put on a ring! Don’t miss the spectacular art by rising star Fernando Pasarin!

J'Onn J'Onzz introduced himself to Guy Gardner during a telepathic interrogation in #4, and will presumably return for the follow-up.

FEBRUARY:

LEGION LOST #6
Written by FABIAN NICIEZA
Art and cover by PETE WOODS
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Since the first issue, this time-lost band of Legionnaires has been operating in the shadows out of fear of corrupting the timestream. Now, their secret is out! Timber Wolf is captured and interrogated by a shadowy organization! Will he be able to maintain the team’s cover? Or is their future doomed?

That "shadowy organization" appears to be Stormwatch, based on the Alien Atlas catching Timber Wolf at the end of #5. Maybe Nicieza's run ends with a SW/Legion throwdown?

APRIL:

STORMWATCH #8
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Art by IGNACIO CALERO
Cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
1:25 B&W Variant cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
On sale APRIL 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.

Apollo has fallen – and the invasion of the gravity miners rages on! As the Earth ruptures from within, Stormwatch must scramble to unravel the mystery of the unstoppable gravity miners, creatures so alien they defy the laws of science! In Stormwatch’s most desperate moment, what secret from Martian Manhunter’s past offers the first ray of hope in this war?

So let me get this straight-- the Superman analogue gets jobbed, and the Manhunter from Mars saves the day? Um, why don't you stick around a while longer, Mr. Jenkins? You can make J'Onn secretly black, give him a corny surname like "Redman," and you can insert him into as much retroactive continuity as you like. On J'Onn, it works.

GRIFTER #8
Written by NATHAN EDMONDSON
Art and cover by SCOTT CLARK and DAVE BEATY
On sale APRIL 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

The Daemonites have taken everything from Cole Cash, and now the world’s greatest con artist will find himself the victim of an absolutely alien grift, forcing him to make a choice: die at their blue hands, or kill his own brother. Cole will fight his way to his own finish line in the streets of Paris, amid the fires of burning alien bodies.

Is this one of the books Liefeld's doing? I would pay money to see Rob Liefeld draw Martian Manhunter. Not good money, mind, or I could have talked to him about it at Comicpalooza 2010 when I was getting that commission from Marat Mychaels. Maybe a c-note for a full body, but preferably $2.99 for an issue of Grifter.

SUPERMAN #8
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and DAN JURGENS
Art by DAN JURGENS and JESUS MERINO
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale APRIL 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.

Superman, agent of the Daemonites?! How has Helspont bent The Man of Steel to his will?

That cover is sick. Imagine Starro doing that. It would be a way better revamp than turning him into a Frazetta barbarian.

STORMWATCH VOL. 1: THE DARK SIDE TP
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Art by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA and AL BARRIONUEVO
Cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
On sale MAY 23 • 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US

Stormwatch returns in this DC Comics – The New 52 title collecting the first six issues of the team’s new series! Jack Hawksmoor, Midnighter, Apollo, The Engineer and Martian Manhunter comprise a dangerous super human police force whose existence is kept secret from the world. This covert team of sci-fi super heroes must battle the Earth’s moon itself and find a way to hide its monstrous metamorphosis from the rest of the Earth! Featuring writing from Doctor Who and SUPERMAN: THE BLACK RING scribe Paul Cornell, and art from rising star Miguel Sepulveda.

That last issue will really need to kick butt to make this worthwhile. Same cover as #1, so those Chris Burnham covers continue to go to waste.

THE INFINITE CRISIS OMNIBUS HC
Written by BILL WILLINGHAM, DAVE GIBBONS, GEOFF JOHNS, GREG RUCKA and JUDD WINICK
Art by JUSTINIANO, RON WAGNER, IVAN REIS, MARCO CAMPOS, JOE PRADO, MICHAEL BAIR, JACK JADSON, JOE BENNETT, RAGS MORALES, JESUS SAIZ, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, PHIL JIMENEZ, ANDY LANNING, CLIFF RICHARDS, DAVID LOPEZ, TOM DERENICK, KARL KERSCHL and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
On sale JUNE 27 • 1,152 pg, FC, $150.00 US

This incredible omnibus hardcover collects the many titles from the 2005 event that rocked the DC Universe, including DAY OF VENGEANCE #1-6, the DAY OF VENGEANCE INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL #1, RANN/THANAGAR WAR #1-6, RANN/THANAGAR WAR INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL #1, THE OMAC PROJECT #1-5, DC COUNTDOWN #1 and WONDER WOMAN #219.
OMAC robots are rampaging, magic is dying, villains are uniting, and a war is raging in space. And in the middle of it all, a critical moment has divided Earth’s three greatest heroes: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. It’s the DCU’s darkest day, and long-lost heroes from the past have returned to make things right in the universe...at any cost

This was the Crisis event where they took J'Onn out of the action in a prelude issue of JLA that isn't reprinted here, as opposed to the one where they actually killed him in the first issue. In retrospect, Zero Hour: Crisis in Time was comparatively good to him by way of a token cameo.

BRIGHTEST DAY VOL. 2 TP
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PATRICK GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK and JOE PRADO
Cover by DAVID FINCH and SCOTT WILLIAMS
On sale MAY 9 • 240 pg, FC, $19.99 US
Once dead, twelve heroes and villains were resurrected by a white light from deep within the earth. Now, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman, Jade, Osiris, Hawk, Captain Boomerang and Zoom must discover the mysterious reason behind their return and uncover the secret that binds them all.
In this second volume, collecting issues #8-16 of the series, learn whether Deadman is truly destined to wield the White Lantern and who the new Aqualad is. Plus, Firestorm’s dueling alter egos take a bizarre journey, while Martian Manhunter returns to Mars to learn about the strange creature that is stalking him.

The meat of the D'Kay story is here, but it's Carl Budding, and it's from the dollar store. The tacked-on ending and the d.u.m.b. Elemental League won't come until the next trade.

DC UNIVERSE: LEGACIES TP
Written by LEN WEIN • Art by SCOTT KOLINS, ANDY KUBERT, JOE KUBERT, GEORGE PEREZ, J.H. WILLIAMS III and others
Cover by ANDY KUBERT and JOE KUBERT
On sale MAY 9 • 336 pg, FC, $24.99 US
Acclaimed writer Len Wein chronicles the DC Universe’s epic history in this title spanning five generations of heroes starring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Justice League of America, The Teen Titans and more. Collecting the ten-issue miniseries!

It's that bland mini-series that mildly revised a continuity that has now ceased to exist! It's way less irrelevant than those Flashpoint tie-ins!

Miss Martian

YOUNG JUSTICE #15
Written by KEVIN HOPPS and GREG WEISMAN
Art and cover by CHRISTOPHER JONES
On sale APRIL 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E
Ocean-Master’s plan to purify Atlantis brings Aqualad to death’s door and forces his former schoolmates to choose sides. Can even Superboy and Ms. Martian help him?

Ms? Does this have something to do with the tail?

Martian Manhunter: American Secrets #2 (October, 1992)

2012-01-17T00:49:00.000-06:00

Upon arrival, the runaways took in the sight of the suburban "heaven." Preston informed John, "The comic book man told me all about Leavitzville. This is where he wants to come--after the reckoning... He used to come out here to visit with his old boss-- the 'Nuts' man!" Intruding on this revelation was the Anderson family, a nuclear bunch complete with both parents, a child of each gender, and a loyal pet dog. "Can we give you folks a hand?" The teenage daughter was already swooning over Perkins Preston, and Mom recognized Patty Marie. "Whatever brings you here so late at night?"

Jones bought himself a few minutes to come up with an excuse for his group's late night arrival into the Anderson home, involving a well-known mobster. "These extortion gangs threaten popular personalities to bleed the producers. I was about to move Perkins and Patty to a safe-house in the Rockies when someone tried to hit them...You heard of a man called Mr. Gioconda?"

"He's one of those Las Vegas gangsters, isn't he?" Jones was pleased to glean that bit of information, then asked about their suburban habitat, while Mrs. Anderson blathered the equivalent of product endorsements in the background (predating "The Truman Show.") Mr. Anderson affirmed, "People of all types, all backgrounds, and all creeds are welcome in Leavitzville. As long as they fit in."

Meanwhile, Sissy shared her secret stash of "Pink Passion" lipstick with Patty Marie. Sissy whispered, "Is your mom strict about things, too?" Patty replied, "She tried to give me to the lizards. Usually she only hurts me when she's drunk, or when one of my uncles is over and I interrupt them. But this time all I did was say the wrong thing on television. A man called me on the telephone and said I should say the words 'Prize-To-Be' on the program. And I said them...and she whipped me with the hose and said she was going to give me to the-- to the-- NO! NO! NO!"

Jones arrived to console Patty Marie. "Your mother's made milk shakes, Sissy. Wipe the Pink Passion off your mouth and join her." In the next room, Buddy showed off his collection of movie monster magazines. A hungry Preston was more interested in the kid's candy. "Have all you want. It tastes crummy. That weird Mr. Keene gives it out to all the kids. It's made from sugar-beets...Bleccchhh!" Perkins read the wrapper, "Beto," then mentioned black friends back home in Mississippi who share-cropped the sugar-beets. "Colored people? You've seen colored people? What are they like?"

Jones slept on the couch. "That night I dream strange dreams. Dreams of my other self. Misty dreams of Mars, and great airships over Earthly cities. Of little girls and their prizes, and boys and their candy. Dreams of endless grids. Straight rows of lights, or houses, of humanity, stretching endlessly away." The next morning, Jones perused the morning newspaper, noting the suicide death of singer Eddie Lowe. "Prize-To-Be... The tumblers roll through my brain but can't click into place. Eddie Lowe fights with Phil Jerry about jukebox orders from Mr. Gioconda. From Cuba. Las Vegas. The Big Question. And a parody..."

Jones decided to investigate further, by invisibly trekking to the home of the former employer of the proselytizing lizard-obsessed artist, Mr. Keene. Jazz music blared from his home, while Jones noted a sign above his door reading "POETRIE B E-Z --KOMMEDIE B HARD".

A pudgy, goateed, bespectacled man answered the door, and was surprised to be questioned by a Denver police officer. On his floor was an unpublished art board from "Nuts" depicting child personality "Skeeter" as a murderous alien invader. "There was a murder on 'The Big Question.' 'Nuts' magazine satirized that...Your parody used the category 'horticulture' the day of the murder." Keene, an obvious analog for Bill Gaines, joked around Jones' questions before settling into a confessional funk. "Once I was serious. About science-fiction stories, crime stories. They took me to a senate committee for such serious. They dragged me through the mud. They cut off my head. Their pink-tinted head-shrinkers called me a capitalist pimp... and their flag-flying preachers called me a Red. They wanted me quiet. And they got it."
"Who? Who wanted you quiet, Keene?"
"My neighbors, maybe..."

Suddenly, a dragon-hound burst through the door, attacking the Manhunter. Mr. Anderson pulled up in his station wagon shortly after, walking up to Keene's door with briefcase in hand. Just as J'Onzz snapped the beast's neck, Anderson whipped out a hi-tech handgun, firing streams of flame at the Martian. Perkins and Patty thankfully arrived in their pink Cadillac, saving Jones by running Anderson down. "Oh my Lord! I killed him!" Keene consoled, "It's okay, kid. He wasn't human anyway... Insurance salesman." Keene fetched some fresh clothes for the singed John Jones, and a batch of All-Star Comics for Patty Marie. The girl protested, "But I don't read comic books! They're not educational." Keene retorted, "That's what you think."

A panicked Perkins Preston shouted, "Detective Jones? Sir? They're coming, sir. Station Wagons!" Loading up the Caddie, Jones reverted to Manhunter form, and flew away with the car. Keene looked on. "I didn't think there were any of your kind left."

Jones and company made the long trip across country to Nevada. On a night drive, Preston asked, "Are they after us, sir?"
"Yes."
"Then what do we do?"
"We learn who they are. And we go after them."
"Sir?"
"Mm."
"What are you, sir."
"Don't ask me that. Just drive."

In a Vegas hotel room, child actor Whitey Bright, nationally famous star of the hit series "It Must Be Skeeter," talked up a couple of working girls while smoking and boozing. Watching an episode of his show, the boy noted "We shot this baby in three days, dolls. No thanks to (co-star) Hubert. What a bender he was on!" The broadcast was interrupted by a special bulletin. "The F.B.I. requests all citizens be on the lookout for the murderer of a Leavitzville insurance agent. He has been identified as Denver Detective John Jones, and he appears to be holding as hostages Hillbilly singer Perkins Preston and child actress Patty Marie."

Arriving at a casino lobby, the Martian arranged a meeting with Mr. Gioconda by posing as Preston's manager, an elderly southern fried colonel. "The Colonel" claimed to want Perkins to perform for the mobster's patrons, but Preston quietly protested, "With all these drunken old people here, sir? I'll never sing in a place like this."
"Without cooperation, young man, you may not live to wrestle with that dilemma!"

The Colonel was more concerned with meeting the management than booking Perkins, so he had his charges shuffled off to separate rooms. He claimed the "abduction" of his talent was part of a publicity stunt he'd engineered, until things got out of hand with John Jones. He also slipped mentions of Cuba and the jukebox business, which grabbed Mr. G's attention firmly.

In her room, Patty Marie was visited by Whitey "Skeeter" Bright, who let himself in with his own key. Still smoking, Whitey pressed himself ever closer to the crying girl. "They call Skeeter a 'message show.' They don't know the half of it. I sell big messages on that show, baby. Stick with me, and maybe I'll let you in on a few. Or maybe you got a few secret messages of your own, huh, Sad-Eyes? What makes another child-star shed such big, juicy tears?" Whitey's hand rested on Patty Marie's prepubescent thigh, as he kept leaning in closer. "Who'd ever want to hurt a sweet little thing like you?"

"My mother! And my uncles! All the uncles she brings home! She lets them hurt me! She always let them hurt me!" Whitey's hand crept ever higher, under the child's skirt, another creep with a perverse agenda. "Tell Uncle Whitey what the bad men did to you... Come on. We've all got secrets. The world runs on secrets. Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine. Come on honey... tell me everything those terrible uncles did to you."

In his own room, Perkins Preston read, with occasional difficulty, some of Keene's comics. In an adventure of the Justice Society of America, Perkins was surprised to find the team battling "Lizard Men."

Exiting his meeting, "the Colonel" was confronted by Inspector Anole of the F.B.I in the hotel hallway. At first he seemed to be enlisting the Colonel's help investigating the "subversive" Gioconda, until his features began to take on a decidedly reptilian appearance. "... nobody's what they seem to be these days. Before the war, you knew the lefties. You knew the thugs. Then it all changed. Gangsters pose as businessmen. Commies work in the state department. Homosexuals pass for school teachers. And that client of yours. Perkins Preston. He has a white man's face but a Negro's soul. Just to seduce our American girls into popping open their little coin-purses. You just can't tell about anybody anymore." Anole knew the Colonel was green in his own heart, and wanted to enlist his services to keep up the "land of the free." That is, "Free for those who are advanced enough to appreciate it."

At that moment, Patty Marie burst out of her room into the hall, crying for Officer Jones to "Make him stop!" Whitey Bright strolled out after, affecting innocence and claiming he was only doing his duty as a "Junior G-Man," plying the poor girl for information. Inspector Anole congratulated the fresh-faced youth as they strolled off together, leaving Jones alone with his shaken charge. "He... he changed, Officer Jones!"
"Yeah. Who hasn't?"

