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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:32:49 GMT -5
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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:33:56 GMT -5
 Animal Man #11.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ September 1988 "The Human Zoo" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Doug Hazlewood Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Karen Berger Synopsis: The story starts with a man in a trench coat walking on the sides of the hi-way towards, San Diego, California. Internally he is complaining the noise, smell of the city. Then we go to Buddy Baker's neighbor, where Buddy is helping his neighbor, Mrs. Weidemeir, regain her cat that is tuck in a tree. The branch he was standing in broke and he fell. Good thing for animal powers. Just like the cat he saved, he flipped and landed on his feet. He told his neighbor, it's due to his movie stuntman training. The lady's husband didn't notice as he was just at the beach chair snoozing and drinking his lemonade. But he did tell his wife to tell Buddy Baker to get out of his garden so he can get some peace and quiet. Buddy went home. Inside the Baker household, Buddy tells his wife he is interested in going back to the supehero-ing business full time again. It's his dream. His wife has heard this story before. Buddy explained it. He'll be doing magazine interviews, talk shows, personal appearances, so that he can help pay the bills. Ellen tells him dream don't pay the rent. Their children join in, an obnoxious son, and a cute daughter, who gets into a typical sibling argument that is started with the older brother teasing the younger sister. Meanwhile, in an urban part of San Diego, the man with the trench coat is in an alleyway. He is screaming in agony from the pain of various screaming, and city foul smelling odors. He removes his helmet and leans against the side of a building. A man with a gun approached him. Faster than a snake, he grabs the hand with the gun and crushed it with the strength of a buffalo. The criminal screamed, and the trenched-coated man punches him in the face and throws him back out in the mainstream street. He ran to get away as the screaming is getting louder in his head. Buddy convinced his wife that he is going back to the superhero gig. He'll utilize the next several days to train. On his first day, he and his wife go fishing in a nearby stream. He practiced breathing underwater like a fish. The second day he practiced his flying skills like a bird in a mountaintop. On the third day they are in a desert and he raced his wife who was driving the car. He was fast as an ant. On the fourth day, he was talking to his agent and friend Roger, about the superhero gig. Roger got him a talking engagement in the Dick Griffith Show. Things are looking good for Buddy Baker. Later that evening, the trench-coated man drank some liquid from a corked bottle. And somehow he is no longer discombobulated. He made his way through the top of buildings until he arrived at STAR Laboratories San Diego Division. The screaming is getting louder in his head. And on the fifth day, Buddy is in front of the television motioning for his entire family to watch his interview on television. Unfortunately, many of the good parts were cut off and only the bad parts were left on where Buddy Baker came across as a joke. He was called "the human zoo." The next day, Buddy received a call from Roger. He changed into his Animal Man costume and told his wife that STAR Labs saw him on the talk show and needed his help. Something about a break in. Buddy is pumped up for this and is in good spirits. He's back in the superhero business. In another part of town, inside a forest, there are four middle aged men, hunting birds and drinking and hanging out for the weekend. Arriving at STAR Labs, Buddy is met by Dr. Myers who told him he was expecting someone like Superman. On the way to the laboratory, they talked about his Buddy's powers. They then arrived in a Bio-Hazard marked doorway. When they went inside it is a mess as if a hurricane passed by and damaged every laboratory equipment. And surprisingly metal doors were bent and ripped off the hinges as if done by someone with super-strength. He told Buddy that the problem is not about the break-in. And he showed him the problem, behind the ripped steel doors is a thing that resembled numerous moneys combined together to form a monstrous blob. Comments: It's a nice straightforward story about a man who is retired from the superhero business and has decided to make a comeback. He goes through the motion of convincing his wife of his decision, and what entails of a superhero comeback. There is a mysterious figure who arrived in San Diego, and who might be responsible for the anomaly that happened at the end of the issue.
