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vigneswara_prabhu's review against another edition
4.0
Animal man by Grant Morrison takes one of DC's lesser known, C maybe borderline B tier characters in terms of importance, and weaves in Morrison's usual multiversal metaphysical narrative, tying into one of the most significant events in DC canonical history.
Bernard 'buddy' Baker was your everyday guy, that is until he became acquainted with extraterrestrial life forms, in the form of an exploding spaceship. This incident had the additional effect of giving him superpowers, specifically, being able to borrow the strengths of animals in his vicinity for about 30 minutes. (Most heroes of the time got their powers from chemicals, aliens and magic, Morrison makes an in canon joke about the nature of several Golden and silver age characters).
Animal man’s greatest weakness, seems to be his own existential crisis. When I went to his wiki page, they too seemed to agree with this assessment. Whether it's trying to make it big and join the JLA, or living up to his namesake by abandoning meat, or by trying to be a good role model for his children, his struggles have an everyman's vibe to it.
What I found hilarious was how Buddy seems to be a spectator in his own adventures. His name might be in the title, and it might be his story, but more often than not, his allies, adversaries and even his non-powered family seem to take center stage, while Buddy is someplace shooting the wind. For Christ’s sake, the man is somehow the cosmic lynchpin which holds together reality after the events of Infinite Crisis, a nexus assigned by a group of omniscient all knowing alien watchers, and he just stumbles across the whole thing doing a whole lot of contributions.
And what is this reality altering event which buddy is central to? Retcons. You see, in the gamut of comic book characters, not everyone is lucky enough to have the same backstory over their publication history. Not everyone can be Batman, with his riches, dead parents in an alley and fear of bats.
Most lower tier characters undergo quite a few changes in accordance with the era and the writer who handles them. Some, like hawk man, guy Gardner and Power girl go through multiple iterations until something sticks.
Buddy's existential crisis ties into his very existence changing at a meta level, as, at a meta level his origin story and relationships change according to the whims of the writers. This translates into the pages as one would expect. The reality ending crisis is his Retcons over and over again while he himself stares on helpless as the very core of his being is changed, his loved ones simply erased or cease to exist in accordance to the dictates of an uncaring hand of God, which in this case is the literal hand of the comic artists. Chilling stuff.
One of my favorite stories amongst the anthology, is one rooted in the Looney toons world, where in a bizarre twist, Wile E Coyote becomes something akin to the son of God. Who has descended into our world from the realm of looney mayhem, and is sentences to experience gruesome deaths, as a penance for his people. He Suffers, so that they can gain freedom from the unending cycle of violence. Like some modern version of Christ/ Prometheus, he is killed and brought back to life again and again. It made me bust my gut laughing, at the same time feeling for the character.
I would recommend this book, if only for the zany retellings of the lesser known DC characters, which oftentimes break the metaphysical wall of existence, and maybe make you question your own.
Bernard 'buddy' Baker was your everyday guy, that is until he became acquainted with extraterrestrial life forms, in the form of an exploding spaceship. This incident had the additional effect of giving him superpowers, specifically, being able to borrow the strengths of animals in his vicinity for about 30 minutes. (Most heroes of the time got their powers from chemicals, aliens and magic, Morrison makes an in canon joke about the nature of several Golden and silver age characters).
Animal man’s greatest weakness, seems to be his own existential crisis. When I went to his wiki page, they too seemed to agree with this assessment. Whether it's trying to make it big and join the JLA, or living up to his namesake by abandoning meat, or by trying to be a good role model for his children, his struggles have an everyman's vibe to it.
What I found hilarious was how Buddy seems to be a spectator in his own adventures. His name might be in the title, and it might be his story, but more often than not, his allies, adversaries and even his non-powered family seem to take center stage, while Buddy is someplace shooting the wind. For Christ’s sake, the man is somehow the cosmic lynchpin which holds together reality after the events of Infinite Crisis, a nexus assigned by a group of omniscient all knowing alien watchers, and he just stumbles across the whole thing doing a whole lot of contributions.
And what is this reality altering event which buddy is central to? Retcons. You see, in the gamut of comic book characters, not everyone is lucky enough to have the same backstory over their publication history. Not everyone can be Batman, with his riches, dead parents in an alley and fear of bats.
Most lower tier characters undergo quite a few changes in accordance with the era and the writer who handles them. Some, like hawk man, guy Gardner and Power girl go through multiple iterations until something sticks.
Buddy's existential crisis ties into his very existence changing at a meta level, as, at a meta level his origin story and relationships change according to the whims of the writers. This translates into the pages as one would expect. The reality ending crisis is his Retcons over and over again while he himself stares on helpless as the very core of his being is changed, his loved ones simply erased or cease to exist in accordance to the dictates of an uncaring hand of God, which in this case is the literal hand of the comic artists. Chilling stuff.
