Manhunter: Street Justice

March 13, 2006 | Trades

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Manhunter: Street Justice
Marc Andreyko, Jesus Saiz, Jimmy Palmiotti
DC Comics
$17.50 (Paperback)
*** ½ (out of five)

Federal prosecutor Kate Spencer is tired of losing.
Working in the DC Universe, where there are plenty of super-powered things that go bump in the night, Kate is brought in to convict them of the heinous crimes they commit. But too often the bad guys are free on a technicality or will simply bust free before long.
So what’s a dedicated public defender to do?
How about rip off an evidence locker full of super-do-dads and going villain hunting?
Writer Marc Andreyko, along with artists Jesus Saiz and Jimmy Palmiotti (with special props to outstanding cover artist Jae Lee), revive the long-standing Manhunter legacy in the DCU (is this number four or five?) with Kate taking to the streets — not just to stop these evil-doers from committing crimes — but to make sure they’ll never be able to do it again.
Street Justice moves along at a good pace and there’s a nice balance between getting to know Kate and her motivations and good ‘ol down and dirty action. Perhaps the only thing working against this series is that the protagonist isn’t very likeable. Kate is a lousy mom, clearly wasn’t a great wife, she’s self-absorbed and a little brusk. Hopefully a more pleasant side of the new Manhunter will reveal itself in future volumes.

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