Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma #1 – Ram V, Writer; Anand RK, Jackson “Butch” Guice”, Artists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Resurrection Man was one of the most unique heroes DC ever created – a man blessed and cursed with immortality and the ability to resurrect from death with a new power each time. His powers are inspired by the method of his death (although I don’t quite remember if this is a new flourish by writer Ram V, or part of the original lore), but something is different this time. He’s dying, yes – but he’s dying of old age, as a beloved father and grandfather, who married a single mother and has spent the last few decades retired. And as he passes away, he renews again – but this time with a new power. He’s gained the power over time, and is met with a future version of himself, one who warns him that this new role comes with new duties, and he’s at the foreground of defending this very reality from an all-powerful enemy that is coming to erase it from existence. It’s all wildly ambitious and cosmic – and it’s just getting started.
One of the perks that comes with Mitch Shelley’s new ability is that he can see into his own past, recalling his past lives more clearly – and that includes a look at one of his most brutal deaths. This is where the book truly earns its Black Label rating, with a World War II story set inside an unspeakably brutal Japanese POW camp in the dying days of the war. As the mad commander kills American troops with impunity, Shelley survives again and again and avoids detection. But when word reaches the camp that Hitler is dead and the war may be ending, the commander decides to “celebrate” by resorting to cannibalism. And the effects of eating an immortal’s flesh leads to one of the most shocking final pages of any comic in a while. This is a brilliant, incredibly bleak launch that might be one of the most unsettling books in the Black Label line, which makes it a perfect fit for a deeply bizarre cult favorite character.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