Back in Perkins' room, Patty and Jones learned about the four color Lizard-Men with crops that controlled racketeers' minds. "This is what we need, Sir! Heroes-- like Flash and Green Lantern and Doctor--" John Jones cut him off with, "It'd be nice, if they were real." Perkins assured Jones they were, pointing out the indicia of the comics informing, "Published by arrangement with the Justice Society of America. Melvin Keene, licensing representative." With another item tying Keene to the conspiracy, Jones begins looking for other common bonds. The "Beto E-Z Rip" candy wrapper, "Prize-To-Be," and other clues all contained the same combination of letters, but what did they spell? Before Jones could come to an answer, yet another visitor darkened the refugees' door. "Forgive me, Detective. An inclination to cheap suspense comes naturally to my sort after a while. I'm Charles McNider. Physician, retired. But they used to call me Dr. Midnight!"

Book two of three was by writer Gerard Jones, artist Eduardo Barreto, colorist Steve Oliff, letter Pat Brosseau, and editor Brian Augustyn.

2010 "Miss Martian Manhunter" art by Matthew S. Armstrong

2012-01-16T00:19:00.000-06:00

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"I don't want you hurting any more Earth people. That wouldn't be nice." ~ Miss Martian

Megan aka M'gann M'orzz is pretty cool character. I'm intrigued by the mystery surrounding her origin. Ancient Mars history being of great interest to me whenever it shows up in stories.
I didn't know about her till recently. I was just thinking it might be cool if Martian Manhunter had a kid sister or something... a quick google search and BAM! the DC geniuses already had one. I've been reading some Teen Titan stories with where she shows up, she seems to be a minor guest star who definitely deserves more screen time.

Just a reminder we are moving to: www.matthewart.com if you get a sec please redirect your reader :) thank you.

2011 "It Even Rains in Space" Martian Manhunter color art by Michael Walsh and Adam Metcalfe

2012-01-15T01:07:00.000-06:00

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"I love the man Martian J'onn J'onzz. He has such a cool simple design, I especially liked him in Grant Mo's Earth 2 when he completely dominated the alternate Superman. He always seemed like such a forlorn, lonely martian so I tried to capture a bit of that.

Also, shout out to Neils' gal who absolutely loves this character, and with good reason."

Be sure to check out the stark, "rainless" black and white original art at Speedballin' Comics, who devoted a whole week in December to J'Onn J'Onzz art for me to steal and repost. Huzzah!

Martian Manhunter: American Secrets #1 (September, 1992)

2012-01-14T00:00:00.002-06:00

"He reached for me as the bullet broke his breastbone. Who else could he reach for? He's a stranger. I'm a stranger. Not just strangers to each other, but even bigger strangers to the cold stone eyes of the city. He's a beatnik. I'm a Martian." The scene was a street corner on a cold winter's night in New York, 1959. Denver Police Detective John Jones was in town for a forensics convention. The bleeding beatnik told Jones "It's the dogs. The dogs who...see inside," before dying in the incognito alien's arms.

Police soon arrived, as a witness informed Jones that the beatnik had been chased out of a nearby cafe. "Procedure would be to let the local cops check the story. But I feel something in this. Something that no procedure can cover." After asking a few questions, Jones decided to sit and observe the goings on at this bohemian establishment. Open-mic poets rambled apparent nonsense, while he noted an older gentleman at a table jotting lines on paper. A folk singer preached resistance as Jones departed, wondering about seemingly casual mentions of a supposedly omnipresent game show called "The Big Question."

Returning to his hotel room, Jones deflected a bellhop's attempts to solicit "companionship" for him, preferring a glass of milk and the boob tube. "This is what the cold brings. Companions on order... Contests so they can cheer for the meaningless victories of strangers. Manufactured families. Staged communication. It's a cold world for a stranger. I'll look for my own warmth. My way. The Martian way. I remember little of my world, of my past life. But in moments of peace I remember a warmth. I remember a silent companionship. But peace is short here. And suddenly I can't even remember the warmth." The cold and warmth are a concern for Jones' questing mind throughout the story, referring less to the snow falling outside than that of the heart. He watched the television; visited bars; glanced at pornography; trying to understand the nature of these temporary respites from loneliness men cleave to.

Exploring the 50's game show scandals two years before the much-lauded film "Quiz Show," Jones continued his investigation invisibly at the filming of "The Big Question." The show was rigged, but one obstinate contestant refused to request the question category, "horticulture" that had been fed to her. Before a live studio audience in a heated booth, her head exploded. As the mess was quickly cleaned up and attributed to technical difficulties, an invisible Manhunter spied a woman threatening her pig-tailed daughter. "She said the wrong thing, Patty Marie. You won't say the wrong thing, will you, darling?" The contestant's identical duplicate then entered stage left, pushed the corpse aside, and picked up where the original left off. Into her session, however, the duplicate spotted the incognito John Jones through unknown senses. "Him! He isn't one of them! He sees!" Racing from the scene, John Jones noted to himself, "And she sees... what no human can see." He also noted the reappearance of the older gentleman from the beat club in a station hallway, and followed that lead out.

The gentleman led Jones to a diner, where he met and turned out fading pop singer Eddie Lowe. "These kids don't know music. You give them a Negro beat and they think it's all they need. Now you know I have nothing against the Negroes, Phil. Our people, we have a spiritual kinship with the Negro. We're all exiled people, Phil." The gentleman replied, "You're exiled...Exiled from the Hit Parade, you are." As the singer stormed out, Detective Jones materialized to step up to the gentleman. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop...but you're in the music business, aren't you? I need to ask some questions." The older man, Phil Jerry, was less than helpful. However, the arrival of hot new music sensation Perkins Preston, an Elvis analogue, was illuminating. In the midst of listening to the country boy ramble about writing to his mama regarding the sinful big city, the mention of "lizards" caught Jones' attention. Pulling out a religious comic strip pamphlet given to him by a "holy man" in the New York streets, Preston stated, "He knows the end in store for us all."

On finding the aged zealot, the detective was informed, "Satan is a lizard! I can see him, that's why he torments me. That's why he had me thrown out of Nuts." This "Nuts" was revealed to be the Mad Magazine-type humor publication of one Melvin Keene, complete with gap-toothed mascot. "I put the lizards into all my pictures," said the former cartoonist, "to warn people. But Satan made them fire me." Perusing a copy of "Nuts" at a newsstand, Jones noted a parody called, "The Big Kvetch-tion" where a contestant fervently asked for the horticulture category. Jones also noted a conspicuous zeppelin above the caricature's head reading, "ZOPRBETIE".

On his way back to the hotel, Jones stopped at a corner store for some Oreos, but they only had Hydrox. "Tell me. Why are there two of everything here? Or more. Hydrox and Oreo. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler."

"Competition, buddy. The American way."

At the forensics convention, Jones talked a bit about his odd case, to general derision as a misguided yokel from Denver. "I've been following a trail... but not an evidence trail. A trail of references and hunches. Game-shows, lizard-headed devils, comic books..." That line got the attention of a lean, mustachioed, plainclothes officer named Jim Swift, who insisted on knowing where Jones was staying while in town.

That night, the Martian sat in his hotel room, watching a detective show on television, while in his natural form. "This is why I became a cop. Stranded on this world, I wanted to be among its heroes. These were the heroes the culture showed me. There were other heroes before, I've heard. During Earth's last Great War. But like all war heroes, they've faded. Except the ones who chose to become something other than heroes. There is so much they don't tell. Is that why I became a cop? To learn what they don't tell?"

A knock came on the door from Swift, offering information on Jones' case. From behind the door, J'Onzz repeatedly refused Swift for the night, at which point the officer announced, "I'm coming in, Jones." A lizard-like version of Swift joined two reptilian uniformed officers in bursting through the door. The policemen released twin saurian hounds from their leashes to seize the lanky Martian's arms.

"What are you?"
"No, John. I'm the local cop. I ask the questions. So what the hell are--What?"
The Martian transformed from his natural form to the familiar Manhunter visage, tossing the hounds into their masters. "I am a police officer." In the struggle that followed, a smashed television set the hotel room ablaze, revealing J'Onzz's weakness. The Manhunter flew through the roof to make his escape, then did some digging to find Phil Jerry at Royal Records. That same night, J'Onzz overheard mafia thugs commanding Jerry in his office, "Need another Preston Platter... for the jukes... Word's come down... All the way from Cuba... We'll tell Mr. Gioconda you're working on it."

When the thugs left, Detective Jones entered to grill Jerry. Apparently, he did too good a job, as Jerry spontaneously combusted once he began leaking information. As Jones backed away from the flaming corpse, he bumped into an excited Perkins Preston. "The lizards! They--Oh Lord! They did it to Mr. Jerry!" Detective Jones hauled the young rocker out of the building by his arm, asking questions the whole way. Suspecting a police dragnet in the works, the pair needed a discreet way out of town. What they got was Preston's pink Cadillac, complete with "The Big Question's" Patty Marie hiding in the back seat. While narrowly evading a pursuing car and lizard-police gunfire, Patty confessed, "Mother was going to give me to the lizards! I ran out of the booth! I had to hide!"

Hours later, Patty Marie had cried herself to sleep, and Jones contemplated the group's future course. "Strange. The first thought that crosses my mind is the trouble I can get into by taking a runaway minor across state lines. Maybe I've learned my police codes too well." Preston noted a freeway exit to Leavitzville, and took it. "My mama talks about the suburbs all the time! Like a small town--Only new and improved! Nothing'll hurt us there."

Book one of three was by writer Gerard Jones, artist Eduardo Barreto, colorist Steve Oliff, letter Pat Brosseau, and editor Brian Augustyn.

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Ramon Fernandez Bachs

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

The was already a good drawing of the Magnificent Seven, but highlighting my two favorites (oh... and Batman... I guess...) makes it that much better

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Marat Mychaels

2012-01-12T15:30:00.001-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Blogspot once again failed to publish the regularly scheduled midnight post, so I will offer a second JLA 100 Project post beyond the usual Friday offering. Besides, the next auction is the following Friday, so a little extra attention couldn't hurt the cause. Still, stupid Blogspot.

As much as I try to offer a comprehensive Martian Manhunter fan blog, some of his appearances in this art project barely register, and I can't really bring myself to bother. For instance, this is just a lousy head shot with the popped collar and obscuring everything else. However, this was the guy who did my esteemed 2010 Commander Blanx Comicpalooza Commission, so he gets a free pass.

On the other hand, unless I get some righteous Vile Menagerie art from Andy Smith in the future, his Martian light bonus piece will remain only a link.

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2012 "Martian Manhunter and Beta Ray Bill ...The Lost Issue!"

2012-01-11T00:00:00.006-06:00

Click For More!

I hadn't checked in with ...The Lost Issues! in a while; certainly not since it made it's way through a faux Brave and the Bold run to an ersatz Marvel Two-In-One, back again, and on to its most perfect incarnation, Super-Team Family. I figure that obscure 1970s title is the best umbrella for Ross' unauthorized pairings of comic book characters through the magic of MS Paint. The Aquaman Shrine recently returned there though, and taking a peek myself, found J'Onn J'Onzz was once again cast into the multiverse...

"I thought I would do a cover that featured two of my favorite alien heroes. This one also gave me a chance to do an all-Walt Simonson cover. Simonson's art is so effective on larger than life characters because he has the ability to convey energy that just leaps off of the page. His career has lasted decades and he seems to keep getting better and better. I got a kick out of his cameo during the banquet scene at the end of Thor. Walt fit right in with the Asgardian elite!"

Mars-Two?

2012-01-10T00:00:00.003-06:00

I started reading comics before Crisis On Infinite Earths, and I remembers guys complaining afterward that there was nothing so confusing about the multiverse that it needed to be streamlined into oblivion. Those guys were full of crap. I hated the multiple Earths concept as a kid, and decided that the X-Men soap opera was more penetrable than DC playing with which characters on what Earth.

Earth-One was where most heroes were, but the Justice Society of America and the doppelgangers of many mainstream heroes like Superman were on Earth-Two, where World War II had only ended twenty or so years earlier. However, some characters like Black Canary were from Earth-Two and had no Earth-One counterpart but decided to live on Earth-One later on (and get retroactively replaced by their adult daughter because that wasn't complicated enough.) Then there was the Marvel Family on Earth-S who sometimes got involved in World War II stuff but usually were in the present and sometimes on Earth-One. The Freedom Fighters were from Earth-X, where the Nazis won World War II, so the bums moved to 1970s Earth-One. They were all Quality Comics characters like Plastic Man, except Plas was on Earth-One and Earth-Two, but not Earth-X (I don't think.) There were dozens of others, including Earths for various alternate futures. There was even Earth-Prime, which was supposed to be our real world, except it still had a few super-heroes and people spoke like Eliot S! Maggin dialogue.

About the only Earth I halfway liked was Earth-Three, which was like that Star Trek episode where the crew of the Enterprise were all evil. Earth-Three couldn't even get that right though, because instead of giving Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman pointy goatees, their analogues were inexact with different names, powers and costumes. About the only multiverse comic I enjoyed was Ambush Bug, since it spent a lot of time pointing out how insanely moronic all that stuff was.

Like a lot of people, I jumped on the Post-Crisis, one-Earth bandwagon wholeheartedly. It was a once in a lifetime chance to read a Superman comic from the very beginning of his journey. However, the new creators were so busy throwing out all those hoary old trappings, I felt they didn't leave enough to make the characters special. I couldn't get excited about Superman breaking a sweat while having street-level brawls with Bloodsport, Rampage, the Host, Sleeze or Skyhook. Rogue could fly around punching c-listers, too.

The Flash is one of my favorite examples of this. Barry Allen was a forensic scientist with the police force who had a colorful array of personal rogues. Loads of places you can go with that. Wally West was an unemployed dude who picked up cash with his powers and after making friends with the old Flash's foes fought villains like That Really Fat Guy and Whatsisname With The %-Symbol. You can play with that for a while, but outside straight comedy, there's only so much steam there. Aside from true innovators like Giffen & DeMatteis in Justice League International, a lot of the new DC barely sizzled passed the initial appeal of the stakes.

I came back a few years later, and what sucked me in this time was the sense of history and continuity in the universe. The Crimson Avenger was a Shadow knock-off, and the first masked DC hero. From there the JSA members started springing up, and the ranks of superherodom ballooned during World War II. McCarthy ran off the heroes going into the '50s in a parallel to the Wertham crusade, so when J'Onn J'Onzz arrived on Earth in 1955, he had to operate in secret. Eventually, Superman sparked a new super-heroic age, and was joined by the children of the JSA in Infinity Inc. There were heroes before the 20th Century, and there would be more in the 30th, all weaving a grand tapestry. I loved that DC Universe, and if anything, I wanted to see more history laid down to fill the gaps. The newly acquired T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents could have been the super-team of the '60s, and by integrating Wildstorm, operations like Team One and Stormwatch could have guarded the '70s & '80s. Instead of having an excess of corny heroes involved in present day adventures, dated concepts like the Hawk and the Dove could be fixed in time, making them the heroes of an era.