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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:37:35 GMT -5
 Animal Man #21.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ October 1988 "Life in the Concrete Jungle" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Doug Hazlewood Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Art Young & Karen Berger Executive Editor: Dick Giordano Synopsis: Buddy's neighbor's cat is in the forest and surprised a rat that is about to become it's meal. Animal Man is examining the occurrence at S.T.A.R.Labs. Dr. Myers showed him the monstrosity that is the fusion of several of their lab monkeys. And then Buddy showed the bent and crushed steel door, Dr. Myers told him something else is responsible for that. He told Animal Man that earlier that morning, one of the lab assistants investigated the corridor when she heard terrible screeching, and found an eight foot tall cockroach standing on it's hind legs. Security arrived and one of them got hurt as the monster escaped the lab. Then he arrived and found the fused monkeys, and then he called Animal Man to investigate. Buddy couldn't explain the fusion of the lab monkeys but offered to track and find the giant cockroach. All he needed was a dog so he can use it's tracking/sniffing abilities. On top of a rooftop, a man sitting down dressed in a trench coat and picked up his helmet and put it on. He was listening to the surroundings both close and distant. He heard the birds flying overhead, the airplane flying in the distant, and monkeys continuing to scream. He picked up a piece of brick and once held in his hand, squeezed and crushed it. Back at S.T.A.R.Labs, Animal Man absorbed one of the laboratory dogs animal abilities and felt weird and abnormal saying he'd preferred absorbing abilities of a healthy dog, which Dr. Myers defended is a healthy dog as they wouldn't waste time on neurosurgery on sick animals. Animal Man went to where the giant cockroach broke through a glass window and jumped down to the grounds. He could smell it, an acidic odor of sorts. He followed the smell before it disappeared. Back in the forest, the cat earlier with the dead rat in its mouth is about to feed the prey to her litter of kittens. There was a deer in the background and its neck was hit by a bullet and slumped to the ground. The hunters laughed it off that they hit Bambi. Back in the city, Animal Man is continuing to track the scent of the giant cockroach. He noticed many things like various scents of smell produced by the urban jungle like various paint, perfume, etc. He suddenly remembered the look of the eyes of the dogs in the laboratory, but shook it away from his mind to concentrate on the scent, which disappeared behind one of the buildings. A kid on skateboard came up to him asking for his autograph as he collected superhero autographs. Animal Man signed it, and when the kid saw Animal Man on it, he told Buddy to forget about it, since he initially thought Buddy was Aquaman. The kid skateboarded away. Buddy hoped the kid breaks a leg. Later, atop a rooftop, Animal is eating his lunch while thinking he might be after a super-villain. He's not sure since he's been out of the superhero circulation for a long time. A red and blue dot in the background sky headed his way, and Superman suddenly greeted him. They exchanged pleasantries, with Superman positively commenting on his "A" costume and he saw him in his telescopic vision and dropped by to say hello as he was flying on his way to Pakistan. Then he heard an aircraft in trouble with his super hearing and bid Animal Man to have a nice day as he flew off, as Animal watched him fly away. In an alley, a drunk homeless man and a rat were fused together by a man in silhouette. Buddy is in a public telephone booth talking to his wife Ellen, telling her about his brief encounter with Superman, when he was attacked and violently thrown out of the booth by a Rat Man. Ellen, who was on the phone got disconnected with Buddy. She hung up and called her daughter Maxine and they left the house to go to the woods. She passed by her neighbor, Mr. Weidemeir who is lying down on a beach chair with the hat covering his face, and asked him if he saw her wife. She told him the hat means "Do Not Disturb" and that his wife is probably at the 7-Eleven store. Ellen just continued walking with her daughter citing the man is a grouch. Animal Man crashed through a pimp's car, hurt, and the Rat Man about to pounce on him again. Buddy couldn't sense any animal within the vicinity except for a praying mantis, whose abilities he absorbed and was able to kick off the Rat Man and lift the car to throw at the Rat Man, who jumped on top of the car. At the woods, Maxine found the litter of kittens, while Ellen found the dead dear slumped on the ground. And the gun-toting hunters saw her and focused their bad intention attention towards her. Animal Man was running in an alley way when the Rat Man leaped and caught up to Animal Man. Animal Man punched and kicked it, apparently hurting the Rat Man. Gaining confidence, Animal Man stood toe-to-toe and traded punches with the Rat Man, and then it grabbed Buddy's should and excruciating pain jolted Buddy's mind. He tried to punch back, but there's nothing, and to his shock, his right arm is in the ground which was snapped off, and bleeding profusely, he slumped down to the street. As he went into shock, and slowly lost consciousness, the Rat Man separated into two entities, while the issue ended with Buddy Baker in Animal Man costume is on the dirty street bleeding to death as he clutched his shoulder where his arm was ripped off. Comments: I have to say I am digging Grant Morrison's weirdness in this series. Fused monkeys, fused rat and homeless man, Superman dropping by to say a brief hello to a fellow superhero, it kind of works. I don't know Chas Truog, but his minimal style of art works for this story. It's not too stylish and realistic, and his sense of fashion is not the best, but it somehow is appealing and works hand in hand with a weird story that Grant Morrison is presenting here. Of course we also get what Grant is showing here in regards to commentary on the dangers of animal research, and covering up the anomalies in those research by the scientists conducting those researches.
