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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2018 20:09:58 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. I see that and thanks for jarring my memory here ... I did like it and it's was very original of him to do this. |
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Post by sabongero on May 10, 2018 20:13:39 GMT -5
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. I see that and thanks for jarring my memory here ... I did like it and it's was very original of him to do this. That may very well be my favorite work by GM. I liked the personality role reversal of Damian and Dick's portrayal of the Dynamic Duo. Also, the redemption angle of Damian taking up the mantle of a superhero in the wake of his father's death in the Final Crisis big event is a no-brainer. And it helped endear the character more to the readers of the Bat Family comic books. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on May 10, 2018 22:50:36 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! I thiiiiiink I've heard that as well. |
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Post by sabongero on May 23, 2018 12:26:53 GMT -5
Animal Man #7
1.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ January 1989 "The Death of the Red Mask" 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 aged D-List supervillain put his costume on but not before throwing up blood in his sink. Then he proceeded to his rooftop and was going to jump to his death, but Animal Man happened to be around and tried to prevent his suicide. Earlier on, Animal Man used a public phone booth and called his home from Miami, while there were rampaging red robots running rampant across the city. His son answered and told him his wife wasn’t home while not really paying attention to Animal Man telling him he met other superheroes like Atom and Hawkman and prevented the alien invasion. His son was too busy watching Metallica on MTV to absorb what his dad told him. Animal finished his conversation with his son and continued saving people who were about to be killed by the rampaging red robots. He spoke with a police patrolman to inquire what’s going on. The cop said that the stupid looking red robots didn’t even seem to work well as it just kept stomping around and blowing itself up. The cop shot a robot in the head and it blew up, just to show his point. Animal Man went to have a look around in the sky to see where the robots might be originating from. And over a rooftop he saw a costumed man about to commit suicide by taking a plunge off the side of a tall building. After briefly talking with him, he found out the masked man is The Red Mask. After removing his helmet to get his respirator to help him breathe, it revealed he was an old man and bleeding in the mouth. Furthermore, he’s responsible for all the robots which never worked even in the 1940’s when he won possession of them in a poker game against fellow supervillain, Doctor Fang. He then told Animal Man his origin. He was hunting in the back of town with his dog, when he came across a meteorite crashing down to Earth. Back then a lot of people were getting weird powers from funny looking meteorites, so he touched it, and was knocked unconscious for a long time and emerged with a the biggest hangover in his life. He received death touch powers, upon touching his dog and it died suddenly. His wife eventually left him. He turned to alcohol and chain smoking. He wanted to fly and instead he got the death touch, so he became a bad guy and called himself the Red Mask. He teamed up with a villain called The Veil. It was okay for a while, doing heists, but then The Veil went crazy and started seeing things whenever he ghosted out and eventually removed his eyes and got sent to Arkham Asylum where Red Mask visited him and saw his deterioration. He’s telling Animal Man this because he’s dying and his lungs are giving out, as an out of control robot crashed besides them and was about to explode until Animal Man lifted it and hurled it to explode in the sky above them. Red Mask thought he’d paint the city red by unleashing the robots and then take a sidewalk dive and then go out in style. He also reminisced about the good old days where they had a better class of villains. If only he could fly, he could’ve joined the Justice Society and made something of his life. And with that he tossed his helmet which crashed below and broke into many smaller pieces. Animal Man told him this is not the way to die, and if he would just wait, Animal Man would bring his agent and a film crew to put him on a TV spot and he can tell his story like he told Animal Man, and Animal Man flew away. Red Mask agreed with him. Then started coughing up blood again and just told himself to screw it and jumped over to the side of the building where firefighters below were trying to put the flames out of an adjacent building. For a moment he envisioned himself flying. And then he splattered in the pavement below, all bloodied up. Animal Man went back to the cop he saw earlier to inform him they took care of the last of the rampaging red robots, and that he’s headed back to Los Angeles. Comments: This issue is more about the aged super-villain than it was about Animal Man. We get to see a story that is not atypical about super-villains. We actually see them in what could be a reality if there was one and he has aged to retirement age without much panache. On his origin story, we are told about how a colleague of his in the old days had a side effect whenever he used his super powers and it got worse, until he went insane. We never get these kinds of stories. And now, Red Mask, he’s dying himself of old age sickness, perhaps lung cancer catching up to him after chain smoking and drinking all these decades, and his life is pathetic. He wanted to go out with a bang. Unfortunately, even his ancient relic robot minions don’t even function properly. In the end he committed suicide and died immediately upon impact on the pavement. It probably was the easy way out, since he had no family or associates. A pathetic and sd ending to a very sad and unfortunate life. Red Mask wasn’t a megalomaniacal psychopath though. Unfortunately for him, his every touch automatically kills a person. He’s got the reverse Midas Touch. That is such a horrible life, where you can’t even have a relationship, because the mere touch from you can automatically kill that particular girlfriend, or new wife, or even a prostitute. He always wished he had flying powers and he could’ve been a good guy like join a good guy super team and do some good. But some things never happen the way you want it to happen. Finally, isn’t Buddy’s son atypical of 80’s teenagers and pre-teens. They are mesmerized by MTV and can barely understand or even listen to their parents even while talking to them. Nicely done in the brief scene. Speaking of relics, that public phone booth scene was funny when you look at it from these modern days. One could have just pulled out a cell phone and if his wife wasn’t home, he could’ve just called her directly wherever she was at that time, thus eliminating the brief scene with his son who was mesmerized by MTV. |
