Proof that sometimes we don’t know what we have until it’s gone comes in the form of Michael Netzer’s campaign to save DC from killing off The Martian Manhunter, J’Onn J’Onzz.
It all began in last week’s Lying in the Gutters column when rumour bloodhound Rich Johnson sniffed out the sad news that either J’Onn or Aquaman are for the chop in the upcoming Final Crisis.
I felt a bit mopey at the news myself, but rather than sit around pining, the wonderfully one-of-a-kind Netzer launched a “Take Me…But Don’t Kill J’Onn” campaign on his own site, which soon began to snowball at Millarworld.
Having revitalised the character once before back in 1977, in a three-part back-up strip in Adventure Comics #449 to #451, Netzer is once again offering his services to DC in a bid to save J’Onn.
Different corners of the comics’ blogosphere and creators like Norm Breyfogle and Gail Simone have already chimed in with their support of Netzer, something I agree wholeheartedly with.
One of the first comics I ever read was DC Comics Presents #27, which featured the Martian Manhunter.
Battling Superman after Mongul had forced him to do his bidding, J’Onn showed tremendous bravery and nobility against overwhelming odds, something which resonated deeply with the seven-year-old me. A scene where Superman used his heat vision to surround J’Onn in fire, which is a Martian’s weakness, was very powerful. J’Onn never gave up. Now it’s our turn to battle on for J’Onn.
So let’s sign Netzer’s petition to save J’Onn. In an industry where the people in charge seem to think that killing off much-loved characters is the one sure-fire way to generate sales, let’s strike a blow for nostalgia. Daniel Best, over at his 20th Century Danny Boy blog, already explains more eloquently than me why it’s probably already too late to save J’Onn, but let’s not allow him to slip away quietly into the night. And maybe, just maybe, if enough people show the kind of passion for the Martian Manhunter that Netzer has, then someone at DC will sit up and notice. Or kill off Aquaman instead.
After all, if you can survive the Detroit-era JLA and Vibe, you can survive anything.
5 Comments
January 20, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Take me but don’t kill john……..Base off a fucking rumor from a bulshtting column.
January 21, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Except that most of the rumors from the column turn out to be true.
January 24, 2008 at 4:45 am
Don’t forget Justice League Task Force. So much is made of the trainwreck that was the Detroit League, but that effort made them infamous, at least. J’Onn led a team consisting of Gypsy, L-Ron/Despero, the Ray, Triumph, and sometimes Mystek/Glenn Ganmmeron/Damage/Impulse. That kind of action makes you either very strong, or Triumph.
January 24, 2008 at 9:24 am
Ha, some of those names are dynamite. I loved J’Onn in the Giffen JLA too, comedy gold, the straight man.
December 15, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Hello! My name is Cheyenne and I am an 8th grade student. I am working on a presentation about Superman for my class and I would really like to use your picture of the cover of the DC Comic book with Superman on it in my presentation. I will credit your photo properly and ask that you grant me permission to use it. Your photo will not be used anywhere else, just for one day, in class, during my presentation.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible!
Cheyenne