Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 Review
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist & Cover Artist: Javier Rodríguez
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Variant Cover Artists: Andrew Robinson, Werther Dell’Edera & Seba Fiumara
Editors: Sabrina Futch & Katie Kubert
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99 US/$5.99 US Card Stock
Release Date: July 1, 2026
It took John a long time to accept the Green Martian in his life. Doing so helped him prevent Middleton from descending into chaos. But when he told his wife what happened, the truth tore his family apart. The Green Martian wants to help John turn his life around. But the Blue Martian reminds John of all the bad things he's endured. Everywhere he goes, tragedy follows. What's the point of going on?
Yet as John falls, Bridget rises. Instead of pushing John away, she runs to find him. But is it too late for John and Bridget? And if the couple cannot reunite, will the Blue Martian unleash his Despair-O-Vision on everyone in Middleton? Let's leap into Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 and see!
Story
The Blue Martian has told John the story of his life. Unable to refute his companion’s views on his past, John collapses under the weight of his memories, failures, and revelations. The world has always been against him. John has ruined everything he has touched. Still, the Blue Martian has shown him who is really to blame.
While John faces the inevitable result of ignoring the difficult aspects of his life, Bridget realizes she can no longer conform to others' standards to find happiness and fulfillment. As she attempts to comfort John, Bridget discovers the truth of his assertions. But in Absolute Martian Manhunter #12, Bridge confronts not one figment of her husband’s imagination, but two.
The Blue and Green Martians each play a role in helping the couple assess their lives. Despite living under the same roof and enduring similar struggles, they have been worlds apart. Now, as they review key moments from John’s life, the couple also studies Bridget's past to understand why she eventually shut John out of her life with Tyler.
While Deniz Camp focuses on John and Bridget's struggles, he delves into the difficulties we all face. As John and Bridget confront the truth of their existence, they must determine what led to their current impasse. The couple must also decide if they can remake their lives and save their son in Absolute Martian Manhunter #12.
Art
John stands before an open casket, surrounded by regularly spaced pews, on a checkerboard of black and white square tiles. The couple's life together may be nearing its end. Yet, other people, oblivious to their struggles, lose themselves in revelry. As much as she loves John, he threatens how Bridget perceives the world around her. So, as she cradles him like she would a child, Bridget imagines ending his suffering.
As Javier Rodríguez lavishes a palette of bright colors on Absolute Martian Manhunter #12, white suffuses John. Locked in his mind, the green light streaming through the stained-glass windows turns the Blue Martian indigo. While Bridget wears a violet jacket, the Blue Martian plucks the knife from her mind. Its handle changes from green to indigo as he presses it into her hand. The white energy arcing from John's eyes mirrors the cracks tearing through the ground and sky. Yet amid the couple's struggles, violet and blue uphold Agent Lowe’s world.
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places uppercase black letters in cream dialogue balloons and boxes. Lowercase letters suggest lowered voices, while enlarged uppercase words deform balloons. White letters appear in dark backgrounds, while sound effects accompany a child’s wailing and reality fragmenting. Yet giant colorful words appear when a red beam of light erupts from a character’s head. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
We each stand in the center of our universe. But when the Green Martian showed John another way to perceive reality, he upset the order of creation. The Blue Martian has done his best to put John back in his box. But as Bridget gains a more complete understanding of the universe, the White Martian reaches the endgame of its Crisis of Absolute Worlds in Absolute Martian Manhunter #12.
Rating 9.8/10
For a look inside see my preview of Absolute Martian Manhunter #12.
For what happened last time, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #11.
For what happened before that, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #10.
For how this story arc started, see my preview of Absolute Martian Manhunter #7.
For the first story arc of this Eisner nominated series, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter: Martian Vision Vol 1.
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