Resurrection Man (2011) #1-7

I finally got around to giving one of my favorite writing teams a second chance on their new 52 launch book. I’ve loved just about everything Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have worked on, so I remember being a little stunned at my lack of interest in the rebooted Resurrection Man. I went back and read a bit further, making it all the way to issue 7. I don’t think I’m going to make it any farther.

The odd part is, while this is clearly a reboot, it really doesn’t directly contradict any of my memories from the original series. RM is still Mitch Shelley, his powers and attitude remain much the same. I don’t remember quire this much from Heaven and Hell battling over his soul, but that’s hardly a huge problem.

Instead, most of my problems come from some of the house style decisions from the New 52. The body count in the first few issues is really high, involving a plane crash and lots of bystanders getting blown apart. The Body Doubles were always slinky, sexy assassins, but it seems like they are ramped up to a more ridiculous level in issues 1-4.

When DnA get around to Mitch’s origin, I found myself a bit more interested. We see a neat flashback to Mitch’s work in the Middle East, back when he was hiring Deathstroke to provide security. I’m not sure what this does to the 5-year timeline of the new 52, though. Either Mitch just because Resurrection Man very recently, or he and Deathstroke have been around longer than 5 years. The problem with having a recent origin is that it takes away from some of the “mysterious, long lifetime” stuff that Mitch and Wolverine both benefit from.

I also have to mention the Transhuman. He’s a nineteen year old trapped in the body of an elderly man, and his armor is actually pretty cool. The problem is that name. Why are all the names in the new 52 so awful? Are all the good names really taken? I mean, jeez!

Fernando Dagnino provides the DC house style for the art in all the issues I read. I respect his consistency (and his ability to keep a schedule) but man, it just seems wrong having Birds of Prey style art in an action-horror book. I’ve got to think another artist might have been a better fit.

So I don’t regret reading these books, but I’m not in rush to see what happens. I think that means this comic is EVIL.