Blackest Night #0 (June, 2009)

There was darkness. Then there was light. And the war between them began.

Green Lantern Hal Jordan visited the unmarked grave of Bruce Wayne. He recalled an early day from his years in the Justice League of America, when Martian Manhunter and the rest played peacemaker between Batman and himself. Aquaman just observed, "Another reason I prefer being underwater. Less shouting."

The Batman was now dead, but Barry Allen, the Flash Jordan knew best, had recently returned from beyond the veil. Joining Green Lantern in a Gotham City graveyard, Flash spoke of the breakdown in a city without its Dark Knight, and was again confronted by changes that occurred during his lengthy absence. Jordan reflected on his own demise, while under the control of the evil Parallax entity. "I died a sinner. You died a saint. Everything changed when you disappeared, Barry. The world got more dangerous. Our jobs more deadly. The Justice League wasn't untouchable anymore."

Aquaman: killed after months in a mutated state toward the end of Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis.

Jordan flashed back to simpler days, when he was much more cocky and optimistic, fighting Amazo alongside J'Onn J'Onzz, Aquaman, Batman, Green Arrow, Flash, the Atom, Wonder Woman, and Superman.

Batman: reduced to a skeleton by Darkseid's Omega Beams during Final Night.

"J'Onn J'Onzz... Martian Manhunter... he was murdered by Darkseid's followers. He's buried on Mars-- the heart and soul of the Justice League is gone."

Despite their differences, Green Lantern saw Batman as a friend. Flash hoped all their old buddies would return from the grave, just as Jordan and himself had done. The pair departed.

THE BLACKEST NIGHT
FALLS FROM THE SKIES
THE DARKNESS GROWS AS ALL LIGHT DIES
WE CRAVE YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR DEMISE
BY MY BLACK HAND-- THE DEAD SHALL RISE!

The villainous Black Hand exhumed the remains of Bruce Wayne, and took the Dark Knights skull in hand. The corrupt Guardian of the Universe Scar was pleased...

Note:

The mysterious Black Lantern rose around the corpse of the Anti-Monitor on the planet Ryvt, a world once decimated by the Guardian's Manhunters. It's ultimate purpose and its creator are unknown.

"Death Becomes Us" was by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis with Oclair Albert & Rob Hunter.

2009 The Martian Manhunter Archives Volume 2 Introduction by Tom Hartley

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"Wade Greenberg" is at it again, giving a rather detailed overview of the highlights from Detective Comics #261-295. Not only do I appreciate such great material while I'm tied up elsewhere, but this also covers serious ground previously neglected at the Idol-Head Blog. You can give this a proper reading as a PDF here, and gander at the lovely Diane Meade on John Jones' arm to boot...

In the first Martian Manhunter Archives volume, reprinting the first three years of “John Jones Manhunter from Mars” back-up stories from DETECTIVE COMICS, we saw the beginning of the character’s evolution from a plainclothes detective with a gimmick to a Martian super-hero. Our second volume, reprinting the next three years’ worth of stories (minus one month) from DETECTIVE COMICS #261-295 (1958-61), completes that evolutionary process.

In the first dozen stories in this volume, he still works in secret, having to turn invisible when he assumes his true Martian form and uses his super-powers——a carry-over from those early stories when it was Detective John Jones who captured the bad guys and we rarely saw the Martian J’Onn J’Onzz——but then comes “The Unmasking of John Jones” from DETECTIVE COMICS #273. Earth is visited by a second Martian, B’Rett, who has all of our hero’s powers. But unlike the Martian Manhunter, who fights crime, B’Rett is himself a criminal, who wants nothing less than to become Master of Earth. To give him an edge over our hero, he also has an arsenal of Martian weapons, including a ray gun (of course) and a pellet of Formula Z6, which will rob a Martian of his super-powers if he turns invisible. When J’Onn is doused with the formula, he must turn visible to fight B’Rett, forcing him to reveal his existence to the people of Earth. Ironically (and here I must inert a SPOILER WARNING), J’Onn is able to use his greatest weakness to defeat his foe. As a fellow Martian, B’Rett is also vulnerable to fire. J’Onn takes the weakened B’Rett and the ship that brought him to Earth to a nearby missile base, so that the ship, with B’Rett on board, can be launched into space and returned to Mars. J’Onn, who in previous stories has wanted nothing more than to return to his homeworld (see, for example, this volume’s story from DETECTIVE COMICS #267, “John Jones’ Farewell to Earth”) chooses, for reasons not given, to remain on Earth.

J’Onn had always kept his true identity secret because he thought Earthmen would fear his alien Martian appearance. After all, the first Earthman he met, Prof. Mark Erdel, whose teleportation device had brought J’Onn to Earth, was so startled by the Martian’s sudden appearance that he died of a heart attack. (And since it was only Erdel who could operate his invention, J’Onn was unable to return to Mars.) But fortunately, when the Martian Manhunter’s existence is finally revealed, he is welcomed by every law-abiding Earthling as a hero. Earth’s criminals feel differently, of course.

By exposing himself and B’Rett to fire, J’Onn also reveals his weakness to the Earthmen who are present, but later stories, including the one in the very next issue, claim that J’Onn keeps his weakness a secret from Earthmen so that criminals can’t use it against him. In “The Human Flame” (DETECTIVE COMICS #274) a criminal named Mike (no last name given) has heard rumors that the Martian Manhunter’s weakness is fire. He dons an armored suit with built-in flame-throwers——hence the name, the Human Flame——and attacks an armored bank truck, hoping this will get the Martian Manhunter’s attention. It does, of course——nothing escapes Martian vision——and the battle ensues. But J’Onn can’t get close to the Human Flame without revealing his weakness. This time I won’t spoil the ending for you, except to say that somehow our hero both defeats his foe and keeps his secret, so that Mike the Human Flame is left not knowing for certain if fire is indeed the Martian Manhunter’s weakness.

In DETECTIVE COMICS #285 more Martians invade Earth——Martian mandrills! A Martian rocket-ship was supposed to transport the mandrills from their home in the jungles of Mars to a zoo on one of Mars’ moons, but the ship goes off-course and crash-lands on Earth. Fortunately, the mandrills share the same vulnerability to fire as everything else that lives on Mars, and so...

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

...J’Onn instructs Captain Harding and his men to surround the mandrills and then to each light up a cigarette. (Yes, in a scenario you would think only a tobacco lobbyist would be brazen enough to concoct, cigarettes save the Earth!) Harding and his men don’t understand why the mandrills have suddenly become weak, even though they had previously witnessed the same thing happen to the Martian criminal B’Rett when he had been exposed to fire, and had even heard J’Onn explain afterwards that fire was the weakness of all Martians. At any rate, the weakened mandrills are put back on board their rocket-ship, which is taken to a familiar nearby missile base and launched into space, to return to Mars. Once again, J’Onn remains on Earth, this time suggesting that he may someday return to Mars when his work here on Earth is done.

Two issues later, in “J’Onn J’Onzz’s Kid Brother”, our hero is given yet another opportunity to return home. We find Detective John Jones in “a disguised laboratory on the other side of the city”, where he keeps Prof. Erdel’s teleportation device, the robot-brain. (Interesting that even though he’s alone in his secret laboratory, he assumes the human guise of John Jones rather than of Martian J’Onn J’Onzz.) He’s finally figured out how the thing works, and is about to transport himself back to Mars, but he trips and accidentally pushes a certain button in instead of pulling it out. Instead of returning J’Onn to Mars, the robot-brain summons another Martian to Earth: J’Onn’s kid brother, T’Omm J’Onzz. The ever-quirky robot-brain won’t allow both brothers to return to Mars together. The machine can only be used once more to transport either T’Omm or J’Onn. T’Omm wants to remain on Earth with his older brother, but J’Onn insists that T’Omm return home. But when J’Onn tries to activate the robot-brain one last time, nothing happens. As J’Onn explains, with a Martian’s sophisticated understanding of advanced technology, “The robot-brain has conked out completely!” I assume I’m not spoiling things if I reveal that J’Onn learns why the robot-brain conked out and is able to return T’Omm to Mars. And it also shouldn’t surprise you that on Mars, as on Earth, it’s not unusual for little brothers to make life difficult for big brothers. But any further details would require another spoiler warning, which I will spare you.

If we didn’t know better, we might begin to think that maybe J’Onn doesn’t really want to return to Mars. Even on those rare occasions when some “accident” or “coincidence” something else suspiciously resembling self-sabotage prevents him from returning home, he makes some remark about remaining until “my work here on Earth is done” or, as he watches yet another rocket blast off to Mars, simply says nothing at all. Not that there aren’t reasons why he would want to remain on Earth. Maybe he likes being a super-hero. Maybe he likes Earthlings. Maybe there’s one Earthling in particular he likes.