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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:40:02 GMT -5
 Animal Man #31.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ November 1988 "The Nature of the Beast" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Doug Hazlewood Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Art Young & Karen Berger Executive Editor: Dick Giordano Synopsis: The White God of Kilimanjaro is coming to take home the infected and caged laboratory chimpanzee, Roon, to a place where her insides won't hurt from the germs that struck his body and ate away at his life. This beast that walks on two legs, is the superhero known as B'Wana Beast. He jumps off the rooftop, and quickly runs toward inside the facility. Bystanders take picture, a security guard drew a gun and shot his shoulder, bloodying it, and still he runs, feeling nothing at all. We rejoin Buddy Baker who id bleeding to death in a dirty alley way, from his severed arm. And then automatically, as if on instinct, his Animal Man powers kick into action. His consciousness radiates around him, it goes underneath the concrete, underneath the dirt, and reaches earthworms. Cut them in half and earthworms regenerate, and Buddy Baker screamed in agony, and he grew back a new right arm. It felt weird, as he slowly stood up groggy, and examined the new limb, which didn't have any of his growing up scars on it. And then he saw in a fetal position several meters away was the homeless man, the left over part of the Rat Man he was battling last issue. He's in bad shape, and Buddy flew off to go to a public phone to get some help. He contacted Dr. Myers at S.T.A.R. Labs advising that it is urgent. In the woods, the hunters were threatening Ellen Baker, and she tried to talk to them that her husband is arriving soon and he's a superhero. Disbelieving, more of the hunters group arrived with their hunting dogs, and holding the neighbor's cat. One of them grabbed it and telling Ellen she liked cats and tossed the cat to the howling hunting dogs which chomped away at the cat, making Ellen cry, and Maxine who was hidden behind the bushes witnessed this. Then Ellen tried to leave and was hit in the head with the rifle from the idiot sexual predator-like hunter. Maxine made a commotion behind the trees and was about to be shot by one of the hunters when Ellen told them not to shoot, it's her daughter and she screamed at Maxine to run. At the alley way, S.T.A.R. Labs personnel dressed in hazmat outfit and helmet, arrived with a van and loaded the homeless man, and also escorted Animal Man inside the van and drove off. As B'Wana Beast entered the facility holding the chimpanzee, his mind flashes back to his best friend in Africa who was murdered with a gunshot to the head in the civil war. They graduated together and went to Africa together. But he's dead. He witnessed his friend was bound and shot at point blank range in the head by a soldier in the civil war. He dove down in anger with his flying lion and beheaded the soldier responsible. And in anger summoned birds to attack and kill the rest of the soldiers in the village. He heard their screams and fear, and everything that was human in him, left, only the Beast remained, The White God. And later on he realized that his monkey friend D'Juba had been taken. And later on, his monkey friend sent him messages through the mind bridge, which led him after a long time to the stinking place where his friend was being held, the laboratory where the chimpanzee is being held... inside S.T.A.R. Labs. And the scientists were scared when they saw him, and the security guard drew his weapon, but B'Wana Beast just bloodied him and took him out as the scientists scrambled and one screaming to get Dr. Myers. Back at Buddy Baker's neighborhood, Maxine arrived crying to Mr. Weidemeir, the neighbor pleading for help for her mom in the woods. He got up from his sleep. At S.T.A.R. Labs, Animal Man and the van arrived and as the went up the stairs encountered B'Wana Beast carrying his monkey friend and pushed them aside as he was hightailing it out of there. Behind him were Dr. Myers and various security guards in pursuit. Security guards pointed to the fire escape where B'Wana beast is escaping to, and Dr. Myers yelled out it's imperative he doesn't escape with the monkey as they are dealing with a very dangerous infection there. Animal Man heard him and grabbed him to explain what they do at the laboratory, and this time no lies. Dr. Myers gave him the truth. They were engineering a mutant strain of the anthrax bacillus for the military in order to develop a germ weapon to destroy the enemy's livestock, and be harmless to the invading army. S.T.A.R. Labs was tasked to tailor the virus to be able to differentiate between the immune systems of lower animals and higher animals like men and apes. The military team in Zambesi, Africa, heard of an evolved ape in the mountains of Kilimanjaro under the White God. There was no White God but the ape was real, and vulnerable, it was caught and eventually brought to them at S.T.A.R. Labs. Its the one carried away that we are chasing right now, because it has the mutant strain, and is lethal to humans. And he asked Animal Man if he was familiar with the symptoms of anthrax infection, which Dr. Myers detailed to him, which also eventually leads to death. Meanwhile, at the woods. The sexual predator hunter, who is accompanied by their hunting dogs currently feeding on the neighbor's cat, and his fellow hunters just watching by, really has it in for Ellen... sexually and he unfastened his belt and was going to sexually assault her. His hunting friends told him, his name is Ray, that this is going too far and going to get all of them in trouble. A warning shot nearly hit him, and everyone turned to see Mr, Weidemeir with a revolver, that fired the warning shot. Ray turned to him and picked up his rifle to shoot at him and dared Mr. Weidemeir to shoot back, and one of his hunting friends yelled this was going too far, and shot the sexual predator hunter Ray in the head. The shock of almost being raped elicited tears and anger from Ellen, who was escorted out of the woods by Mr. Weidemeir who told her to calm herself and that she didn't want Maxine to see her like this. Maxine approached them holding the surviving kittens and asked about them. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs Animal Man was asking who was the guy with the helmet. Dr. Myers told him it's probably the White God, and whoever he is, he's infected and anyone he comes in contact with. The entire state of California could be uninhabitable in several weeks. Security came back to inform them they tracked B'Wana Beast to the San Diego Zoo. Animal Man asked which way to the zoo and told Dr. Myers he hopes he lives long enough to get what is coming to him. Outside the zoo entrance is surrounded by various police cars with sirens on. Inside the zoo grounds, B'Wana Beast lied down his friend D'Juba the evolved monkey, and made her as comfortable as possible and pleaded with God not to let her die. Then the monkey started bleeding from the nose and died. B'Wana Beast's tears rolled down his face, anger took over. All the animals in the zoo started screaming, and moving in nervousness, or flying around. Wiser beasts huddled together wailing in pandemonium. And anger turned to rage, as the White God stood up and screamed in anger over his friend's death. Comments: This is a superhero story. But it has fantastic depth. We have animal experimentation and cruelty. There's civil war in Africa and the murderous abuse exacted by their local military. Then there's the secretive biological weaponry by scientists that is contracted by the U.S. Military. There's animal abuse, and attempted sexual assault. Violent homicides. This is not your average storyline. Grant Morrison has brought out an entertaining yet very well thought out story with depth and meaning. It is relevant to society, and as a reader, you can learn about the realistic commentary about society in the guise of a superhero comic book. |
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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:42:06 GMT -5
 Animal Man #41.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ December 1988 "When We All Lived in the Forest" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Doug Hazlewood Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Art Young & Karen Berger Executive Editor: Dick Giordano Synopsis: That evening, in the Baker household, Buddy Baker read a bedtime story to his daughter Maxine until she fell asleep. He thought she just had a bad day. They all did. Then he thought as simple as that bedtime story, sometimes life starts out that way... simple... like earlier that day. He recalled what happened earlier that day. B'Wana Beast abducted an ape infected by a mutant strain of the anthrax virus. Dr. Myers of S.T.A.R. Labs told him the risk on the entire state of California. He went to find information on his opponent and flew to the local library with an book on Who's Who of the Superhuman Community. There was an entire entry on B'Wana Beast, the entry on Animal just said presumed retired. He flew to San Diego Zoo and found the