Finally, the home stretch! If it already wasn’t obvious from reading the previous three reviews of Jamie Delano’s Animal Man, then I despise this run. I haven’t hated writing it, quite the opposite in fact. But, when reviewing it, you realise that these stories are far worse than you could possibly imagine. Regardless, we are finally at the end, and this is where everything changes… again. Remember how Delano has changed, no, completely rewritten, the characters of Buddy Baker and his family? He did it first with Flesh and Blood, the introductory story, and then again during the middle of the run just after Annie and Lucy were introduced up until Maxine’s fake death. At first, Buddy became a creature of the Red, and then his whole family did. With Animal Man (vol 1) 71, we find ourselves once again in a radically different direction. I won’t go too deep into it just yet, but it does involve Buddy randomly morphing into a flying prehistoric looking god who believes that a cult following him comprised of 1970s hipsters and emos is the way to go. And yes, Delano provides little or no explanation of how all this comes about so quickly. Let’s get this over with…
Animal Man (vol 1) 71-79 was published from May 1994 to January 1995. The stories were written by Jamie Delano with art by Russell Braun, Tom Sutton, Steve Pugh,
Gene Fama, and Peter Snejbjerg. I’ve read the issues in the Animal Man Volume Seven: Red Plague trade paperback.
Unlike the previous three Animal Man reviews, this final set of issues cannot be segregated into their own stories, partly because they all just flow together and act as one large ultimate finale. Also, if I did cover them individually or in multiple stories, then for some of them I wouldn’t have much to say. I have to confess that by the final quarter, I had little, or no enthusiasm left for reading these stories (I’m shocked to say I had some in the first place). Of course, I had to do them for this, but this final set of stories sum up everything I despise about Delano’s Animal Man run. So, with Buddy Baker still believing that Maxine is dead, he decides that it is best if he transforms into a giant part-man, part-bird creature that flies over the White House with his army of birds. Yep, told you that was a radical change. Meanwhile, we still get no explanation for Maxine’s return, apart from some inter-monologue about how she dug out of the ground with her bear hands. Anyway, it really begins when Buddy presents himself to the world on live TV, now proclaiming himself to be a creature of the Red completely and no longer human at all. He blames the death of his daughter on the US government and claims that she was “the evolutionary key” to humanity’s survival and that in revenge, he will purge America, and then the world, of humans. Or something like that. He basically sparks a revolution to destroy all human life on Earth. However, Buddy is then deterred as Cliff casually phones him up and tells him that Maxine is alive. With her return, Buddy becomes indecisive and seems to put off the whole “end of the world” goal, before Dillinger (remember her from Animal Man (vol 1) Annual 1?) tases him unconscious. Is this still the same title as before? There was rarely any mention of Animal Man becoming a god or a cult leader. As I’ve said countless times before, what made Animal Man great at the very beginning was that he was just a regular guy with a family who just so happened to have superpowers. There wasn’t anything about destiny, gods, or anything like it. Regardless, Animal Man quickly gets out of prison thanks to one of Ellen’s friends from that lesbian group (in that Wild four-parter). I don’t think the US government would just allow a deadly flying revolutionary anti-humanist to be released quite so quickly, but whatever. With Buddy out, there is, admittedly, a nice scene where he is reunited with Maxine. Then everything becomes grim again. In the background, Annie is trying to hide her affair with Buddy away from Ellen, who is uncomfortable with her husband now twice her size and covered in fur. This all sounds very familiar. I think Delano may be doing some self-plagiarising with his Flesh and Blood story. Buddy morphs into a different, yet similar looking creature there, and Ellen’s reaction is nearly the same. Then, despite Maxine coming back and the family being reunited again, Buddy believes he must fight against the government. Typical with Vertigo titles, there’s always some belief in this secret government agency which controls everything and everyone, and there are people like Buddy and Annie (and Ellen’s forgettable city friends) who believe that it is their destiny and duty to begin the revolution and create a government with nature at its heart. Communism, Americans would shout shuddering! Regardless, Annie points out that they should use Maxine as the bait for their “new religion” and that she could be the angel that cultists across the globe follow. Your average American family. As the (continued)
