When you keep coming back from dying, how attractive must that soul be to those that collect them?
What They Say:
Resurrection Man can’t stay dead for long–and with each rebirth comes new and unexpected powers. But his many returns have not gone unnoticed, and forces are gathering to learn what’s so special about him…and to see which of them will finally stop Resurrection Man dead.
The Review:
With the variety of titles coming from DC Comics with their relaunch, Resurrection Man is one of the few that I had no real familiarity with as the character came from a series that was published when I had fallen out of books for several years. Thankfully for fans of that run from 1997 to 1999, this one is written by the same team so it likely has a good deal of consistency to it with what they did before. With the character being lesser know, it has the option of changing things as well but largely it means that it’s new to everyone, even if you saw him show up in Brightest Day for a bit prior to the relaunch. The idea behind the character is definitely interesting though, especially as it feels like another Vertigo character being shifted into the mainstream DC Universe that can add a bit more darkness to it.
The series revolves around a man named Mitch whose ability is to come back to life after he’s been killed. Each time he comes back, he has a different kind of power that he terms as a gift that seems related to how he died. What’s interesting is that we get a good idea of how he views things when he comes back to life, such as the opening of the book here where everything has a taste of metal and everything he touches has that as well as he goes about sneaking out of the morgue and getting moving again. He’s typically drawn somewhere in a way that he can’t understand in order to perform a task which isn’t always clear. This time it has him getting on a plane to Portland, but it’s his internal monologue that’s fascinating to read. He’s able to get a feel for people and who they are through the metal on them and it’s pretty slick in how it plays out.
While you could say dying and being drawn somewhere after coming back is “going wrong somewhere,” things do go wrong for Mitch quickly here as he meets a woman named Sue on the plane and it’s not long before she reveals that she’s not quite the normal person as she knows about everyone on the plane and the fact that it’s about to go through hell. And that she’s very, very interested in his soul that has become polished over the years through the way he keeps reviving. It introduces us to the idea of two sides looking for him for different reasons, both of which are pretty bloody and violent, and keeps it unclear as to which of them, if either, may actually be helpful or useful to his long term survival. But the idea that they’re both searching for him because of his soul that has a high bounty on it is definitely appealing, especially as we see how each of them operates. It’s a decent launching point for the series, teasing enough to make you want to know more but not quite so much that you’d jumping up and down for it.
Digital Notes:
This digital edition of Resurrection Man from Comixology features just the first printing cover of the issue with no additional extras included in the book.
In Summary:
I had no idea what to expect with this series going into it but I had been drawn by the name itself (and the logo, which is the same as the previous incarnation) and the cover artwork that said “:buy me now.” With the opening installment, we get a good idea of his powers told through narration and dialogue and that Mitch is definitely in the middle of a much larger game. It’s very reminiscent of what I’d read in Vertigo books over the years so there’s a definite appeal there, especially with some very good artwork that captures the action well and works through some well detailed areas that he passes through. Everything hits the right mark for me but it’s also not something that comes across as a must-own book right away. It’s one that I definitely want to read, but may find it more enjoyable when there are a few issues in a row to go through.
Grade: B