abducted ape and B'Wana Beast. He approached him to talk to him, but B'Wana Beast punched him and he flew and landed in the pond. Ellen, holding a sick kitten, told her son Cliff to go get Mrs. Weidemeir that they have sick kittens. He took off. A moment later, Mrs. Weidemeir arrived with Cliff. She was hysterical because her husband called her from the police station about Ellen being attacked in the woods. Ellen told her don't worry about that, and to take a look at the sick kittens, as their mother was killed and the kittens didn't look good. Mrs. Weidemeir told her there's nothing they can do, and she, Ellen (tears rolling down her eyes), and the kids looked at them helpless to do anything about it. Back at the pond, Animal Man saw a fused beast, part gorilla and part tiger, and flew away from it. And then barely seeing the fused eagle and lion creature, he barely absorbed its power, and they got intertwined in battle and crashing to the ground with the creature dead. Animal Man survived. The gorilla-tiger fused beast snuck up behind him, but he saw a monorail above and flew up, barely escaping the creature's clutches. He reached and grabbed it and went inside it. He was safe for the moment. Then he heard the voice of B'Wana Beast who was about to fuse two creatures together, and Animal Man absorbing multiple animals reached him and punched him to a slab of stone. They were about to have a confrontation when B'Wana Beast standing before him started shaking, sweating profusely, and threw up, and fell to the ground. Animal Man went up to him and removed his mask only to see tears of pain rolling down B'Wana Beast's face. Back at the San Diego Zoo, Animal Man was listening to the fallen B'Wana Best who told him they are murdering the world and they have to be stopped before nothing is left of the world for their children. Dying, Animal Man didn't know how to help him, even though he absorbed B'Wana Beast's power of fusing animals together to create a super-hybrid animal. He suddenly thought of white blood cells. He concentrated and went inside B'Wana Beast's body and combined his body's own polymorphs and macrophages, thus creating super powerful defense cells which began to attack and destroy the invading mutant anthrax virus. B'Wana Beast started looking better and was going to live. He propped him against the wall and left him there, and not take him to jail. He then unfused the gorilla-tiger beast to their separate respective animal forms. He then went to S.T.A.R. Labs and told Dr. Myers what happened, who was pissed off that Animal Man let B'Wana Beast go along with not recovering the experimented ape, and it was a mistake getting Animal Man's help in the first place. Animal Man punched Dr. Myers, giving him a bloodied nose, and then walked out of S.T.A.R. Labs. That evening in the Baker household, he tucked Maxine to bed, who fell asleep after hearing her dad's bedtime story. Then in the living room, his wife looked at him and gave him a smile and telling him the lone kitten survivor is going to live. That evening at S.T.A.R. Labs, B'Wana Beast entered Dr. Myers' office and threw his dead friend Djuba, the ape with the mutant strain of the Anthrax virus on his table, surprising and scaring Dr. Myers. Myers called security that the dead ape has been returned and summoned security. B'Wana Beast didn't kill Myers, instead he used his powers to fuse Dr. Myers with the dead ape with the mutant Anthrax virus. And then he left the premises. Meanwhile, scientists dressed in secure laboratory outfits put the hybrid ape beast on a gurney and chained it down securely. In a surgery laboratory table the scientists had surgical equipment and about to work on the hybrid ape. Dr. Myers tried to say something with tears rolling down his eyes, but no understandable human language would come out of his hybrid animal voice. And somewhere, monkeys were screaming. Comments: The story with commentary on animal cruelty and the problems that arise from scientific experimentation on animals continued. There was a confrontation between two superheroes, and it was short and very well done intellectually. It had an intelligent solution to a problem produced by a B-List or even C-List superhero. Maybe even D-List as his Who's Who entry in the library book on superheroes just stated he was presumed retired with no other information, while his opponent had more information on his entry. We are else left with a satisfying ending, where the bastard lead scientist got what he deserved. |
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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:43:16 GMT -5
