Resurrection Man is a character I have little to no knowledge of. I know nothing about his history nor have I ever read a Resurrection Man book. In other words I fit the description of the “new reader” that so many of these new DC #1 titles are aimed at. This first issue starts off strong and it really grabbed me. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning do a great job of quickly introducing Mitch and his eerie powers through a strong opening resurrection scene which leads to an even better airport scene. I was immediately intrigued. But the story slightly unravels around the middle of the issue before seemingly getting itself back together. But by the end of the book I have to admit, I wasn’t sure what was going on. Granted, part of that was by design. We do learn that there is a war between Heaven and Hell for Mitch’s soul but the last couple of pages do nothing in terms of clarity. Maybe I was just missing something but while I enjoyed the issue the ending fell with a thud.

I can’t even begin to talk about the art without first mentioning the Ivan Reis cover. This is what first drew me to this title and it’s hands down my favorite cover of the New 52 so far. Unfortunately, Fernando Dagnino’s interior work isn’t on the same level. The art is strongest during the first third of the issue capturing the dark, moody tone of the story. The art lost me during a fight sequence on an airplane featuring a demoness who looked neither scary or threatening. There were panels during the fight that were poorly drawn and nearly impossible to decipher. Thankfully the art picks up once outside the plane and the look of the rest of the issue is adequate enough.

I can’t say that “Resurrection Man” #1 blew my socks off like I hoped it would. But I certainly can’t say I disliked it. There’s enough there to bring me back for another issue and I find the main character to be rather compelling. The war between Heaven and Hell offers up some real potential and Abnett and Lanning have plenty to work with. I just hope the next issue offers more clarity and more polished and consistent art work. If it does, this could be a really strong series.