Black Manta #1

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• 10
  

  Toonstrack

  Sep 08, 2021

  So to start this off I'm dispelling some lies told about this book. Black manta is literlly still a villain in this. He isnt fighting oppression, He raids the ship because they stole an artifact from him. He leaves the hostages there to fend for themselves. The other three villains building wespons here are also black, as is the new enemy from the end of the issue. Our local misanthrope Merlyn literally just made up things to complain about in this review. Like this stuff is objectively false, but thats what happens when you skim a book and just look at the pretty without actually reading it. Its beyond obvious he has some issues when there's mostly black people in a mainline DC book which isn't connected to Milestone in any way (those books he conveniently avoids reading). Sad to see this sentiment in this day and age but no matter, we are here to stay in books and in real life. As for this book, its pretty good. The art is really nice, reminds me of David Aja. The narrative is mostly setup but we get an idea into Mantas mental state and hes concerned about his legacy and what he will be remembered by ss he faces his own mortality. Meanwhile new enemies appear with designs of their own to bring great chance and an ancient threat awakens. Mantas characterization is on point. Despite what Merlyn would have you believe, hes very much as ruthless and murderous as he should be, Klinger surrendered enemies and not open ot negotiation but willing to allow those who can benefit him to live. The story is a bit of a slow start but a good one still. Id give this an 8/10 but to counteract Merlyns fake news review I'll go ahead and give it a 10 score. more

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  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Oh so now your reviews are also about mine? Man, am I living in your heads. :))

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Just dispelling falsehoods. You're entitled to your opinion of the book. But if you post lies why wouldn't I address them?

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  "Your children will know only power, not oppression". The same tune as in the Aquaman anniversary. You're wrong.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  It's not a falsehood if it's true.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Wait... LMAO. You thought that was Manta who said that? That was a brand new character lmaooooo He had nothing to do with Manta, he's a new villain with his own agenda. Manta CLEARY has facial hair and a scar, this guy was a young black man with none of that Holy cow bro, you either skimmed this book like I alleged, didnt read it at allows, or you think all black people look the same. Neither of which would surprise me. SMH lol can't believe you formulated an entire opinion on that BS

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Its a falsehood if it's false, unsurprisingly you don't see those right in front of you. Go back and look at those pictures more closely next time and you can avoid these mistakes.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Ok, so I got that wrong, I'm man enough to admit that. Honestly, it's not that I think "all black people look the same" (nice try there), it's just that the art is pretty weird. But read the Aquaman anniversary. Gallous says to Manta he says he is amassing power and wealth for "the people". And all throughout the comic you can see that Manta is starting to shift as a character and thinking about legacy. The direction is pretty visible.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Also, I may not pay 100% attention to weird art but at least I'm not so petty to rate a comic better just to spite others.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Im glad you can admit that at least. But for the people can have a whole lot of different meanings, that doesn't mean he's fighting oppression necessarily. He's got designs we have yet to see. And he threatened to kill Gallous in this issue anyway so there's no indication their goals are even aligned. A character who was previously defined only for his enmity with a hero getting more depth and development upon getting a solo series in par for the course.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  So I'm not sure what else you were expecting, but a shift in character isn't in and of itself a bad thing for anyone who cares about writing. And given your review is in part scored based off of false pretenses that you admit to, I'll say my score more than makes up for it. Either way it's there to stay.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  He threatened to kill Gallous because I think he's trying to pull her away from him since he thinks he's on the brink of dying. It was more of a "cold shoulder" type of treatment for her own good.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  I can always edit my review (and I sometimes do). I stand by it. You remain as petty as ever.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  I stand by it because I always tend to give first issues better ratings than they deserve. If this would've been issue #3 I would've rated it lower. So I already rated it higher than it deserved, I'm leaving it at that.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  So lemme get this right. You scored badly based on a reading error of no fault to the book, ranted about that error and how it disagrees with your politics(of which there are none in this book unless you think black people are political) and now you insinuate that you give issues higher scores for literally no reason other than them being the first?

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  And you think IM the petty one? You realize we can see your other reviews right? You dock books points because a character casually wears a mask in them. Calling me petty because my arbitrary score counters your arbitrary score which you admitted was arbitrary is hilarious irony.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  I give a slightly better score to ALL first issues because the story is just starting to develop, as in, for "encouragement" if you catch my drift. I didn't like the book overall, the rating isn't 4 just because of that, it's boring all along and to say that this isn't political when ALL the characters are black, instead of the villains who are white is pretty stupid on your behalf. Not surprising, really.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  And yeah, you're right. I should adjust my rating. Since you're giving it a 10 just to "spite" me, I should give it a 1, right? To spite you. If that's the measure of a book, just to annoy other users, I should play your stupid game. But no, I'm not that petty, that's your thing.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  And what does "fake news review" even mean? Do you think you're battling fake news here? Are you really this insane? :))

