Story Line: Eternity
Date: June 11th 2008
Price: $3.50
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Ryan Bodenheim

Synopsis: From the mind of comic book innovator JONATHAN HICKMAN and pen of super-talent and Image debutant RYAN BODENHEIM comes A RED MASS FOR MARS. In a world that has survived every catastrophe imaginable, a new threat from beyond stars looks to be the end of all humanity.

A RED MASS FOR MARS is a story about the death of utopia, the last days of Earth and the one man who could save us all - but won’t.

Opinion: Adding another interesting book from the unique mind of Jonathan Hickman to Image Comics’ excellent job of publishing awesome stuff lately, A Red Mass For Mars proves itself so far to be quite an original mini series.  This book, introducing (as far as I know) a new timelines, new characters, new situations and new concepts seems a bit thin for the included content.  It doesn’t feel as fleshed out as it could be for the weight of the story.  Nevertheless, it’s quite compelling, and the read was enjoyable.

Read my full review after the jump.

We meet Marcus Astorga, The Benefactor, who has a unique ability to see into the future.  This ability, shared by many characters in comic book lore, is actually described with intricate detail and intertwined into the character being introduced quite well.  It’s not just a “hey, seeing into the future is my power, dig it”.  Instead, it’s an ability that lends itself to his place in the story and the current situation A Red Mass For Mars introduces us too.  Very well done indeed, but I feel the cramming of content in this issue is a result of this elegant character and context introduction.

I am beginning to discover from reading more and more of Jonathan Hickman that he does an excellent job at this, and with the knowledge I know of him as a writer, at $3.50 I’d be happy to pay $3.99 for a bit of a longer book.  I did not like the interlude of what I perceived as an alternate earth that presented something not even referenced for the entire book (that I could tell).  But no matter.

According to the story, we see an Earth ravaged by it’s own.  Humanity salvages itself with evolution, and The Benefactor utilizes his ‘ocular gift’ to salvage a city.  An old threat with a new twist descends upon the planet, threatening the last vestige of humanity.  It is up to The Benefactor to discover an answer to a problem he does not foresee a solution to.

I like the characters very much in this book.  Doctor Thaddeus White smacks of Beast from the X-Men and the introduction to our meta-humans, mutants, whatever (I don’t believe it’s explained yet) is really quite funny when we’re introduced to Lightbender and his manifesto.  The narration by our main character is great, the timing is quite enjoyable, and even funny at points.

The art is great in this book, and I was digging the architectural and technological detail.  Things did seem a bit busy sometimes, but when it comes to this much detail it’s rarely a bad thing.  I find myself becoming more and more of a Hickman fan, and I will be collecting all 4 issues of this mini.  This book has me interested in seeing the outcome of not just issue 1 to issue 2, but the entire series.

Did you get your paws on this book?  What did you think?

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