Resurrection Man, volume 2: A Matter of Death and Life,
trade paperback, collecting issues 8-12, 0, and Suicide Squad 9. Mostly written
by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, with a whole lot of artists.
Mitch Shelley is known as the Resurrection Man, and has a
very interesting power. Each time he dies, and he dies regularly in this title,
he returns to life with a different superhuman ability. Sometimes he can
control shadows, sometimes he can shoot beams from his eyes. But the change
only comes after he dies.
In this volume, Shelley finds that he has a compatriot – a psychometric
private detective named Kim Rebecki. Originally hired to just find Shelley, she
finds herself drawn to him, and chooses to help him instead, going rogue
against her powerful client. Shelley is eventually brought to the leader of the
organization who created him, and that leader is … well, it’s him. Abnett and
Lanning are able to make sense of this strange circumstance, which is a
testament to their skill as writers. The resolution of this plot was very well
executed.
The inclusion of the Suicide Squad made sense in the context of the story, and the crossover issue was strong. Both the art and writing in that issue were close enough to the main comic that reading those stories in one volume was not disconcerting in the least.
Death has profound spiritual consequences, even in the comic
book world. Both Heaven and Hell believe they have a claim on Shelley’s soul,
and his continual revivals have drawn the notice of both sides. Both angels and
The Evil One are after him, and both have made him offers that are hard to
refuse. How this part of the story wrapped up was also satisfying.
This title was cancelled after the zero-issue was released,
after a year near he bottom of the sales list among “new 52” titles. I thought
it was an interesting title, and I’m glad that DC Comics gave an oddball title
like this one a shot.
Source: public library.
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