Most, if not all, comic runs by writers that last a long period of time tend to end on a large story, one which is a gamechanger, full of revelations and shocking events. Animal Man is not separated from this formula, but Morrison does do something different. Throughout the run, starting just a few issues after the first four-part story, Morrison has been laying hints for us. Characters we have seen before such as Mirror Master appear to be much bigger in the grand scheme of things and characters unknown to us such as the evil Lennox constantly weigh on our mind, making us think and theorise about what is really going on. While all of this could be linked to a supervillain organisation or a secret military/government plot to destroy the lives of Animal Man and his family, you’d be wrong to think that. In fact, the truth is far more abnormal and fantastically vintage than you could ever imagine…
In this review, I will be covering:
At Play in The Fields of The Lord/A New Science of Life --- Animal Man (vol 1) 18-19
The Last Enemy/Tooth and Claw --- Animal Man (vol 1) 20-21
Time in a Bottle/Crisis/Purification Day --- Animal Man (vol 1) 22-24
Monkey Puzzles/Deus Ex Machina --- Animal Man (vol 1) 25-26
Animal Man (vol 1) issues 18-26 were published from December 1989 to August 1990 on a monthly basis. As usual, all stories are written by Grant Morrison with art by numerous people, usually Chas Truog and Doug Hazlewood. However, it is worth noting that from issue 25 onwards, Chas Truog is inked by Mark Farmer and the duo stay with the title until issue 32 (the end of writer Peter Milligan’s run on the title). Lastly, I have read these stories in the Animal Man: Deus Ex Machina trade
paperback.
At Play in The Fields of The Lord/A New Science of Life --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Chas Truog and Doug Hazlewood
THE PLOT
In the future, Buddy’s friend, Roger, tries to speak to Buddy, who has experienced something tragic, but he doesn’t respond. Back in the present, while Buddy Baker speaks with James Highwater, Maxine tells her brother, Cliff, that James will take Buddy away forever. Meanwhile, James tells Buddy about the things that have been happening to him, involving Arkham Asylum and Psycho Pirate. Highwater then explains to Buddy that parts of his body have been vanishing occasionally and that he has just found a map, directing him to Arizona. After their talk, Buddy tells Ellen that he believes that the events happening to James are linked to the yellow aliens (issues 10-12). Buddy then decides to go with James, saying goodbye to Ellen, Cliff and Maxine for a seemingly short time. Later in Arizona, Buddy and James reach the top of a mountain, where they find some peyote buttons, a hallucinogen. Although at first the two of them are reluctant to try one of the peyote buttons, they later give in and the two of them digest the hallucinogens. Once Buddy and James sit down on the ground, they experience strange events involving planets in the sky. Buddy meets a talking fox, who is a messenger of sorts. The fox tells Animal Man that he is meant to be the protector of animals and not only that, but a second Crisis is on the way. After some time, Buddy leaves his hallucinogenic state, James is met by a giant eagle, which rains down blood upon him. Meanwhile, back at the Baker home, Ellen answers the door to find Lennox, grinning at her.
In a strange place, the writer of the story thinks about what should happen next to Animal Man and James Highwater and decides to show them the secret of the universe. Meanwhile in Arizona, Buddy and James notice that the sky has gone red. Then, Buddy suffers from another hallucination involving a giant whale, his family and superhero origin. Buddy then awakens from this part of the hallucination and appears in a white room, where he meets Animal Man from Earth-1 (from the original Strange Adventures stories). The silver age hero tells his modern day equivalent that the radiation that made him become a hero sterilised him, meaning that he couldn’t have children. The older Animal Man tells his younger version that both of their lives are being twisted by others and after the Earth-1 hero disappears, Buddy turns around and looks at us, the readers, telling us that he can see us. Back in the real world, Buddy is actually about to walk off the edge of a cliff, but luckily, James Highwater prevents this from happening and wakes him up. Later on, Buddy asks James if he believes in God and after a long conversation about beliefs, they notice that they are on an island and that another island is coming towards them. Shockingly, the island is actually a large whale, which eats the island and splits Buddy from James. In the real world, James is being taunted to jump off a mountain by the giant eagle, which succeeds as James does jump off and falls to his death. James then awakens in the real world, where he finds Buddy. After the two of them fully recover from their hallucinogenic adventures, buddy heads home and find the door wide open. He then enters his home to find Ellen, Cliff and Maxine dead…
MY THOUGHTS
This story, compared to the others that I am covering here, is by far the weakest, but that’s not to say that it is an awful tale. Starting with the positives, the greatest thing about this story is the hints of future events that are continuously presented, such as Lennox interacting with Buddy’s family, continuing the thrilling ongoing story of the run. In fact, every single scene in the story that doesn’t focus on James Highwater is very enjoyable and great to read, especially at the start, where we see Buddy say goodbye to his wife and children. Although first-time readers wouldn’t know their fate just yet, you can tell that something very bad is clearly going to happen soon and there is something about the writing and art that gives you that chilling impression. This leads brilliantly to the end of the story, where we see Buddy’s family dead. This ending is so incredibly tough, and it whacks you right in the face. The characters of Ellen, Maxine and Cliff have been shown to use since the very first issue and due to the fact that Morrison gives each and every one of them interesting characters, their deaths are very emotional and prove to be a great ending for the story.