weeks pass, Ellen decides that leaving her family (for the umpteenth time) is the way forward and she allows her daughter to be used in a crazy organised religion. In front of a live audience, Buddy is interviewed by a self-righteous TV presenter who has as much charm as a pair of wet socks. Most of the issue is focused on Buddy making those tired arguments about how he was chosen by the Red (while also completely failing to logically explain what it is). Overall, both us and the audience think it’s a train wreck… until Maxine opens her mouth and charms the audience by making the Red sound happy and hopeful. Just like that, everybody is smitten with the Red and masses of people dedicate themselves to the Baker cult. Absolutely barmy. It really doesn’t help that, unlike the Green from Moore’s Swamp Thing, the Red is actually very difficult to demystify because it has the problem of having no meaning. Delano writes it incredibly vague so when Buddy talks about it and what it means, it’s just an excuse for some wordy panels and pages that really have no purpose. Also, I get why the audience aren’t won over by a giant flying demon, but don’t ask how a ten-year-old girl can win them over in just a few sentences. Regardless, the next few issues really might as well be written in Latin. Animal Man’s small cult-following becomes the new Glastonbury, with huge crowds of emo teenagers watching metallic bands, waiting to meet Buddy, but more importantly to them, Maxine. These latter issues focus on Tod, a teenager who has pledged himself to Buddy’s cause. He doesn’t appear much; only to show the type of people who attend Buddy’s presidential-like rallies. The scenes with Tod and the others like him are absolutely cringeworthy. Delano attempts to give them all memorable characters and we learn about their backgrounds throughout. However, they’re just not interesting. I’m supposed to be reading Animal Man, not the adventures of some wannabe emo teens. Oh, and yeah, Ellen is suggested to be having an affair with a woman at the same time. Glossing over that (just like the story does), we are introduced to an anti-nature, hippie-hating, and communist-despising hunter, who prepares to go up to Vermont (where Buddy and his friends are) with a shotgun. So, your average American. Christ, this really is awful isn’t it. We’ve got another five or so issues to go, but the plot just gets less and less as it goes on. Really, these stories could be heavily condensed if Delano removes most of the
pointless side-characters, many of whom have little purpose. That said, there is one, and that is Dillinger. Yes, she has disguised herself as one of Buddy’s cultists. Instead of hiding that and using it as a revelation later in the story, Delano ruins it by revealing it to us now. That said, it's not exactly a huge loss. But that is the only noteworthy scene from Animal Man (vol 1) 75, as the rest is just simply dull overly edgy characters talking about sex, drugs, and death. Moving to Nebraska, Buddy is followed not only by the military, the crazed hunter, but also Dillinger. As ever with these latter issues, nothing really happens, apart from the hunter appearing just as Dillinger arrives and taking her prisoner. From there, using Dillinger as a hostage, the hunter confronts Buddy and his entire cult. Really, they should mob him. However, it’s revealed that Tod is actually the hunter’s son, and he is attempting to rescue him from Buddy’s cult. Everything then goes wrong when Tod refuses to leave and just as Buddy confronts the hunter, he fires at Cliff. Although Cliff’s injuries aren’t too bad, Animal Man deems the hunter an enemy of the Red. In that moment, the story could have benefited from Buddy actually ripping apart the hunter and violently killing him? Why would this have been better? Mainly because it would have made the story interesting, but also because it would have added to the drama of it as the cult begins to split into factions and the story takes a different direction, perhaps to some form of readability. But that is too much to ask. Buddy just reprimands the hunter and that ends that. Although Buddy himself is injured by the hunter in their fight, this proves to be nothing when Dillinger reveals herself. Before that however, Ellen returns to learn that her son has been shot and for once, she does what any normal parent would do and comforts him. Meanwhile, Buddy is having an inner monologue which proves to actually be interesting, but also sad. He remembers his time with Ellen and his family, and the times when everything was normal. And then, Animal Man arrived and with him the Red. Buddy’s life was turned upside down and his family has never the same again. This just makes me not emotional (since the real Bakers have been gone for a long time), but sad. Somewhere deep inside these pages, the same old Buddy Baker is there. So is Ellen, Cliff, and Maxine. What they once were is still in here somewhere, but it seems too far gone. Too distant. After his monologue, Buddy confronts Dillinger after she secretly fires a dart at him. He knows that she is spying on him and his cult for the government. But Buddy learns that he is too late as the dart Dillinger fired at him contains a mutated strain of rabies and will soon kill him. Buddy, knowing that his death is coming soon, doesn’t cower. He tells Dillinger that the Red cannot be stopped and it’s time for his final plan to commence. With Animal Man (vol 1) 79, we get the final issue of Delano’s run, and out of the whole lot, it’s the most memorable, mainly due to its insane ending. In Nebraska, while Buddy and his huge cult of followers await the time to complete their ultimate goal, Ellen speaks with Annie, and all is revealed. Not only does Ellen learn that Annie has been sleeping with Buddy, but she also learns that she is pregnant. Was I the only one who saw that coming? However, both of them seem to get on and be friends like nothing happened. This is just more evidence that Delano doesn’t know these characters. Not only would Ellen be angry, but Buddy wouldn’t even have the affair. He may think about it (as it did with Vixen in the Morrison run), but he would never do it. Regardless, at Buddy’s cult meeting, Maxine makes a speech, watched by all in the crowd including Ellen. Once again, it explores the Red and vaguely tries to explain its link to nature. Even Maxine herself doesn’t really understand it. Regardless, it gives us an excuse for all the side characters during the run to appear in the crowd and for us to ask the question: who are you? Finishing her speech, Maxine proclaims that her father is going to die, and his body will be fed to the Red. In a dramatic scene, Buddy flies down from the sky and gives himself to the animals. Tigers, lions, birds, bears, and dogs tear into Buddy’s body as he is consumed by the Red. Meanwhile, everyone else is casually having sex in the field. Yep, that is (continued)