We were introduced to Diane Meade in the previous Martian Manhunter Archives volume, in the story, “John Jones’ Female Nemesis” from DETECTIVE COMICS #246. Meade, the police commisioner’s daughter, has passed her probationary police-woman’s test, and for her one day probationary period she is assigned to work with Det. John Jones. This is back in the plainclothes-detective-with-a-gimmick days, when it is John Jones, not J’Onn J’Onzz, who catches the bad guys by using his powers in secret. Our hero likes his privacy; the last thing he needs is a partner. The problems begin as soon as they’ve left the precinct building, when Diane lights up a cigarette. It’s one thing to use tobacco smoke to defeat Martian mandrills, but this simply will not do. Fortunately, with his Martian memory, John knows the police regulations manual by heart, so he can cite paragraph 363 B, which forbids probationary officers from smoking. But despite the rocky start, John comes to learn that having a partner might not be so bad, especially one as smart and as capable, and as pretty, as Diane Meade. If you’ve read the story, you know how they solve their case, a museum robbery, how they escape from the museum’s reconstructed prehistoric cave, and so on. If you haven’t read it, then all I can say is that if you like Vol. 2, you’ll love Vol. 1. What’s really interesting about the story is that our Martian hero is attracted to this Earth woman. The story ends with John Jones at home, gazing into his bathroom mirror. “Her eyes sparkle when she looks at me,” he says. “Even if she does create a dreadful dilemma, I must admit it’s fun having her along on a case!” Then he transforms into, J’Onn J’Onzz, Martian. “Yet——would her eyes sparkle if she saw me in my natural guise——like this?” He sighs. “A Martian on Earth can lead an awfully lonely existence!”

Things get less lonely when his battle with B’Rett forces him to reveal his true self to the world, and he’s accepted as a hero——and less lonely still when, in DETECTIVE COMICS #275, Diane Meade, her probationary period ended, has become a full-fledged uniformed police officer and is assigned to John Jones’ precinct. Since they worked so well together on their first case, she is permanently assigned to him as a partner——“John Jones’ Pesky Partner”, as the story title puts it. Why “pesky”? Because anyone as smart as her will probably figure out that John Jones, detective, and J’Onn J’Onzz, Martian Manhunter, are one and the same. Fortunately, Diane is no Lois Lane. She does have her suspicions at first, but when John finds a way to cover up his secret, she drops the subject. She doesn’t have to make it her life’s work to expose his dual identity. And our hero is no Clark Kent. Instead of feeling threatened by Diane’s inquisitiveness, John is even more attracted to her because of her intelligence and curiosity.

It’s the affectionate and sympathetic portrayal of Diane Mead, and J’Onn’s obvious affection for her, that make the stories about their relationship the most enjoyable parts of this book. Even after her return, DETECTIVE COMICS editor Jack Schiff and his writers were reluctant to use her in every story. Fortunately, as we’ll see in Vol. 3, this will change. But in this volume we have only four more Diane Meade stories (from issues #282, 284, 290 and 293). We don’t need to go into a detailed synopsis of each one. What matters is that she becomes more likable with each appearances, and we begin to understand why J’Onn’s homesickness for Mars, such an important theme in the early stories, receives so little attention——often none at all——in these later stories. We know little about the life he had on Mars. We are told in the debut story, “The Strange Experient of Dr. Erdel” (DETECTIVE COMICS #225), that he worked as a scientist. (We’re not told what branch of science.) In this volume’s afforementioned “J’Onn J’Onzz’s Kid Brother” we’re introduced to his parents and younger sibling. But that’s it. Did he have a wife or a girlfriend? Did he ever find love on Mars? We don’t know, but we do know that he found it on Earth.

—— Wade Greenberg

WADE GREENBERG lives in either Middleton or Apex City with his wife, Diane, and their children, Zook and Harding. He is currently writing the novelization of the film adapted from the musical based on the '70s cult movie, Major Jones and the Spiders from Mars.