However, my main problem with the story is just the main plot, which involves James Highwater, who has featured in the run since about the tenth issue. The character of Highwater is just a little dull and he doesn’t add much to the story in terms of character development. In the end of the story, he seems to only really feature just so Buddy isn’t present to prevent the deaths of his loved ones. Although I think this bit of storytelling works well, I think that it would have been a lot better if Highwater was given more of a character. But moving to the plot, to me, it just seems to be a thirty page hallucination, which is certainly creative and fun in some areas, such as Animal Man meeting his silver age self and Buddy noticing the readers, but most of the other parts of the hallucinations are just uninteresting or pointless. In fact, when the story ends, everything seems to be back to normal and the hallucinations only seem to point at the fact that there could be another Crisis. I feel like this tale could have been paced better instead of just making it one part long. This is because if it was just one part, we would lose a great ending to the first issue. I think that the second part of the story should have focused on the hallucination more, but that’s just me though. Overall, it isn’t a terrible story as it features some excellent moments and cliff-hangers, but it is certainly lacking and ultimately pointless in the grand scheme of things.
Like some of the scenes which feature in the story, the art by Truog and Hazlewood is definitely creative and it can look impressive, but it still has the same qualities it (continues after image)
usually has, meaning that it can look sketchy in some areas or even a bit bland. From previous issues, it is evident that the art team are very skilled at producing fight scenes and because of that, this story doesn’t really suit them.
Story: 7/10
Art: 7/10
The Last Enemy/Tooth and Claw --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Chas Truog and Doug Hazlewood
THE PLOT
After Buddy dreams about his wife, he wakes up to Roger trying to talk to him. A broken Buddy then reminds Roger and his wife that his family have been murdered. Roger then sends Buddy to bed, where he remembers his last words that he had with his wife and children, before crying again about it. Later on, neighbour Mrs Weidemeir tries to get Buddy to eat something, but instead, he breaks down into tears. Meanwhile, Lennox visits his employers to tell them that his job is complete. Although Lennox speaks about his fear that Buddy could seek revenge, the employer’s comfort him by presenting him with a reinforced robotic suit that he can wear, known as Bug Man. At the same time, in Arkham Asylum, Psycho Pirate screams about how the dead will rise and that a mysterious “they” are coming. Meanwhile, Mr Weidemeir speaks with Buddy about his experience with death by telling a semi-comedic story, which does seem to work. Days later, Buddy, the neighbours and numerous heroes attend the funerals of Ellen, Cliff and Maxine. After the ceremony, Buddy tells Martian Manhunter that he is taking time off from the JLI, which Martian Manhunter understands, leaving Buddy to wonder why his family were murdered. Sometime later, detectives visit Buddy’s home to find out how Buddy’s family were killed. One of the detectives tells Buddy that the murderer could have entered from the JLI teleporter system that is under Buddy’s home (even though Lennox could have just shot them when they opened the door for him). While Lennox tests out the Bug Man suit to protect himself against Animal Man, Buddy decides to try and kill himself by over-dosing on pills, but before he can, he gets a phone call from somebody, telling Buddy that he has some names that he might like to hear. Buddy listens to what the caller has to say.
