Scan barcode
karliclover's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
jason_pym's review against another edition
4.0
After being irradiated by the explosion of an alien spaceship, Buddy Baker is given superhuman powers, he can take on the abilities of animals around him: Elephant strength, bird flight.
Grant Morrison took this stock-standard superhero who'd been left behind in the 1960s, and turned him on his head with weird, unexpected stories and lots of breaking the fourth wall. It's interesting and entertaining, I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
On the downside, the art (Chaz Truog pencils, Doug Hazlewood ink) is distractingly awful, especially jarring as it comes after each issue's stunning Brian Bolland cover (he did The Killing Joke). The stories feel really fresh and different, until I found out there's some feud between Grant Morrison and Alan Moore (even down to Morrison also claiming he's some kind of occult wizard). That invites comparison, and compared to Moore this is lightweight and the characters and dialogue flat.
But still, taken on its own terms, it's a fun book and definitely worth a read.
Grant Morrison took this stock-standard superhero who'd been left behind in the 1960s, and turned him on his head with weird, unexpected stories and lots of breaking the fourth wall. It's interesting and entertaining, I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
On the downside, the art (Chaz Truog pencils, Doug Hazlewood ink) is distractingly awful, especially jarring as it comes after each issue's stunning Brian Bolland cover (he did The Killing Joke). The stories feel really fresh and different, until I found out there's some feud between Grant Morrison and Alan Moore (even down to Morrison also claiming he's some kind of occult wizard). That invites comparison, and compared to Moore this is lightweight and the characters and dialogue flat.
But still, taken on its own terms, it's a fun book and definitely worth a read.
chris2110's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
orangechair's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
orangechair's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
callandor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
garnetguardian's review against another edition
adventurous
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dantastic's review against another edition
5.0
When stuntman Buddy Baker came into contact with an alien spacecraft, he became Animal Man, the man with animal powers. Now that he's older with a wife and kids, he's back in the super hero game. Can Animal Man make a go of things this time around?
I've read about half of this book before in single issues and I think I had an Animal Man trade or two back in the day. I nabbed this as part of a sale on Amazon not too long ago. Through the magic of getting older, it was like a whole new reading experience.
This volume contains Animal Man #1-13, plus Secret Origins #39. Grant Morrison does the writing and Chas Truong and Doug Hazelwood handle most of the art, with an assist by Tom Grummett for the Secret Origins issue.
This is an early Grant Morrison work, his first for DC. While Morrison's career in American comics was still in its infancy, all the usual facets of Morrison's style are present: his respect for the past, whacked out ideas, and his willingness to go metatextual at times. It's more accessible than his later work but it's still not a vanilla book.
Animal Man is rebuilt from the ground up in this volume. He's got a wife and kids and is struggling just to be a C-list super hero. Morrison explores the nature of Buddy's powers, as well as the nature of the DC Universe post-Crisis. Morrison digs Bwana Beast out of the dollar bin mothballs and gets some serious mileage out of him. Vixen also gets a co-starring role, though I'm not sure if this is before her membership in the Suicide Squad. There's a lot of humor but not enough to detract from the seriousness of the stories, something that's hard to do.
It's a 1990s book but I still don't want to give too much away. Suffice to say, I've already ordered the next Animal Man anniversary edition.
Animal Man by Grant Morrison 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is a bizarre masterpiece from the mind of a bizarre individual. Five out of five stars.
I've read about half of this book before in single issues and I think I had an Animal Man trade or two back in the day. I nabbed this as part of a sale on Amazon not too long ago. Through the magic of getting older, it was like a whole new reading experience.
This volume contains Animal Man #1-13, plus Secret Origins #39. Grant Morrison does the writing and Chas Truong and Doug Hazelwood handle most of the art, with an assist by Tom Grummett for the Secret Origins issue.
This is an early Grant Morrison work, his first for DC. While Morrison's career in American comics was still in its infancy, all the usual facets of Morrison's style are present: his respect for the past, whacked out ideas, and his willingness to go metatextual at times. It's more accessible than his later work but it's still not a vanilla book.
Animal Man is rebuilt from the ground up in this volume. He's got a wife and kids and is struggling just to be a C-list super hero. Morrison explores the nature of Buddy's powers, as well as the nature of the DC Universe post-Crisis. Morrison digs Bwana Beast out of the dollar bin mothballs and gets some serious mileage out of him. Vixen also gets a co-starring role, though I'm not sure if this is before her membership in the Suicide Squad. There's a lot of humor but not enough to detract from the seriousness of the stories, something that's hard to do.
It's a 1990s book but I still don't want to give too much away. Suffice to say, I've already ordered the next Animal Man anniversary edition.
Animal Man by Grant Morrison 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is a bizarre masterpiece from the mind of a bizarre individual. Five out of five stars.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
As Animal Man becomes an eco-terrorist, his life unravels and reality frays along the edges...
Here we are, the concluding volume of Grant Morrison's Animal Man run, collecting issues #14-26. It's been quite a journey over the last 26 issues.
In this volume, Animal Man learns of his true origins, the nature of reality, and the meaning of the life, the universe, and everything. Some seriously crazy stuff happens in this. Morrison does some deconstruction, using Animal Man to show the nature of comics and the super heroes that dwell within.
It gets extremely meta toward the end with Grant Morrison appearing in the story. Speaking of Morrison, did the Matrix get 75% of its material from the tail end of Animal Man plus The Invisibles? Morrison shows a deep knowledge of the DC universe, throwing deep cuts like Ultra the Multi Alien, the Inferior Five, Red Bee, the Gay Ghost, and Red Bee, among others.
Shit got really weird for a while there but Morrison had a plan the entire time, apparently. In the end, Animal Man is back where he started, ready for the next writer. I have to wonder if the editors just gave up and trusted Morrison to tie everything together at the end.
Animal Man by Grant Morrison 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Book Two concludes a coherently weird voyage into the nature of comics and reality. Four out of five stars.
Here we are, the concluding volume of Grant Morrison's Animal Man run, collecting issues #14-26. It's been quite a journey over the last 26 issues.
In this volume, Animal Man learns of his true origins, the nature of reality, and the meaning of the life, the universe, and everything. Some seriously crazy stuff happens in this. Morrison does some deconstruction, using Animal Man to show the nature of comics and the super heroes that dwell within.
It gets extremely meta toward the end with Grant Morrison appearing in the story. Speaking of Morrison, did the Matrix get 75% of its material from the tail end of Animal Man plus The Invisibles? Morrison shows a deep knowledge of the DC universe, throwing deep cuts like Ultra the Multi Alien, the Inferior Five, Red Bee, the Gay Ghost, and Red Bee, among others.
Shit got really weird for a while there but Morrison had a plan the entire time, apparently. In the end, Animal Man is back where he started, ready for the next writer. I have to wonder if the editors just gave up and trusted Morrison to tie everything together at the end.
Animal Man by Grant Morrison 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Book Two concludes a coherently weird voyage into the nature of comics and reality. Four out of five stars.