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Tales From The Longbox: “MANHUNTER”.
I work in a comic book shop, so my fingers are usually flipping through longboxes and sorting back issues during every shift. I’ve organized millions of Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern issues. But occasionally, I’ll come across a lesser known series; books featuring characters that never really made it to the big leagues. And if you’ve been reading my columns dutifully, you know that these are my favorite kinds of characters. OK, I’ll cut to the chase- I found another series with a superhero no one cares about and got super obsessed with it-Manhunter.
It’s not the Martian Manhunter, nor the Manhunter robots from Green lantern. This was a series back a few years ago that followed the exploits of one Kate Spencer, a Los Angeles federal prosecutor who tries balancing the scales of justice alongside her nagging ex-husband and energetic son.
Tired of watching the justice system fail society over and over, Kate decides to raid an evidence locker and cobbles together a crime-fighting outfit to permanently rid the world of any kind of villain-common and super. Through her adventures, she crosses paths with the likes of Dr. Psycho and Copperhead, discovers her superhero lineage, and even uses members of the Justice League as key witnesses for a murder trial! But what makes Manhunter stand apart from other DC comics out there? She’s just a normal person-she has a smoking habit, she’s usually late picking her son up from school, and she’s constantly dealing with crap from her boss at work. She’s a more down-to-Earth hero whose biggest threats don’t come from outer space, but from the next court case waiting for her.
Thanks to the dollar bins at the shop I work at (and a pretty good discount), I’ve picked up seventy-five percent of the series and have been speed reading through it. I’ll be sad when I finish it up, but when I’m done, I can start searching the “B” section for Birds of Prey back issues, where she guest stared for a remainder of its run. Aaah, thank God for cheap comics no one gives a hoot about.
Matthew Rios