Mirror Master (who phoned Buddy in the previous part) visits Buddy, who has badly cut his hair and now has a darker costume. After the Scottish villain teases the hero a bit, he tells Buddy that he was hired by Lennox and three mysterious corporates to fight with Animal Man at his home (the events of Animal Man (vol 1) 8). Instead of listening to Mirror Master, Buddy can smell Lennox and he works out that once Lennox appeared at the door, Ellen told him to leave, which he did. However, not long after, Lennox used the teleporter to appear in Buddy’s home, where he killed Ellen, Cliff and Maxine. Mirror Master then mentions that he tried to phone Buddy’s home to warn them about Lennox, but he was obviously too late. Animal Man then tells Mirror Master that he is going to kill Lennox and everybody else involved, resulting in the two of them leaving to begin their task. After Animal Man violently kills two of the corporates behind his family’s death, Lennox becomes worried, but his employers remain calm. Thanks to Mirror Master’s mirror dimensions, Animal Man and the villain end up in the secret headquarters of Lennox and his employers, where Animal Man prepares to kill the third and final corporate. However, he is stopped by Lennox, who is in his Bug Man armour. This doesn't stop Animal Man though as he violently kills the third and final employer of Lennox, leaving the hero to fight Lennox himself. After a long and painful duel, Animal Man defeats Lennox and brutally murders him. In the end, Animal Man tells Mirror Master that he has discovered a solution to everything… a time machine!
MY THOUGHTS
This story is when we start to reach the climax of Morrison’s run, and the story itself is flawless. In the first part, we see Buddy Baker deal with the death of Ellen, Maxine and Cliff, which is incredibly powerful and emotional. This gives us an insight, albeit a tragic one, into the life of a family man superhero who seems to have lost everything he cares about. We see Buddy’s neighbours trying to comfort him, such as Roger and the Wedemeier’s. These characters have appeared in previous stories, but not in massive or major ways, but here, we get to see their characters shine. I really don’t think that the scenes like this would have worked if it was other superheroes trying to comfort Buddy as his neighbours around him care about him as a person, delivering some fantastic scenes. The funeral in the story is also powerful and after some time, we see that Buddy thinks about suicide, something that would come across as unthinkable just five issues ago. In such a quick time, he has lost his family and he can’t take anymore of it. However, he is saved by Mirror Master of all people and throughout the second part of the story, Buddy violently murders the people who killed his family. This is fantastic writing by Morrison as we see a dramatic character change due to a diabolical event that happened to him. Due to this, Animal Man has no problem killing people now. The same applies to the injuries he sustains against Bug Man, which he does feel, presenting even more that as a character, he is no longer the happy superhero, but one that is based on tragedy and revenge. Animal Man knows that he has become a monster, but he doesn’t care. Apart from that, as usual, Mirror Master is fantastic as he adds a sense of comedy to what is most probably the
darkest Animal Man story in Morrison’s run and the greatest. Additionally, the featuring of Lennox’s fear is fantastic as it shows that under the gritty and evil murdering persona, he is just a coward who is afraid of death…
The direction of the art by Truog and Hazlewood here is that their best, meaning that nearly every scene conveys some form of emotion. The first part of the issue is drawn with the huge sense of sadness, but the second issue is drawn with dark revenge, showing brilliantly the noticeable change in Animal Man’s once respectable character. Plus, the death scenes are incredibly brutal and drawn excellently, really hammering down on us the huge change in Animal Man. Sure, the art can look a bit dull in some places, but this is probably the best we are ever going to see from Truog and Hazlewood…
Story: 10/10
Art: 8.5/10
Time in a Bottle/Crisis/Purification Day --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Paris Cullins, Steve Montano, Chas Truog and Doug Hazlewood
THE PLOT
Animal Man visits John Starr, also known as Time Commander, in order to get information about how to move through time, but Starr cannot help as his magic hourglass, which powers his time powers, has been broken. Animal Man then visits Rip Hunter and the Time Masters with JLI hero Booster Gold. Although the Time Commanders are sceptical about letting Animal Man have a time machine, the hero lies and tells them that the JLI need a time machine to fight the Lord of Time (a JLA villain) and Time Commander, who have formed an alliance. Animal Man then leaves with a time machine while Booster Gold questions what kind of superhero Animal Man has become. Meanwhile in Arkham Asylum, Psycho Pirate screams about the multiverse and about how people are returning. Suddenly, in a burst of anger, Psycho Pirate causes some comic books to appear in front of him, one of which is The Flash (vol 1) 123 (The Flash of Two Worlds). Meanwhile back at home, Animal Man uses the time machine and goes back to numerous times, where he sees himself, Ellen, Maxine
and Cliff, but he cannot speak to them. Animal Man tries to speak to Maxine but fails. He then tries to speak to Ellen but fails when he is dragged away by the presence of a Ouija board, which is being used by Cliff and his friends. Although Animal Man tries to leave a warning for his son, with the numerous 9 and 27, Cliff doesn’t understand it. Later on, the future Animal Man appears at the window to Ellen and himself from the past. Buddy from the past tries to speak to the ghost later in a rainy field about how he recognises him from when he was a child, but the future Animal Man disappears (as I’m sure you’ve worked out, all of these events occurred in Animal Man (vol 1) 14, but from the angle of Buddy and his family). The future Animal Man then appears in the past, where he sees himself riding a bike as a child. His younger self then falls off of his bike, causing his father to ask if he is alright, but he doesn’t notice Animal Man, making the hero sad that his own father cannot see him. Animal Man continues to travel throughout time for days as the time machine is now broken, but after some time, Buddy is met by the Phantom Stranger, who wants to help Buddy. Meanwhile, James Highwater is met by the yellow aliens and Psycho Pirate warns again that “they” are coming back, all while he is being surrounded by more comic books.