2009 The Martian Manhunter Archives Volume 2 Table of Contents by Tom Hartley

Click To Load Document


As I've done in the past, Tom scanned his copy of Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter Vol. 1, then digitally recolored it. I'm also experienced in doctoring up images to look like pages that saw print somewhere (and love the internet's giving me the opportunity to still con people a year and a half after the fact.) Where my work and Tom's differ is that his looks way, way, WAY better than anything I'll ever come up with. The coloring is attractive and credible. Artifacts aren't sloppily left unattended all over the page. The fonts are exactly the same as those used by DC Comics in these editions. Everything is centered/formatted correctly. Basically, DC could just go ahead and pay Tom a fee for his having done all the work for them on this Table of Contents, if there was a chance such a beast could ever be published. My head still spins over the Showcases, at least until I spy the Eclipso and Ambush Bug editions on my bookshelf. Talk about long shots.

Anyway, you can see the TOC in its full glory as a PDF here, including one of the many swirly transformation shots of the Silver Age. Those odd panels were J'Onn's own Wonder Woman Twirl back in the day, and you just can't appreciate what unusual eyesores they were in black and white.

The Vile Menagerie: TYBALT BAK'SAR

Alter Ego: Tybalt Bak'sar
Occupation: Terrorist
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Appearance: Martian Manhunter #21 (August 2000)
Height: Approx. 6'7"
Build: Muscular
Eyes: Amber
Hair: Blond

History:
The planet Zapher had enslaved Tybalt Bak'sar's people, so he destroyed it. Eight billion inhabitants perished in an instant, including a billion of Bak'sar's own. "Better the grave than chains." Green Lantern Abin Sur prevented Tybalt Bak'sar from committing suicide, then took him into custody, earning his eternal hatred. The Guardians of the Universe sentenced Bak'sar to life in prison for his genocidal act. Unrepentant, Bak'sar swore that he would return to kill all of his enemies.

After an indefinite period of incarceration, Bak'sar was visited in his cell by an emissary of the Weaponers of Qward, foes of the Guardians from the Antimatter Universe. The emissary offered to aid and outfit Bak'sar in return for his acting as an agent of destruction against Oa and the Green Lantern Corps. Accepting, Tybalt Bak'sar was taken to Qward.

Some time later, Tybalt Bak'sar pursued Green Lantern Abin Sur to Denver, Colorado. Bak'sar intended on exploiting the Corps' vulnerability to yellow energy and slaying his former captor. Their battle attracted the attention of the Manhunter from Mars, who attempted to break up the combatants. Though Bak'sar fired on the Martian Manhunter without provocation, J'Onn J'Onzz's racial distrust of the Corps clouded his judgment, and he lashed out at Abin Sur and Tybalt Bak'sar equally. From conversation, Tybalt Bak'sar learned of the the existence of Alan Scott, a non-corpsman Green Lantern. Stating his intention to kill Scott, regardless of affiliation, Tybalt Bak'sar irked Martian Manhunter. Though direct attacks were useless against an immaterial Martian, Bak'sar made use of his knowledge of the Maleca'andrian weakness to open flames. Disregarding his own safety, Abin Sur spirited J'Onn J'Onzz away in a ring construct, until his concentration was shattered.

Tybalt Bak'sar practiced extraordinary rendition on Sur in hopes of clearing a path toward Green Lantern Alan Scott. Threatening the lives of the Lanterns and Earth itself, Bak'sar provoked the recovered Martian Manhunter. Finally working with the Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter managed to outmaneuver and disarm Bak'sar. J'Onn J'Onzz saw the error in his prejudice, and made peace with Abin Sur. Tybalt Bak'sar, stripped naked and carted back to Oan justice, swore he would one day slay them both.

Powers:
Tybalt Bak'sar is possessed of strength and durability far beyond that of a human, though its full extent is unrevealed. Based on threats made to his enemies, Bak'sar may be rather long lived. "I will see you both dead if it takes a hundred thousand years."

Distinguishing Features:
Tybalt Bak'sar has a furry, bestial, anthropomorphic appearance. Three jagged scars streak his right cheek. Twin fangs protrude from his jaw. He has large pointed ears, and a short tail.

Personality:
Though he swaggers with the confidence of a zealot, Tybalt Bak'sar is utterly without regard for life of any kind. Consumed with rage, Bak'sar seeks the deaths of any who oppose him, and is implacable in his pursuit.

Weapons:
Outfitted by the Weaponers of Qward, Tybalt Bak'sar makes use of a handgun whose lasers can penetrate Green Lantern power ring constructs. He can fly via a floating platform and belt jets. He wears resilient body armor, and carries powerful grenades.

