Absolute Martian Manhunter #9 – Deniz Camp, Writer; Javier Rodriguez, Artist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: The most surreal and unsettling Absolute Universe title always felt different from the rest of them – less concerned with worldbuilding and tying in to a larger picture than with creating a unique alien-tinged mirror of the world we live in. No surprise, from the creator of a book like Assorted Crisis Events. It’s also now confirmed to be the first Absolute book to end, going from six to twelve issues before the creative team mike-drops. So we’re now in the final act – and John Jones’ situation has gone from bad to worse. The disturbed agent wished for his ride-along Martian to leave him alone and he got his wish – for the worse, for both of them. The Martian was soon captured by a government team while in another body, leading to it being subjected to a series of disturbing experiments and operations – with some of the strangest visuals in the entire series run so far.
As for John, he soon found himself with another ride-along in the form of Despero, the White Martian. This mysterious being has been influencing events in the series since the beginning, driving ordinary people to madness in one horrible act of violence after another, but it never appeared – until now. In this issue, it’s essentially a walking manifestation of John’s depression and mental illness, filling his brain with the worst thoughts possible. This all comes to a head at a therapy session arranged by John’s wife, ostensibly to save their marriage. Instead, it turns out to be an ambush of sorts, with the therapist being under the impression that John is schizophrenic. As John continues to mentally unravel, desperate to see his son, Despero pushes him towards a rock bottom that could destroy what’s left of his life in more ways than one. It’s a brilliantly tense, almost suffocating issue.
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