where the story became even more ridiculous than it was. Although I have no clue what sacrificing himself to the Red will do, why does everyone around him have to be having sex? It just happens and there’s never any reason. I don’t even know why I’m trying to find answers for a story like this anyway. Regardless, Ellen stands in the field and heads home with Maxine, with Annie wondering if Buddy’s death has ended the conflict and that humanity is now welcomed back into the Red. I don’t see how this changes anything, as when the military arrive (yeah, remember them) surely, they’ll just find a load of naked people in a field and threaten to shoot them if they don’t leave. Either way, Ellen and Annie, both of whom aren’t really sad that Buddy is dead, decided to relax in a hot tub as if nothing happened. Compared to the previous review, this one was actually far easier to write and talk about. The only reason for that is that there is far less plot here than in previous stories. Delano could really have condensed this down massively. Although the story still would have been trash, as this is the worst of the lot, it wouldn’t have included all the unessential baggage. As I said though, this is undoubtedly the worst of the Delano run. At least in the other stories there was a form of understandable plot. Here, there is nothing to understand or enjoy. It’s just a tolerance challenge. How much grimness can you take for nine issues? Delano transforms the characters from something already bad and made them into something far worse. I will continue to say that Animal Man worked because he was a normal guy with kids who just so happened to have superpowers. It was nothing to do with the Red. This story is the prime example of how changing a character or set of characters into something that they shouldn’t be totally fails. There is nothing to enjoy here. Sure, you may get the one or two interesting scenes, but they are so rare and tiny when you compare them to the rest of the story. Other than that, there’s really nothing else to say. There’s really nothing enjoyable or entertaining about it. I’ve heard people say that Delano is trying to funny by making the story relentlessly grim. Perhaps if it was tongue-in-cheek, I would be able to see that, but that belief is just entirely illogical, just like the story and most of the run…
For the art, it’s the same old usual stuff. Everyone looks like Steve Pugh, and therefore, boring.
VERDICT
Overall, Animal Man: Red Plague is the worst that the Jamie Delano run has to offer. At least in previous issues, it made sense. Here, the finale doesn’t make sense, while the run remains to be humourless, tiresome, and dull. Judging the run as a whole, from Animal Man (vol 1) 51-79 and Annual 1, you could really consider this the cause of why Animal Man declined and transformed into something else entirely. Sure, the change is at its most prevalent here, but I don’t think it began here. Once Morrison left, Peter Milligan’s six-parter was something of an imitation of what came before. I think the beginning of the change came with Steve Veitch’s run. He introduced the M-Field, a precursor of sorts to the Red. He also introduced Uncle Dudley, one of the darker characters of the series. The whole attitude and tone of the run began to change there, and that allowed the Delano run to not feel out of place in the grand scheme of things. That being said, the Delano run is far worse than the Veitch run. The main reason for that isn’t that it’s humourless, unenjoyable, or uninteresting, but because it fundamentally shouldn’t be an Animal Man comic. Really, Delano should have created a new title with new characters, as the Buddy, Ellen, Cliff and Maxine aren’t the same characters we saw in the Morrison run, or even Veitch’s. Jamie Delano was perhaps the worst possible choice to write Animal Man. He’s great writing grim titles like Hellblazer, but the problem is that he transforms every title into it. That is the root of the problem. Animal Man shouldn’t be a grim title about animal gods, and cults. It shouldn’t be a Vertigo book at all. It should be about what it was created to be: a normal guy with a family who just so happens to have superpowers. In his spare-time, he’s a superhero. Of course, it doesn’t need to be totally innocent, but as Morrison showed, it needed to be creative and unique. Delano’s run wasn’t the cause of Animal Man’s decline, but merely a symptom of DC’s rejection of human-interest stories and obsession with making everything into a Vertigo story. Arguably, Animal Man is one of many titles like this is a reason why comic books begun to decline in the 1990s and continue to do so today…
Story: 0.5/10
Art: 2/10
Next Week: The End of the Justice League of America (Justice League of America (vol 1) 258-261). Written by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Luke McDonnell, Bob Smith, Bill Wray, Steve Montano, and Bob Lewis.
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