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How can it be that the Lith does not have a Manhunter thread? I have culled and trawled and spoken very softly and very politely into the screen, but I get nothing. NOTHING.
Manhunter, put simply: awesome. Marc Andreyko gives us Kate Spencer, a woman who smokes a little too much, has to take justice into her own hands, rages against the machines of society. She steals random super-equipment so she can go hunting. Hunting villains. And sometimes she has to defend those villains during the day. DRAMA. I find the whole thing very, very noir in its way -- even with the super-heroness of it all. Noir not so much because of gumshoes, but just the tone? Might be worth discussing, how noir works in super-heroes and whether Kate really does fit the bill.
It's really, really good. I picked up the first trade one day -- I'm reading them in trades, which is terrible because that leads to these kinds of series nearly getting cancelled, and Manhunter nearly did at one point -- mostly becasue I was enticed by the Jae Lee cover. But it practically forced me to buy the second trade, and then the following ones -- Volume Four is out this week.
Kate is trained by Wonder Woman. She takes her on as a client to deal with the stupid Max Lord bruha. She in exchange, she gets some training.
It certainly has some flaws -- there's a metahuman-killing serial monster Sweeney Todd figure who would have been more interesting if I hadn't seen Heroes; almost same gig, killing people and eating their brains. It's never resolved to any satisfaction.
But Odsidian's in it, too! And he gets to do stuff, have a personality, and fits in well with Kate's cast as her co-worker Damon's boyfriend. We get a two-bit ex-henchman named Dylan, we get Cameron, we get Kate's son who doesn't annoy me even though he should.
I can mostly sit through the legacy stuff, because she isn't even really a legacy character, though she is, and an old Manhunter returns and it's all very Starman but in a different direction.
We get Mister Bones, and he's creepy as hell. CREEPY.
So what's the Lith's reaction to Manhunter? My terrible intro post notwithstanding, gushing as it does. It's late, I'm tired, I can't even think right now. BUT: Manhunter! |
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