DC's New Hero Has The Best Character Design Of The Year

The latest addition to DC Comics lore has the best character design in years, but not for the reasons you may think. DC's designs often draw from a mixture of 20th-century strongman circus aesthetics, ancient mythology, and hardboiled noir. The most popular DC characters utilize bold, geometric symbols and high-contrast schemes that remain legible even in the smallest of panels or the busiest of action sequences.

Batman only needs his pointed ears and Superman only needs his chest emblem to stand out above hundreds of other comic book characters. Likewise, the Joker only needs his creepy smile and Lex Luthor his bald head to be recognizable across countless different reinterpretations of their story and their appearance. Cosmic DC threats like Darkseid maintain a minimalistic, blocky design with stone-like skin that communicates a sense of ancient, unmoving power, while tech-based foes like Black Manta utilize bug-like, oversized helmets to strip away their humanity and turn them into cold, relentless predators.

Not every masterfully designed DC character is as famous as Superman or the Joker, though.

DC's Agent Di Manes Is Literally Censored To The Reader

Zatanna #1; Written And Illustrated by Jamal Campbell

Jamal Campbell's Zatanna follows the titular hero as Prime Magus, facing mind-bending challenges that few other magic-wielding characters are able to confront. Now, Zatanna also faces bureaucratic trials with the Department of Extranormal Operations' intervention in magical matters. On behalf of the DEO, Agent Di Manes contacts Zatanna and extends an invitation to collaborate, revaling his incomprehensible name and appearance to her. "Agent Di Manes" is a pseudonym, as his real name is "tricky to perceive."

Agent Di Manes seems to be a young Black man with short hair and little to no facial hair. However, his face is redacted to the reader, and perhaps to everyone around him as well, considering his name is difficult to hear, read, and say. This isn't a strange sight for Zatanna Zatara, who's used to talking backwards and fighting an endless variety of truly incomprehensible threats. Still, a permanently redacted character is a unique and unprecedented design in the DC Universe.

Agent Di Manes Joins An Exclusive List Of Characters Who Work Best In Comic Book Format

Some Characters' Essence Is Their Comic Book Origins

Comic books possess a distinct visual and structural language that allows for character concepts that would lose their appeal in any other medium. A prime example is Kevin Smith’s creation Onomatopoeia, whose entire gimmick is vocalizing the sound effects printed on the page. In a movie or show, hearing a character say the word snap while a bone breaks would be a standard vocal choice, but in a comic, it creates a meta-textual layer where words exist in and out of universe.

Similarly, Marvel's Flatman utilizes the 2D nature of the medium to its extreme. Unlike Mister Fantastic or Plastic Man, Flatman exists as a literal two-dimensional plane in a two-dimensional medium, which allows him to become invisible by turning sideways or slipping through the microscopic gaps between the panels. Another example is the unique Absolute Martian Manhunter, who ignores traditional character anatomy in favor of constantly changing, abstract geometries that bleed into the gutters of his comic, with non-linear word balloons that wrap around the edges of the artwork.

Perhaps the most iconic use of the format comes from characters who treat the comic book as a physical playground, such as Deadpool, She-Hulk, and Superboy. These characters interact with the readers and the physical components of the medium, including the panels, the word balloons, and the whole comic books. The technical limitations of the printed page become advantages for these types of character, who would have to change their most interesting traits if adapted elsewhere.

What do you think about Agent Di Manes' appearance?

Zatanna #1 is now available from DC Comics.