Due to my interest in finding a place for all DC history, I've always struggled to find a way to reconcile the shiny utopian Mars of the Silver Age with the primitives in pyramids revealed Post-Crisis. DC's answer had been that all those early stories were a fantasy in J'Onn J'Onzz's mind, but I found it both disrespectful and wasteful to ignore over thirty years of published adventures. When the multiverse returned following 2005's Infinite Crisis, it occurred to me that one possibility was that all those Silver Age Martian Manhunter adventures could have simply occurred on "Mars-Two." I mean, if there was a second Earth in a parallel universe, why not a divergent copy of Earth's neighbor world? Maybe reveal the Mars-Two Martian Manhunter had been killed off in the Crisis. That way, on Mars-One, every Martian is dead besides J'Onn J'Onzz, while on Mars-Two, they're all alive except J'onn J'onzz. When Coneheadhunter was killed off in Final Crisis, it would have been neat to see him replaced by a Darwyn Cooke-style Alien Atlas from another Earth, right? Now that would have been cosmically delicious!

Given the distasteful treatment of the multiverse concept by travesties like Countdown, I was surprised DC retained it going into the DCnÜ. Some characters, like the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, never really recovered from massively reworked origins for the gestalt Post-Crisis Earth. Giving that back to Huntress on a restored Earth-Two would elevate the character, but I'm not sure that's where DC is going. I doubt they're in a hurry to saddle their sexy new continuity with that kind of history, and wouldn't be surprised if Alan Scott and Jay Garrick were fit young men born well after the days of disco, much less the Great Depression. It seems likely that they'll just be more variations on Green Lantern and the Flash in universes crowded with them. To me, that means the DCnÜ is something like the worst of both worlds-- the confusing Pre-Crisis Multiverse, and a bland Image style line-up marked by an illusory history dating back to only a few years worth of untold tales. Every one of their characters are available to creators in the now, but with hardly any of them having any cultural relevancy, in our day or times past.

The Martian Manhunter benefited massively from the Post-Crisis Earth. He went from an off-brand Superman to the first major hero of the 1950s, and a keeper of the flame active between the eras of the Justice Society and the Justice League. Perhaps he will still have that personal longevity and significance in the DCnÜ, but so much is in flux that it is difficult to see that far ahead or behind. I think it's essential to the character's resonance, but DC might feel he needs to have shown up 4½ years ago (so as not to step on Wonder Woman's debut, which somehow now follows Green Lantern and Flash's. Ugh.)

Recent issues of Stormwatch insinuate that J'Onn J'Onzz's being the sole survivor of Mars is a lie, reversing the narrative of his Post-1988 continuity. One of my pet theories for years has been that all those Bronze Age Martians are still on Mars II somewhere, hidden away, perhaps from J'Onn J'Onzz himself. Another possibility would be that the Mars of Earth-1.2 is a dead world, but J'Onn J'Onzz came there from a living Mars-Two. This could reestablish J'Onzz's bridging of two eras of heroes and two worlds. Unlikely, but imagine the possibilities of playing with all that lore without hewing to the enforced "reality" of the DCnÜ Justice League. In my fantasy, Bel Juz is plotting, the Marshal is scowling, B'rett is stealing, and R'es Eda is just waiting for his moment of betrayal in the computer colored current continuity I'd like to see re-embrace its heritage, while forging something new...

2011 "Young Justice: Earth Studies" Miss Martian art by Christopher Monti

2012-01-09T00:00:00.001-06:00

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"More Young Justice
So I hear that Miss Martain learned Earth culture from TV.
... Kinda makes you wonder...

Y'know if young justice had the same tone as teen titans, she would probably have been comically geeky. =p

Miss Martian, Superman and Martian Manhunter belong to DC comics"

Martian Manhunter Mark III

2012-01-08T01:11:00.004-06:00

Crisis on Infinite Earths was the game changer. The DC Universe had essentially been rebooted in the Silver Age, but that was because their super-hero line had mostly gone moribund. What brought the genre back was the radically revised and novel take on the Flash concept. From there, the more imaginative and of-the-time the reworking, the bigger the success. The more faithful the revival, the more modest the impact. That's why the Flash and Green Lantern still had books being published going into Crisis on Infinite Earths, while Hawkman-- not so much. An argument could be made against the Atom, but Al Pratt was bush league during the 1940s, so Ray Palmer making the b-list was a major improvement. Marvel Comics did pretty much the same thing as DC in the 1960s, except they had far less loyalty to their Golden Age roots, keeping Captain America and the Sub-Mariner as contrasts to a brand new world of heroes.

Anyway, COIE showed that you could reboot an entire universe in progress and make it a critical and commercial success that injects new vitality into your entire line. However, there was a lot of fighting, missteps, and a general lack of consensus following COIE. A sort of "expansion pack" could be found in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, which codified the then-current DCU through a set timeline that excluded problematic deviations. Infinite Crisis was meant to be an anniversary sequel that would give DC another shot in the arm, but there was too much confusion throughout the book as to its aims, to the point where changes were still being made to the material as it transitioned from periodical to collected edition. Its only truly lasting changes were the reintroduction of the multiverse and a new Blue Beetle. Final Crisis, while a better executed event, still only amounted to killing off the New Gods and completing the transition of the Marvel Family to fully radioactive status. Curiously, it was Flashpoint, a Flash-centric dud of a crossover involving a lot of garbage non-canon tie-ins, that ended the Post-Crisis DC Universe with a whimper instead of a bang.

The reason I bring this up is that, all things considered, the Silver Age Manhunter from Mars wasn't any kind of a big deal. It was a back-up strip in the worst selling Batman book at a time when DC seriously considered cancelling all of them, and it tried to exploit whatever fad came along. The property was based on mashing up a watered down version of the crime comics that had been crushed by the 1950s crusade against perceived causes of juvenile delinquency and the lightweight science fiction that survived the collapse of EC Comics. When super-heroes got hot, J'onn J'onzz started flying his cape proudly while acting as a Superman stand-in for the Justice League of America until getting pushed aside by the real thing. Whenever everybody got an alien, imp, or pet sidekick, Zook qualified as all three. From Big Eyed Monsters to men from V.U.L.T.U.R.E., J'onn J'onzz tried and typically failed to get down with whatever was happenin', until he transitioned from Detective Comics to House of Mystery to sporadic guest star. Aside from co-founding the JLA, the Martian Manhunter was an also-ran, and meant little to nothing in the Bronze Age.

Crisis on Infinite Earths was where J'Onn J'Onzz began to matter. He'd only begun appearing regularly again after a thirteen year absence as a member of a very esoteric and poorly received Justice League line-up. As an extremely powerful cosmic character, he was the only current member of that grand old super-team to really fit the scale of Crisis. While better known teammates sat on the sidelines, Martian Manhunter was given a comparatively meaty role. The Alien Atlas' role in the Justice League of America series expanded, and he was the only member to transition to a relaunched volume. Once again standing in for Superman as resident powerhouse, Justice League International proved a huge success, with J'Onzz playing straight man and den mother amidst a comedic troupe. The Martian Manhunter broke out in two mini-series as a result, and was the featured leader of a modestly successful spin-off, Justice League Task Force.

By this point, the character was completely unrecognizable when compared to his prior publishing life. The Silver Age Martian Manhunter was a young man stranded on Earth, occasionally making contact with his parents and little brother on Mars. John Jones had a pet dog and friends on a minor metropolitan police force. He had no telepathy, and most of the time his shapeshifting was limited to switching from human to alien form. He was a good natured fellow who had inconsequential adventures involving amusing "threats." The Modern Age jettisoned all of that, as Mars went from a futuristic utopia to a long dead world. J'onzz was the last living Martian following a plague that saw his wife and daughter perish before his eyes. The Modern Manhunter was solemn, what humor he had left sardonic, and his power usage was much different. As the character progressed to his own solo series, he carried with him a tragic air. His brother turned up as a serial killing maniac, and his other foes tended to be inclined toward a similarly grisly sociopathy.

A defining characteristic of J'Onzz life, much of this was inherited from Superman. In the 1980s, DC swept most of their Silver Age Kryptonian lore under the carpet. Kal-El was no longer an alien who longed for the life lost amongst his own kind, but an Earthling farmboy who felt disconnected from Krypton, and tended to be fearful or distrustful when elements of his heritage turned up. The Weisinger Superman had watched lovers die and failed repeatedly in time traveling crusades to save his birth world. He knew that he could never settle down and have a normal life with a woman like Lois Lane. Aside from occasional friendly survivors, Superman's primary interaction with Kryptonians was in wrangling its worst criminals back into a deathlike prison in the Phantom Zone. For their time, Silver Age Superman stories were routinely heavy and dark in a way J'Onn J'Onzz would emulate. Due to changes in the Crisis timeline, J'Onzz often literally stood in for Superman on adventures that he was retroactively removed from. Basically, the Martian Manhunter most fans know had more to do with the Silver Age Man of Steel than the contemporaneous Manhunter from Mars.

By adopting a more commercial archetype, J'Onn J'Onzz saw his breakthrough to mainstream awareness in the late '90s, first as a member of the well-received revival of the JLA, and then amidst the televised animated series version of the same. To this day, you can still walk into a Wall*Mart or Target expecting to find some sort of Martian Manhunter merchandise.

Despite promises made otherwise, Flashpoint has proven the hardest reboot of the DC Universe since COIE. As a result, the next few years' worth of comics could shape the future of the Martian Manhunter for decades to come. The character had faded from relevancy midway through the aughts, was radically redesigned, then killed off when that proved unpopular. The Martian Manhunter had just starred in the Brightest Day maxi-series that helped restated who the character was supposed to be following his resurrection. Months after its conclusion, we're now seeing the entire universe being rethought, including the Manhunter's role in it. While his powers and attitude remain seemingly the same, he does not appear to be the "heart and soul" of the central heroic team of the entire line. In fact, despite being linked to the Justice League, former teammates like Green Lantern Guy Gardner don't appear to even know who the fellow is. Instead, the Martian Manhunter seems to be part of the cold, calculating, clandestine super-ego of the multiverse, Stormwatch. For years, J'Onzz was among the more spiritual and ethical heroes around, but has now traded his pacifistic race for one of warriors willing to brutally trespass in the minds of combatants.

Recent comments in Stormwatch bring into question elements of the Modern Martian Manhunter taken for granted over the past quarter-century. For instance, his race may not be dead, and more importantly, they may not even be Martian. The Daemonites of the Wildstorm Universe looked like bipedal Brood, but the pale ones popping up all over the DCnÜ with elements of invisibility, intangibility and shapeshifting seem awfully similar to White Martians. J'Onzz himself seems more violent and secretive, so what are his origins and motivations today? If he's no longer one of the most beloved heroes on DC Earth, how does he relate to humans, metahumans, and other aliens? The answers to these questions could determine whether the Manhunter from Mars remains a known quantity outside comics who hasn't quite managed to sustain a solo career. It could build him up, or wash him out like in the Bronze Age. Whichever way the worm turns, it seems likely that fans will have to adjust to not knowing who this new Martian Manhunter really is, and how they relate to him. Personally, I'd like to see an effort made to play with more of J'onn J'onzz's publishing history, working to make him more unique and essential while acknowledging the efforts of past creators. Regardless, this initiative will hopefully lead to compelling stories as we learn the rules of this protagonist and his canon in a universe unlike the one we knew...

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Dave Bullock

2012-01-07T00:00:00.002-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Woo-hoo! Front and center Martian Manhunter out to tell the world "I was The stand-in for Superman, momma truckers!" The Founding Five battle Starro in a dynamite interpretation of plucking out thine offensive fish-eye!

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Victor Castro & Mark McKenna

2012-01-06T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Thanks to the success of books like JLI and JLA, the Manhunter from Mars has become enough of a Justice League institution to land on the majority of the 104 covers produced for this project. Red Tornado pickings are pretty slim, and I haven't spotted a single Geo-Force, so stick that in your hat Brad Meltzer. That having been said, J'Onzz's prominence varies greatly, and this is one of only two where the Alien Atlas is incontestably a star of the picture. Odd then that his co-star on this one is noted Frienemy of Mars: Hal Jordan, especially since he's rocking his two-toned pre-Parallax gray locks. There's little love lost between Martians (R.I.P.) and the Green Lantern Corps, but under the circumstances, I welcome the company. Bonus: color highlights.

Hero Fund JLA 100 Project

Victor Castro & Mark McKenna @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Joseph Michael Linsner @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
José Luis García-López @ Power of the Atom
Patrick Scherberger @ Justice League Detroit

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

Comrades of Mars: Grandmother J'onzz

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-06:00

History:
On the grandmother of J'onn J'onzz:

"When he was a boy on Mars, his grandmother told him tales of H'ronmeer, the God of Death... and Fire. How Grandmother's stories thrilled and terrified him! How often he imagined glimpsing H'ronmeer himself, a shadow among shadows, dancing through the warm Martian nights!

Grandmother, so many years gone, so long unremembered, fills his thoughts now. He weeps for her. For a moment, as the flames draw in closer, as the heat drains his strength, he thinks he hears her, calling him. He rises and calls out in answer. But Grandmother isn't there.

'I took her long ago, J'Onn J'Onzz,' a voice whispers. 'Just as I must now take you.' It is the voice of childhood fancy; nightmare and delight. It is the voice of Mars. The voice of fire.

H'ronmeer.

'Are you ready, J'Onn J'Onzz-- to leave this world of strangers? She's waiting. Will you come?'

Yes!"

First Appearance: Justice League of America #256 (November, 1986)

Created by J. M. DeMatteis & Luke McDonnell

Note: The above image was most likely intended to be a H'ronmeer prototype. Since this in no way resembled the version later established by Mark Badger, and J'onzz's grandmother was being referenced, I co-opted it.

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Volume XIV- Martian Manhunter (April, 1986)

2012-01-04T00:00:00.002-06:00

PERSONAL DATA
Alter Ego: John Jones
Occupation: Adventurer, Private Investigator
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: DETECTIVE COMICS #225
Height: 6'7" Weight: 250lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: None

HISTORY
J'Onn J'Onzz. a leading citizen on his native world of Mars, was known for both his expertise in science and as a military strategist. When a violent worldwide racial war broke out between J'Onn's green-skinned race and the white-skinned Desert Dwellers, J'Onn was placed in charge of the army.

While J'Onn wanted to harness the Blue Flame of Mars—the planet's only source of fire—for space exploration, the Desert Dweller leader, Commander Blanx, desired it for conquest. The battle was climaxed by a personal fight between J'Onn and Blanx, at the Blue Flame. The battle was sabotaged by Blanx, and so J'Onn was captured and the war ground to a haft. Rather than kill the popular leader, Blanx had J'Onn exiled to the desert for thirteen years.

During that first year, J'Onn was mysteriously teleported to Earth. It turned out that one Professor Erdel was trying to establish communications between the two worlds, and his experimental machine became a teleporter. Erdel died of shock from the sudden arrival of the imposing Martian figure.

Trapped on Earth, J'Onn used one of his natural talents to shape-shift his features so he could pass for a human. Altering his name to John Jones, he became a police detective in a small American city. J'Onn became a charter member of the Justice League of America (see JLA) when aliens attempted an invasion.

Finally, J'Onn managed to reverse the teleporter and returned home to find the once-gleaming cities in ruins. It turned out that Blanx had managed to spread the Blue Flame throughout the planet, and it destroyed everything in its path. The few remaining Martians constructed a giant space ark to transport them to another world.

After defeating the threat of Blanx once and for all, the Martians, with J'Onn in the lead, traveled safety to another world now dubbed New Mars or Mars II.

Recently, J'Onn returned once again, but this time to warn Earth that Mars was preparing to invade the world.

