Manhunter volume 3: Origins

Manhunter, Vol. 3: Origins by Marc Andreyko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kate Spencer gets a job with Mr. Bones of the DEO and one of her first clients is Dr. Psycho. Her son is kidnapped and her secretary begins dating Obsidian. Oh, and Kate's still trying to quit smoking...

While not quite as good as the previous two, this volume of Manhunter does a lot to develop Kate's supporting cast. We find out Kate's parentage, Dylan gets some, Mark Shaw starts training Kate, and Kate's ex-husband and his new wife are having a kid.

I love how Kate laments her D-List super villains. Andreyko does a great job of making Kate one of the more interesting characters in comics. Too bad it's hard to get the typical comic audience to plunk down their money on something other than two guys wearing spandex and punching each other.

The action is as good as always. I'm chomping at the bit for someone to settle Dr. Psycho's hash. The end of Kate's battle with her father is one of my favorites in recent comics.

There's a fair amount of comics nostalgia in this volume but not so much that I'd worry about new readers not getting it. Dr. Mid-nite, Phantom Lady, and the original Green Lantern make appearances. I love how the now 70-ish Phantom Lady talks about using her costume to distract bad guys in the 1940's. Great stuff.

Really, if you're not already aboard the Manhunter train, nothing I can say will change your mind. If you like well written comics and you don't read Andreyko's Manhunter run, you're missing out.

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