ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome back to Collecting Issues, the monthly comic book club where we assume you’ve done the reading (and we will judge you if you haven't). This week, Mick and Ben dive into the beautiful, mind-bending melange that is DC's runaway 2025 hit: Absolute Martian Manhunter Volume 1 (Issues #1-6).
Written by Deniz Camp (20th Century Men) and illustrated by the masterful Javier Rodriguez (Zatana: Bring Down the House), this modern masterpiece takes everyone's favourite green shapeshifter and strips away any trace of humanity, leaning heavily into his pure, unabashed alienness.
From Darkseid's hobo bindle full of malice to fourth-dimensional telepathic smoke, we are breaking down everything that makes this comic a massive, psychedelic triumph.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The DC All-In Universe: How Darkseid separated from main continuity to create a gritty alternate universe where classic heroes are stripped of their greatest advantages.
- A New Take on John Jones: Exploring John as an emotionally avoidant, chain-smoking FBI stochastic agent who finds himself bonded with a bizarre, non-linear alien entity.
- The Mimetics of "Bad Ideas": We tackle the philosophical core of the comic: viral thoughts, "Bad Idea Zero," and whether the world can really be boiled down to just good and bad ideas.
- Mind-Blowing Comic Art: Javier Rodriguez puts on an absolute masterclass. We talk about synaesthesia-inspired telepathy, fourth-wall-breaking page layouts, and physical "hold-to-the-light" gimmicks that elevate the medium.
- Echoes of Comic Legends: How this run perfectly blends the bizarre 1955 Silver Age origins of Martian Manhunter with the abstract, conceptual mind-fights of Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles and Doom Patrol.
Next Month's Book: Get ready for a trip to the Valley! We will be reading the absolute, seminal 90s classic Bone by Jeff Smith. Grab your copies and get reading!
Read our Martian Manhunter essay!
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Time Stamps:
00:00 Meet Martian Manhunter
00:56 Welcome to the Book Club
02:36 DC All In Explained
04:15 Darkseid’s Twisted Universe
07:01 The New Hook for J’onn
08:20 Leaning Into Alienness
12:31 Big Art Energy
15:21 Story Themes and Bad Ideas
20:11 What Is a Meme Really
22:10 Bad Idea Zero Darkseid
26:21 FBI Agent as a Trope
29:15 Telepathy as Smoke Visuals
32:13 Ideas Over Superheroics
35:00 Johnny Thunderbolt Lore
35:31 Silver Age Origin Story
37:28 Powers And Weakness
39:01 Retcons And White Martians
41:21 Psychedelic Morrison Vibes
42:52 Ideas As Combat
44:18 Javier Rodriguez Spotlight
46:28 Mind Fights And Metaphors
49:32 Comics As A Medium
51:44 Family Rage Metaphor
54:20 Politics And Moral Absolutes
01:02:10 Best Scene Little Damascus
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