With J'Onn and the JLA together again, Earth barely avoided an interplanetary conflict with J'Onn once more isolated from his people. In fact, during this time, the JLA regrouped and J'Onn chose to remain with the team—forever exiling himself from his people.

Currently, J'Onn is with the JLA and is sharing an apartment in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, with fellow teammate Steel (see Steel). As John Jones, J'Onn is also a private investigator for Biloxi Investigations in Manhattan.

POWERS & WEAPONS

All Martians possess several powers, including superior strength and reflexes. They can also alter their shapes and impersonate others (which explains J'Onn's subtle change over the years from Martian to green-skinned humanoid) and turn invisible for short periods of time. J'Onn has restricted telepathic abilities, usually limited to mind-reading, although telekinesis allows him to fly.

There remain a number of other Martian senses that have not been fully explored, such as his martian vision.

J'Onn is a superior tactician and leader as well as an excellent hand-to-hand combatant.

His one known weakness is fire, which will sap his strength and eventually kill him.

Art by Luke McDonnell & Larry Mahlstedt

2011 Justice League of America #6 Animated Giff by Kerry Callen

2012-01-03T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Enlarge

More here and here!

The Making of "Manhunter from Mars #200"

2012-01-02T00:00:00.001-06:00

Manhunter from Mars #200 (March, 1981)

Okay, this is an especially fun installment for me. Once I had decided I would continue doing the fake "Manhunter from Mars" covers every fifty posts for the first year or so, I knew James P. Starlin was getting one. Jim Starlin was my first "fan favorite" creator growing up, as I was introduced to him in my pre-school days by an otherwise absentee uncle who was also a fan. Thankfully, he left me with lots of old "Strange Tales" and "Warlock" issues, as well as some "Captain Marvel," leading me to buy "Dreadstar and Company" when that hit the newsstand. Starlin not only influenced my formative imagination, but my very being. The musings in his work regarding religion, politics, identity, mortality and more shape my worldview to this very day. Plus, y'know, he drew a totally boss Martian Manhunter.

"Manhunter from Mars #150" was supposed to have been released in the winter of 1976 on an irratic/bimonthly schedule, so I could have dated "#200" whenever I wanted after late 1980. I decided to take the DC Bullet, price box, CCA seal and UPC code from a dinky GCD scan of Adventure Comics #479 in March 1981. This was the issue that debuted a revival of "Dial "H" For Hero," the feature that permanently pushed the Manhunter from Mars out the cover slot and into the back-up position in "House of Mystery." The revival ran for less than a year, and saw Adventure Comics cancelled a few months later. "H" only ran two years in "HoM" before it and Manhunter were dumped for anthology horror stories. Stick that in your H-Dial and smoke it.

Once the "publishing date" had been decided, it seemed like the best time to use Starlin material had arrived. Since I was more careful about plausiblity at this point, it made sense that Starlin would work on a "lesser" character between the failure of the "Warlock" series and his creative resurgence with the first Marvel Comics graphic novel, "The Death of Captain Marvel." Further, his long run on "Dreadstar" and switch to writing-only for much of the 80's and 90's made that the sweet spot. Starlin was doing lots of paycheck work for DC then, like covers and odd issues of "DC Comics Presents." In one, he introduced his second Darkseid-derivative villain, Mongul. Reference was made there to his having fought Martian Manhunter in the past, so that seemed like an obvious vein to mine.

Focusing on Mongul first, I realized that even though Starlin had co-created the character, he rarely drew him. Mongul fought Martian Manhunter in his first appearance, so I thought it would be too much of a cheat to just swipe a panel from there. Also, that issue had some really lackluster inks that would have cast both characters and Starlin in a negative light. The cover to the issue was pure Starlin, but has been reproduced many times, and even more of a cheat than swiping a panel. My next option was Mongul's Starlin drawn "Who's Who" entry, which also featured a Martian Manhunter fight, and needed only be colored.

Ultimately, I chose a panel from 1981's DC Comics Presents #36, Mongul's first appearance after the "Warworld" arc, which Starlin provided all the art for. The Steve Ditko incarnation of Starman co-starred with Superman in the issue, and was the body originally in the cube. That's his love, Lady Merria, standing with Mongul. Since Gerry Conway had briefly introduced a love interest for J'onn J'onzz in the story that returned the Martian Manhunter to Earth and the JLA, I decided to retroactively insert her into this "story." I very crudely colored over Merria's Caucasian flesh tone in Microsoft Paint to turn her into "J'en," much of which is still visible in the final product.

I next needed a shot of J'onn J'onzz that would spotlight him on the "cover," would hold up to being heavily reduced to fit him in the cube, would be suitably beaten, and would show off how great Starlin drew him. A battle with Synnar alongside the JLA in 1998's Hardcore Station #6, inked by Josef Rubinstein, did the trick. A white background surrounding the figure didn't hurt, either. I also had to do lousy touch up work on the first drawing to cover where Starman had been. Thank God these are reproduced small.

I had learned from "Manhunter From Mars #100" that the background should always be in the forefront of my mind when constructing a fake cover. Thankfully, I had plenty of Starlin reference to choose from, and he's always been big on starscapes. I finally settled on an extract from a two-page spread from 2004's Thanos #2. There, it was a sort of stilt-house for Galactus, but cropped and recontextualized, I thought it would pass for a new Warworld. That would get me in trouble later.

A problem I had repeatedly before I became mindful of it was correctly establishing the dimensions of a comic book, which adversely affected this piece. The three primary figures had all settled into the bottom quarter of the image, a huge no-no. On the plus side, it gave me plenty of room for Mike Nasser's large and ornate "Manhunter from Mars" logo, but it was still noticeably off. Worse, I'd forgotten about the UPC code, which annihilated any one figure I might have set in before. As an added bonus, I was facing the "Dreaded Deadline Doom." That would plague the project later.

I arrived at my 200th post at a time when I was working a ton of hours at my job. That put me so far behind schedule here that I was literally up half the already-too-short night finishing the art and story. I decided to just move the main figures higher up on the cover, and rather than draw everyone a lower body, cover the difference with the UPC code and cover hype. I was too exhausted to do it right, so it's just a crumby font over a colored box. "J'en's" dialogue balloon was in the original illustration, reading "S-Starman, I--." My illegible alteration was, "Stop! You'll Kill Him! I'll lead you to the Crystal Key!"

Considering the wide variety and range in quality of sources, I needed something to integrate all the disparate elements. I had just begun to play with images in the Nero 7 Ultimate Edition, so this was my first attempt to artificially age a piece of art. I considered throwing some creases in, but settled on some desaturation of color and yellowing of the "paper." It really helped to tone down and mask some aspects that would have otherwise hurt the finished product.

Now the troubling bit-- after all that effort on the cover itself, I really hadn't given much thought to the story I'd attach to it. Unlike previous "anniversary issues," I knew I wanted to focus on the tale rather than bogus "behind the scenes" material, but I was in short supply of focus at the time. Added pressure came from a sudden spike in daily readership from the 70's to the low 200's, a temporary thing likely related to then-recent coverage of Darwyn Cooke's "New Frontier" around the time the DTV animated adaptation came out. At the time, it was a big deal for me, whereas that would now make for a terrible traffic day now.

The cover had "Warworld," "J'enn," and J'onn in a cube, plus I knew I wanted to reveal the untold story of the first Mongul confrontation. So okay, there's a flashback to Mongul's first attempt to steal the Crystal Key needed to control Warworld. J'en's a hostage, J'onn's in a cube. How does he get out? I don't know... I need a period appropriate deus ex machina... Re's Eda! That's the ticket! Re's Eda redeems himself by saving J'onn J'onzz at the cost of his own life! Jim Starlin loves to kill characters, there's your anniversary event, and we're wrapped!

But no! I forgot I'd tied the current "issue," or at least those leading up to it, to a present storyline. Also, since our "date" fell a few months before Mongul's Starman fight, I tried to "lead into it," without actually re-reading the thing! That's when the exhausted rambling kicked in. Somehow, not only does all that flashback material have to fit into the one story, but now I have to add a wholly separate follow-up! Plus, that makes three battles with Martian Manhunter, so I could really hedge his bid for a Vile Menagerie entry! What a moron I was!

The story was a complete hash, and upon later review, I was so embarrassed by the poor quality of my efforts on both the plot and cover construction fronts that I unpublished the whole shebang! The post was set aside for a year before I finally offered an acceptable revised version...

...to be continued...

Happy Zook Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the year 2012 A.D. It marks 57 years of Martian Manhunter stories, ten years since I ended my old Rock of the JLA fan site, and in September, five years of running this blog. I've tried to do right by J'onn J'onzz over the years, and staying true to the title The Idol-Head of Diabolu, I believe that this is the most comprehensive (though hardly complete) reference source for Alien Atlas adversaries anywhere on the planet Earth. However, one area in which I feel I have been much too lax relates to the comrades of the Martian Manhunter-- his friends, allies, and assorted members of his supporting cast. Given that we're well into a global recession, and we'll be facing unholy negativism leading into the U.S. presidential elections, this seems like a perfect year to try to focus on more positive features on the blog.

I can't think of a single aspect of Martian Manhunter mythos more grinch-proof than Zook, the adorable baby-talking/pidgin-english spouting other-dimensional pet featured in a run of adventures from 1963-1968. Sure there are Zookphobics Anonymous meetings for the haters, but you know, you have to learn to love yourself before you can love quasi-yellowface-minstrel/ space-monkey/teddy bear/ toddlers with super-powers. Peace must be made from within, and it begins with not pronouncing the name as "Zuck."

Zook was presumably created in 1962, debuting in the January 1963 cover-dated Detective Comics #311, which was actually released on November 29, 1962. That would make this year the fiftieth anniversary of the character in print, which like last year's Despero ½centennial will likely be treated as commemorable only by myself.

Let me tell you, Zook would have owned the Teen Titans and led the Legion of Super-Pets if anybody had ever bothered to use him outside of the Manhunter from Mars strip, and the little guy was made for animation. Zook is essentially the embodiment of everything about the Martian Manhunter abandoned Post-Crisis-- the whimsy, the nonsensical plot developments, sequelized planets, teleportational radio waves, a scientist bandit with a head the size of a watermelon, an evil criminal mastermind wearing a Graphitti Designs t-shirt under a blazer -- the works. When I see things like CSBG's "The Greatest Martian Manhunter Stories Ever Told" not featuring a single comic published before 1990, it reminds me that our community won't let J'onn J'onzz have his Silver Age, nor the Bronze, and I just can't allow that without a fight. Martian Manhunter solo stories did not begin and end with Ostrander/Mandrake, and there are just as many delightfully embarrassing skeletons in J'onn's closet as any other old time super-hero.

In 2012, expect to see a lot more of Captain Harding, Idol-Head monsters, Diane Meade, creator biographies, Gypsy, cartoons, the JLI, toys, Cameron Chase, and just plain more fun stuff. We could all use that, right? Before the Mayan-predicted destruction of the world, I mean...

Demon Knights #2 (December, 2011)

2011-12-31T02:48:00.001-06:00

16th (or so) Century Europe. Little Spring, on the outskirts of Alba Sarum. Dinosaur "dragons" were set upon a bar/inn where a group of extraordinary individuals had been gathered by fate. Among the defenders was Vandal Savage: "Excellent! I haven't eaten one of these in centuries!" As he used one dinosaur's corpse to beat another, he demanded "Die, tasty rare creatures--! DIEEE!"

Al Jabr introduced himself to Madame Xanadu while using sword and sorcery against the "True dragons, not heraldic ones! They're incredibly rare, I've never seen one." Xanadu just repeatedly told him to shut up while defending herself. The Shining Knight criticized the slight armor of the amazonian Exoristos, who relied on the old saw of using her sexuality against male opponents. The Demon Etrigan sprouted wings and roasted a dinosaur from the inside. Vandal Savage made another barely in-character joke, because they're easy and go over well with fanboys.

Back at their mobile palace, Mordru and the Questing Queen got annoyed over their dragons being killed and plotted like every other evil duo in a generic fantasy setting.

The Horsewoman rode into town to warn everyone to flee the coming hoard, then rode back out again. That might have been remotely useful before the dinosaur attack. Eh, she got her first full appearance and name out of it.

The Shining Knight dropped a hint about designs on the queen. Savage revealed that he'd once worked with the hoard while eating dinosaur. Has this joke been fully digested and evacuated yet?

The Demon tried to fly away with Xanadu, but they were attacked by barbarians riding pterodactyls, making this book seem even more like Fire and Ice without the ice or very much fire.

Mechanical dragons showed up. Why not lead with mechanical dragons? No easy jokes for Vandal Savage. Al Jabr used the advanced technology eventually dubbed "telescope" to detect them. He doesn't believe in magic, seeing it only as "knowledge we don't understand." Arthur C. Clarke was a medieval scholar?

The Shining Knight said "Magic, priest!" I first misread this as "Magic Priest," and thought "he" was announcing another new character, or at least as reading soundtrack selection from the Ronnie James Dio discography. Disappointment. Then "he" hopped on the pegasus Vanguard to battle the pterodactyl riders.

Mordru created some enormous fireball deal to immolate the entire village. Exoristos said "Oh, dung."

"They Shall Not Pass" was by Paul Cornell, Diógenes Neves and Oclair Albert. It was a collection of things I hate. Smug, "hip" dialogue that dry humps tropes while posturing at being above them. A collection of corporate IPs seemingly thrown together for no greater purpose than maintaining copyrights. Unique characters mangled into archtypes to suit a team book dynamic. A plot that would be thin for a single issue stretched out over an arc. A string of action set pieces without any dramatic heft or even cheap spectacle. Pretty much the entirety of Tolkien quest fantasy as a genre. Dung indeed, getting by on nostalgia, modest charm, and reasonable Top Cow style artwork.

DCnÜ Year's Wildstormin' Eve

Captain Atom: Armageddon #9 (August, 2006) @ Power of the Atom
Justice League #1 (October, 2011) @ Justice League Detroit
DC/WS DreamWar #6 (November, 2008) @ DC Bloodlines

2009 “H’ronmeer’s Flame” mixed drink recipe by Jacob Grier

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

For the upcoming New Year's Eve, I figured it would be appropriate to feature a Martian flavored cocktail, found at Liquidity Preference...

"I feel a “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless of tastes or distastes about the spirits involved. Come up with a drink or a list based on spirits about drinks that would appeal to anyone."

It breaks down as follows...

2 oz rye whiskey
.75 oz Ramazzotti
.75 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth

"Stir all of the above, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and flame an orange zest over the surface of the drink. (To flame an orange zest: Take a large swath of zest, toast with a lit match, and squeeze the oils through the flame.)"

Grier closes by noting "Yes, I sneaked a Martian Manhunter reference onto my cocktail menu. And yes, this makes me happier than it rightfully should." Us as well. I haven't tried this drink myself, but if anyone chooses to do so, please leave a comment to offer your opinion of the mix...

2011 Ziggy Stardust: Manhunter from Mars by Daniel Irizarri

2011-12-29T04:51:00.001-06:00

Click To Enlarge

"Done for The Line: it is Drawn. The prompt was comic book characters meeting or crossed with famous musicians. How could I pass up the opportunity to do something Bowie-Inspired?

Thanks for the suggestion, Sean.
-Daniel"

Aside from the enormous signature, I like the design here-- like an art book cover of tour photos.