 Animal Man #51.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ December 1988 "The Coyote Gospel" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Doug Hazlewood Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Art Young & Karen Berger Executive Editor: Dick Giordano Synopsis: An Ajax Trucking Co. truck driver rand down a coyote in the highway crushing it. Then miraculously, it healed itself until the innards are back in and and skid has reformed seamlessly. The Coyote stood on its hindlegs with a scroll hanging on its neck and looking straight at the reader. That was one year ago. At the Baker household, Buddy is throwing out all meats in the refrigerator, with Cliff complaining about tofu and running out of the kitchen when he saw his mom arrive from work. Ellen asked what Buddy was doing and he told her about the whole family is going to be vegetarian now, and she told him he has to check with her first, and to put the meats box down, and he did, but not before telling her to not expect him to be home for dinner as he stormed off the kitchen. Animal Man flew out to unwind from his anger about being blocked from his decision on the family being converted to vegetarians. One year later, the truck driver with a rifle was tracking and hunting the "devil" he ran over last year, while preparing a tripwire for an explosive. He was saved from AIDS by his friend Bill who gave him a cross he wore on his neck, and then after that day, his friend Billy suddenly had a freak accident. He found the Coyote at the edge of a cliff. The Coyote turned to face him and he shot it, shattering its collarbone and shoulderblade and falling down the deep cliff and splattering on the ground way below. Thinking it might still be alive, he threw a boulder, that landed on the Coyote and splattered it. He went down to use the second bullet, the magic bullet, to put an end to the Coyote. Animal Man was hovering above the two. And shocked, the Coyote is back together again and was in the truck driver's face, who warned the Coyote not to move as there is a tripwire that would set off a dynamite. Too late, it blew up tearing a limb from the Coyote which was still standing up and sort of alive. And its arm grew back. And it walked past the truck driver as if nothing bad took place. Animal saw an explosion below. Landing on the ground below, Animal Man approached the truck driver's empty jeep. The Coyote approached him and gave him the scroll that was hanging on its neck. Animal Man asked what is it, and in the Coyote's mind, it was the gospel according to Crafty, the Coyote's name. He was a cartoon character that lived in a violent cartoon world, but no one died. Then one day an elevator showed up and he ended u in the presence of god, which was a comic book creator and god sent Crafty from the cartoon world to the hell of second reality (our real world) where he ended up last year in front of a truck which ran him over in a highway in the desert. He went through untold horrors of buzzards picking and eating his innards and splattering fall in a deep cliff. He couldn't die. He thought one day he could return and overthrow the tyrant "god" and make the world a better place. This is what he tried to convey in the scroll which he thought of in his mind. Unfortunately, Animal Man couldn't read or understand the gibberish of the cartoon world scroll. But unknown to them, the truck driver hunting The Coyote was steadying his aim, and shot his rifle containing the magic bullet. It hit the Coyote square in the heart, and the truck driver collapsed dead. The Coyote was on the ground and had tears in his eyes in a pool of white liquid. Then a huge hand holding a paint brush, painted the white pool into red, making it into a pool of blood. Comments: This issue crossed over the fourth wall which is crossing the barrier between our real world and the fantasy that is the comic book world. The trippy weirdness of this story (as per the reader reading the comic book) has gotten up a notch with that ending. Animal Man doesn't know his world is a comic book world, and that "god" is somehow creating it or re-creating it. |
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Post by sabongero on May 4, 2018 22:45:25 GMT -5
