Resurrection Man #6
Resurrection Man Vol. 2 #6 is the dramatic climax of the opening 'Dead Again' arc, delivering the New 52 series' boldest single-issue set piece: Mitch Shelley imprisoned inside Arkham Asylum and forced to provoke his own death in order to prove the reality of his resurrection powers to disbelieving doctors. The issue is notable for weaving Gotham City's mythology into the Resurrection Man corner of the New 52 universe for the first time, with Commissioner Gordon drawn into the story as a witness to Mitch's supernatural comeback. As the penultimate chapter before the arc's conclusion in #7, it crystallizes the series' core philosophical tension — an unkillable man trapped in a system designed to contain the conventionally dangerous — in a way no earlier issue had. It is also the final chapter of this arc before it transitions into the larger, crossover-driven second half of the series.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The New 52 Resurrection Man series was revived at the direct request of editor Eddie Berganza, who asked original co-creators Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning to bring the character back as part of DC's 52-title relaunch following the Flashpoint event in 2011. Rather than continuing the continuity of the 1997–1999 original series, the pair chose to reboot Mitch Shelley as an amnesiac whose origins were deliberately obscured, with Fernando Dagnino coming aboard as the primary artist in place of original series artist Butch Guice. The 'Dead Again' arc covering issues #1–7 — including #6 — was written, published, and then collected in the first trade paperback before the series' second half pivoted toward crossover territory with the Suicide Squad.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published February 8, 2012; cover-dated April 2012; part of DC's New 52 initiative launched after the Flashpoint event.
- Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning — the same duo who created the character in 1997 — with art by Fernando Dagnino and colors by Jeromy Cox.
- The issue is set almost entirely inside Arkham Asylum, marking the series' first sustained use of that Gotham setting and its first direct connection to Batman-family geography.
- Commissioner Jim Gordon appears in the issue's closing pages, making this his first appearance in the series and establishing his awareness of Mitch Shelley ahead of the story's escalating scope.
- Mitch resurfaces from a 'death' inside the asylum with the power of ethereal blue flame — one of the more visually distinctive of his rotating abilities across the run.
- Issue #6 is the sixth chapter of the seven-part 'Dead Again' arc, which was subsequently collected in the trade paperback Resurrection Man Vol. 1: Dead Again (ISBN 978-1401235291).
- The New 52 version of the character was deliberately rebooted rather than continued: his powers in this volume are rooted entirely in tektite nanotechnology, replacing the original series' reincarnation mythology.
- The overall volume 2 series ran only 13 issues (plus a #0) before cancellation, making every issue in the 'Dead Again' arc part of a compact, self-contained chapter of DC history.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Resurrection Man #1 (2012), Graphic Ink: The DC Comics Art of Ivan Reis #[nn] (2016)
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