In this review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #8, John and Martian have a break from each other for the night.
ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #8
Written by DENIZ CAMP
Art and Main Cover: JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ
Variant Covers: WERTHER DELL’EDERA, ERIC CANETE, BENGAL
Page Count: 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
Release Date: 1/28/26
This review contains spoilers
As Absolute Martian Manhunter #8 opens, we see residents all over town reporting friends, family, and the like to the FBI. Thanks to the explosion of snitchery, John’s put back in the field. But he’d rather have some time off, as the family issues are getting to him. Martian, for his part, has figured out that there’s an influx of Anti-Life that should be dealt with.
And so, after leaving the office, John goes to indulge in a bit of day-drinking. He clearly misses his wife and son, to the point of hallucinating that she’s next to him at the bar. About eight drinks into his time at the bar, John starts to vent to Martian (who nobody else at the bar can see) about how his life’s been going as of late. They get thrown out.
As they walk along (and after John hurls on himself), John eventually gets the Martian to give him just one night away from him to see his family. Martian’s not entirely on-board with it, but ultimately agrees to hunt for more Anti-Life evidence on his own.
As Martian goes on his hunt, John arrives home. Bridget has him clean himself up, and they talk. She’s still convinced that everything with Martian is a mental issue. And during Martian’s hunt, it turns out that he’s being hunted, himself, by part of the US government.
Martian’s trying to get John to come back him up, but John’s blocked him out for the night so that he can take that time with Bridget and Tyler (not that she feels it’s a great time for him to see their son). But eventually, the Agency (after a reader-participation segment), manages to contain Martian.
As Absolute Martian Manhunter #8 ends, John gets back to the motel, feeling that something is amiss. That “something” turns out to be his new self-appointed partner: Despair.
As always, the visuals were a treat to behold in Absolute Martian Manhunter #8. Along with the color schemes (the red/gray/black of Anti-Life, the usual pinks/yellows/greens/oranges, and the red/white/blue smoke that enters the scene with the Agency), there’s some cool stuff with how things are drawn. The chicken tenders that are detailing the utter horrors of factory farming as John’s boss eats them barely look like food, and that really helps to drive home the unpleasantness of what the chickens had been put through.
I also appreciate how many ways they’ve found for the Martian to appear in scenes. Sometimes he’s a hulking figure, but other times, he shows up as a drink, or an olive, or in someone’s eye. The Martian looks like he’s everywhere, and John definitely feels like the Martian’s been an all-consuming presence in his life, and that’s reflected through the various appearances.
There’s a gorgeous contrast between the scene with John and Bridget as he gets his suit washed (the more normal-to-his-life colors) and the fight between Martian and The Agency (mostly monotone, save for the red/white/blue and Martian’s own green hue). Even without the color-based contrast, the tone in general is vastly different.
The conversation between John and Bridget feels like there may be hope for them, even if it takes a while. She’s asking him about the Martian, admits to being worried about John (which he agrees with), and isn’t outright demanding that he get out. Instead, she admits to missing him, and asks if he’s safe to be around. Not judgey…just worried.
When Despair entered at the end, I thought he looked sort of familiar. Looking back through the issue, I noticed one of the figures Tyler was playing with looked a lot like Despair. He’s also shown with a figure that looks like Martian (and having a toy car crash into him). And he’s still possessed by White Martian.
So, that’s making me think that White Martian’s behind Despair showing up. I look forward to seeing where that goes in issue 9.
The part with The Agency showing up, with the emphasis on guns as an American institution in and of itself was well-done. Between the flow of the action during the struggle, and bringing Uncle Sam in to tell the reader themselves to create the prison for Martian “For your country!”.It all works well together.
With Martian trapped and John with a new shady partner, I look forward to seeing where things go with this mindscrew of a story next.
Final Thoughts
Absolute Martian Manhunter #8 is great in both the visual and story departments. As brilliant and eye-catching as ever, I can’t recommend Absolute Martian Manhunter enough.
