Random Reviews: John Byrne's Next Men (Book One)
Save for a fumbled twist, these first issues introduce readers to an original superhero series John Byrne controls every step of the way
—by Nathan on March 2, 2025—
John Byrne was already a legend by the time he developed a brand new superhero series for Dark Horse Comics' Legend imprint. As a writer and artist, he'd sculpted the adventures of the Fantastic Four and Captain America for Marvel and rebooted Superman at DC Comics. And who could forget his artistic contributions to a Marvel supergroup with a similar sounding name to his Dark Horse adolescents?
Byrne had originally been slated to help develop Marvel's 2099 universe, featuring the likes of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Man, but when the graphic novel he was planning to produce fell through, he shopped the idea to Dark Horse. They accepted, and Byrne had an opening to pitch a series to them as well, the first issues of which are collected in this here volume.
(picture me smacking the volume into the open palm of my hand dramatically to emphasize its importance)
I've wanted to dive into Byrne's creator-driven series for a little while, particularly as it would be my first exposure to Byrne slipping out from under the reins of two different giant corporations. Not to besmirch the work he did alongside Chris Claremont or the mark he left on Superman, but I wanted a taste of Byrne unleashed, Byrne running free, like a wildfire.
He doesn't disappoint.
To me, my Next Men.
John Byrne's Next Men (Book One)
Writer: John Byrne
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: John Byrne
Colorist: Matt Webb
Letterers: John Byrne
Issues: John Byrne's Next Men #0-6
Volume Publication Date: March 1993
Issue Publication Dates: February 1992-July 1992
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
I have dabbled, occasionally, in the waters of "creator owned" material–check out my retrospective on early Image Comics issues for a taste. The "artist as writer," particularly when they conceptualize both their characters and stories, can be a coin toss. Heads, you get competent creators like Art Spiegelman and Jeff Smith, who expertly execute their vision, with a glorious command of both art and narrative. Their characters feel alive, unique, written with raw imagination and passion. Tails, you get creators who excel in one area but stumble in another–Spawn looks dope as heck, but Todd McFarlane's writing muscles are atrophied. It's not an "either/or" situation all the time, but my experience tends to lean that way.
My reading experience with Byrne as a writer prior to cracking open this collection, outside one or two issues of his Fantastic Four run, was limited to his Man of Steel limited series, which I enjoyed well enough but critiqued briefly, and two Elseworld series featuring Superman and Batman. The latter I was more critical towards, noting interesting concepts but an overall lackluster plot when both series were considered in tandem. Byrne's track record, thus, sat at a middling point, even if only a handful of issues didn't make me an expert judge of his capabilities. Regardless, I entered Next Men slightly hesitantly, more convinced of Byrne's strength as an artist than his capability with words.
As I noted in my introduction, I wasn't disappointed.
Next Men allows Byrne a freedom he did not have with Fantastic Four or Superman. Not that your typical DC Comics reader in the late 80s/early 90s would have wanted Byrne's vision of escalated violence and language dished out onto the pages of Marvel's First Family or their favorite Red and Blue Boy Scout, and not that Marvel or DC would have necessarily allowed such content in their mainstream titles. All indications pointed to Byrne needing to step outside the confines of the Big Two to approach this narrative the way he wanted to.
From the start of the volume, Byrne promises something you have not yet seen from him, a narrative equal parts superhuman action and political thriller, with intrigue and conspiracy paving the way over gaudy costumes and promises to protect a city. His Next Men aren't intended to be heroes; a shady politician hopes they become weapons, super soldiers of a sort, and the first issue in the volume (which is, I learned, actually the sixth issue in the series) provides a detailed look at how this politician uses manipulation and murder to maintain his plans…and those of a mysterious, otherworldly partner/benefactor whose true purposes and identity are not fully revealed.
Our central characters are nowhere to be seen as the inaugural issue introduces the schemes which lead to their creation–the political mind games, the secrets, the deaths which bring us to the present. Had this been presented as the sixth issue in the volume, its placement may have caused some confusion, a break from the action in the rest of the volume to provide much-needed context. It works as an introductory issue, presenting the principal "human" players (as well as individuals I suspect to be the series' ongoing antagonists) and honing in on the deeply unfair situation the Next Men are born into: they're not like regular folks, their lives spent in a suspended animation, unknowingly raised for military application. The reader becomes aware of the stakes far before our protagonists, which lends itself well to the situational irony Byrne pipes through the rest of the issues in this volume.
Our five heroes–Nathan, Bethany, Jazz, Jack, and Danny–wake Neo-from-the-Matrix-like into an environment familiar yet wholly different from the virtual space in which they were raised. Byrne plays off their ignorance as they encounter a whole new world, one where their needs aren't immediately met and one where nearly everyone they encounter seems to want to hunt them down for one reason or another. These adolescents aren't stupid, they're ignorant, and that ignorance is coupled with militaristic mental conditioning, which ramps up the conflict as the issues continue.
Byrne speaks to this a few times, but he generally, and wisely, either alludes to this ignorance or shows it through the Next Men's actions. These young folks are violent, reacting in kind to those who try to hurt them, unaware of how damaging and deadly their abilities are to normal people. They adapt to situations through stealth and thievery, instinctively knowing how to respond in certain situations (just so long as those situations don't require they be cordial). When Jack, granted superhuman strength, kills a hospital orderly, the reader's anger towards loss of purely innocent life is intended to be tempered by Jack's belief this man is an enemy and that he has very little (if any) reason to understand otherwise. The same happens when Bethany murders a violent attacker (though her situation is easier to sympathize with), or when Nathan attempts to choke out a perceived enemy. They have been subconsciously trained to be vicious and sneaky…to survive. Everything unknown to them is dangerous, and everyone unknown is an enemy. Remembering they're teenagers, with burgeoning emotions towards one another beyond friendship, raised in an environment with no formal education and parenting, you're left with (hopefully) more than a trace of empathy. They feel similar base emotions to the people they encounter, but their experiences have left more complicated emotions distorted or not fully realized…and they have no healthy methods of coping.
Byrne teases enough of the larger conspiracy surrounding these characters to keep you reading (and it's here one could argue compiling the volume in issue release would have worked better, as readers become more aware of the conspiracy at the very beginning of the volume, and some may have liked subtler teases before learning more of the background) beyond the development of our violent protagonists. A twist in the series' final issue didn't work as strongly for me as it could; though it reveals more of the darkness surrounding the Next Men's situation, it also introduces a character who works conveniently well for the plot. Byrne crafts a backstory around him which does fit into elements from prior issues, but his appearance does present a deus ex machina moment late in the volume, removing some agency from the Next Men in separating them from a dangerous situation I feel they should have handled themselves.
We're presented with a twist on the superhuman formula. Like the X-Men, the Next Men are young adults granted abilities they did not ask for, thrust into a world that reacts to them with fear and violence. Unlike the X-Men, these adolescents turn their programming on their superiors, not seeking diplomatic solutions but lashing out with the violence they've been trained to embrace. And they don't need big guns to make their point clear. They're lost, in need of guidance. I don't know if the series was steered towards the feel of other mainstream superhero narratives, with costumes and codenames for Byrne's characters. For now, the Next Men seem to represent a step forward, something different, a little more grounded than the typical bombast of the 90s. I'd like to check out the further adventures of these characters, see what comes next, man…and see if Byrne can maintain the creative style he's employed in these first issues.