Resurrection Man is another vertigo type book that is now more firmly set in the DC universe.  Everytime he dies he comes back with new powers. Usually this entails righting some wrong or punishing someone guilty.

The whole ‘life/death’ rebirth issue leads itself to mystical and metaphysical issues.  This issue is sure along those lines.  He gets a new body at the beginning and this lets him expound to the audience what is going on and who he is.  Unfortunately the mystery that begins the book seems mute by the middle as he dies and is reborn again.  Will the mystery be picked back up? or was it just an intro device?  I guess we will find out next issue.

The modern angels and demons is nice twist.  They seem more like super spies or beaurocrats than mystical beings.  It is interesting even though we have seen this before.  The art is dark and dusty which suits the books tone quite well.   The people all seem a little distorted and under shadow, but that is probably by design.

B-     —-  Don

Resurrection Man was one of my favorite books back in its first incarnation, and he’s back with Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning at the helm again. The idea is essentially the same – every time he dies, he comes back to life with a different power. An interesting change that they’ve made is that he now also comes back to life with a compulsion to accomplish something. I’m not sure if that carries over if he’s killed before solving a previous problem, but I guess that’s what future issues are for.

I’m not as into the introduction of yet another interpretations of angels/demons in the DCU, but on its own it is still an interesting idea. This issue also brings back the “Body Doubles” who outlived (pun maybe intended) the old series and help connect it to both the Vertigo-influenced Swamp Thing and Animal Man books and mercenary villain books like Suicide Squad and Deathstroke.

I’m glad to see Resurrection man back, and I’m hoping to see some of its other great contemporaries like Manhunter and Bloodhound back someday soon as well.

B+ — Ed