I’m not completely sure what is happening in Manhunter, but I’m really enjoying the ride.  Kate Spencer, attorney and single mom by day, legacy superhero and crusader for justice by night, is a concept that’s just a hair’s-breadth away from being silly —  but you can say that about just about any superhero story.  Since the once-canceled book relaunched with issue 31, Marc Andreyko has brought in a lot of complicated continuity, a fair number of crossover guest stars, and some serious real-world issues.  Yet he handles it all with such a light touch that, as a new reader, I’m not having any trouble following along with the parts of the story that matters.  I understand who Kate is and what she wants, I understand how she relates to members of her family and other heroes, and I can see how she fits into an interesting corner of the DCU.

The real star of the Manhunter relaunch,  though, is artist Michael Gaydos, who handles both pencils and inks.  Like everybody else, I loved his work on Alias, and here he brings the same skill at drawing people who look like real people.   In fact, my only complaint about Alias was that the occasional appearance of costumed superheroes like Ms. Marvel didn’t always blend with the more realistic art of the rest of the book.  In Manhunter, though, the costumes look great, and I’m particularly enamored of his Huntress in the latest issue.