Martian Manhunter Maxi-Series by Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo Announced

[Hilden B. Lade]

The ambitious new DC Entertainment comic book series from Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo launches in December.

After more than 60 years, it’s time for J’onn J’onzz to finally learn who he really is, with DC Entertainment launching a new Martian Manhunter comic book series at the end of the year. The 12-issue series, the first time the character has headlined a title since 2015, will be created by Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo.

"I’ve been calling this my dream project online for more than a year,” Orlando told The Hollywood Reporter. “I started talking to DC about it at San Diego Comic-Con 2017. He’s always been my favorite character since I was younger, so to be able to fire our best shot across the bow of doing an evergreen story with him, it’s super exciting. Everyday I’m writing, I just can’t believe it; there’s no character I wanted to work on more.”

Best known to non-comic readers as a character in the CW’s Supergirl — and, before that, a mainstay of Cartoon Network’s Justice League and Justice League Unlimited — the Martian Manhunter, AKA J’onn J'onzz, debuted in 1955’s Detective Comics No. 225 and has been a permanent part of the DC Universe ever since. Pulled from his home planet of Mars by a science experiment gone wrong, the character used his powers to disguise himself as a human in order to solve crime and help his adopted planet both as policeman and longtime member for the Justice League of America.

The upcoming 12-issue series is at once a re-examination of the character’s origins and emotional journey and also a detective story on Earth, as J'onzz — in his guise as John Jones, human detective — attempts to solve a murder which may have connections to his own past on Mars. As Orlando puts it, it’s also a chance for he and Rossmo to define the character in a way that he’s never had the opportunity to be seen before.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/am...cember-1142992

[Elmo]

Character designs look cool and it will be fun to see J'onn doing modern day police work.

[Johnny]

Looks interesting. Will check it out for sure.

[Iconic]

This sounds pretty good. I like the art style.

[Frontier]

"After more than 60 years, it’s time for J’onn J’onzz to finally learn who he really is" wasn't that what the last Martian Manhunter series was about ?

Although seriously it's nice to see J'onn getting some love again, and Orlando seems like the right writer for this. I'm also glad to see John Jones again .

"Bruce Wayne was too afraid to save his family." What? He was a kid. How the heck was he going to stop an armed gunman?

I wonder if Miss Martian will show up in this? Will they clarify whether she's actually related to J'onn in this continuity?

[lemonpeace]

Yes...simply yes.

[Rise]

Sounds interesting.

[Lightning Rider]

I am down.

[Claude]

Sounds interesting - but I'm concerned at how much time in the interview is spent on boasting about how they found a "Barry Allen's Mom was murdered and he never solved the case, that's why he's a hero!" for J'onn.

[MajorHoy]

Steve Orlando?

Do they really have problems finding good writers these days?

[Jody Garland]

Come on, Hoy. That's just unnecessary. You might not like Orlando, but plenty readers- myself included- thing he's a fine writer. He's also got a ton of passion for the character, which no doubt helped him land the book.

[Vordan]

Interested. I feel a sense of deja vu, how many times are we going to retell J’onn’s origin? Still I hope this succeeds.

[DragonsChi]

I'm not sure I like the art. But the writer almost has me sold just by the way he describes MM and what he is talking about doing with the character.

[Robotman]

Love the idea of J’onn getting back to his detective roots. It’s about time the Martian Manhunter did some man hunting.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

After Orlando utterly disappointed me with both Supergirl and JLA, I can't say I am all that enthusiastic about yet another "Everything you know is WRONG!" take on Martian Manhunter, which is pretty much the only take most creators have taken with him ever since the J.M. DeMatties mini-series back in the 1980s started peeling that same onion.

However, I will certainly pick up the first issue to see if Orlando and change my mind. I love J'Onn dearly in ensembles like Giffen & DeMatties's JLI, Morrison's JLA and Cooke's New Frontier, but his solo stuff has always failed to interest me. Not every great character is meant to be a solo star and I'm afraid this latest shocking revelation hidden in J'Onn's past will warp the character into something he's not. I don't need J'Onn to have some huge mistake he's trying to atone for to be a hero.

I am more than satisfied with the current idea of him being a shape-shifting alien whose entire race of deeply connected telepaths, including his wife & daughter, was wiped out in front of him before he was whisked away to Earth, where he was lost for decades. I think the sense of isolation and alienation that gives him is more than enough to be a very compelling character in an ensemble.

Again, not every great character is supposed to be the solo star of monthly comic book.