In Arkham Asylum, Psycho Pirate dresses in his costume while being surrounded by comic books and other items from the past. He leaves his cell and notices the ghosts of characters from the dead multiverse appear, such as Owlman. Witnessing this is Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, who wants Psycho Pirate to release him, but he declines. Psycho Pirate then heads around the corner to find characters erased from the multiverse due to the Crisis (on Infinite Earths) as ghosts, such as Ultraman, Power Ring, Johnny Quick, Detective Chimp and many more, all of whom are questioning why they have returned. Meanwhile, the yellow aliens bring James Highwater to Arkham Asylum, where they explain to James that inside, worlds are recreating themselves and that another Crisis is on track to occur. Somewhere else in another time, Animal Man speaks with Phantom Stranger, Jason Blood and Immortal Man. All three of the immortal beings try to give Buddy their perspective of life and death and how Buddy himself has value. Meanwhile at Arkham, Psycho Pirate screams at all of the ghosts from the multiverse as they remain confused about why they have returned. Back with Animal Man, Immortal Man manages to convince Animal Man about choosing between life and death and after he makes his choice, Animal Man vanishes, leaving the Phantom Stranger, Jason Blood and Immortal Man to their drinks. At the same time in Arkham, James and the yellow aliens witness characters such as Prince Raman suffer. Psycho Pirate then senses the arrival of another world, containing the insane villainous Overman, who carries a nuclear bomb. While this is going on, Ultraman and Power Ring accidently break out of the comic page. James and the yellow aliens begin to wonder where Animal Man is, but then, Animal Man arrives at the scene.
While the writer of the story explains the panel descriptions of the first page of the story, Animal Man, James and the erased characters notice the broken panel caused by Ultraman, which is a breach into the continuum. Although Psycho Pirate is frightened by what is going on around him, things get worse as Overman arrives with his giant doomsday bomb, with the words “Purification Day” written on it. Ultraman then fights Overman, with both villains using their superpowers. Bizarro then tries to join in with the fight, causing the erased people from the multiverse to read the comic books around them and notice that everything going on around them is from the comic books. Animal Man then leaps into the continuum breach, where he appears outside of the comic panels and tries to convince Overman to stop fighting, which fails as Overman rips Animal Man into the panel. Meanwhile, Psycho Pirate explains to James that the comic books are probably from Earth-Prime (the real world), giving James an idea on how to stop this Crisis. While Animal Man manages to defeat Overman by trapping him inside a comic panel, James explains to all of the erased people from the multiverse that they will live on through the comic books and that every time somebody reads a comic book, those characters that feature in them will live again. All of the characters from the multiverse then vanish and explode into different colours. This leaves Animal Man, James, Psycho Pirate and the yellow aliens with only one problem left, which is Overman’s bomb. Luckily though, Animal Man deactivates it by simply turning it off. In the end, Psycho Pirate fades from the continuity, saying that he doesn’t feel too sad about being erased from it. Animal Man then heads home with the yellow aliens, leaving James Highwater trapped in Psycho Pirate’s medusa mask in a cell as he has seemingly gone insane. Back at home, Animal Man dresses back in his regular orange and blue costume, but the yellow aliens vanish. Then, a voice cries out to Buddy, telling him that he has to be prepared for his last adventure. When Buddy looks out of the door, he appears to be in a white and foggy landscape.