One of my favorite stories amongst the anthology, is one rooted in the Looney toons world, where in a bizarre twist, Wile E Coyote becomes something akin to the son of God. Who has descended into our world from the realm of looney mayhem, and is sentences to experience gruesome deaths, as a penance for his people. He Suffers, so that they can gain freedom from the unending cycle of violence. Like some modern version of Christ/ Prometheus, he is killed and brought back to life again and again. It made me bust my gut laughing, at the same time feeling for the character.
I would recommend this book, if only for the zany retellings of the lesser known DC characters, which oftentimes break the metaphysical wall of existence, and maybe make you question your own.
ohainesva's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
arctor59's review against another edition
5.0
a philosophical masterpiece. reminds me of a more serious "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe"
danny_foster's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
woweewhoa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
woweewhoa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
elturko64's review against another edition
5.0
I've always been mixed on Morrison. He's written some of my favorite superhero stories and some of my least favorite ones. And I really regret putting this one off for so long. Grant Morrison's 'Animal Man' is wonderful from front to back. The story goes into environmentalism, animal rights, and its shocking that this book is thirty years old because a lot of Morrison's views feel as impactful as it does today. Simply amazing, go check this one out.
amylynnpatterson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
5.0
dtier's review against another edition
5.0
My new favourite hero. Grant Morrison's Animal Man isn't someone who goes around saving the world from Earth-shattering multi-dimensional catastrophes. What he tends to fight for is those who are usually kept down or belittled. For the most part, he fights for animals. As a vegan, this hits a real soft spot for me, especially knowing that Grant Morrison agrees with his hero's vegetarian lifestyle.
Animal Man fills a void in superhero graphic novels, tackling animal rights. Surprisingly, the book is 30 years old, but it rarely feels as though it is. It gives strong vibes of Matt Fracton's Hawkeye run, pitting a hero against more everyday villains. Animal Man stops fox hunts, has a villain invade his house, and saves cats from trees.
The art style and colours are vintage, of their time, and took me a page or two to get used to, but they are almost perfect for the story, adding to its everyman tone. There are a few moments where certain female characters seem over-sexualized, but thankfully nowhere near as badly as many old and new comics.
This is one of Grant Morrison's earliest graphic novels and his first work with DC, and it's easy to see how the series would help to catapult him onwards. Animal Man is one the best heros out there, and thankfully his relatively unknown status means that DC are unlikely to give him an awful movie-adaptation any time soon.
Animal Man fills a void in superhero graphic novels, tackling animal rights. Surprisingly, the book is 30 years old, but it rarely feels as though it is. It gives strong vibes of Matt Fracton's Hawkeye run, pitting a hero against more everyday villains. Animal Man stops fox hunts, has a villain invade his house, and saves cats from trees.
The art style and colours are vintage, of their time, and took me a page or two to get used to, but they are almost perfect for the story, adding to its everyman tone. There are a few moments where certain female characters seem over-sexualized, but thankfully nowhere near as badly as many old and new comics.
This is one of Grant Morrison's earliest graphic novels and his first work with DC, and it's easy to see how the series would help to catapult him onwards. Animal Man is one the best heros out there, and thankfully his relatively unknown status means that DC are unlikely to give him an awful movie-adaptation any time soon.
dtier's review against another edition
5.0
I've read this comic slowly over last year and the start of this year, and I've grown to like it more and more. I started reading Morrison's Animal Man because I wanted to read a comic that related to animal activism and explore the place of animals in the world, and in this sense, I was let down by this second book. It did cover that sort of topic for a while, but then it replaced it with something different, something that was surprisingly equally enjoyable.
I found a lot of similarities in this comic to Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg, a radically different and modern book about the lives of the Brontes and the imaginary world they made. What was similar are the questions they ask, about the place of the creator and the power of fiction. I want to say that Morrison's portrayal of the topic came across as pretentious, because (without spoiling anything) it did at times, but there was something loveable, clever, and self-aware about how he examined fiction's place and its limitations.
I'm disappointed I'm finished with this series. Buddy Baker "Animal Man" has become one of my favourite comic book characters. I know Jeff Lemire's does continue on the series, but those comics don't appeal to me, look too bloody and edgy. Part of me hopes Morrison will return to Buddy someday, and part of me is just happy with the way this series ended.
I found a lot of similarities in this comic to Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg, a radically different and modern book about the lives of the Brontes and the imaginary world they made. What was similar are the questions they ask, about the place of the creator and the power of fiction. I want to say that Morrison's portrayal of the topic came across as pretentious, because (without spoiling anything) it did at times, but there was something loveable, clever, and self-aware about how he examined fiction's place and its limitations.
I'm disappointed I'm finished with this series. Buddy Baker "Animal Man" has become one of my favourite comic book characters. I know Jeff Lemire's does continue on the series, but those comics don't appeal to me, look too bloody and edgy. Part of me hopes Morrison will return to Buddy someday, and part of me is just happy with the way this series ended.