Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: Walt Simonson
Colorist: Klaus Janson
Letterers: Ben Oda, Paul Letterese, Alan Kupperberg, Annette Kawecki
Trade Paperback
Published by DC Comics 1999
$9.95

Reviewed by Pindaros

Published as a backup series in Detective Comics in 1973 and '74, Archie Goodwin's MANHUNTER portrayed one of the new breed of superheroes of the era: relying on oriental martial arts, exotic weaponry and biological enhancements, Manhunter is very much of the generation of heroes that includes Master of Kung Fu, Iron Fist, Punisher, Luke Cage and Wolverine.

Likewise the story. Taking place in a variety of exotic locales such as Nepal and East Africa, depicting a small group of men and a woman fighting against a super scientific conspiracy seeking world domination, this is an early example of a template that continues to define the X-Universe and WildStorm World.

These two facts alone would give MANHUNTER a certain historical interest as an example of transformations in the superhero genre in the '70s. But given the short length of the Manhunter saga in contrast to the on-going popularity of Punisher and Wolverine, does MANHUNTER deserve treatment as anything more than an early version of a type of hero and story that others have done to greater acclaim, and for a wider audience?

It certainly does. Because not only did MANHUNTER do it first, but it did it the best it's ever been done. Given that the styles it pioneered have continued for 25 years as a viable sub genre within superhero comics, greater awareness of the standard that MANHUNTER set can only improve the quality of storytelling in superhero comics.

"Given the styles it pioneered have continued for 25 years, greater awareness of MANHUNTER can only improve the quality of storytelling in comics."

The greatest credit for this undoubtedly belongs to the late Archie Goodwin. I'm not going to provide a plot synopsis of the book, since almost any information about the plot will destroy the excitement of what remain an utterly unexpected turns of events. But a number of observations can bear witness to the value of Goodwin's writing. As well as a plot that remains fresh even today, Goodwin presents the character of Manhunter in a way that few superhero writers have ever been willing to risk. We only come to know the protagonist from a distance, through rumors told on caravan roads and secret Interpol police files, so that when the hero finally tells his story in his own voice he is already larger than life.

Moreover, Manhunter is perhaps the best example of a character that is genuinely post-human. The events he finds himself caught up in are so far beyond normal human experience that he is completely unable to conceive of a normal life and at no point regrets its loss. At the same time his actions and motivations remain both logical and moral, and hence his story provides what superhero comics so often promise but rarely deliver: new vistas of experience.

Goodwin's language itself reinforces this effect. Through a combination of the vocabularies of martial arts, police work and genetics research with foreign words and place names, his words evoke a world that belongs to our planet but is always out of our reach. The story made me realize (at age 10!) that the Earth is much larger than I had ever imagined, and even with the experiences and knowledge I've acquired since this comic retains the power to shock and entrance me.

Readers familiar with Walt Simonson from his later work for Marvel will recognize his distinctive style in MANHUNTER, but will be struck by the very different way it is applied. Simonson tends to use a fairly light line to layout very plainly the edges of buildings and large objects, and to sketch rather than fully display the postures and expressions of his characters.

In THOR this supported a vivid re-imagination of Kirby's Asgard, and a certain whimsy and playfulness in the depiction of the gods; in MANHUNTER it depicts a range of architectural styles to suggest the exotic locales of the story, scientific equipment that is human yet majestic and incomprehensible, and characters whose moods and actions draw us into the story without fully making clear what is going on.

"Episodes were only alloted 8 pages, yet Simonson fills them with as many images as most full-length stories"

Although such a style potentially risks losing the reader by keeping them from fully grasping what the characters are doing, the actual effect is more like that of manga. The dynamism of line and image engross the reader so strongly that at the very points where particular movements are not actually depicted, the imagination eagerly jumps in to fill the void.

Goodwin claims in his Foreward that he was interested in Japanese comics during the period he was creating MANHUNTER, and in some respects Simonson's work could be considered a recreation of many of the achievements of manga, but working from a foundation of Steve Ditko and Neal Adams rather than the Japanese tradition itself.

Even for Simonson, the art in MANHUNTER shows a remarkable tendency to innovate and experiment in his depiction of Goodwin's narrative. The individual episodes were only allotted 8 pages apiece, yet Simonson fills them with as many images as most full-length stories. Images that other artists might turn into a page or two-page vista occupy no more than a third of a page, yet by shaping panels to the images, Simonson keeps his pages from looking cramped. (In contrast, when Simonson takes over 20 pages for the new Manhunter episode, the story looks a bit blocky and static. Necessity as the mother of invention?)

A central issue in Simonson's work has been the evocation of large spaces in the small space of the comic page, and while he has evoked much larger spaces elsewhere, such as in the 'Black Celestial' story arc in FANTASTIC FOUR #337-41, or in MICHAEL MOORCOCK'S MULTIVERSE, never has he managed to evoke so much space with such small images. One particularly effective trick of Simonson's is to use small panels for long shots. Even though the actual figures are reduced to the size of ants, the reader feels that this reflects distance rather than lack of page space.

While huge objects and vast distances are staples of superhero comics, the obsessive focus on the heroes tends to make the actual images feel comparatively closed in, even when galactic distances are supposedly being traversed. By relying on the narrative to draw attention to Manhunter rather making drawings of him the center of every panel, Simonson creates a large-screen drama that matches the scope of the plot.

"MANHUNTER easily deserves the attention of fans of current standard-bearers like PLANETARY, AUTHORITY and WILDCATS"

Klaus Janson's color adds to the open feel of the story, employing large blocks of bright colors and regularly leaving patches of white space that fit well with the bright environments of Nepal, Turkey, Australia, etc. where the story takes place. His use of flat color is admittedly a feature that dates the book, but he seems to have treated the economic constraint as a challenge. Indeed, in some places his work seems like a more commercial application of Warhol's portraiture technique, laying blocks of color with their own logic over Simonson's detailed drawings.

Unfortunately, the specificity of this technique to the media of the early 70s comic book has been ignored by DC and results in the one major flaw of the current reprint: in a number of panels the stronger colored inks used in the reprint are actually visible over the black ink and destroy the integrity of Simonson's art. I have limited knowledge of the printing techniques used in the reprint, but it does seem like this problem could have been avoided.

In its creative approach to narrative and art, MANHUNTER easily deserves the attention of fans of current standard-bearers like PLANETARY, AUTHORITY and WILDCATS; in its ability to depict dark and strange corners of history and geography it stands beside some of the best of Alan Moore's work. Fans of superheroes, adventure, science fiction and the art of comics will all find plenty to enjoy in this masterpiece.

Strongly Recommended

Pindaros is a regular contributor to PopImage.

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