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  You complaining that the only book has white villains when the book is literally about a black villain, with his black villain sidekicks, introduces two new black villains one of whom you didn't even realize existed is hilarious man.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Further, your complaint about having all black characters is just as silly as I would be if I ever complained that a book had all white characters. Diversity is great and all but when you're dealing with characters who were mostly made during more racist times the changes of them being white is increased exponentially anyway. Race makeup shouldn't really factor into the quality of writing or anything. At least I don't consider that when reviewing unless the book.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  They're not villains HERE. As in, Manta and Gallous aren't the villains of this story. That's what I meant, didn't think you needed translation.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Itd be one thing if the book is trying to make a statement on diversity and yet wasn't diverse but thats not the case. Its literally an arbitrary made up complaint. But im not bothered by white people in my books like you are blacks so....

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Finally its fake news because its a new review and its based on fake conclusions. :P

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  I really don't care what score you give it, I was just concerned about dispelling the misinformation

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  If you show me ONE book these days where all the characters are white and the villains are black, I promise you I will rate it with 1 and rant that it's racist. Spoiler: you won't.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  I'm so, so bothered by black people in books that I rated both Icon&Rocket issues with big ratings. But don't let that ruin your "you're racist" narrative. Continue your war on "fake news" with fake statements. :))

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Masters of the Universe Revelation #3 has all white people and a few non humans. Didnt even have to go back one week. Batman #112 also from this week has one black guy for 2 panels, ghostmsker who is implied to be some other race but we don't know, and mayor Nakano who is implied Asian but is a villain. Womp womp.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Not that it matters because if you read my post you'd see that I said I wouldn't review a book badly just because of that unless that was actualy material to the books content or narrative. I dont care what race is shown in a book, white or black it doesn't matter if the book is good. How can you not fathom this?

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Icon and Rocket had mostly black people too, but I agree those were good issues, they had even less white people than this one so what changed? Either the book was so good you couldn't fall back on that or its just something you made up for this review. Either way it's inconsistent.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Are you sure you can read? I mean, I missed some weird art, but you seem to miss words. I said a book where black people are villains and white people are the good guys. The opposite of this here. How do you see that in Batman? Where is the black villain? And I'm not sure Nakano is a villain necessarily, not that he has anything to do with what I was talking about. Womp womp.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  *actually i was referring to batman #111 from a month ago. My bad

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  What the fuck did I "made up" for this review, are you insane? The difference was those were good issues, this wasn't. That's the only difference. I don't care how many white, black, Asian people are in a book but when it's done in a clear deliberate manner, like this here, you can't ask me to pretend I don't see the clear racial undertones.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  In #111 PK-01 is clearly a villain, he tries to kill a kid. Still doesn't fit my criteria. Womp womp.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Oh you want a book that literally doesn't even apply to the book we both reviewed today because there are both black and white villains in it you mean? Including the MAIN CHARACTER my guy? What a clown show lol And btw, I wouldn't even care if only the bad guy was black either, if the book is good. Its a little outdated but that doesn't justify a 1 star either.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Your standards are inconsistent and made up. Its beyond obvious because you dont apply them equally, you do it when you need to complain about politics that aren't there. Saying one issue is good and one isn't doesn't change the fact the racial makeup of this matches exactly that, and yet you complain about it here. So again. Which is it? Did you make it up or did you just mistake a few more obviously different characters?

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Again, Black Manta here isn't the villain of the story. Usually supervillains aren't villains in their own books. Not that hard of a concept to wrap your mind around, give it a go. And I didn't give it a 1 rating, it's 4. Are you sure you're not having similar problems with paying attentions? :))

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  No, a story with a black villain and white leads isn't automatically racist. Its about how the portrayal is done. You are way too focused on surface level racial demographics instead of story narrative and so on

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Again, it's not just the racial makeup that annoyed me here, it's the story itself. It isn't good. The Icon story is. That's it, that's all, stop trying to invent weird theories.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  You completely miss the point when you say you'll rate book sone star for arbitrary stuff like this. It really reflects on the mindset you go into this with. You're looking for things to be offended by and will use any excuse to justify them being there. And btw the art wasnt weird you just didn't pay attention. Dude looked nothing like Manta at all. Different hair, no beard, no scar.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  If you think that a black writer who writes the black characters as fighting oppression and fighting for the people while the whites are the bad guys is not intentional...boy do you need some glasses.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  I said I'll rate it like that if it was done with obvious racial undertones, as in if it was racist. You didn't get even that?