 Animal Man #61.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ December 1988 "Birds of Prey" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Doug Hazlewood Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Art Young & Karen Berger Executive Editor: Dick Giordano Synopsis: Above Earth's orbit is a Thanagarian invasion force. A male Thanagarian agent, Rokara Soh, consumed crushed Hellshade distilled in a fatal liquer. A female Thanagarian, Skalla Kol, told him that they have cleared the invasion with the Dominators and Khunds, the invasion may proceed. She doesn't approve of artist martyrs such as he among the Thanagarians and glad she won't see him again. He put on his Hawkman helmet and prepared to lead the other Hawkmen Thanagarian invasion force, but all he cared at the end is the performance. On Earth, Buddy Baker is talking to his manager while buying ice cream from a store. He told Buddy, it's becoming an unhealthy obsession, this animal rights stuff, like Buddy becoming a vegetarian. A sudden shock rattled a bird of prey, and the people thought there was an earthquake. Instead it was a Thanagarian spaceship passed overhead. His manager asked him what's he waiting for, and Buddy told him he has to it costume. And Buddy left to go into action. Elsewhere, the Thanagarian spaceship landed and Rokara Soh set of the timer on the Lifebomb. Nearby are two dead cops outside their police squad car, obviously killed by the Thanagarians. Animal Man arrived in the scene and made his presence known. Rokara Soh ordered Skalla Kol to kill the Earth animal. She took off and swooped down on Animal Man who barely dodged her attack. She took out her mace and dove down on him and succeeded in her attack with the mace hitting the back of Animal Man's head. He ran to avoid her and saw a lake and jumped in barely taking another hit from Skalla Kol's mace. Down in the lake, Animal Man's in charge. Skalla Kol was hovering barely above the lake looking for signs of Animal Man, when his arms suddenly got off the lake's surface and pulled her by her uniform and dragged her down towards the bottom of the lake. Her mask came off along with her wings. Drowning, she tried to save herself by activating her anti-gravity field, and it reacted when it lost control, and she plummeted upwards in a fast speed, eventually leaving the lake and back up in the sky. And before reaching outer space, she turned it off, and she plummeted back on Earth and died. Elsewhere, Rokara Soh made bird sounds, which the birds responded and headed over to Animal Man to attack him, as he was still setting up the Lifebomb for explosion. The birds caught up to Animal Man and attacked him until he fell in Rokara Soh's midst, who picked him up and hung Animal Man on a tree to bear witness to his grand finale, his masterpiece as the greatest artist of his Thanagarian generation. He explained fractal geometry to Animal Man, in which life itself has a fractal shape that inspired him to make the Lifebomb. He planted it in one of the unstable fault lines of the planet, but the bomb will go off that is so massive, that the human species will not comprehend it. And they will be too busy dealing with the Thanagarian invasion to develop something to counter it in time. And that he, Rokara Soh, will be gone by then, and the Hellshade poison he drank will stop his heart. And he suddenly stopped talking. Animal Man regained normalcy from the bird attack got up and went to the Thanagarian, and touched him, and he fell over like a falling tree. Dead. Animal Man dug up and grabbed the Lifebomb. Starting to feel helpless and desperate he grabbed Rokara Soh's dead body and asked how to stop it from detonating. And he said the screamed out God's name, and pounded the ground screaming at the Lifebomb repeatedly to stop. He dropped to his knee, helpless with his hand to his head, and then covered his eyes. A stranger's hand touched the Lifebomb. It didn't explode. Animal Man opened his eyes to peak. It was Hawkman standing over him and over the Lifebomb, and told him all he had to do was turn off the switch. Comments: The Hawkwoman, Skalla Kol's uniform was so teeny that it consisted of a thin straight strap that covered the nipples, and her panties, and F''k me boots that are mid thigh-high. It's the superstarlet stripjoint dancer look. And it's amazing she's flying in the sky, and it would loosen up a little to show a little more nipple. And how about the scene just above the surface of the lake and Animal Man pulling on those straps plunging her inside the lake. That thing should have come off with the much force exerted on it, but it didn't even move. The misogyny of that female costume is still at one of DC's sexist high time after all the decade approached the 90's, while leaving the decadent 80's. That ending must be influenced by British humor, as I never expected that kind of an ending on a very suspenseful and thrilling buildup. Grant Morrison at one of his inspired finest, as he ended it on a humorous level that is unexpected by readers, with irony, as the Hawkman of Earth prevented the genesis of destruction of the planet, while the series character superhero was helpless and desperate and had his eyes closed unable to do anything to help prevent Earth's destruction. |