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Post by sabongero on May 24, 2018 18:46:44 GMT -5
 Animal Man #81.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ February 1989 "Mirror Moves" 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: “I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos.-Albert Einstein” appeared in Buddy Baker’s home computer screen. It’s the morning and Ellen woke up Buddy, who showed her his Justice League Europe ID card, and told her he’s on salary now and things are starting to look up. She asked him if he told the team that his powers are all screwed up and he answered no, which she then told him that having a costume is not enough, and then she left for the store. He took a look at some of the mail and he just kept thinking about his superhero career is going to the toilet as he went to the bathroom to wash his face. Then a mirror image of him with his mask on called his name and emerged out of the mirror fully costumed, to Buddy’s surprise. And he punched Buddy out of the bathroom crashing to a wall in the hallway which had a mirror. He went down the stairs and didn’t see a foot appear at the base of the wall mirror and tripped him and he came tumbling down the stairs. Looking up in the stairs, he saw Mirror Master standing and gloating. He pointed his mirror gun at Buddy and shot and missed and ordered him to fight. Laughing, Mirror Master told him to put some clothes on as he doesn’t have the heart to kill someone undressed, as Buddy scrambled upstairs to escape him. In his room, Buddy got his old Animal Man costume and put it on. And Mirror Master was waiting for him downstairs and decided to go and get him upstairs. Animal Man snuck down through his window and surprised Mirror Master downstairs and punched him, shattering him into many pieces like broken pieces of glass. Then Mirror Master emerged upstairs whole again and Animal Man asked him why he’s doing this since they don’t even know each other. Mirror Master told him that Animal Man was been a trouble maker lately, messing up a military research program, assisting subversive animal rights groups, and the people he worked for wanted to teach him a lesson, and it doesn’t matter where Animal Man or his family are, they can get to him and his family, no matter what distance. And he disappeared into a mirror again. Ellen was on her way back home and arriving on her doorstep to enter the house, a shadowy figure was watching her from across the street hidden behind a tree. From behind, it seemed like a masked figure with a jacket. Once inside, Ellen saw the damaged staircase from Mirror Master’s blast earlier. Upstairs, Animal warned his wife not go back up yet, briefly telling her what happened, then he saw Mirror Master on the other side of the mirror and put his right hand in the mirror and stepped through to go to the other side of the mirror world. He stumbled down as everything is backwards including what he was saying. Unbalanced, he’s not used to functioning normally in the mirror world, unlike Mirror Master who grabbed him and punched him in the face sending him stumbling through another mirror and emerged in another mirror world, which is upside down this time. Leaving Animal Man, Mirror Master stepped through one of the mirrors and emerged in the Baker household once more where he came face to face with Ellen Baker, who mouthed off to him that he’s trespassing and should go somewhere else to fight. Amused, a laughing Mirror Master told her to “keep her knickers on.” Annoyed Ellen called him an a..hole and proceeded to kick him in the gonads below. In the upside down mirror universe, Animal Man kept crashing through the furniture as was unbalanced and not used to moving in that dimension. In pain and grabbing his crotch, Mirror Master was angry and backslapped Ellen across the face, which elicited a response with her kicking him and Mirror Master tumbling down the stairs and crashing to the floor below. When he tried to stand back up, Animal Man whose contorted face was standing in front of him asked Mirror Master if he hit his wife? The next panel showed a peaceful porch, and then the next panel had Mirror Master crashing through the window and past the porch, landing outside in the lawn area. Animal Man followed Mirror Master outside who shot him with his mirror gun, turning Animal Man into a human looking glass. Mirror Master then stepped through a mirror he was holding and used it as a getaway mirror. He told Animal Man to remember that this was just a warning, and next time it’ll be for real. Ellen went outside to see what’s going on and upon seeing Animal Man, he turned into a mirror image of his wife. Animal Man, who looked exactly like Ellen now, told his wife to stay away from him as he went out to the streets. Comments: This issue’s supervillain is Mirror Master. I am quite surprised at the ineptness and how easily he was “dispatched” in this issue. One would think a veteran supervillain such as Mirror Master, who has come close to defeating The Flash, who is the fastest man alive, would have trouble taking care of a depowered Animal Man and his wife. However, a swift kick to the gonads can be just enough to send him packing, which was followed by a kick from behind sending him hurtling down the stairs. I’m surprised he didn’t have more severe injuries like some broken limb or something. However, he probably decided with just warning and left, because he was still feeling the lingering effects of numbing pain after receiving a punt to his jewels from Ellen. I loved how the mirror universe is presented here, and the side effects that a person who is not used to functioning in that mirror universe. The unbalanced way that Animal Man functioned in reverse mirror universe was fantastic. How could he function normally if he was to reverse all bodily movements and speech patterns. And the upside down mirror universe, it’s cool that he kept stumbling on the furniture. After all, imagine if everything around you is upside down, there’s no way to not even hit a furniture when you’re trying to escape that dimension. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on May 24, 2018 19:37:46 GMT -5
Ok, I should re-read Animal Man. I remember it being the worst/my least favorite of Grant Morrison's long form works...