Quote: "Zaphers enslaved my people. From greatest to smallest, they benefitted from the misery of others. They deserved what they got."

Created by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman

Green Lantern #43 (Early September 2009)

In a newly created origin, it was reveled that William Hand grew up in a mortuary, and from his earliest days was obsessed with death. Among his earliest hobbies was taxidermy, and he didn't let a fact like the family dog still (temporarily) being alive sway him from its aggressive pursuit. Coming into possession of an alien weapon, the necro-fanatic assumed the costumed identity the "Black Hand." After years descending from prominent Green Lantern foe to wretched joke of the super-villain community, the Black Hand returned home to murder his family. Black Hand had been "hearing" death for some time, and saw visions of the demises of many prominent DCU figures (including J'Onn J'Onzz, the co-conspirator in his murder Dr. Light, Aquaman, Batman and many more.) Hand committed suicide with his energy weapon, prompting the arrival of the corrupt Guardian of the Universe Scar. Serving at the pleasure of an unknown master, Scar vomited up a Black Lantern Power Ring.

"William Hand of Earth. Rise." Black Hand was resurrected as the initial recruit of a new corps representing death itself. "Like Ion. Like Parallax. Like the Predator. You are the embodiment of our corps. You are the black incarnate. You are our lord's herald."

"I... know what I am. I am the Black Hand. And with this power, I will finally extinguish the light."

"Blackest Night Prologue: Tale of the Black Lantern" was by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy.

The Vile Menagerie: THE HEADMASTER

Alter Ego: Thaddeus Romero Hoskins
Known Aliases: The Headman, the Headhunter Killer
Occupation: Mad scientist
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Referenced only
Group Affiliation: The Headmen
Base of Operations: Denver, CO
First Appearance: Martian Manhunter #1,000,000 (cameo, as the
Headman, November 1998,) Martian Manhunter #1 (full, December 1998)
Height: Approx. 9'
Build: Heavy
Eyes: Yellow (mechanical)
Hair: None

History:
"Millennia ago, the Earth was struck by an asteroid from space. The dominant species-- the dinosaur-- died out. Sooner or later, it will happen again. Or a virus that cannot be controlled will sweep the Earth. Humanity-- civilization-- will be lost due to a lack of vision and unwillingness to face the inevitable. We are stranding ourselves on one tiny blue orb." Such was the driving concern of a brilliant young scientist named Thaddeus Romero Hoskins. An arrogant elitist born to a rich family, Hoskins graduated M.I.T. at the age of fifteen. However, Hoskins' social skills never developed properly, and he felt alienated by all around him.

Hoskins was inspired to develop a robotic model for military application that consisted of an inhuman head attached to spidery legs. Dubbed a "headman," it could decapitate enemy soldiers in the field and reanimate their bodies to act as cannon fodder for its controllers. Those in scientific circles, including John Henry Irons, were unaware of the robot moving beyond the theoretical stage. Later, Hoskins body was discovered, his head detached by a laser, and his brain missing entirely.

Hoskins had decided his human body "wasn't capable of completing my vision, so I created a new one, improving on the work of Will Magnus, whereby placing my brain into it." In a powerful new bipedal shell, Hoskins renamed himself "the Headmaster," and set his master plan into motion. He re-purposed a former NORAD installation, dubbed the Ark, and designed as a nuclear bomb shelter. From here, the Headmaster set to work on a massive spaceship that could carry the finest examples of humanity off their home planet. In need of a work force to carry out the task, the Headmaster created an army of headmen. He then sent them out to kill and commandeer the bodies of homeless people to construct his craft.

The murders of two police officers, who stumbled upon one of Headmaster's victims under the control of a headman, attracted the attention of private investigator John Jones-- secretly the Manhunter from Mars. Using his shapeshifting abilities to assume the visage of a derelict, J'Onn J'Onzz staked out an alley until he was attacked by a headman. After being wounded in a struggle with the device, the Martian Manhunter took its remains to the JLA Watchtower for further study. With the aid of Steel and Oracle, the Manhunter located the Ark and its contents. The Headmaster met with J'Onzz, hoping to convince him of the merits of his plan, so that he would not lose precious time by abandoning the base. Dedicated to the preservation of all life, equally treasured, the Manhunter from Mars declared himself the Headmaster's implacable foe. A scuffle ensued, which ended with the Martian Manhunter burying the Headmaster under his own space ship. The damage Headmaster took deactivated his headman, and pieces of his robotic armor were uncovered after an explosion leveled the Ark. It is unclear whether Hoskins' brain was still within the Headmaster body, or if he is perhaps still at large.