MY THOUGHTS
Out of all of the stories in the run, this is probably the one that Morrison has wanted to write since day one. This is because it is clear by looking through his works that he is a fan of DC’s multiverse, which has ceased to exist at this point due to Crisis on Infinite Earths some years later. But before we get onto that part of the story, lets start with the first part, which features Animal Man watching his family in the past. This story parallels all of the scenes from Animal Man (vol 1) 14 brilliantly. Of course, the scenes from that earlier issue now make a lot more sense and it finally answers the questions that we once had. Due to that, this first part of the story is excellent as we see Animal Man try and speak to his family, but he can’t, adding more sadness and emotion to the story. Apart from these great scenes, the method of how Animal Man gets the time machine is excellent and it really goes to show that he will do anything to get his family back. However, most of the story is taken up the story featuring Psycho Pirate and the multiverse, which may be confusing to some, but I find it pretty comprehensible (with the exception of why James Highwater returns and has to be the one to save the day), even if it can be a bit too convoluted due to the insane amount of characters that feature. Starting with the villain, Psycho Pirate is very good (continues after image)
and entertainingly stupid. He screams constantly about another Crisis happening, but when it does happen, he just seems to be lost and confused. In fact, although he did cause characters from the multiverse to be revived, he isn’t really a villain here, but just a form of entertainment. All of the characters from the multiverse who return, such as Ultraman, Overman and numerous others are all incredibly interesting and the scenes that they feature in are pretty much a fan’s dream, especially if you are a huge fan of the multiverse like me. I know that they don’t really do much in the story, but not only is it a joy to see erased characters return, but It does cause for an interesting and creative message to be said by James Highwater, which is that although the characters from the multiverse are gone, they will always live when somebody reads a comic book that they are in. This is another instance of Morrison breaking the fourth wall, but not in a cringe sort of way that makes the dialogue unreadable, but instead, in a creative way that funnily enough adds a degree of realism in these strange super-heroic or villainous characters… I just don’t know why James Highwater has to be the hero in the end. While all that is going on, Animal Man meets with Phantom Stranger, Immortal Man and Jason Blood. While I think these scenes are a bit duller to what is going on at the same time, I think they serve for excellent character scenes featuring Animal Man. This is sort of the conclusion to his suicidal feelings as we see Animal Man choose between life and death. Obviously, he chooses life and as a sort of way to signify it, Morrison puts Animal Man back in his orange and blue costume of the end of the story, feeling reminding us that Buddy Baker is a pretty silly superhero. Also, in the story, we get the return of the yellow aliens, who are just as mysterious and strange as usual. Although to some their presence may seem a bit random, I think that it makes sense as in previous issues, we have seen that their only real interest in humanity is Animal Man. Due to that and the Crisis being caused by Psycho Pirate which will affect Animal Man and the multiverse, their reason for intervention is logical and it makes a lot of sense. Apart from all of that, this story is full of creative turns and choices, such as Overman and Animal Man fighting outside of the comic panels, which is not only creative, but so unique and different to anything else that had come before. Sure, in other comics and stories we would see characters breaking the fourth wall, but this is to the next degree, but not in such an interfering way that it ruins the story or makes it less popular among readers. Not only that, but the ending of the story perfectly sets us up for the conclusion to this brilliant ongoing storyline.
Like I said before, one of my main problems in the run is James Highwater and here, he doesn’t really do anything and when he does (such as sending all of the erased people from the multiverse home), he doesn’t feel deserving or that big of a character to be the saviour. Plus, I don’t know why he becomes insane in the end or wears Psycho Pirate’s mask, but it clearly hasn’t been a more popular move of the run as no other write since this story have used Highwater as Psycho Pirate.
Although the art isn’t as exciting or great as the previous issue, it does have its high points, most notably in the first issue, which is drawn by Cullins and Montano. Although they aren’t the most dynamic or cleanest artists in the world, their sense of storytelling is faithful to issue 14 of the run and the dramatic scenes look equally as great. The art in the second and third parts of the story is also good, if a bit bland at points, but it does maintain some of that creative edge that was cleverly placed in the previous story.