A TIER
Doom Patrol
7 Soldiers Except for that Mess at the End
B Tier
X-Men
Batman
Invisibles
JLA
And Animal Man last. But it's been well over a decade.. I should re-read.
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Post by badwolf on May 25, 2018 8:50:54 GMT -5
Has it ever been explained how Mirror Master's powers work?
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Post by sabongero on May 25, 2018 10:41:44 GMT -5
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Post by sabongero on May 25, 2018 10:43:48 GMT -5
Ok, I should re-read Animal Man. I remember it being the worst/my least favorite of Grant Morrison's long form works... A TIERDoom Patrol
7 Soldiers Except for that Mess at the EndB TierX-Men Batman Invisibles JLA And Animal Man last. But it's been well over a decade.. I should re-read. Interesting. My curiosity is definitely engaged. Reptisaurus can you provide your thoughts and opinions on those two Grant Morrison series' as I am not familiar with them. Thanks. |
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Post by mikelmidnight on May 25, 2018 12:23:47 GMT -5
It was later explained this was a second Mirror Master of Scottish descent who wore the costume only for a brief period.
I can't even think of Captain Triumph now without the phrase 'personality of a deckchair.'
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Post by badwolf on May 25, 2018 14:39:06 GMT -5
It was later explained this was a second Mirror Master of Scottish descent who wore the costume only for a brief period. Evan McCulloch has now been Mirror Master for longer than Sam Scudder was. Nearly thirty years to date. |
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Post by badwolf on May 25, 2018 14:39:41 GMT -5
Thanks, at least that helps with one aspect of his abilities! Glad I am not the only one who was baffled by his wonders. |
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Post by sabongero on Jun 18, 2018 1:36:16 GMT -5
 Animal Man #91.25 USD/1.75 CAN @ March 1989 "Home Improvements" 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: Animal Man's son, Cliff, was on his way home from school, and was blocked by bullies, who ridiculed him and pushed and kicked him to the curb, and they ran away after an adult witnessed this bullying and headed towards them. At the Baker household, Ellen heard the doorbell and opened the door to a surprise. Martian Manhunter was at the door with household workers who were coming over to fix the damage Mirror Master did on their house. It's one of the services the Justice League provides for their members. Ellen told Buddy to let Martian Manhunter know about his "powers" problems he's having lately. Martian Manhunter and Animal Man stepped outside and flew off in the distance to talk. At J. Highwater's apartment, he found a book in the middle of his living room floor and there was a note attached to it saying "Ask the Psycho Pirate." It scared him. Elsewhere, in the mountains, Martian Manhunter reiterated he wanted Animal Man on the team because he has taken strong positions on the environmental issues and exploitation of animals. They need someone like him who's fighting for the life of the planet and not just out of personal glory or "The American Way." Buddy told him he wants to be part of the team, whatever it takes. Meanwhile Cliff is almost home. A man landed behind him and called his name, but Cliff failed to hear him and kept walking home. At the Baker housefold, a slight accident that thankfully didn't hurt anybody, showed the new defense system that was placed in the house that could be lethal to intruders. Back at the mountain, Buddy tried to summon his powers, but it was all coming at him at once making him feel sick. Martian Manhunter wanted him to see a doctor regarding his power problems after the gene bomb exploded in the Hawkpeople's failed invasion. And they took off to go back to Buddy's home. Cliff arrived home and opened the door, and the alarm went off, and lasers came out of nowhere and pointed directly at him. And later on, all were in the kitchen, and the workers told Buddy about the alarm and defense system that was installed at his home, while Cliff was pissed off that the bullies stole his bike and harrassing him on the way home. Martian Manhunter took Cliff aside and told him, they have to do something about that. And Cliff later on encountered the bullies who had his bike, and they proceeded to harass him. And Cliff turned into a huge monster with fangs and tail with smoke oozing off it. The bullies wet their pants from fear and with the monster letting off a loud roar, they hightailed it out of there. And the monster changed back to Martian Manhunter who was disguised as Cliff earlier. And Cliff got his bike back but was still upset with his dad telling him off to get real powers. Back in Africa, natives and the local police force "felt" the Earth speak and told the police that the gods