Manhunter: Forgotten

June 15, 2009 | Trades

Manhunter: Forgotten
Marc Andreyko, Michael Gaydos
DC Comics
$21.99/$17.99 US (Paperback)
*** (out of five)

The comics series that couldn’t be killed is finally dead.

For years, Manhunter was on and off the chopping block at DC Comics due to poor monthly sales, but it survived again and again thanks to Web-based petitions and letter-writing campaigns of loyal fans.

Long-time writer Marc Andreyko, clearly grateful for the regular reprieves, always managed to come back stronger after each near-demise and the ongoing adventures of Kate Spencer — the lawyer by day, vigilante by night — became reliably enjoyable reads.

Of course anything on the bubble as long as Manhunter was will see it burst eventually and the end came with January’s issue #38.

Forgotten, which collects the last eight issues of the series, continues to build on previous plotlines — including a really compelling one about Kate’s long-time weaponsmith and whipping boy, Dylan Battles, and a looming threat to him by a former super-villain employer — and then is forced to switch gears due to the cancellation. Readers get no real closure on much of the ongoing action, but instead get a brief look into Kate’s future as a masked crimefighter to put a bow on things.

All in all, a bit of a sad way to end what was a very entertaining series.

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