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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The entire Grant Morrison run, back in print!, July 6, 2004
This review is actually for all 3 trade paperback volumes of Grant Morrison's ANIMAL MAN, back for all to conveniently enjoy. After 10 years of having only Volume 1 in print, DC FINALLY printed the rest of Morrison's run in a Volume 2 and 3, giving us the complete story, a defining work for a great comic writer. To try to explain the entire storyline in just a few paragraphs would be woefully inadequate, but I will say that, while ANIMAL MAN could be defined as Grant Morrison voicing his opinions on animal rights, it is so much more than that: First, it's a study of how the world of comics interacts with (our) reality - almost mind-bendingly so. Morrison drops hints from the beginning of his run that our perceptions of "reality" in the DC Universe will be challenged with these stories. It takes over 20 issues to make his final point, but brother is it worth it. From the Looney-Tunes-ish antics of "The Coyote Gospel" to the revelations of the villain Psycho-Pirate (the only character who remembers the DCU before the Crisis), this is some very creative work. Second, these stories are a tribute to the pre-Crisis DC Universe. It's putting it mildly that Grant Morrison misses the timelines and characters eliminated by the Crisis, and in ANIMAL MAN, he does what he can to make sure that we don't forget the richness and fun of the Golden and Silver Ages. His final 3 or so issues made me feel even MORE ashamed that the Crisis ever happened. I will say this, however: if the Crisis created the fertile ground for stories like this, then I'll accept it. It's a case of being thankful for the good and the bad. Brian Bolland provides excellent covers for the series. I always felt it was a shame that he couldn't do the interiors as well. The work of Chas Truog, regular series artist, is lacking. The few issues with guest artists were welcome breaks from Truog's visually boring style. Don't let that hold you back, however, as his art does improve somewhat over time, and the story more than makes up for it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The beginning of Grant Morrison's shockingly brilliant run, February 5, 2007
One of the early titles that helped Grant Morrison make a name for himself in mainstream comics, Animal Man ended up being a hybrid of Morrison's love for classic comic storytelling, his views on animal rights, and above all, a shockingly brilliant series that broke the boundaries for what could be done in mainstream comic books. Without giving too much away of what else occurs in the later volumes, the first volume of Animal Man finds low level Justice League member Buddy Baker taking a new stance on animal rights as he makes some shocking discoveries at STAR Labs, as well as meets some very interesting characters along the way, including a run in with some of Hawkman's war-like people. There's also some very strange Looney Tunes-style antics going in the middle of the story that may seem not only out of place, but just plain mind boggling. However, once the realization dawns on you just what it all means, it's just another example of the brilliance on display from Morrison. Surprisingly violent (the collected graphic novels are now under DC's Vertigo title) and poignant to boot, what Buddy and his family go through are only hints and cues at things to come. The current Mirror Master is introduced here as well, and he will go on to play a pivotal role as things develop further, as will the mysterious, ghostly man that pops up now and then. If there's any negatives about the book, it's that the artwork doesn't always stand up as well as one would like, but that's only a minor complaint. All in all, Animal Man represents the fact that anything can be done in the comics medium, and if you've never given the series a look, you owe it to yourself to see just what helped make Grant Morrison the Alan Moore of his era.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hey, Kids, Comics!, June 17, 2002
Back in the 1960s, there was something about a minor comic book character appearing in STRANGE ADVENTURES that stuck with me long after his obscurity had become more than mere. That character was Animal Man and apparently he had a similar effect on British comics genius Grant Morrison. This book is a collection of the first nine of Animal Man's contemporary adventures under Morrison's competent pen. While Morrison's ever-present wry humor is present, there are sufficient superheroics as Animal Man and his family, a pretty bourgeois group, come to terms with life in the Eighties, super powers, and the conflict the two can create. This is a must-read and must-have for all graphic novel collections and fans of the other Brit comic masters Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman will find much to enjoy here as well. The art is also fabulous; even the superpeople look like actual human beings.
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