Every comic book reboot has its poster child. And no one in their right mind would argue that Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta‘s current run of Absolute Batman isn’t the most popular series in DC Comics’ down-and-out Absolute Universe. Like anything Batman, it has the lion’s share of variant covers, reprints, and a revamped rogues’ gallery that only gets wilder with every new issue. Hell, it even has an animated series in the works.

While Absolute Batman is the clear favorite, Absolute Martian Manhunter is the people’s princess. And rightfully so. Not only does it have a premise as intriguing as the Caped Crusader’s run, but its art direction feels positively out of this world.

Of all of the comics in DC’s Absolute Universe, Absolute Martian Manhunter, written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by Javier Rodriguez, reads like an acid trip. The story opens with John Jones, a federal agent rushing back to work way too soon after surviving an explosion at a coffee shop. Life starts looking really weird after Jones’ near-death experience. He starts seeing the repressed, impulsive, and intrusive thoughts of everyone around him. Jones is seeing a lot of “bad vibes” in the cultural melting pot of Middleton, Colorado.

These thoughts manifest as colorful plumes of smoke emanating from people’s heads like incense trails, which Rodriguez routinely outdoes with dazzling, lava-lamp-esque page layouts and color splashes. Turns out, Jones’ mind has been invaded by the aptly named Martian Mind****er, a green alien squatting in his mind palace and trying its damnedest to integrate with the way we speak.

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