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Splitting Up

2011-12-28T00:00:00.002-06:00

I didn't want to leave the last month of Despero coloring book adventures on such a dismal note as his being carried off bound up by Darkseid, so here's an advanced teaser taste of next year's "sequel." I believe that the Lord of Apokolips used his Boom Tube to travel to Egypt. From there, he sent Despero off on his own to China, although that's a lot of trust extended under recent circumstances. I'm sure words along the lines of "or else" were uttered...

The Others: MICA'KEL

2011-12-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

History:
Mica'kel was among the group of six White Martians brainwashed into believing himself to be a Green Martian by Cay'an and used in a plot against the Martian Manhunter. Mica'kel was believed to be the father of Till'all. Jornell once called him, "Grumpy and proud. Always a dangerous combination."

Of the "Green Martians" subjected to torture in a secret government lab, Mica'kel was the most vindictive and militaristic. Although he relished the opportunity to slaughter the enemy, Mica'kel was also among the most protective of and concerned for his fellow Martians. It was Mica'kel's idea to channel the group's combined strength into the body of the most recent captive, Roh'Kar, in hopes he could liberate himself and seek help. While Roh'Kar did not long survive, he did manage to reach the lone Martian the project dare not even attempt to capture, J'Onn J'Onzz. The Martian Manhunter rescued the prisoners, but during their escape from the lab, Mica'kel insisted on searching for any other captives. When confronted by soldiers defending the experiment, Mica'kel took control of their motor functions and forced them to kill one another, earning him a reprimand from J'Onn J'Onzz.

Mica'kel continued to work under the direction of J'Onzz, even when it cost the life of a fellow "Green Martian," including helping him to defeat a Justice League team. Regardless of this, J'Onzz never truly gained Mica'kel's respect or trust. When Mica'kel finally reverted back to his natural White Martian form, he proved J'Onn J'Onzz's most ferocious and adamant enemy amongst the group. Mica'kel continued the brutal assault of J'Onn J'Onzz across miles and deep into the tunnels of a coal mine, bloodthirsty beyond any concern for his own well being. This proved Mica'kel's undoing, when he caused a gas explosion which seemed to consume him.

First Appearance: Martian Manhunter #2 (November, 2006)

Group Affiliation: The Others

Known Relatives: Till'all (son)

Powers:
Mica'kel displayed superhuman strength, speed, and durability, as well as the power of flight, telepathic assumption of multiple humans' motor control, limited shape-shifting, and psionic pulses of devastating force emitted from his palms. Whether Mica'kel possessed other Martian abilities is unknown.

Weaknesses:
Mica'kel was vulnerable to fire, ordinance from a modified AR-8 sniper rifle, and the brainwashing techniques of Cay'an.

Distinguishing Features: Mica'kel was a large, surly Martian with visible scars throughout his face, and appeared to be missing his left eye. How a shapeshifter could find themselves with such a rough visage without it being a front is questionable. Mica'kel wore a gray uniform with brown leather accessories and a cross over the chest. During his brief stints in human guise, Mica'kel preferred the appearance of a brown haired Caucasian yuppie.

Quote:"Your time on this planet has made you pathetic. You should be ashamed to call yourself a manhunter! You watch over these humans as if they were of your own flesh. It's made you weak. It's made you foolish. And you'll die because of it."

Created by A.J. Lieberman & Al Barrionuevo

2006 "Justice League - Dare" fan video by ArachKid

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

As you read this, I'm working double shifts over the holiday weekend, so I'm going to be brief. Last week, Jay Boaz of Does Whatever a Comics Blog Can sent me an email with kind words about the blog. He's a huge fan of the Alien Atlas, "especially the Ostrander series," and edited the above to the tune "Dare" by Stan Bush. It put a smile on my face, so I wanted to share...

Teen Titans Christmas 2010 by Bill Walko

2011-12-25T00:00:00.002-06:00

Click To Enlarge

"Here's a sequel to last year's Teen Titans Christmas party with the new roster (plus a few visiting friends). From left to right: Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Robin (Tim Drake), Ravager, Superboy, Beast Boy, Robin (Damien Wayne), Miss Martian, new Titan Solstice, Zachary Zatara and Raven. I wish Beast Boy a lot of luck trying to get Ravager and Damien in the Christmas mood...."

The artist's deviantART gallery, and you might also check out his latest Xmas work for The Aquaman Shrine. I swear, I scheduled this posts months ago. Ain't synchronicity weird?

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Carry-On Despero

2011-12-24T00:00:00.004-06:00

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Hogtied

2011-12-23T00:00:00.005-06:00

"Who has the Ultimate Weapon? Starting with the Total Justice team, follow the maze through the jungle to find where the Ultimate Weapon really is. But don't tell Darkseid or Despero!" A clue to be unscrambled: "SUPERGIRL HID IT IN A TREE!"

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Agnes Garbowska

2011-12-22T00:00:00.025-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Happy Hanukkah everybody! Actually, I misread my calender, and thought it began at nightfall on the 21st instead of the 20th. It already got a really late start this year, close to that pagan holiday Yuletide everyone seems to go crazy over. Consider this an Advent-y post also, since you'll have to click on the picture to open the entire adorable scene!

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Squash the Bug

2011-12-21T00:00:00.022-06:00

"Who has the Ultimate Weapon? Starting with the Total Justice team, follow the maze through the jungle to find where the Ultimate Weapon really is. But don't tell Darkseid or Despero!

Unscramble the clue: SPRGRLIUE HDI TI NI A ERET!"

-------------------------------------------------------
I don't care much about sales on modern comics, but so many of my fellow members of the Justice League Blogosphere have been playing Chicken Little with November's sales numbers amongst the New 52, I wanted to take a look. Firestorm dropped 10K and 24 places in rank. Hawkman dumped about seven thousand readers and fell twenty spaces. Supergirl shed 17% of sales to the tune of about ten thousand copies and ten places in rank. That might seem worrisome. except that most of these books were selling in the twenty thousands before the reboot, but this month's #1 book, Justice League, hemorrhaged 22,000 copies, Batman about the same, The Flash 24K, and so on. The majority of the New 52 dropped ten thousand copies each, which can be chalked up to predictable attrition as the hoopla dies down.

As Martian Manhunter fans, our collective taste is divergent from the norm. Despite our lukewarm reception to that team book he shares with entirely too many people, STORMWATCH dropped about 17%, a respectable hold, but not far removed from other titles*. Here are the initial order numbers and ranking for each issue in the top 300 comics sold in their respective months...

STORMWATCH #1: 46,397 copies, Rank #45
STORMWATCH #2: 47,520 copies, Rank #44
STORMWATCH #3: 39,262 copies, Rank #56

*I had different numbers here at midnight, but even at 4 in the morning, my math isn't so bad that I couldn't see they were gobbledygook.

Stormwatch #3 (January, 2012)

2011-12-20T00:00:00.016-06:00

Moscow. The media was screaming with reports of dozens of meteors headed toward Earth, causing the Projectionist pain. One had already struck in an isolated section of Colorado, which curiously attracted the attention of Jack Hawksmoor. The Martian (as Adam One referred to him) checked in on why Jack sat Indian style and checked out. "I can telepathically hear him, talking to three cities." Sure enough, anthropomorphized representations of Paris (glamorous blond,) Metropolis (basically Byrne-era Lois Lane,) and Gotham (a bat-like gargoyle) discussed how an "ancient... lost city... the greatest" had once been located in, per Jack, "Nowhere, Colorado." Gotham suggested that the city once exceeded its own madness, which Jack could potentially tap against the meteor monster. Gee, a great city madder than Gotham located in Colorado that on Earth-Prime is merely a ghost town. Curious. Of course, I'll have a great many curse words to utter if the fanfic term Apex City actually rears its head.

Adam One had Manhunter telepathically transmit the locations of the meteors into Apollo's brain from out of the Projectionist's, since all his Oliver Queeniness about helping the little guy wouldn't mean much if a giant tentacle monster ate them all. This was represented by a light show to make the Disco Dazzler envious. Apollo then flew up into space, where he could absorb even more unfiltered solar energy to power up for punching meteors. He maintained contact with Stormwatch by emitting radio waves on their "comms implants" frequency, which is exactly the sort of contrivance that makes a telepathic Martian teammate of dubious worth. Speaking to himself as "Andrew," Apollo pushed beyond previous limits to force the meteors to burn up in the sun for all the ingrates below who would surely hate him if they knew he existed. The final rock was a monolithic "planet-killer," which shattered to pieces on impact from Apollo and sent him barreling back to Earth.

On the moon, Harry Tanner gloated over tricking the Scourge of Worlds, absorbing all of its data into his brain despite resistance. The Eminence of Blades then hacked at the eye of the Scourge, presumably killing it. The Engineer located Harry as the "environment bubble" began collapsing in the Scourge's absence, and the pair shared a kiss. Jenny Quantum pulled a "no time for love" on them, so the lot made an exit while Harry grinned nefariously.

At the Eye of the Storm base in Hyperspace, Stormwatch plotted strategy against the Colorado monster. Manhunter was "telepathically making humans depart the vicinity," while Projectionist continued to manipulate the Justice League away from "blundering" onto the scene. I'm sure the imperiled locals appreciated the willful misdirection of potential help from the control freaks of the sky. The Engineer took another cheap shot at Adam One, while he proceeded to earn it by delivering Stormwatch without a definite plan to the crash site through a teleportational door. A horrified Martian exclaimed, "By all the Gods--!" Harry explained that the Scourge was planning to use enormous monsters like the one present to ready Earth for worse to come. While Jack tried to make contact with the lost city, Adam One ordered everyone else to protect him in the meantime, with fliers Manhunter and Engineer taking point. Only the Projectionist remained at HQ, to erase all media traces of the monster, "Even if it kills me."

While Jenny explained her powers to the tag-along Midnighter, the Engineer bitched about Adam not having a back-up plan, just as the primary one fell apart. The city violently rejected Jack's contact, while Midnighter tried to get everyone to retreat a.s.a.p. "Listen to me. I know how to kill anything. So I know. This isn't going to work. Nothing is going to work." As the monster broke through Stormwatch's defenses, Adam One froze as leader, earning Midnighter's scorn. "Are you listening to me?! What sort of leader are you... I'm saying you can't hold out at this range! It's absorbing everything you throw at it!" Unheeded, Midnighter watched the rest of the team get absorbed into the monster, "--leaving me to fight you all." That thing about dismissing the JLA as inept? Pot-- kettle.

"The Dark Side: Part Three" was by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda. My lengthy comments and criticisms are here.

New 52's Day featuring Wildstorm

Aquaman #3 (January, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
The Huntress #2 (January, 2011) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
Captain Atom: Armageddon #8 (July, 2006) @ Power of the Atom
DC/Wildstorm DreamWar #1-5 (2008) @ DC Bloodlines

The Vile Menagerie: THE LIZARD MEN

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Alter Egos: Bonnie Joy, Jim Swift, Inspector Anole, etc.
Occupation: Space Invaders, various
Base of Operations: Interplanetary
First Appearance: Martian Manhunter: American Secrets Book 1 (September, 1992)
Eyes: Various
Hairs: Black

History:
The Lizard Men are a space-faring reptilian race of shapeshifting would-be conquerors. They eventually landed on the planet Mars at some point after its indigenous species was wiped out by a plague. A sole survivor, the Master Gardener of Mars, used his own shape-shifting and additional powers to convince the Lizard Men that he was their long last "Father-God." The Gardener then enslaved the Lizard Men through parasitic horticulture, and employed them in a secret invasion of the neighboring world Earth.

Beginning during World War II, the Lizard Men infiltrated human society on a global scale while infecting human bodies with the same sort of horticulture introduced into their species. From a central location in Puerto Iberez, Cuba, the Lizard Men conquered the human race throughout the 1950s, stealthily quashing any potential resistance from super-heroes by corrupting them bodily. The masses were blissfully unaware of any of this, while heroes and artists struggled to subvert the Lizard Men without crossing lines that would trigger their bodies to spontaneously combust. It wasn't until the end of the decade that their plot began to unravel, after attracting the attention of the Manhunter from Mars.

The Lizard Men maintained control of the stronger willed by inserting themselves into all manner of government, police and media. When lawyer and game show contestant Bonnie Joy refused to follow orders, her head exploded and she was replaced by a lizard duplicate. Plainclothes detective Jim Swift and a detail of uniformed lizard officers attempted to arrest J'Onn J'Onzz in New York. Slimy F.B.I. agent Anole managed to corner J'Onzz in Las Vegas with the help of television personality Whitey Bright and the forcibly retired super-hero Dr. Mid-Nite.

Despite their efforts, the Martian Manhunter eventually located the Lizard Men's base in Cuba, and uncovered the true nature of their leader. Unaware that their master was a Martian, the "Father-God" was unintentionally felled by lizard flame-throwers while they were attempting to target J'Onn J'Onzz. The Martian Manhunter tricked the Lizard Men into destroying their own horticulture operation, and later tracked down the various rudderless invaders for deportation.

Powers & Weapons:
Through unknown means, the Lizard Men are able to disguise their true nature and appear as humans to most people. However, their disguise is not foolproof, and they can be recognized as different by exceptionally perceptive beings. They possess super-human strength, durability, and an invulnerability to fire. They have displayed the ability to detect the presence of an invisible Martian.

The Lizard Men utilized advanced flame throwers against the Martian Manhunter, and possessed other technology beyond Earth science during their time controlling the planet. Many of their warriors wore body armor. They often employed incredibly strong saurian "lizard-dogs," that could "see inside," likely referring to some primal instinct that allowed them to detect people unaffected by the fungus.

Distinguishing Features:
Individual Lizard Men had varied features and skin colors, but were united by the appearance of spots and stripes on their flesh; a basic consistency of form; claws, fangs, broad mouths; as well as a general lack of hair.

Quote: "Tell them all. Hunt him. Find him. And remember... fire."

Created by Gerard Jones & Eduardo Barreto

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Found

2011-12-18T00:00:00.023-06:00

"Connect the dots to activate the Total Justice team's new Fractal Tech Gear."

----------------------------------------------------------------

I have a number of posts in the works to honor the passing of Martian Manhunter artist Eduardo Barreto, including finally giving his popular (hereabouts) villainous co-creation the Lizard Men their own biography. Since they previously were tacked on to another entry, I needed to heavily revise the original post for it to function on its own (including a much less ugly/cluttered image.) You can see the results under The Vile Menagerie: THE MASTER GARDENER.

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Lost

2011-12-17T00:00:00.010-06:00

Oh no! Despero was left pulling his ~~hair~~ fin out over anxiety from this perplexing development. He then broke out into a bluegrass-tinge spiritual over his woes.

I'm gonna have to call b.s. on Despero's characterization over the course of this entire adventure, ya'll.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I started a new job this month, so I'm very grateful I already had December of Despero ready to roll out, allowing me time to get acclimated. My buddy that abandoned comics nearly a decade ago when I closed his shop has also been picking up my slack in the comics news department. He informed me of one creator's Facebook suicide threat last weekend, and then forwarded me a tweet* from Erik Larsen on Thursday...

"Holy crap--I woke up to find both Joe SImon and Eduardo Barreto passed away? Time to go back to bed. Ed was only 57--Joe was 98!"

I guess part of the problem with comics going mainstream is that we now have our own celebrity death by threes (with Robin and Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson gone a week prior.) Ed Barreto was one of the key Martian Manhunter artists of the 1990s, and with online tributes like Comics Alliance's weighing in heavily on his Batman, the Shadow, and New Teen Titans work, I feel we'll have to do something special to show love here to his consistently unrecognized masterwork, American Secrets.

