Revalysis-Animal Man Volume 1 by Grant Morrison and Chas Truog

Gotta love Deadpool's sensitivity...

Today we begin our weekly review and analysis (revalysis!) of Grant Morrison comic books. We begin with Animal Man, Volume 1, originally published serially from 1988 – 1989, and then published in graphic novel format in 1991. Animal Man was Morrison’s first American work for one of the big two comic companies; he also wrote the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth at around the same time, but it wouldn’t see publication until 1989. Along with Neil Gaiman and Peter Milligan, Morrison was part of the wave of British comic creators that came over in the mid to late 80s following Alan Moore’s success on Swamp Thing. Animal Man was also one of the first titles published under DC’s Vertigo imprint, which was being pushed as a selection edgier, more adult, more literary comic books.

Animal Man Volume 1 is a bit of a smorgasbord. The series was originally commissioned as a four issue mini-series, then given the green light to continue as a monthly title. Animal Man volume 1 collects issues 1 – 9 of the series, and it’s quite obvious that the series was intended to end with issue 4. Issue 5 is a stand alone story that could fit anywhere within Animal Man’s continuity, and issues 6 and 7 are crossover stories designed to fall under the Invasion! event storyline. It isn’t until issue 8 and 9 that Morrison starts to build up Animal Man as a permanent monthly character and title, with foreshadowing, character development, and plot hooks that develop over multiple issues. But a smorgasbord is not necessarily a bad thing. Issues 1 – 4 showcase Morrison’s ability to complete a story arc; not to sound like a crotchety old comic book guy, but perhaps a certain Marvel comic writer whose name, ironically enough, rhymes with “endless,” could take some lessons from Morrison here. Issue 5 is a crazy deep story disguised as a looney tunes fable, replete with a deconstructed Wile E. Coyote and heavy doses of metafictional layered realities. Issues 6 and 7 illustrate how even throwaway event crossover stories can be dense and meaningful. And issues 8 and 9 introduce a cool new take on an old villain and some of the humdrum reality of Justice League membership.

So in today’s parlance, it wasn’t written for the trade, yet still holds together as a complete work. I’ve almost finished rambling on in an introductory manner, but there’s one more point that needs mentioning before we begin. Animal Man is a smart, hip, and liberal comic book, and those are all reasons why I love it, but I think the main reason Animal Man is fairly well-liked in the comic book geek crowd is because the protagonist is very human. Morrison “marvelized” Buddy Baker/Animal Man, for lack of a better term. Marvel comics didn’t make a big name for themselves until the 60s, when Stan Lee and a plethora of artistic giants introduced heroes with real problems. While Superman only had to worry about kryptonite taking away his godlike powers, Peter Parker had to study for tests and help pay his Aunt May’s rent. While Batman devoted his life to vengeance, Ben Grimm and Bruce Banner were forced to adjust to life as perpetual outsiders. Marvel heroes were just like us (except for the super powers!) and thus their stories resonated within us. And that’s what Morrison does to Buddy Baker. He’s a superhero, but he gets no respect. His powers, while capable of incredible things, are kinda goofy. His wife isn’t meek or flat; she wears the pants in the family. He’s got kids, and they, like their mother, are realistic, multi-faceted characters. He decides to return to the superhero life because it’s a job he’s uniquely suited for, one that in the Giffen/De Matteis Justice League of the 90s actually came with a salary. But enough set-up. Let’s move on.

Issues 1 – 4 introduce us to Animal Man, his family, and his powers. He’s called in by STAR labs to help with an investigation; someone has broken into their animal testing facility and stolen an infected ape. The mysterious kidnapper is seen in silhouette only, at first, helmeted and trench-coated and powerful, with a crazy internal monologue going on that suggests he’s not a fan of cities. In the course of tracking down the kidnapper, Animal Man is mortally wounded, grows a new arm, synthesizes a plague antidote, meets Superman, and discovers that his powers, which allow him to mimic the abilities of any animal within range, also allow him to feel, to some extent, what those same animals feel. Needless to say, he doesn’t maintain a working relationship with STAR labs (or anyone involved in animal testing) for long, and soon finds himself attracted to ecological causes. It’s a whirlwind tour of the DC universe, and while there is grittiness here (the late 80s and early 90s are sometimes referred to as the “grim and gritty era”), there is also silver age superscience and wonder. Reading about the regenerative powers of earthworms or the disease fighting abilities of white blood cells, I quickly fall back into my childhood, reading about Spider-Man and his pseudo-scientific abilities. There is also a nice dual-layered notion of justice in this arc, as Animal Man provides the standard superhero justice, while his erstwhile protagonist, the B’Wana Beast (yes, it’s okay, laugh), provides a darker, more old testament justice, as those responsible for animal suffering get a taste of their own medicine.