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  You said quote "If you show me ONE book these days where all the characters are white and the villains are black, I promise you I will rate it with 1 and rant that it's racist." Nothing about undertones. You seem to think the very existence of that as a plotline is in and of itself racist which is nonsense. Not to mention that Icon and Rocket issue 2 had a black hero literally try to liberate slaves against white slave owners ending with him killing them all, yet that gets a pass.No consistency

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  At this point idk why I'm even still commenting on this. Niehter of use are changing the scores and I accomplished my goal of pointing out inaccuracies. I dont review things trying to guess at political motives nor do I give negative scores when I disagree with the writers politics. I have no need to.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 8, 2021

  Not much else to say on the matter. You and I have fj dsmentsllg different ideas of what a review should constitute so I guess it is what it is.

  

  Merlyn - Sep 8, 2021

  Well, sorry if black heroes killing white slave owners doesn't bother me, how racist of me. :))) You're killing me, man. It's like you're trying to prove my points better than me. Yes, I review bad books with low ratings (again, not 1, it's 4) and good books with good ratings. If that's bad I'm really sorry.

  

  Psycamorean - Sep 27, 2021

  Thanks for dispelling the lies so I don't have to bother with it. Merlyn and those like him are incredibly bad at reading, and because they can't read, they also can't analyze what they've read. It's better to ignore them.

  

  Psycamorean - Sep 27, 2021

  Also some of the enslaved people on that slave ship were white btw.

  

  Toonstrack - Sep 28, 2021

  I suppose that's fair

• 7.5
  

  Fracadactyl

  Sep 07, 2021

  This could become something very interesting. Black Manta's trying to define himself as something other than his rivalry with Aquaman and Jackson. I'm not exactly sure where this is all going to fit in with apparently people including himself tied to some rock, but his piracy business is opening up a bit. The new characters even seem to bounce off of him a bit, so this looks like it could lead to somewhere.

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• 7.0
  

  Psycamorean

  Sep 27, 2021

  This wasn't great. It feels like a lot of the mid-tier DC books that DC used to put out before Batman made up half the line. I'm sure some Black Manta fans are very happy, but I'm not a huge fan of this. There is a kernel of a good idea here. I really like the sequence where he kills those human traffickers/slavers and then just leaves the slaves to die. It's a cool inversion of what you'd expect, given the tone and the ongoing narration.

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• 5.5
  

  daspidaboy

  Sep 07, 2021

  It's was just ehhhh. I didn't really enjoy this book that much. Call me crazy but I was hoping the art would be great. I am not really that interested in this story to be honest. you dont need to read this.

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• 5.0
  

  egonnn244

  Oct 07, 2021

  "Your children will know only power, not oppression" ...ok. I have no idea what the hell happened in this issue. Did I miss some preview? Is Black Manta now on a path to replace Aquaman alongside Jackson? I am really confused. And when something finally starts making sense, the issue abruptly ends.

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  Merlyn - Oct 15, 2021

  There is this AquaMEN event in 2022 that DC just teased that's going to be written by Brandon Thomas (the guy who writes Aquaman The Becoming) and Chuck Brown, the guy who writes this. Now I don't think DC will make Manta the Aquaman, it's like making the Joker the Batman but DC is in a crisis right now, and not the Infinite or Final type of way, so that wouldn't shock me either. I'm sure, though, that Arthur won't matter much in that storyline.

  

  egonnn244 - Oct 15, 2021

  We'll see.

• 4.5
  

  Raging Rainbow

  Sep 14, 2021

  We have here the first issue of the new Black Manta series that no one, to my mind, asked to see. I'm not against him having a series, but I have to question how this will play out based on what I've seen from this introduction. In case you're wondering: no he does not fight Aquaman in this issue. https://youtu.be/TwOfvO6-HV0

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• 4.0
  

  Merlyn

  Sep 07, 2021

  Ok so this is clearly a Milestone book since all of the action revolves around black people (the only white people are the villains, of course) and DC should label it as such. I've seen this in the Aquaman anniversary, all of a sudden Black Manta grows a conscience and starts to fight for the people because of course the ruthless mass murderer is now a man of the people since he's black. Race-baiting comic by race-baiting writer, nothing to see here. And of course this review will make me racist from the usual crowd since thought-process isn't something they engage in.

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  dirtysexygeeky - Sep 16, 2021

  Just because a character is black doesn't mean they are a milestone character. That's like saying only white characters can be from the Dc universe. Black Manta has always been from DC comics ... who are you? haha lol

  

  Merlyn - Sep 17, 2021

  Yeah, you're right. Only difference is ALL the characters here except the pirates aka the villains were black. That's not the same thing. That's happening more in a Milestone book. You can pretend that's not happening here but it is.

  

  Luccitheking - Sep 29, 2021

  You mean the way black people were always portrayed as villains? Yea you're right it's terrible 😏

  

  Merlyn - Sep 29, 2021

  They weren't always portrayed as villains. I don't remember John Stewart, Black Lightning, Mr. Terrific or Icon being portrayed as villains. Also, I could argue that most of the villains are white. Lex Luthor, Joker, Riddler, Bane etc. are white. Not that it matters, just to show how your point is idiotic. So nice race-baiting, but I don't bite, sorry.

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