Broken Frontier

Rising from the grave of obscurity, Mitch Shelley has returned to the world of the living. Rising from the always-shallow grave of his own, he awakens with a new power set, but the same disinterest in fighting evil as a costumed superhero. He doesn't go out of his way looking for a fight, but the forces of Heaven and Hell have both come for him. His soul is way overdue, and returning to life repeatedly has somewhat garnered their attention. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's supernaturally stylized hero has risen from the grave… does he have the power to stay around longer?

Created in 1997 by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Mitch Shelley had a special set of powers. Every time he died, he'd come back soon after with a different power. Much like Dial H for H.E.R.O., he had no control over what he'd get. This allows for variety, creativity, and otherwise fun elements that don't happen with a person with set powers, like Superman, but can be fun with creativity, like Green Lantern.

Abnett and Lanning do a spectacular job with the return of the Resurrection Man. Given that they created the character, they know how to introduce him to audiences, and the New 52's as good a place as any. Smartly, issue one reads like a good pilot script; there's enough of a plot and action here to whet your tastebuds, but enough foreshadowing and secondary storylines that require more reading to pay off.

Fernando Dagnino does a great job with the work, helping reinvent a character and the world he inhabits. Mitch isn't your square-jawed hero, he's a hairy silver fox if anything. He doesn't fight crime in the daylight like any number of superheroes, he tries to get by on his own and inadvertently ends up in the fight. He doesn't fight costumed criminals, he fights the forces of good and evil that want to take him off the field. Santa Arcas, likewise, works best subduing the colors, refusing to make it a bright and colorful adventure like other books on the shelves.

For those that picked up Animal Man #1 and loved it, Resurrection Man's next on the list. It's a superhero book that doesn't put on spandex, and offers readers a darker and more challenging story. In days past, this could have easily been a Vertigo book, but it'll be interesting to see where Mitch Shelley finds himself in the new DC Universe. Given that the last page directly ties into other dark books, it can't be too long.