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Jeff Lemerie

2011-12-16T00:00:00.008-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

I was very pleased to see the Martian Manhunter appeared on nearly half of the 100 covers for this project, especially since a good percentage of them featured him prominently. However, eighteen covers starred solo heroes, most DC Trinity related, but the Manhunter from Mars managed one in a coup. At a glance, I see no such special consideration for Green Lantern, the Flash, or Aquaman, for instance.

Then again, what other single hero could be said to represent the entire team, especially if you throw in the Justice League Satellite? The knee jerk reaction would be that the Alien Atlas never operated out of the Satellite (aside from retcons,) and that Brad Meltzer's love of the Satellite Era representing J'onn J'onzz's 13 year absence from comics saw him ejected from the team for five years and counting. However, since the Manhunter's return to active duty was preceded by a Martian invasion of Earth that destroyed the satellite, I think there's a nod to be found there.

I really disliked Jeff Lemerie's work on the Atom, and was not kind in my assessment of it. I imagine I'd better quiet up, because there's no guarantee J'Onn will remain in Stormwatch after the departure of Paul Cornell. Lemerie's elevated profile with the sleeper success of Animal Man and seeming interest in the character here and a few other places could see him writing a Manhunter from Mars mini-series or ongoing at some point. I'd want him on our good side...

Hero's JLA 100 Project Friday

The Atom & Aquaman by Mark Buckingham @ Power of the Atom
JLA by Alex Ross @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
Zatanna by Chrissy Zullo @ Justice League Detroit

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Magpie

2011-12-15T00:00:00.017-06:00

While Darkseid fought for the treasure he'd had Despero dig up with his "Capture-Claw," Hawkman combined nth metal and fractal armor to snatch the component of the ultimate weapon.

I had great affection for my Super Powers Collection Darkside with the light up Omega Effect eyes, but that claw kept me from buying the Total Justice version. Unlike the other questionable accessories packaged with figures from the line, the claw was a non-removable portion of the sculpt. Even still, it wasn't too hot of a model anyway.

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Tug o' War

2011-12-14T00:00:00.002-06:00

Martian Sightings for March, 2012

2011-12-13T00:00:00.004-06:00

As usual, the post scheduled at 8:30 p.m. for midnight mysteriously failed to publish. Thanks again, Blogger.

STORMWATCH #7
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Art and cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
1:25 B&W Variant cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
On sale MARCH 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.

They’ve come to steal Earth’s gravity! When a scientific experiment tears a hole in the barrier between dimensions, gravity miners from a forbidden universe invade our world! Can Stormwatch – with their ranks depleted after the cataclysmic events of last issue – find a way to repel alien excavators that shred our reality with every touch?

Not a great cover, and it needs more green. Then again, who figures it'll ever see print anyway, given the track record. This issue should be a big improvement, if only because the story only spans two issues. Plus, new more acclaimed comic writer.

GRIFTER #7
Written by NATHAN EDMONDSON
Art and cover by SCOTT CLARK and DAVE BEATY
On sale MARCH 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

Guest-starring MIDNIGHTER! A voice is calling from the Himalayas; a dark secret awaits Grifter. He tracks it down, only to discover that the secret has a protector: Midnighter, who must not allow Grifter to leave the mountains alive. A massive battle on treacherous ice slopes shows Grifter that he’s in a world of heroes he cannot defeat and opens him up to new world-changing secrets as deadly as they are powerful.

I'm still using the blog to greet the Wildstorm characters into the DCU, and there may be a cameo in there.

SUPERMAN #7
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and DAN JURGENS
Art by DAN JURGENS and JESUS MERINO
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale MARCH 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.

The start of an insanely epic arc from the new writing team of Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens! New love interests, new roommates, and a new foe: the wicked Helspont! What does this monster want with Superman, and how does it all connect to the Daemonites?

Holy crap, Helspont? That's an old school WildC.A.T.s villain, the big bad of their early years, why hasn't appeared in ages. I dig it, and Superman's rogues gallery kind of sucks, so why not?

Miss Martian

YOUNG JUSTICE #14
Written by GREG WEISMAN and KEVIN HOPPS
Art and cover by CHRISTOPHER JONES
On sale MARCH 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E
Aqualad visits Atlantis with Superboy and Miss Martian. But can they stop an insidious new menace that threatens to plunge the undersea kingdom into civil war?

Miss Mermaid?

TINY TITANS #50
Written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
Art and cover by ART BALTAZAR
On sale MARCH 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E • FINAL ISSUE

In this awesome 50th issue, questions are answered! Mysteries are solved! The Tiny Titans may be one step closer to becoming Super Heroes! This issue may change your life! Plus, it’s highly recommended by Franco’s mom!

Signally the last month Miss Martian has three times as many ongoing series as Martian Manhunter, and possibly the last ongoing series followed by many fatigued readers.

2011 "Martian Babe" by Jeremy Sorrell

2011-12-12T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Enlarge

While not explicitly a Miss Martian drawing, one gander at the artist's not-entirely-work-safe gallery makes it clear that the guy has plenty of comic book influence to draw from. Even the dialogue balloon is reminiscent of the cartoon catchphrase "Hello Megan!" Besides, it's nice to change things up a bit, right? At least there's no creepy panty shot with your Monday morning coffee today. If it is M'gann, she's been raiding Donna's closet...

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: All Mine

2011-12-11T00:00:00.005-06:00

We've finally gotten to the bottom of this dig! Say, is that a Taco Bell on Despero's collar?

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Secret Find

2011-12-10T00:00:00.012-06:00

"The Pyramid of the Sun, in Teotihuacán, is one of the largest in Mexico."

Yes, this is the third page of Despero digging. No, he's not even done yet.

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For a nice piece of J'Onn J'Onzz art, check out Michael Walsh's tumblr.

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by George Pérez

2011-12-09T00:00:00.001-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

Spanning the generations, side "A" stars Brightest Day Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Aquaman, Superman, the Flash (Barry Allen) and Wonder Woman (blessedly non-JMS.) The Bruce Wayne Batman is to the left, composite with the Dick Grayson one to the right. Side "B" features Donna Troy, Jade, Jesse Quick, and Supergirl. All smiles!

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: For The Birds

2011-12-08T00:00:00.071-06:00

"Supergirl, Hawkman, and the Blue Beetle saw many birds as they flew from Total Justice headquarters to Mexico. Look up, down, backwards, and diagonally to find some of the birds they saw."

The "Search-A-Bird" crossword puzzle had a bunch of fowl drawings encircling it. You had to find a Caracara, Condor, Eagle, Hawk, Hummingbird, Manakin, Owl, Quetzal, and most importantly, the Osprey and Vulture.
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The latest creative shake-up amidst the DCnÜ effects our character, as Paul Cornell tweets "I'll be staying on Demon Knights and Saucer Country, but 6 is my last issue of Stormwatch. Thanks, everyone. Good luck to Paul Jenkins." He refers to a two-part story across #7-8. I'm upset about this mostly on principle. Cornell kept trying to quiet reader unrest over unlikeable new characters and divergent histories by explaining that he was playing the long game, building to big things. For instance, Apollo finally "first" gets his trademark halo in #4, as can be seen in the Source blog preview. The wait was so that Midnighter could gently caress Apollo's cheek and blast him with a massive amount of solar radiation. Since he was already a "Superman class" being, this seems like Mario punching a brick to get a growing mushroom than a valid character moment worth the wait. Also, DC Comics has a pathological fear of shipping Stormwatch with a solicited cover and Miguel Sepulveda subscribes to an obscure religion that forbids the drawing of naked toes. Where Firestorm Fan had advance warning that a co-writer and friend of the blog would be leaving, it can take solace from a solid replacement, a two-parter drawn by Ethan Van Sciver, and an ongoing relationship with the remaining creators. Paul Cornell never did this blog any favors, and I honestly feel like he wasted my time with this busy but insubstantial arc, so I won't miss him. I'm still excited about the potential of the series, and hope whoever takes writing the book on permanently can better realize it.

The Top 10 Martian Manhunter Covers of the 1980s

2011-12-07T00:00:00.005-06:00

The 1980s were a "rebuilding" decade for the Martian Manhunter after sitting out the '70s. Since he spent most of the decade as a secondary character in team books, the covers reflect that, so I chose a strong top 10 over a middling 20. This did however shut out guys like George Pérez, who drew a lot of swell covers of the Alien Atlas and thirty-two other characters, which gets crowded for a hero-specific ranking.

Honorable Mentions

10) Justice League Annual #1 (1987)

It became a running joke to refer to "Natural Form" Martians as looking like Gumby, which I never saw myself. I figure it actually started here, with J'Onn pulling that Mr. Bill "oh, noooo" face. You can tell the aggressors are the JLI by this expression, but it's too silly to register as threatening and the scenario could have probably used more ambiguity. Still, it's a sound concept, and that fuschia sucks on your eyeballs.

9) Justice League of America #256 (November, 1986)

There is a lot of repetition on this list, including artists and concepts. Here are two burning Martians in a row. I kind of prefer this to the next one, but it serves to break up two Luke McDonnell's in a row. Also, this is more a triumph of coloring
than concept, which when viewed in black and white just seems like a cheating of background. Still, it's a nice solo cover that emphasizes the character's chief vulnerability.

8) Martian Manhunter #1 (May, 1988)

The only cover from the '80s mini-series to make the list. While Mark Badger's artwork has its defenders, fans in general responded poorly to it, and it most likely hurt the perception of the character's commercial viability. Still, this is a potent image that gained traction in the brain thanks in part to house ads.

7) Justice League of America #248 (March, 1986)

The first of two consecutive John Jones covers. This one works so perfectly as a set-up for the entire Manhunter from Mars premise that it would have been an excellent layout for a debut issue. However, it was drawn by Luke McDonnell, whose style flattens everything and reminds the brain that this is a two-dimensional drawing. Imagine Tom Mandrake inking this instead, and it'd rank much higher.

6) Secret Origins[of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes] trade paperback (1989)

I owned this book, and love the cover much, but I wish Martian Manhunter had a more prominent placement. I especially like the slender J'onzz with a strong brow and ominous bearing. It doesn't work as well for John Jones, who could easily be mistaken for the Phantom Stranger. Still, the image perfectly conveys the concept, and the contrast between the monochrome and full cover is intense. I'd hang this on my wall.

5) Justice League of America #178 (May, 1980)

Last cover was by Bolland, Chuck Patton is up ahead, and this is Jim Starlin. Get used to that pattern. Starlin was my first favorite artist-- the first style I recognized and actively collected. This is a great play on the first JLofA cover, with a dynamic restaging that accounts for the whole team, but highlights my favorite. Starlin's even using that extra-detailed "renaissance" style from after he spent too long looking at Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein portfolio and weeping. I'm so glad Starlin drew Despero at least once, even if it hurts my heart to find Dick Dillin inside.

4) Animal Man #9 (March, 1989)

Another Brian Bolland cover, because Bolland has made an entire career out of pretty much just doing covers, and each is a work of fine art. This is a silly set-up for a serio-comic issue that remains one of the best Martian Manhunter guest appearances. The image is hurt by Bolland opting for a more burly, almost Wayne Boring look, when he's much better at doing a leaner take.

3) Justice League of America #228 (July, 1984)

You know who doesn't get punched enough? Aquaman. People always think he's going to be nice and cool because he used to smile a lot and appear on cartoons with the seahorse and walrus. Instead, Aquaman is the Sub-Mariner of passive aggression. J'onn's all "we have so much in common as #6 and #7 in the JLA, even though Superman and Batman totally strung us along for months before finally deigning to join." Then Aquaman's all like, "Whatever, my fake hand is made of napalm. Burn. Now help me psychically violate a sentient meteor. Okay, you can go now. I'm way more famous than you." I think J'onn still had a bit of precognition from the Silver Age left, and gave him that preemptive love tap for forming the Detroit League.

2) DC Comics Presents #28 (December, 1980)

Jim Starlin simply has not drawn the Martian Manhunter enough over his career, and I must protest. Starlin's pretty much made a career out of creating characters that look like the Alien Atlas and/or Darkseid, including a virtual twin, and he does it so well. Sure, J'onn's getting jobbed on the cover, but he's rarely looked so good doing it in front of such impressive company. From the backdrop to the bold logos to that golden monkey mug of Mongul making its debut (in an issue with a Congorilla back-up, appropriately) to Superman shouting "NO!" like Mongul drove up in a van offering candy, everything here says "epic." As an added bonus, Superman's posture and anatomy look kind of ridiculous, so my eyes always travel to the better subject.

1) Justice League of America #230 (September, 1984)

This may have been the first image of the Martian Manhunter I ever saw, as it was featured amidst a collage of covers in a double page spread house advertisement. It's an exceptionally well drawn, on-model, licensing friendly rendition of the Martian Manhunter in bloody combat with a major enemy created specifically for him featured in a story that impacted heavily upon continuity. Coupled with all those head shots of his teammates looking on, you'll scarcely find a more pronounced spotlight for J'onn J'onzz being the baddest Manhunter in the Martian valley. All hail Chuck Patton and Dick Giordano!

Their Top Covers of the 1980s

The Atom @ Power of the Atom
Doom Patrol @ DC Bloodlines
Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
Aquaman @ Justice League Detroit
DC75: Top Character Covers of the Dodranscentennial

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: The Pyramid

2011-12-06T00:00:00.003-06:00

"Hawkman, Supergirl, and Blue Beetle are traveling to find the Ultimate Weapon. Connect the dots to see the shape of the country. Unscramble the letters to find out its name.

Hint: This country's culture is a mixture of many cultures, including Olmec, Mayan, Aztek, and Spanish."
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Folks may be getting bored with the Despero pictures, but you've got to admit that he looks funny as a laborer working for the Big Boss Man. I moved this one up a day ahead of schedule because I've had a busy week offline and decided to swap "New 52's Day" for a long delayed 1980s cross-blog installment of the top cover countdowns for tomorrow...

2011 Miss Martian (DCnU) New York Comic Convention sketch by Meomeo Lau

2011-12-05T00:18:00.000-06:00

Click To Enlarge

Not a good look. I don't expect it to stick.

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Find the Fiends

2011-12-04T00:00:00.008-06:00

The two menaces appeared to be in search of the Ultimate Weapon. "Ancient beings shattered the Ultimate Weapon and hid the pieces in different places." Readers could use a secret code "to reveal the locations of the Ultimate Weapon." They were Egypt, China, the Atlantic Ocean, Mexico, Stonehenge and Alaska. Not all of these locations appeared in the book, at least in my out-of-sequence copy. The heroes had to deduce where the villains were headed, and where the piece was at each location.

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Martian Manhunter Link of the Day:
ComicBookMovie.com offers MARTIAN MANHUNTER : Super Sleuth, a mostly Modern Age primer to potential producers of a J'Onn J'Onzz joint, including history, powers, costumes and previous live action actors cast in the role.
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1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Oracle on Darkseid and Despero

2011-12-03T00:00:00.004-06:00

If the reader deciphered a secret code, they would learn about Darkseid. "He is from Apokolips. He is the son of Queen Heggra. Darkseid has two sons, the cruel Kalibak and the kind Orion. One of his greatest powers is the Omega Effect, the ability to shoot destructive blasts from his eyes. Darkseid wants to rule the universe. He is opposed by the New Gods, who live on New Genesis, and by the Total Justice team."

