TITLE: John Byrne’s Next Men Issue #3
YEAR: April 1992
COMPANY: Dark Horse Comics
Story & Art: John Byrne
Colors: Matt Webb
Executive Editor: Randy Stradley
Managing Editor: Barbara Kesel
In the last issue of the Next Men, Nathan, Bethany and Jasmine are taken by Sheriff Wyatt Coffey to jail but remembering that Bethany has razor sharp hair, they manage to escape. But in order not to get caught, they go in separate directions.
Meanwhile, Jack and government operative Tony Murcheson are taken to the local hospital and Danny, befriends a stranger named Willis Ducumen. We also learned that Senator Hilltop, the man behind the creation of the Next Men project is working with the sinister, Sathanas.
Bethany ends up in a biker bar and instead of being helped by the patrons, they throw her on the pool table to gang rape her.
She manages to tear apart on of the rapists face open and when he strikes her, Bethany impales him with her hand.
As one of the guys try to capture her by her hair, instead, her hair slices off his fingers.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, the Doctor Russell has Jack on sedatives (enough to tranquilize an elephant), but her superior ordered for the sedatives to be removed and now Jack is pissed and wants revenge.
While Nathan thinks Danny has been kidnapped and tries to rescue him from Willis Ducumen.
We then see the Vice-President flying on the plane and someone detonates it. The story of course will be continued on issue #4, but I have to say what a wild and crazy ride this issue was.
This is a major difference from the work John Byrne did with the X-Men, in the fact that they had to keep things fit for young readers due to the Comic Code, but for “Next Men”, he’s able to show us violence perpetrated on the Next Men fugitives, who don’t know how things are in the real world and are unaware that their powers are not something normal humans have. But the humans they come into contact with are those who want to hurt them and they know they have to fight.
The opening story featuring Bethanny fighting back against those who are trying to rape her is something you just didn’t see in early ’90s comic books, so I was surprised by it. But I felt at the time of seeing how much freedom Byrne has outside of working with Marvel and DC and is able to take on risks and chances and that was very interesting to see, especially in this awesome issue!