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| "Little Series That Could Should Help Each Other" from Manhunter vol.4 #31 (DC, 2008) by Marc Andreyko and Michael Gaydos |
It took two tries, but my favorite Manhunter series is also the one that ran the longest - 38 issues, not counting the back-ups in other books. This was a case of DC Comics supporting a low-selling title with a dedicated fan base because it was a QUALITY BOOK. Imagine that. Kate Spencer wouldn't fit very well in the New52, sadly, because she's all about LEGACY, something the reboot can't abide. Tough-as-nails D.A. by day, vigilante using confiscated gear by night, and a struggling single mom in between, she's got a son who may be the grandson of a WWII hero, she has a connection to the guys who used to be Manhunter, and she wears a Darkstar costume/armor. How is a character like that going to work in world without any history? It would be worth the strip-down to have a "realistic" hero like her back in the mix though, and by realistic I don't the faux-realism people call "gritty", but rather that she had one foot in the real world. There are very few middle-aged women taking up the superhero trade, few smokers, and few moms.
The costume/armor could just be from a villain named Darkstar (I never did understand why there was a Darkstar outfit in evidence storage.)
ReplyDeleteShe could definitely exist in the New52 without any of the "origins" for her stuff (or son), but if the book failed to find a home even at a DC that tried to foster its growth, I can't imagine it existing at the "cancel-it-NOW" DC we have today.
ReplyDeleteZundian: there was an issue devoted to this. She had Azrael's gloves and her rod belonged to some other character. She took these items from evidence lockers. The Darkstar fell to Earth and the uniform was discovered--by panel description--at least six months later by a homeless guy.
ReplyDeleteSiskoid: exactly. I can't see this book lasting very long unless DC did a cross-over every other issue, and even then I'd give it only a year at best.
I never really read Manhunter, and didn't have much interest to; it was only when my favourite heroine Wonder Woman appeared in a crossover sub-plot [involving Kate Spencer defending Diana over her execution of Maxwell Lord] that I took notice. It wasn't bad, and when she started appearing in Birds of Prey she was actually very good.
ReplyDeleteBe still my heart. Two of my favorite books. Two books and two characters that I still miss.
ReplyDelete