The book did not reveal anything about the tyrant Despero, and he was portrayed somewhat as a lackey to Darkseid.

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These coloring book posts are going to take a lot of time to get through, so I'll try to double up posts with J'Onn J'Onzz news and links throughout the month. For instance, Comics Should Be Good asks if you can Name That Martian Manhunter Artist! It sure ain't easy...

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2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Dean Haspiel

2011-12-02T00:00:00.009-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

DINO! The man clearly loves his Despero, and he seems down with J'J' as well. These are two great tastes that taste great together, especially when Dino enhances Despero's Vile Menagerie cred by having Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman discover a bloodied Martian Manhunter!

Hero's JLA 100 Project Friday

Vixen & Black Canary by John McCrea @ Justice League Detroit
JLA by Andy Smith @ Power of the Atom
Donna Troy by Gene Ha @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!

1997 Total Justice in Total Teamwork Coloring Book: Head Gallery

2011-12-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

The "story" of this book was told almost entirely without text and with the pages printed completely out of order. This is my best guess at a linear narrative.

Oracle was the de facto leader of the Total Justice team. She called a meeting to explain that an evil villain named Darkseid had partnered with Despero and come to Earth.

CSBG's "The Greatest Martian Manhunter Stories Ever Told"

2011-11-30T00:00:00.001-06:00

Yeah, I'm a lone wolf (*affects rebel sneer*) but the downside of not having a network of minions is that I'm occasionally caught flatfooted on Martian Manhunter goings on. For instance, I didn't know Brian Cronin had restarted Comics Should Be Good's Greatest Stories reader polls until Rob Kelly and Joe Slab were already correcting "The Greatest Aquaman Stories Ever Told". As I often do, I followed the link to see if there was a Manhunter variation...

"Here’s the latest of the daily voting threads for The Greatest ____ Stories Ever Told!

Our next character up for voting is Martian Manhunter.

J’onn J’onnz, the Martian Manhunter, was one of the rare superheroes DC had in the years between the Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver Age (although he was not really much of a “superhero” to start – more of a science fiction character). One of the founding members of the Justice League, Manhunter served with the team in most of the incarnations of the League, taking on a higher profile on the team during the 1980s. Manhunter had an ongoing feature for a number of years in Detective Comics and House of Mystery and had a solo title during the late 1990s/early 2000s. He currently is a member of Stormwatch.

You have until 11:59 PM Pacific time, November 13th to vote for your top ten favorite comic book stories starring Martian Manhunter! Your choices will be revealed on November 14th. I will leave what “starring” entails up to you."

Voting began on the 8th, offering readers a week to send in their emails. According to them, these are The Greatest Martian Manhunter Stories Ever Told!

10. JLA Secret Files and Origins #1 “A Day in the Life”

Probably the first and sometimes the only Martian Manhunter solo story many readers brought in by the surprise success of JLA have ever read. Pretty nifty one, too.

9. JLA #84-89 “Trial by Fire”

This was something of an updated Bronze Age story. It has all the hallmarks: J'Onn going nuts; beating up other super-heroes for no good reason; a romantic interest that never shows up again; massive alterations to continuity and the people of Mars; despicable, genocidal villain. I figured the appeal of this thing would wane over time, but I guess folks still like it. The absence of any serious Fernus coverage over four years of blogging probably expresses my own feelings...

8. Final Crisis: Requiem

The only issue on the list to come out since I started the blog. A great looking book with an alright story that gets points for remembering Gypsy but loses them for neglecting Manhunter history prior to 1997.

7. Martian Manhunter #17 “Hidden Faces”

This one was the biggest head-scratcher for me, since it undid several years of work into making the Manhunter an international hero with longstanding secret identities across the globe.

6. Martian Manhunter #1,000,000 “The Abyss of Time”

This one I get. It was essentially the mission statement of the entire Ostrander/Mandrake series. It introduced a slew of new villains, infused the New Gods into Martian life, foretold the ultimate defeat of Darkseid, and offered a roadmap for Manhunter stories across millenia.

5. DC: The New Frontier #1-6

No other character benefited from this book like John Jones. It combined elements of the original stories with retcons of the 70s, 80s & 90s into one well received package that introduced a lot of people to material they'd never seen before. The book also led to the first recognizable origin story to hit animation, after the liberties taken on Justice League. Having already been familiar with the source material, I never felt as strongly about this book as others, but I appreciate its impact and new additions (King Faraday, J'Onn's interest in John Henry, etc.)

4. Martian Manhunter: American Secrets #1-3

This is the one I'd expect readers here to rally around, based on a seeming consensus. I see this as the closest thing so far to a Watchmen for the Martian Manhunter set, but it's also a difficult, quirky book lacking flash and action.

3. Martian Manhunter #33-36 “In My Life”

I found this one really interesting. Rather than the origin story from #0 or the story arc that introduced Malefic, fans took to this piece on the early days of the J'Onzzes and the impact of Apokolips on Mars. It's not a bad story, and it's much tighter (yet more expansive in scope) than other Ostrander arcs. Still, it traded Tom Mandrake for Ed Barreto at his worst, plus a tacked-on ending with Jamal Igle to wrap up some subplots.

2. Martian Manhunter #20-24 “Revelations”

No surprise here. Manhunter fans love stories where he's woven into the fabric of DC history, and the series of short stories were well received upon release. However, the majority of votes came from "Double Stuff," the humorous JLI flashback with guest art by Doug Mahnke. I suppose "Mars Needs Chocos!"

1. Justice League America #38-40 “Justice League versus Despero

In terms of the great Martian Manhunter nemesis, this blog's Great Taste/Less Filling debate has always trended toward Commander Blanx vs. Malefic. Ma'alefa'ak may have smoked Blanx on this countdown, but it's pretty clear Despero is the true threat. Considering I run Despero theme months here, and made a point of covering this epic last year for Despero's 50th birthday celebration, I'm cool with that. This is certainly one of the greatest and most broadly read Manhunter stories, though the shared spotlight and aspects of the ending sees it lowered in my esteem.

Now that you've heard my thoughts on CBR readers' choices, I'd like to hear yours! Drop a comment, or vote for the best of CSBG's selections in our new poll on the sidebar. We'll be revisiting this topic a few times in the near future...

Demon Knights #1 (November, 2011)

2011-11-29T03:45:00.001-06:00

In the 12th century or so, on the last night of Camelot, a knight of King Arthur delivered the sword Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. The sorceress Xanadu was`among those carrying Arthur to Avalon, but said "sod this," and tried to dive in after Excalibur. It didn't pan out. Meanwhile, Merlin imprisoned the Demon Etrigan in the human host Jason of Norwich.

Four hundred years later, during the Dark Ages (although technically, Camelot was also part of the dark ages, and another half a millennium before that even,) the Horse of the Questing Queen marched. The Queen demanded an infant sacrifice from an occupied village. Her love Mordru used his magic to summon a demon to possess the child, and consult it for prophesy before the weak vessel burst. The path to Alba Sarum was indicated, meaning travel through the Dagger Pass and a tiny village called Little Springs.

Madame Xanadu and her lover Jason o' th' Blood hoped to pass through Little Springs without incident, though Xan openly expressed the unlikelihood, given their usual troubles. Vandal Savage was shouting at an innkeeper, demanding entry, and burst down a door when refused. Jason and Xanadu had last met him ninety years earlier in Brigantia, but saw no reason that they should have to wrestle with him now. In fact, they all had drinks. Savage confessed, "I've`always been jealous you two fellow immortals were at the fall of Camelot. I have almost no ethics myself, you understand-- but I like them in others. And I'm pleased that glittering example once existed."

The Shining Knight called them all "liars" and "rogues," claiming to have also been at the fall and not seen them there. Then again, "Sir Ystin" didn't appear to be an actual sir, despite the gleaming armor on her slight frame. The Saxons figured, "The Celts have odd ways. Nod and smile. Greetings, Sir Ystin!"

There was an argument when the bartender refused the coin of Al Jabr, but his amazonian companion Exoristos intimidated improved service. "I come from an island where men are castrated-- and women are pleased."

Outriders of the Questing Queen's Horde tried to seize the flock of a friar outside town, but they were killed by the archery of a woman on horseback. Other outriders raided the inn tavern, prompting Jason to release the Demon Etrigan in defense. Xan whimpered "Just one quiet pint. That's all I ask." Etrigan kissed Xanadu, who he believed was leading Jason on and truly in lust for the Demon. "...I really prefer-- a bit of rough."

As hostilities escalated, Mordru detected magic in Little Springs, and delivered from afar some of his own. "Dragons" were released from wormholes in space...

"Seven Against The Dark" was by Paul Cornell, Diógenes Neves and Oclair Albert. The characters are a lot more fun in this book than Cornell's Stormwatch, and the story is clearer, but it seems kind of pointless. This is like a JLA of immortality, meaning that the characters that are best known are perfectly safe, so your reading enjoyment is dependent upon your interest in watching the leads going through the motions. Madame Xanadu is more flippant and sexually adventurous than I recall. The Demon is more amorous and gullible, plus I don't like the wings. Vandal Savage is more thuggish and boisterous-- more of a tuna sandwich-- and I appreciated the working in of his serpent belt buckle. It would be interesting if Al Jabr turned out to be Adam One. I suppose it's cute seeing these characters in earlier days, and the playing with magic as advanced science (dragons = dinosaurs) is nice. With a name like "Demon Knights" and all these Daemonites running around the DCnÜ, you just know there will be some amusing tie-ins to come. I guess that's something to look forward to, but it's still asking a lot for me to think of this as anything more than a short-lived aside, if not an outright lark.

New 52's Day

Rejected DCnÜ Aquaman design by Jim Lee @ Justice League Detroit
DCnÜ Wonder Woman design by Jim Lee @ Diana Prince
Grifter #1 (November, 2011) @ DC Bloodlines
Bonus: Captain Atom: Armageddon #4-7 (2006) @ Power of the Atom

The Greenwashing of M'gann M'orzz

2011-11-28T02:16:00.003-06:00

Click To Enlarge

Let's begin by stating that Miss Martian started off life as a gimmick. As revealed by Ben Morse in The Secret Origin of Miss Martian, Geoff Johns "was trying to come up with new characters for both the One Year Later roster and for what eventually became Titans West, and that he wanted to do more legacy characters for heroes and villains who didn't actually have any yet." A great many of these characters ended up as cannon fodder for 52 and Teen Titans. Given that they were adolescent "legacy" cyphers of established lesser DC IPs, the killings didn't stop there, either. Johns likely was specifically looking for a sidekick to the Martian Manhunter as a story point, although he hadn't tipped that hand yet. Inspired at a dinner party by the classic comic book alliterative naming possibilities of Ben marrying his then-girlfriend (which he actually did do a few years later,) "Megan Morse" was born.

Following Johns' Infinite Crisis, the DC Universe jumped forward a year in continuity. One of the few books to really dive into the possibilities of that lost year was Johns' Teen Titans, where Miss Martian was introduced in passing during the story arc "The New Teen Titans." She was one of the dozens of characters briefly associated with the team during an extended rudderless period following the (temporary) death of Supergirl, a lengthy hiatus for Robin, the premature aging of Kid Flash, and so forth. Miss Martian wasn't really relevant until Johns' next and penultimate arc on the book, "Titans Around the World." The returned Robin was trying to put the band back together, which involved a global search for a traitor that had sabotaged the team during his absence. The original July 2006 solicitation art for Teen Titans #40 depicted a coy M'gann with her arms behind her back against a suspiciously plain background. One of the rumor columns got its hands on the cover as eventually published, showcasing Miss Martian in the center of a collage of infamous Titans traitors. Treachery is something of a Titans tradition. To gild the lily, they even added the word balloon "I'm Miss Martian. Of course you can trust me!"

As an added punch, readers learned that M'gann M'orzz was not related to the Martian Manhunter, nor was she even the same race, but was instead a White Martian of the sort that tried to conquer Earth in the first JLA arc. However, the creators doth tease too much, as despite the secrecy behind Miss Martian's origin, she was truly an innocent heroine who helped uncover the true traitor in the group. The character became part of a fresh line-up formed for Johns' final story arc, and then she was the next creative team's problem. The book meandered for three guest issues tying into two inter-company crossovers before Miss Martian was confirmed as part of a revised line-up under the incoming creative team.

It seems Miss Martian's remaining under new writer Sean McKeever likely hinged on her opening gimmick. Revisiting an earlier story foretelling a dark future for the Teen Titans, an adult Miss Martian was revealed as having embraced the murderous inclinations of the White Martians (though retaining a largely human physical appearance) and become a femme fatale. Miss Martian inadvertently killed her evil future self, setting up an ongoing subplot where she was haunted by a psychic remainder that gave her something of a multiple personalty disorder. Mileage could be found in her still being a potential traitor, plus she took on a very Martian Manhunter style covert identity in a plot involving the Terror Titans.

Sean McKeever left the book after a couple of years, and once she was used as a mourner to help sell the tragedy of the death of teammate Kid Devil (they were close, and nobody else cared much,) Miss Martian was benched on the injured list by replacement writer Felicia D. Henderson. It's worth noting that on the way out, she was mind-controlled into killing another person. A pattern emerges of M'gann M'orzz being a sweet-natured naive heroine often embroiled in deadly, treacherous situations with quite a few issues with mental stability and blood on her hands.

In a surprising move, Miss Martian was included in the line-up of the Cartoon Network animated series Young Justice, beating out the more popular and better known Wonder Girl. The show's web site states "M'Gann M'Orzz has a sweet, bubbly personality, but is hiding a secret past." I haven't been following the Young Justice cartoon or comics directly, relying more on fandom osmosis to maintain my awareness. However, back in early October, The Aquaman Shrine offered thirteen pages of scans from the comic Young Justice #6 that piqued my interest in a big way. They purportedly depict M'gann's origin story and an interpretation of Mars not seen in comics since 1984.

As told, Mars is dominated by a green-skinned race whose men seem identical to J'Onn J'Onzz and whose women all resemble M'gann M'orzz. Miss Martian comes from an enormous family of double-digit siblings and triple-digit extension. Despite this (including living parents,) her closest relative is her Uncle J'Onn, which absent an explanatory context is rather disquieting. All these Green Martians live in underground, upside-down cities of vaguely Arabic design, but are otherwise domesticated in a fairly Atom Age Americana fashion (including a panel paying homage to Norman Rockwell.) There is also a minority of Red Martians that seem acceptable to Greens, and a class of White Martians who face incredible prejudice. M'gann claims that her own family is progressive, but with some pregnant pauses.

Readers of this blog are likely aware that most DC Martians were wiped out after 1988, in comics by a plague, and in animation by genocidal alien invaders. Silver Age Martians of either gender came with or without hair of various colors. Modern Martians have been a tribal people living in huts and pyramids above ground, and descended from saurian origins that precluded mammalian characteristics like hair. Rather than an oppressed minority, White Martians were a warrior race bent on conquest against their own species and others. They created a clone slave race, which prompted Greens to develop red-skinned clones to prevent being overrun by sheer numbers. These "red Martians" lived around two planets back, and developed into Saturnians once the White Martians were exiled to the Still Zone and Green Martians receded from galactic prominence to occupy Mars alone.

