Customer Reviews

Animal Man, Book 3 - Deus Ex Machina

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Grant Morrision wrote Animal Man (issues 1-26) from 1988-1990. I was in college during the time, and became a reader around issue 9. I quickly got back issues, though, because of the surprising strength of this series.

This 3rd volume collects issues 18-26, and it wraps up one of Morrison's best series (the other being Doom Patrol 19-63). What makes this series outstanding is Morrison's usual trademark "weirdness"; however, unlike the "Invisibles", Animal Man and Doom Patrol have strong and symphathetic characterization-Buddy Baker and his family "seem real" even though this series is in part about the unreality of comic books. AM also has a particulaly strong and poignant ending-again like Doom Patrol.

Issues 1-26 form a complete story- the series should have been allowed to end with 26: added issues in a sense were superfluous. Only later with Sandman (allowed to end in 1996) did DC learn when "enough is enough".

To sum up: AM and DP represent Morrison at his magical best. Don't get me wrong, Invisibles, JLA and X-Men are entertaining. But I'm hoping he can pull out another white rabbit...

By the time you reach the mind shattering conclusion of Deus Ex Machina, the last volume in Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man, everything he set up from the beginning comes full circle. As Buddy Baker and the strange Highwater go out to the desert, Buddy makes a shocking revelation that will take him to Arkham Asylum to confront the Psycho Pirate; a villain boasting about alternate worlds that no longer exist. Before that though, tragedy strikes Animal Man at the home front in a way he never imagined, and it isn't long before he teams up with the Mirror Master to exact revenge. Just about everything that Morrison has set up from the beginning of his run is tied up here: from the erratic behavior of Animal Man's powers, to the mysterious yellow alien's purpose, to the identity of the apparition stalking his family. All of which reaches the long hinted at conclusion in which Morrison breaks the fourth wall. The art is still take it or leave it, but Morrison's inventive story more than makes up for it. Even all these years later, Morrison's brilliant, at times preachy, deconstruction of this minor DC super hero remains one of his best works, and here's the proof. All in all, if you've never read any of Morrison's Animal Man run, now is the time to give it a look.

This is without a doubt one of the greatest graphic novels I have ever read. It serves as an incredible culmination of Morrison's Animal Man saga, following Buddy Baker's descent into his own personal hell, and his difficult journey back out again. The art is functional-- not bad, not great either, but that's all been said before. All in all a pretty amazing piece of work. Buddy is such a fundamentally GOOD guy, you can't help but care about what happens to both him and his family. It's smart, it doesn't talk down to you, and it happens to pull off some pretty amazing stunts by the last page. Give it a shot.

There is not much in the way of a proper *story* in this book: events have little relevance or connection to one another. However, apparently this is part of the Author's intent. The idea is to discuss the relationship between creators (specifically comic writers) and their creations. A scenery is presented on "what if a comic character could actually find out that he is just so?". There is a discussion on the meaning of a comic character's reality, of the fact that he is just a puppet to a writer, of him not knowing that his "memories" are actually implanted by a writer etc.

That is the larger, main scope of this comic, which collects issues 18-26 of Animal Man (published late 1989 to early 1990), thus finishing Grant Morrison's run on the title. In a smaller-scope storyline, Morrison acknowledges the Crisis on Infinite Earths (which no character in the DC Universe was supposed to be aware of, except for the Psycho-Pirate) and discusses the meaning of such event to the existence/non-existence of comic characters in the DCU and in real life.

All this makes Deus Ex Machina a singular comic story, especially within the DCU realm. It is not a masterpiece (therefore 4 out of 5 stars), but it should always be highlighted as a very meaningful corner among the twists and turns of DC's mainstream storylines. It is an understatement to call it unusual.

Thorough annotations on these specific issues (18-26) can be found on the Web, in the "Crisis annotations" page (just google it, it's easy to find).

Whoa! I just got finished reading through the entire Grant Morrison run on Animal Man (TPB 1-3)and TPB #3 is probably the best of them all. This book wraps up Morrison's run on Animal Man and Morrison takes us places where I would have ever dreamed going in comic books. The first two chapters of the book revolve around Animal taking peyote and tripping out as he tries to figure out the meaning of his life. He then finds his family has been murdered and then there is a bit of a revenge plot for a little while. Add in some time travel, "Comic Book Limbo" and an ending that is so wildly imaginative, that it shows us why over 20 years after these Animal Man comics were released, Grant Morrison is considered one of the best comic book writers of all time. This book is MUST READ for all Grant Morrison fans! Of course I recommend Animal Man volumes 1 & 2 as well, but this book will blow your mind!

It would be 5 stars book, but weak art spoils it a little. Overall, amazing run. Bollands covers are outrageous!

I enjoyed this and remembered this from years ago and was lucky to come across it and collect and enjoy reading it and the great animation. Thanks Grant for writing these books!