Brain Stew: Red Mass for Mars

After two years of waiting, the last issue of this series finally came out this week and much like the Christian Bale screaming at the dude on the set of Terminator: Salvation, I have no clue what could have caused such a delay. The final issue was a quick read so unless Ryan Bodenheim had some kind of artistic troubles, I imagine this issue just sat on someone's desk for a long time.

Given that the entire thing was written probably back in late 2007 - early 2008, it is very hard to align the current incarnation of Hickman with the underwhelming script of Mars. It is certainly an interesting concept: a Superman raised by "vikings" versus two good hearted farmers but was done much better by Mark Millar with his Red Son story. But while the plot is weak, plenty of Hickman's strengths still shine through, particularly his talent for world building which is some of the best in the industry. Also present are Hickman's potent monologues and dialogue and ability to write bad asses in general. Jonathan has single handedly revitalized Nick Fury for Marvel and although everyone associates him with science fiction properties, I would love to see him take a real shot at Captain America, be it Bucky Barnes or Steve Rogers.

Bodenheim's work is gorgeous, detailed and packed on the page, although the storytelling is quite basic but will certainly develop with practice. I can't help but wonder how this book would look without the signature Hickman colors however. After months of looking at full colored Marvel work, I had forgotten that Hickman's independent works are often colored solely in blacks, whites and earth tones to denote the present while reds and blues are used to accentuate or for flashbacks.

As a rookie project, Red Mass for Mars is a good early work and there are plenty of devices within that have clearly been harvested and refined for other works. It certainly isn't a must read and I doubt I could see myself pushing it on other people who weren't already interested in his work, but I didn't feel I was wasting my time either.