In the recent YJ comic story, M'gann M'orzz tells her teammates that the Martian Manhunter became the most famous member of his species through his televised exploits with the Justice League (shades of Roh Kar.) It seems like J'Onzz has always worn the José Ladrönn designed costume from the 2006 mini-series, and the basics of it appear to be standard Martian active wear. One day, J'Onzz decided he needed a kid sidekick, and held a competition amongst the entire youth population of Mars for the chance. M'gann M'orzz was so hungry to visit Earth and become a hero, she beat everybody else on Mars in the contest, even though her elder seemed to be rooting against her. In other words, she told everyone Wonder Woman's origin, on a show where she replaced Wonder Girl.

We return now to that "secret past." There were murmurs when M'gann was introduced as J'Onn's niece, these being characters who haven't shared many panels in the comic books. With the DCnÜ reboot, it would be easy to erase M'gann's White Martian past entirely, and given that there are more eyes on any given episode of Young Justice than most anything DC publishes in a month combined, it would make sense to mainstream the character in the model of the cartoon. However, the cartoon has made some allusions to white being a skin color M'gann has issues with, and her supposed origin story is so blatantly derivative as to be downright incriminating. On the other hand, J'Onn J'Onzz did bring the character into Young Justice, establishing a far stronger bond than was ever present in the comics. One also wonders if M'gann would chance a lie as big as a populated Mars. Perhaps M'gann is still a White Martian, but it seems likely that the more sordid elements of her comics backstory will be discarded. More importantly, this Miss Martian may come from a very different Mars than we've seen in decades, and I'd be very interested to see if her cartoon continuity has an impact on the books great enough to massively rewrite the story of J'Onn J'Onzz. In "going green," the gimmicky tale of Miss Martian may end up wagging the dog that has been much of the Martian Manhunter's half century career...

Previews Vol. VI, No. 9 JLA Cover (September 1996)

2011-11-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here is the original solicited cover to JLA #1 by Howard Porter and John Dell. I like how the red makes the Martian Manhunter pop, but it was decided to switch to green for fear that the color scheme would spoil the secret of the Hyperclan (given the planet in the background.)

2000 DC Comics Promo 8327-G

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

Another cardstock placeholder in the event Silver Age: Justice League of America #1 (July, 2000) happened to sell out. Despite Ty Templeton's providing a fond look back at the 1960s super-team of Superman, Batman, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Manhunter from Mars, a Post-Crisis concession was made in replacing Wonder Woman with Black Canary.

Mars Needs Black Friday!

2011-11-25T00:56:00.000-06:00

Today is Black Friday, so I thought it would be a good idea to start collecting all the great Martian Manhunter related merchandise under one easy to visit banner, for your Christmas shopping needs...

Action Figures

Activity Books

Apparel

Bookmarks

2003 JLA Promotional Bookmark

Candy & Prizes
1969 Fleer Martian Manhunter Temporary Tattoo
1967 Super Candy & Toy
1970 Fleer Justice League of America Gum & Tattoo
2006 Justice League Power Dip

Collector's Plates

Commercials

Costumes

Martian Manhunter Children's Halloween Costume

Figurines

Justice League Martian Manhunter Micro Bobble Head

Foreign Editions

Games

Glasses & Mugs

2000 Warner Bros. Studio Store Exclusive JLA Mug

Greeting Cards

2008 Hallmark Expressions Justice League Unlimited Grandson Birthday Card

Jewelery

1997 JLA: The World's Mightiest Mortals Martian Manhunter Pin

Magazines

Magnets

2010 DC Comics Brightest Day Martian Manhunter Magnet

Mini-Comics
Justice League America Kellogg's Cinnamon Mini Buns Mini-Comic (1993)
Super Powers Collection #14: Martian Manhunter (1984)

Point of Purchase/Merchandising Displays

Postcards

Posters/Prints/Wall Scrolls

Sculptures (Busts, Statues, etc.)

Trading Cards

Universe Retro Argentinian Detective Martiano Trading Card
1966 Comic Book Foldees Card #15 (Topps)
1989 Mayfair Games DC Heroes Martian Manhunter Character Card
1991 Impel DC Comics Cosmic Cards #121: Martian Manhunter
1993 Justice League Task Force Official Membership Card
1993 Skybox DC Cosmic Teams Cards #43: Bloodwynd
1994 Skybox Superman: Man of Steel Platinum Series Card #40

1996 DC Outburst: Firepower
#04: Martian Manhunter by Chris Renaud
#75: Martian Manhunter by Chris Renaud

1997 Fleer/Skybox Justice League (JLA) Overpower Collectable Card Game

2004 Post Cereal Justice League Trading Card #5 of 7: Martian Manhunter (s04)

2005 Upper Deck VS System Collectible Card Game: Despero- Master of the Third Eye

2007 Alfajor Maxi Max Cookies DC Super Heroes Cartas De Poder

2007 Rittenhouse Archives DC Legacy Card #21: Martian Manhunter

More Pictures of Martian Manhunter

2011-11-24T05:14:00.000-06:00

When I look up to the skies
I see an alien super-hero of beryl
I rush home to the Watchtower
I sense Martian Vision to my marrow
I wake next morning, tired, still yawning
Detect your telepathy peering through my window

Pictures of Martian Man Hunter
Mirages of Martian Man Hunter
All I ever see is them and you...

2011 Martian Manhunter commission by Josh Eddings

2011-11-23T07:50:00.000-06:00

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Stormwatch #2 (December, 2011)

2011-11-22T04:30:00.001-06:00

Adam One was born old at the Big Bang, and has aged backward ever since. A disembodied voice observed, "One day you're going to try to kill me."
"Oh. Yeah. Hi. Any chance of a pint? Whatever one of those is."

The Engineer roused Adam One from his flashback. She muttered to Jenny Quantum "He's no good under pressure. His brain is messed up. I should be leading this team." Adam heard her, and started screaming at her to follow orders.

In Moscow, Midnighter insisted to Apollo that he wasn't wearing a super-hero costume, but carbon armor. "For over a year I've been trailing you... We seem to share a point of view. I want us to work together... I know you pretty well, I think. I watched you slaughter that child porn ring, for instance. I really enjoyed it." Midnighter wouldn't allow Stormwatch to strongarm Apollo onto the team, since he felt they both were best staying apart from that whole scene.

From behind the pair, the Manhunter said "Hmm... It seems my decision to allow you to believe you had rendered me unconscious-- has been effective. From what I overheard-- I believe that Stormwatch might have a place for both of you-- and that your own causes are not so different from ours. We should talk about this-- unless you desire further futile combat. And gentlemen-- that would be acting like those you affect not to be, would it not?" Midnighter replied, "You're badass, Manhunter. I'll give you that." Except for his weird tendency to assume a human form resembling George Reeves era Clark Kent, except for brown hair. "If I am, it is because my leader is more so. Ah. He heard my telepathic report-- and arrives to share his wisdom." Manhunter seemed to also revive Midnighter's actual victims, Jack Hawksmoor and the Projectionist.

On the moon, Harry Tanner managed to resist the influence of the scourge of worlds, while still claiming to be a simple human swordsman. Tanner suggested that he could willing allow the scourge to enter his mind and infiltrate Stormwatch, so he could see that the humanity he sought to "toughen up" for a forthcoming threat were plenty tough already.

Through a teleportational "door," Adam One emerged in Moscow. Apollo said, "Listen, the Manhunter may think a lot of you, but don't--" He was interrupted by Adam making a sneering comment about the Projectionist's drug abuse, before ordering her to make the activity on the moon appear in the media to be the work of a random super-villain. This would keep the super-heroes like the Justice League out of Stormwatch's way, chasing strawmen like the Fox. Adam then admitted to Apollo that "The Manhunter's inducing a slight telepathic calming effect," which Apollo said he already knew and allowed, "But if you hadn't told me--"
"That's why I did. You see? Now we're negotiating!"
Midnighter protested that Apollo was the only partner he was interested in, but Adam noted their work was small potatoes compared to Stormwatch, which had been "defending Earth for centuries, sir."

On the moon, the Engineer and Jenny's arrival prompted a hostile response from the animated lunar surface. Jenny's "dark matter DNA" allowed her to do just about anything, as she learned that she could generate force fields. Engineer meanwhile planted a data miner to attack the scourge's information center. She also noted of Tanner "Harry's the greatest swordsman in history. And so he's the greatest at misdirection. That's his main power-- he's the prince of lies." Harry tried to coax consensual information out of the scourge, but failing that, he mind-raped it. He'd been in the scourge's mind when it entered his, and the data miner only made it vulnerable to the Eminence of Blades. "I'm taking your knowledge! Not Stormwatch! Not Adam! ME! I'm taking it ALL!"

The scourge had managed a major offensive before Tanner could act, sending a barrage of meteors toward Earth. Jack Hawksmoor could hear all of the planet's cities screaming in terror at once. The first missile struck what should have been the middle of nowhere, but Jack still sensed a city there. From out of that strike emerged a massive, multi-tentacled monstrosity.

"The Dark Side: Part Two" was by Paul Cornell, Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrionuevo. The book is discussed at great length here. I'll add that I don't believe the name "J'Onn J'Onzz" has been used yet in the New 52, and while "Martian Manhunter" came up once in #1, he's only "Manhunter" in #2. That's how it was in 1960s solo stories, and calling him "The Manhunter" really emphasizes his singularity in a universe often plagued with manhunters. I like that a lot. Also, to my eye, Barrionuevo drew about nine pages, including all of the Moscow sequence. After eight issues of the 2006 Martian Manhunter mini-series, this marked his first take on a John Jones type, and a blessedly more palatable take on the Manhunter himself. Good stuff.

New 52's Day

Aquaman #2 (December, 2011) @ Justice League Detroit
Legion: Secret Origin #1 (December, 2011) @ DC Bloodlines
Voodoo #1 (November, 2011) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
Bonus: Captain Atom: Armageddon #1-3 (2005-2006) @ Power of the Atom

2011 Miss Martian color art by XJKenny

2011-11-21T11:47:00.000-06:00

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1990 Martian Manhunter art by Whilce Portacio

2011-11-20T04:21:00.001-06:00

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"This was a sketch Whilce did for me back when I worked for the Homage crew. A very long time ago! This was in 1990 so I believe it was around the time Whilce was post Punisher but pre X-Factor. Whilce was and is still one of my favorite artists. A true master." -Karl Altstaetter

Image Founders

2008 Aquaman color head sketch by Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair @ Justice League Detroit
1984 Green Lantern John Stewart, The Predator and Eclipso art by Rob Liefeld @ DC Bloodlines
2006 Wolverine, the Atom & Batgirl by Jim Lee & Amanda Conner @ Power of the Atom
Wonder Woman Gallery by Jim Lee @ Diana Prince

DCnÜ: What We Know 3 Months In...

2011-11-19T00:00:00.003-06:00

The Martian Manhunter is the character's official super-heroic name, although most people seem to just call him "Manhunter." That's how it was in the '60s, and I like it a lot.
Manhunter is a member of Stormwatch.
The Manhunter assumes a human identity that, aside from wearing glasses, appears to be very similar to John Jones.
The Manhunter has a new, mostly purple costume. His pants now tuck into more conventional boots.
Manhunter appears to be a polytheist.
The Manhunter is recognized as a hero, but seems to self-identify as a "warrior." That was not the case from 1988 until at least 2006, so it's safe to assume DeMatteis' "Green Guru" is no longer relevant to continuity. In attitude, this hews closer to the Bronze Age interpretation.
The Manhunter has a great deal of respect for his team leader, Adam One. Certainly much more so than has been shown among his contemptuous, critical teammates.
The Manhunter is or was a member of the Justice League, with the inference being that he presently serves on both teams.
Barring Apollo having access to privileged information, the existence of the Martian Manhunter and his association with the Justice League is common knowledge.
In the event of a conflict, Manhunter defers to Stormwatch over the Justice League, to the point where he will allow Stormwatch to intentionally mislead and undermine the League. So much for that "heart and soul" business.
The Martian Manhunter does not appear to see himself as a "super-hero."
The Manhunter now tolerates vigilante murderers as teammates, and actively recruits a fetishistic sadist.
The Martian Manhunter's body has seen modest alterations, including nondescript discs where his ears once rested, and a shell-like structure to his temporal bone. His elbows have been extended several inches.
The Manhunter can shapeshift on a pretty large scale, and these changes impact his strength level. He appears to assume the properties of the being he turns into, as was the case in the Silver Age.
The Manhunter can take a blow directly to the face from a supposedly Superman-caliber metahuman with it seemingly having little impact.
The Manhunter can physically overwhelm Apollo.
Manhunter maintains a telepathic rapport with his teammates and leader.
Manhunter can sense the presence of concealed individuals, and can subtly affect the emotional temperament of others. This may extend to outright psychic control, as he has forced humans to flee an area with his mind.
Based solely on a cover image, the Martian Manhunter can emit energy beams from his eyes (Laser/Martian Vision?)

What We Do Not Know 3 Months Into the DCnÜ:

Is the character still named J'Onn J'Onzz? If so, who knows him by this identity?
What is the quality and character of his relationship with the Justice League and "super-heroes" in general?
Was he a founding member of the Justice League, a team still forming in a flashback story?
Can the Manhunter turn invisible or intangible?
What is his origin and what are the basics of his life on Earth?
How long has the Manhunter been on Earth, or a member of Stormwatch?
What is the current state of Martian society? Was there still a plague?
Given widespread retcons in this department, did the Manhunter ever marry?
Which if any of his family members existed and/or still live?
Does he still worship H'ronmeer?
What are the races of Mars? Are there still Saturnians?
Is there a relationship between Martians and Daemonites or other alien species?
Does he still have a vulnerability to fire?
Who designed that new look? Jim Lee? Cully Hamner? Where's that art?
Solo book forthcoming, oh publishers of Hawk and Dove?

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project charity art by Walt Simonson

2011-11-18T00:00:00.002-06:00

Click To Expand & Enlarge

The Magnificent ~~Seven~~ Six! Superman! Batman! Wonder Woman! ~~Flash!~~ Green Lantern! Aquaman! Martian Manhunter!

I'm used to an FU-5 JLA where they drop J'Onn or Arthur, so it's a really nice change to see Barry get the shaft for once. Further, the Alien Atlas takes up half the image space, and the Sea King gets a joke in. Kudos, Mr. Simonson!

Here's an extra by Gordon Purcell featuring a Flash/Superman race covered by Jimmy Olsen. Most of the super-spectators are teeny, but they include Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Red Tornado, Plastic Man, the Atom, Green Lantern, Batman, Black Canary, Aquaman, Booster Gold, Doctor Fate, Firestorm and the Manhunter from Mars.

In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

ALL 104 JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 ORIGINALS…NOW ON DISPLAY!

Please enjoy this gallery of ALL 104 original Justice League of America #50 Hero Initiative covers!

Hardcover and softcover versions of a book collecting all the covers will be available in December, 2011. AND all the originals will be auctioned off according to the following schedule:

• December 3, 2011, Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, CA: Display of all 104 covers and auction of first one-third
• Jan. 20-22, 2012, Tate's Comics, Lauderhill, FL (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area): Display of remaining covers and auction of second one-third.
• Feb. 17-19, 2012: Orlando MegaCon, Orlando, FL: Display and auction of final one-third.

All covers will be sold via LIVE AUCTION on-site at the venues above. If you cannot attend but wish to bid, proxy bidding is available.
Contact Joe Davidson at: yensid4disney@gmail.com
Deadlines for each grouping are below, and each cover carries a minimum bid of $100.

Special thanks to Firestorm Fan for the notice!