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Post by rberman on May 5, 2018 8:09:37 GMT -5
Comments: This issue crossed over the fourth wall which is crossing the barrier between our real world and the fantasy that is the comic book world. The trippy weirdness of this story (as per the reader reading the comic book) has gotten up a notch with that ending. Animal Man doesn't know his world is a comic book world, and that "god" is somehow creating it or re-creating it. I read his whole run for the first time a couple of years ago when I got the omnibus. I'm glad you are giving it a review thread. You obviously have some material saved up on this topic! "Animal Man crusades against animal cruelty" makes perfect sense as a theme, but I was glad to see Morrison move beyond that one-note message into even more adventurous territory, starting with the creator-creature interactions seen in this issue. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 5, 2018 11:22:13 GMT -5
Animal Man #5 could very well be the single best comic I have ever read. The simplicity yet deep message of sacrifice is all too real.
Issue #15 is the second most impacting issue of Morrison's for me.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2018 12:51:37 GMT -5
Honestly, I read some of these books sabongero ... and Grant did an excellent job on these books and I felt that this is better than his X-Men and one notch below of his work on JLA of which he did a partial job on it. In some ways, his Animal Man is marginally better than his work on the Justice League. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 5, 2018 13:26:57 GMT -5
I think Animal Man was a good fit for Morrison. Most of his superhero fare is usually never bad but it's never stood out to me like with AM.
It's like Wein/Wrightson on Swamp Thing. Wein is a great writer. But I could not name much of his work that stands out to me like ST. I think some characters and some writers just make the perfect amalgam for a good story.
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Post by sabongero on May 6, 2018 9:43:46 GMT -5
Rberman I read the entrire 26 issues a long time ago. I am re-reading it just because I have forgotten many details on the entire run. I do kind of remember what generally happened up to a point though. But re-reading it, I kind of, for some reason like the run more. Perhaps I appreciate reading it more as a middle aged adult than reading it as a kid back then. Adamwarlock2099 I am looking forward to reading that issue as well. It has been a long time since I read that. I just recall it's the issue with dolphins. MechaGodzilla I have read some of his New X-Men run. I haven't read his JLA, except just browsing through the issues in collected form recently. I have read his other individual superhero series' like Batman, Animal Man, and the new52 Action Comics with Superman. Of the four, I would prefer Animal Man too.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2018 10:01:38 GMT -5
To me, his Animal Man is the best that I seen of Grant Morrison's work ... slightly better than JLA, and far more superior than his X-Men ... I have very mixed feelings about his work on Batman and I don't care for all the New52 stuff that DC Comics put out in the past.
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Post by sabongero on May 6, 2018 11:29:52 GMT -5
To me, his Animal Man is the best that I seen of Grant Morrison's work ... slightly better than JLA, and far more superior than his X-Men ... I have very mixed feelings about his work on Batman and I don't care for all the New52 stuff that DC Comics put out in the past. I noticed that among people regarding his Batman run. It's either the best thing that was ever done since sliced bread, or it was something that didn't sit well with them. I also happen to like his Batman and Robin run, when he "reversed the role" of Batman and Robin. I always liked Dick Grayson's portrayal of the Batman in this run. And Damian, being "Bruce Wayne" angry Batman as Robin. That was a nice approach. |
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Post by MWGallaher on May 7, 2018 19:35:41 GMT -5
I could've sworn that Animal Man started out as a miniseries and was promoted to ongoing, but there's no hint of that on the covers here. Oh, well, not the only thing I mis-remember these days!
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