Powers & Weapons:
The full capabilities of the Headmaster cyborg are unknown. It was extraordinarily strong, with energy emitting gauntlets. Hoskins could control his army of headmen through the suit.

Personality:
Pretentious, callous visionary.

Weapons:
The Headmen were spider-like robots created by Hoskins to do his bidding, with heads resembling the Headmaster's. Standing at roughly two feet tall, with long arachnid legs tipped with blades, the headmen were controlled by human brains wiped clean and "reprogrammed." The headmen were often assigned the task of decapitating derelicts, dipping their spiked limbs into their victim's chest cavity, and replacing their headspace with its own. The headmen could then animated the deceased bodies to perform most motor functions. To facilitate this act, the headmen were armed spectacularly. A laser beam emitted from their right ocular cavity could kill most people on contact, and were capable of momentarily blinding one of the most powerful super-beings on Earth. Their electronic eyes were further enhanced with thermal and radar imaging. The headman robots were physically resistant to incredible amounts of damage, and were both quick and agile.

Vehicles:
The Headmaster was constructing a spaceship the size of a small city, before its destruction and his disappearance.

Quote: "They were merely riff-raff. As it is, they serve no use to society; working here, they have a purpose."

Created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake

2009 Martian Manhunter Archives Vol. 2 Create-Your-Own Back Cover by Tom Hartley

When Tom Hartley made up a back cover for his take on a fictional The Martian Manhunter Archives Volume 1, there was a little debate over how to fill the four cover spots typically showcased there. Only as I type this does it occur to me I could have helped by at least checking on the backs of the actual published Aquaman, Black Canary, Robin, or Supergirl volumes, assuming Tom hadn't already. You see, like those other heroes, Martian Manhunter rarely (or in his case, never) appeared on the cover of the book whose issues were being reprinted in a given volume. 1960s British Batman Annual Covers at least made mention (or offered a small image) related to the John Jones Manhunter from Mars feature, but looking from the outside, there's no indication such a thing existed in the U.S. Detective Comics. I don't know if they used interior splash pages in those volumes or allowed the likes of Batwoman and Bat-Mite to usurp the hero a volume is meant to concentrate on.

One solution to the debate offered by Tom is to allow you, the book's "readers," to decide for your own selves which covers to spotlight. If you visit the the MM Vol.2 back cover web page, you'll find Tom has built a little design game that offers all the covers as you wish to present them. "This uses some complicated javascript that may not work with all browsers. Let me know if you have any problems with it... The javascript for the back cover page was provided by a guy who posts as "Urban" at the Marvel Masterworks message board. I don't know if he wrote it himself or if he got it from the web somewhere... Attached is a screenshot of the back cover page that you can post to your blog... I'd like to know which covers everybody picked. Please post your choices to this comments thread."

It's pretty darned cool, and browser willing, do check it out.

2009 The Martian Manhunter Archives Volume 2 Fan Mock-Up Cover by Tom Hartley

1. Back Cover
2. Table of Contents
3. Introduction
4. Biographies

Tom Hartley went nuts with his The Martian Manhunter Archives Volume 1 Fan Mock-Up, including creating a Back Cover, Table of Contents, and Introduction for his fantasy tome. He's stated his intention to give the same works to a five volume set of all the Silver Age Manhunter tales. This weekend, we'll look at his front and back covers for Volume Two. Tom decided this one would reprint issue numbers 261-295 of the 'Tec back-ups. Based on that, I culled advertising copy from various second Archives editions* to create the material below.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER ARCHIVES VOL. 2

Written by Jack Miller; Art and Cover by Joe Certa

After being accidentally teleported to Earth by a scientist in search of first contact with Mars, J'onn J'onzz's life changed irreversibly as he instantly went from being an alien scientist to a human-looking police detective with an incredible secret. Nearly three dozen exciting Martian Manhunter tales are included in this hefty volume, which continues the adventures of one of DC's most beloved Silver Age icons. Experience the classic villainy of the Crime Conjurer, the Human Squirrel, Mr. Moth, the fantastic Human Falcon, the menace of the Martian Mandrills, and the first appearance of the Human Flame! This Archive Edition features the Alien Atlas's public unmasking, the return of Diane Meade, J'onn J'onzz's kid brother, and much more! Reprints the John Jones Manhunter from Mars stories from DETECTIVE COMICS #261-295 (1958-61), with an introduction by Wade Greenberg!

