(COMIC REVIEW) RESURRECTION MAN #7

Written by Dan Abnett
Artwork by Fernando Dagnino

Mitch Shelley's journey thus far as been pretty fragmented, taking readers from one location to another with little explanation as to why or how. Sure, sometimes Dan Abnett throws us a bone and gives us a flashback or connector panels, but for the most part, Resurrection Man has been about cool comic book writing and action, more than actual plot-driven narrative, which isn't exactly a bad thing. Too often these days, writers forget the roots of comic books and how powerful a simple story can be. Abnett uses Mitch Shelley's unique ability to do just that; tell stories that are minimal and fun, but that all exist within the larger DC universe.

Mr. Untouchable is the antagonist in this issue's vignette. Shelley has (somehow) made his way to Metropolis and finds himself - quite by coincidence - in an apartment building that quickly becomes the setting of a firefight between the police and a group of thugs led by Untouchable, who gets his namesake from a red force field suit. Yah, it's pretty campy and straightforward, but that's the point. Let Batman and Green Lantern deal with Earth-shattering events - Mitch Shelley just wants to figure out who he is.

Shelley's death and resurrection this issue gives him telekinesis. I wouldn't be so averse to this power if Scott Lobdell wasn't shoving TK powers down my throat over in Superboy. Telekinesis seems like such a cop-out power; it's range and scope change depending on the writer, and there's no uniform consensus on how the power should be portrayed. Even here, Shelley uses his TK to disarm the previously untouchable Mr. Untouchable without even breaking a sweat.

Resurrection Man is consistently one of my favorite titles offered under the 'New 52' banner. Mitch Shelley's journey mirrors the narrative style of comic books in the 1960s, when characterization was shown not told and readers could make inferences themselves without needing to be led through cosmic event after cosmic event.

GRADE:

B+