As nice as issues 1 – 4 are, issue 5, “The Coyote Gospel,” is where the series really picks up. It features Crafty, a character obviously based on Wile E. Coyote, who has come to Animal Man’s world to suffer for the sins of his cartoon brethren. We are shown the history of Crafty’s world, where toonish characters are constantly written and drawn in manic and violent situations. There is no peace in Crafty’s world, and even though no one ever really dies, it’s not enough. Crafty goes to the creator, who appears as an artist, complete with brush, and takes the suffering of his fellow toons on his shoulders. As long as Crafty goes to the next world (Animal Man’s) and really really suffers, his world will know peace. Of course, Animal Man’s world is not a Roger Rabbit-esque place where toonish violence has no consequence; Crafty suffers horribly with every injury he takes, and his regenerations are just as painful. In the end Crafty finds peace but Animal Man is left clueless, as he understands nothing that Crafty reveals. Only Crafty and the readers know the REAL story.

No Religious Iconography Here!

Issues 6 and 7 feature event crossover stories, which are typically throwaway stories unless the title character is a major character in the event. Animal Man was not a major player in Invasion!, and so these two crossover stories should have been crap. They weren’t. Issue 6 tells the tale of a Thanagarian (Hawkman’s race) Art Martyr, who uses his artistic abilities to destroy worlds. Morrison presents art as power, and we get this throwaway character’s backstory, development, and final fate in one tightly written issue. Not only that, but over the course of 22 odd pages, we actually grow to care for this odd antagonist.  At the end of the story, Buddy role as a superhero is subverted by his inability to handle the situation; it falls to a guest star to save the day in a rather anti-climactic fashion.

Issue 7 explores the nature of free will in the super hero realm, as Animal Man faces an aging has-been villain named the Red Death who wants to go out with a bang. The Red Death comments that he wanted to be a superhero, but with his power (a death touch!) he was fit for nothing but supervillainy. Rather than duke it out with Red Death, Buddy attempts to talk it out. Morrison is setting a pattern here; Buddy may be a superhero, but he’s not going to fall into a preconceived stereotype. He doesn’t lead with his fists, and he’s not always successful. Just like most of us.

Issue 8 introduces the new Mirror Master, a Scottish legacy supervillain (legacy characters inherit their heroic/villainous IDs, like the Flash Wally West). Mirror Master is dangerous and competent, and he attacks while Buddy’s powers are in flux (a common superheroic malady, apparently). It falls to Buddy’s wife to turn the tide of battle; she berates Mirror Master for busting up their house and when slapped for her troubles, kicks him in the groin and shoves him down the stairs, where Buddy proceeds to give him an old-fashioned but offscreen beatdown.

Issue 9 concludes the graphic novel with a humorous but heartwarming story about the after-effects of Mirror Master’s break-in. The Justice League has dispatched contractors to repair the Bakers’ house and install a state of the art security system, and Jon Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter, shows up to welcome the Baker family and discuss Buddy’s recent power flux. Buddy’s son, Cliff, who’s having trouble with bullies at school, accidentally sets off the system and is almost hurt by it, leading Buddy’s wife to ban any deadly security counter-measures. After counseling Buddy on his power-loss, the Martian Manhunter returns to the Baker house and helps Cliff get his bike back from some bullies. Rather than leave us with a happy resolution, though, Morrison closes with Cliff’s unhappy complaint that it took a real hero to help him. The unstated is obvious: to his kids, Buddy is no hero, and combined with everything we’ve seen of Buddy so far, we too have to question whether Buddy is a true hero.  Hell, we might even begin pondering the nature of heroism…

In conclusion, Animal Man volume 1 features six complete stories, which is simply mind-boggling compared to most current superhero comics, where decompression has led to a much slower, more cinematic storytelling style that tends to drag out for many issues. Volume 1 features some classic superheroic events and themes, wacky super science, and focuses on a very human and realistic Buddy Baker, along with his family and friends. It also ever so carefully introduces some very post-modern, metafictional storytelling techniques, hiding them behind a compelling narrative. In other words, Morrison tricks us into reading these texts on multiple levels by making the esoteric approachable. By the time we realize we’re doing critical analysis, it’s too late, cuz we’re already enjoying it. And in the end, for me, that’s what it all boils down to. I love it when comics are smart and literary, but before that they’ve got to be fun. Animal Man is all of these things. I should also mention that, unlike a lot of Morrison’s work, Animal Man is not mind-breakingly odd, confusing, or just plain trippy. That’ll come later, with the Doom Patrol and the Invisibles. For now, he’s just beginning to stretch the superhero genre’s boundaries, and it’s an awesome sight to behold. Animal Man is my favorite of all Morrison’s stories, and I happily recommend it to any and everyone who digs superhero comics. There’s no better place to start with Morrison, as everything he’s written thus far can be traced thematically back to Animal Man (or Zenith, but those comics are way too hard to get copies of!).

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