• Archive Editions
• 240pg.
• Color
• Hardcover
• $49.99 US
• ISBN 140120π482

*If you're curious, it was the second Adam Strange and Atom, plus Aquaman Vol. 1. Also what's with all the foes with "human" in their name? Does J'onn secretly hate humanity after all?

1999 Hasbro Justice League of America Monopoly Game

A decade back, this collector's edition version of the classic board game Monopoly caught my attention. Initially, I only ever saw it online, with few details about its guts. I hadn't been running my first web site long, but already I'd been rooked by plenty of purported Martian Manhunter merchandise that only featured him on the packaging, a problem to this day. I wanted the game, but I was poor, and $30.00 seemed steep. Further, I only ever physically encountered it once, and have always regretted not buying it.

Along comes that beautiful hunk of man The Irredeemable Shag, who just posted an extensive article on the game, including tons of scans, at Once Upon a Geek. I highly recommend you check it out.

First, below are two variations on the game's packaging, and its manufacturer's details:

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA MONOPOLY

Game includes:

• Game Board
• Power Cards
• JLA scrip issued by the Bank of Metropolis
• 8 custom pewter Justice League of America tokens: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter
• The Batcomputer Cards
• The Daily Planet Cards
• 32 Power pieces
• 12 Super Power pieces
• 2 Dice
• Exclusive reprint of the first JLA Comic Book, originally published as The Brave and the Bold #29 (March, 1960).

Eight collectible pewter tokens representing the core members of the classic Justice League of America from the 1960’s.

Ages 8 to Adult
3 to 8 Players

The Official Artist of all late '90s Martian Manhunter merchandise, Eduardo "Ed" Barreto, appears to have produced all the new images for this set. Among them were headshots for all the Justice Leaguers present here (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman & Green Arrow,) accompanied by brief legend summaries like:

MARTIAN MANHUNTER™
Real Name: J'onn J'onzz (Martian),
John Jones (Earth)
Base of Operations: Middletown
Powers: Super-strength, flight, shape-shifter, reads minds

Nice Silver Age clarification there with Middletown, as opposed to the Post-Crisis revision Middleton, as in the Colorado ghost town. You can better look at the legends and the board here, courtesy of Shag. Manhunter represents all the light blue locations on the board, which in the classic game would be the Oriental, Vermont, and Connecticut Avenues. Here, they're the super powers Incredible Alien Power (Price $100,) Telepathic Powers ($100) and Shape-Shifter ($120, and featuring Detective John Jones, right next to Jail.) Per the pecking order, J'onn had the next least valuable properties after Green Arrow, and was followed by the Flash.

Not unexpectedly, the Manhunter from Mars was not featured on any currency, utilities, or railroads. He did make the cover to the rule book, on which he's trying to rip the dome off Xotar the Weapons Master's robot while the League does its thing. "Chance" cards were replaced by the "Daily Planet," as below...



"Community Chest" became "The Batcomputer"



Chairman indeed! Per Shag, these were pretty much all of J'onn J'onzz's contributions to the game, and I think they're plenty swell. Looking at those game tokens, it makes me wish I had 12-15 hours to spare for a single game of Monopoly. Thanks again to Shag for the wonderful scans! His more expansive article is right here.

Let's Be Friends Again: October 14th, 2009

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I'm still sorting out old files, catching up on neglected blogs, and so on. Amongst my misplaced items was a comic strip brought to my attention by Idol-Head regular mathematicscore. Written by Curt Franklin and drawn by Chris Haley, "Let’s Be Friends Again is a comic about comics... It’s not complicated." The 10/14/09 edition involved the JLA, specifically Batman and the Martian Manhunter, and can be read here. Nice catch, M.S.!

2009 Black Lantern Martian Manhunter by Ethan Van Sciver

Folks have asked me a few times about my feelings regarding the Manhunter from Mars becoming an evil, hateful, undead killing machine. It seems to come as a surprise that I don't mind at all. For starters, zombies are my favorite and most feared monsters in the whole world. The Blackest Night variety favor a cross between the seriousness of Romero and cruel taunts/scheming of Raimi, two of my best loved varieties, as opposed to the also enjoyable Jackson/O'Bannon sort from Marvel Zombies. The suit designed by Van Sciver is (only somewhat) surprisingly similar to some redesigns I attempted back in the day for the Alien Atlas, and the ghostly pallor is much easier to accessorize for. The much-loved folded collar and pie symbol are back, the dopey wrist gauntlets join them, but only the Luke Cage: Hero For Hire headband* really looks out of place. It's a sharp design, and Manhunter has rarely been so prominent in a crossover, even if he is a bad guy.

