Martian Manhunter

I'm glad to see that DC Comics put out this second volume of "Showcase presents the Martian Manhunter" completing the series run as a back-up feature in "Detective Comics" (with Batman as the lead feature). The "Martian Manhunter" series was then moved to "House of Mystery" comics that originally featured monster and sci-fi stories as a lead feature. This was done when due to the poor and slumping sales of the Batman titles, Publisher Donanfeld reassigned the Batman titles from Editor Robert Canniger to Editor Julie Schwartz asking Schwartz to revamp the series and try to save it and do to it what he did with "The Flash" and "Green Lantern." The Martian Manhunter" series, however, remained with Editor Robert Canniger who put it as lead feature in "House of Mystery" comics. A new series featuring "The Elongated Man" replaced "The Martian Manhunter" series in "Detective Comics." J'on Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter, was also given a comical sidekick, an imp from the Fifth Dimension named Zook who was the color orange and had two antennae on this forehead. Another change made at this time was that the Martian Manhunter decides to stage the death of his alter ego, Police Detective John Jones. He needs to concentrate full time on this threat that is menacing the whole city. The Martian Manhunter and his partner Zook operated and lived is a hidden cave. They would enter the cave by walking through the caves walls. The Martian Man hunter's comical sidekick, Zook, is later killed off. "The Martian Manhunter" ran as the lead feature in "House of Mystery" for about two years and then was relegated to being a back-up feature again in "House of Mystery" with a new lead feature replacing it, "Dial H for Hero." By the end of the 1960's, both superhero series were canceled, and the "House of Mystery" title was turned into a book dealing with stories of the occult and supernatural. The Martian Manhunter who was also a member of "The Justice League of America" was also removed from the book as a member of the team. Since 1955 when the Martian Manhunter first appeared in the pages of "Detective Comics," things had changed and much more about the planet Mars was known such as Mars has no life and cannot support human life on it. (Now we know that there does exist bacterial life on Mars, but no sentient life forms or civilizations). By the late 1960's, the Martian Manhunter had become obsolete and irrelevant. Editor Julie Schwartz and writer Denny O'Neil decided to have the Martian Manhunter written out of the "Justice League of America." J'on Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter, had repaired the scientist's teleported machine, which originally brought him to Earth years ago leaving him stranded on Earth. We now find that J'on Jonzz (the Martian Manhunter) was a political exile, exiled to the deserts of Mars by a dictator he spoke out against. That was when the Martian Manhunter had be caught in this scientist's teleported ray b

First the bad news - this is all printed in black & white - so be it. The wonderful news - you get all the J'onn J'onzz stories from the first one in 1955 through Detective Comics # 304 published in 1962. The final twenty or so stories finishing J'onn's run in Detective Comics are not included. This is the real J'onn J'onzz from the 1950s. It does not get better than this.

Simply put, any of the Silver Age volumes in DC Comics Showcase and Marvel's Essentials are better crafted, and more fun than the current kill 'em all and let god sort 'em out software those companies now publish. Buy Green Lantern. Buy Adam Strange. Buy Batman. Buy the Elongated Man. Buy Antman. Buy The Fantastic Four. Buy Ironman. Buy Daredevil. Heck. Buy Haunted Tank and Man-thing! It really will make you question comics current direction.