are coming their way. Comments: This is another solid issue by Grant Morrison and Chaz Truog. We learn of the benefits of being a Justice League member and showcasing one of the benefits in action, as Martian Manhunter arrived at the Baker household with household workers to fix the damage caused by a villain and have it repaired within 48 hours, along with installing a new alarm system and lethal defensive weapons as well. Chaz Truog's rendering of Martian Manhunter is impressive. He's shown as a larger than life character, and is definitely bigger in his "humanoid" form, than the average male human species. He's built like a professional wrestler and with the size of a professional sports athlete. Buddy Baker is illustrated as being an ordinary sized man, which is a good contrast with Martian Manhunter in this issue. Martian Manhunter is an alien, yet his conversation and actions with Animal and his family showed he's more human than other people. He wanted Animal Man to be on the team despite having troubles with his powers, and he's willing to go out of his way to make sure Animal Man, who has taken a strong environmental issues stance and stood against animal exploitation is a genuine person who cared about his planet and surroundings, and the League needs someone who is genuine like that, and not just out for personal glory or "The American Way." So Martian Manhunter dissed Superman in a way. But Superman's a boy scout and Martian Manhunter can get away with saying that. Now if he said a diss to Batman, that would be an entirely different outcome. We are left with a question. What "gods" are the Africans talking about at the end of the issue that is about to make their appearance known? |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 18, 2019 12:35:56 GMT -5
 Animal Man #101.25 USD @ April 1989 "Fox on the Run" Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Chas Truog Inger: Mark McKenna Letterer: John Costanza Colorist: Tatjana Wood Editor: Art Young & Karen Berger Executive Editor: Dick Giordano Synopsis: We join the simultaneous action with Vixen chasing a man, but failed to catch him as he boarded a plane and took off. At the same time, Animal Man on behalf of an activist group, saved a fox from a pack of dogs and hunters during a foxhunt. Vixen then made it to Buddy Baker's house thus surprising his wife. At Arkham Asylum, Dr. Highwater met with Psycho Pirate who was scared to be erased from reality, and still suffering effects from the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" company-wide reboot. He is telling the doctor that someone is writing his life in an Animal Man comic book. The doctor also met the Mad Hatter who is telling them that a writer is writing all their lives, and that they are all just a story. Animal Man arrived in his household and Vixen explained to him that she is being pursued by invisible creatures. Suddenly, the invisible creatures appeared and attacked them. Vixen used a smoke bomb so they can at least see the creatures and make traces of them somewhat visible. Animal Man saw the creatures and his body started to disintegrate until it was nothing but dust. The smoke started to disappear and a pair of yellow-green aliens appeared and announced that now they are in charge. Comments: The story is starting to unravel, and it appeared that the aliens announced their arrival as if Grant Morrison himself announced he is taking charge of the story. It's interesting to note that Psycho Pirate and Mad Hatter can tell that they are merely characters in a story, and not actual characters, as if telling the readers they know that they are all make believe. I've never really read a story like this before where the characters are actually "breaking" the fourth wall by letting me, the reader, know that they are unreal and that their lives are controlled by some unknown being writing this story I am reading. I am hooked. Chas Truog as usual makes the illustrations punctuate the story and is easy on the eyes. |
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Post by mikelmidnight on Sept 20, 2019 11:42:44 GMT -5
Animal Man arrived in his household and Vixen explained to him that she is being pursued by invisible creatures. Suddenly, the invisible creatures appeared and attacked them. Vixen used a smoke bomb so they can at least see the creatures and make traces of them somewhat visible. Animal Man saw the creatures and his body started to disintegrate until it was nothing but dust. The smoke started to disappear and a pair of yellow-green aliens appeared and announced that now they are in charge. I believe these are the aliens from his original Silver Age origin, although I didn't recognise them at the time.
I'd read metafictional material before. Some of Morrison's attempts at it work better than others (my favorites are Ultra Comics, and Zatanna's spell in Seven Soldiers).
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