On that note, it's become more and more clear that this guy isn't J'Onn J'Onzz, so any shenanigans he gets up to don't count in the same was as, say, Hal Jordan as Parallax, or the latest Superman meltdown. This is a reanimated corpse controlled by Nekron, not even that regressive-evil-gene nonsense from Trial By Fire, which still ended with J'Onn blasting his ancestor/evil self Fernus to oblivion. If there's no soul, there's no strike.

The thing about Blackest Night is that it's pretty good, and it's written by justifiable fan-favorite Geoff Johns. Aside from editorial cluster-messes like Infinite Crisis, Johns is quite reliable, and more to the point, fairly predictable. Too many big names have already died in this crossover, and as Johns is a gent about servicing the wants of fandom, you just know a bunch of these guys will return to life and new found glory before all is said and done. It is possible, though longish odds and too soon by my measure, that a resurrected Martian Manhunter may soon be returned to us.

This gets to one of my main purposes for constructing the old Rock of the JLA site, nevermind this blog: Building a better J'Onn J'Onzz. Fans and creators alike (myself included) were largely ignorant about the character's origins, history, rogue's gallery, and so forth in 1999. I always intended to help change that, and continue to strive toward a richer and more informed approach to the character. I see the Frankenstein's Monster above as the end of bad old habits regarding the Martian Marvel, and a hope for an improved model to come. We all now have access to cheap reprints of Martian Manhunter's first fifteen years of publishing, through his solo strip and Justice League of America. I've tried to cover most of the years in between Showcase Presents and the modern interpretation of the hero that began in 1987 with Justice League International. I've also tried to shine a light on hidden gems to the present, and will endeavor to continue, as there is so much more to offer. The point being, to anyone offended by Black Lantern Martian Manhunter, give some consideration to where to go from here, and how to insure we never endure a disposable J'Onn J'Onzz again.

Anyway, a negative and bisected version of the above image was used as a teaser ad for Blackest Night. A full color version was seen on the convention circuit this year, but this smallish jpeg is all I can find on the internet. If anyone can direct me to a higher resolution option, I'm all ears!

*Check the comments for EVS' explainin' thet thar tiara thingee!

Martian Sightings for December, 2009

BLACKEST NIGHT

BLACKEST NIGHT #6
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari
Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis
The secrets of Nekron are revealed as darkness consumes the DC Universe.
Everything else: TOP SECRET.
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with three covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Rodolfo Migliari). For every 100 copies of the Standard Edition, retailers may order one copy of the Sketch Variant Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale December 23 • 6 of 8 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Still not 100% on this, but with details "top secret" and everything centering here, Black Lantern Martian Manhunter readers should be on this.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #40
Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter
The JLA t escape the BLACKEST NIGHT! Faced with the continuing threat of the Black Lanterns, Zatanna, Vixen and the rest of the team confront their pasts when fallen friends and foes return for blood!
On sale December 16 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Though partially obscured, this seems very likely to be the debut of Nekron's Justice League Detroit. Black Lanterns Vibe, Steel II, Elongated Man, Sue Dibney, and hopefully Aquaman and Martian Manhunter vs. surviving members Zatanna and Vixen. Who would have ever thought those would be the last two living, by the way? Also, I hesitate to ask, what of poor Gypsy? Whose side, if any, will she be on?

2006 George Pérez Convention Head Sketch

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A grim J'Onn J'Onzz fantastically rendered by the master himself!

2007 Ziggy Blumenthal Convention Sketch

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As this has been a topic of interest in the comments for a week now, it seemed appropriate to offer up this piece, featuring the Conehead/Pickle/Pinhead redesign Martian Manhunter weeping over what his new look hath wrought. This comes from Wizard World Philadelphia and the pen of Ziggy Blumenthal, whose work can be found at Fake McCoy Comics.

2006 Martian Manhunter & Wonder Woman by Buddy Prince

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A pin-up by Buddy Prince.