Story: 9.5/10
Art: 8/10
Monkey Puzzles/Deus Ex Machina --- Written by Grant Morrison with art by Chas Truog and Mark Farmer
THE PLOT
In a field, a monkey types the works of Shakespeare on a typewriter. Meanwhile, Animal Man leaves his home in the white land, saying goodbye to his cat and dog. After some time of walking around the barren and white wasteland, he meets Merryman, who welcomes Animal Man to Limbo. Merryman explains that the place they are in is called Comic Book Limbo as it is place that characters go when they aren’t being used by writers in comics. Animal Man was in Limbo some time ago, but like everyone else, they forget that they were once there. Merry Man then explains that he is a comic book artist in his secret identity, making all of this not too strange for him (somehow). Animal Man is then introduced to the other members of Merry Man’s team known as the Inferior Five, containing Awkward Man, The Blimp, Dumb Bunny, White Feather and of course, Merry Man. At the same time, the monkey from earlier finishes writing Animal Man (vol 1) 25, titled Monkey Puzzles, before
collapsing. Meanwhile, Awkward Man explains to Animal Man that the monkey is dying and that he needs help. Animal Man then walks around Limbo and notices other forgotten characters such as Ace, the Bat-Hound, Ultra, The Multi-Alien and numerous ill members of the Space Canine Patrol Agents. After some time, Merry Man finds the monkey, who is holding onto his final script of writing. Merry Man then tells Animal Man to take the monkey and the script to the City of Formation. Animal Man then leaves Merry Man and the rest of the forgotten characters. On his way to the City of Formation, Animal Man meets numerous characters such as the Red Bee and Mister Freeze and after a long time, Animal Man just ends up back at his home, where he finds the skeletons of his dog and cat, who have been dead for ages. The monkey has also been dead for a long time. Using some scissors, Animal Man cuts up a bit of the script into the shape of a key, which he uses on a door in his house. The door leads to a street in Scotland, where Animal Man knocks on a door. Animal Man is greeted at the door by the writer, Grant Morrison…
Once Morrison lets Animal Man in his house, he tells the hero that he is his writer and that he was the one who rescued Animal Man from the pits of obscurity. Morrison then gives Animal Man an example of how he controls him by typing out Animal Man’s lines onto his computer before he has even said them. This makes Animal Man angry and he picks up Morrison and throws him through a window, killing him. However, Morrison then comes back from the dead as he made Animal Man kill him as part of the script, meaning that he can make his revival part of the script. Morrison then shows Animal Man some issues of the Animal Man (vol 1) comic, showing that Animal Man is simply a fictional character. Along with him, Morrison writes the Doom Patrol (vol 2) comic book. Morrison then explains to Animal Man that he wrote the death of his family into the comic to add drama and entertainment for the readers, making Animal Man angry as he isn’t treated fairly. Morrison then explains that one of his cats, named Jarmara, died last year due to a lung infection, making it hard for her to breathe. Morrison explains that the real world is a lot more threatening than Animal Man’s and the rest of the superheroes. Animal Man and Morrison then head out into the miserable countryside of Scotland, where Morrison makes a random group of new superheroes appear and then kills them by causing their bodies to explode. This causes Animal Man to become angry again and he and Morrison argue about how the life choices made by Animal Man such as becoming a vegetarian was influenced and written by Morrison. The writer then explains that this story will be his last for the Animal Man (vol 1) title and that another writer will come along afterwards and make whatever changes they see fit. Once Animal Man asks for his family back, Morrison decides that it is time for a fight scene. Using his writing powers, Morrison spawns in two new villains known as the Shark and Slaughterhouse. While Animal Man fights the two villains, Morrison decides to thank numerous people who have helped him on the title, such as Karen Berger (the editor), Chas Truog (penciller), Doug Hazlewood (inker), Tom Grummett, Paris Cullins, Steve Montano, Mark Farmer and Mark McKenna (other pencillers and inkers), Brian Bolland (cover artist), Tatjana Wood (colourist), John Costanza (letterer) and numerous people from the letters pages). During this time, Animal Man has defeated the two villains, but is bleeding and dying. Morrison then ends by telling readers that care about animal rights to join PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Morrison then notices that Animal Man is dead, but instantly revives him as he is a comic book character. Before disappearing, Morrison tells Animal Man that his pain and suffering is for the entertainment of readers and that it is time for Buddy to go home. Once Morrison disappears, Animal man appears back home, where he finds his cat is back alive. He then hears a knock at the door and answers it, finding Ellen, Cliff, Maxine and the dog alive and well. Animal Man doesn’t tell his wife about what happened, but a tear of happiness appears in his eye. Morrison writes the last panel about Buddy beginning to cry and then remembers his dead cat. Morrison then goes for a walk at night and thinks about an imaginary friend he used to have, who was a talking fox. After thinking about his imaginary friend, Morrison goes home.
MY THOUGHTS
So, here we go, the last story of Morrison’s run and it doesn’t disappoint. Starting with the first part, similarly to what we saw in the previous story, we see Morrison’s deep love for the multiverse. Staring off in the story, we see Animal Man meet the Inferior Five, a group of obscure silly and jokey superheroes. We then move on through the story and see loads of other characters such as the Space Canine Patrol Agents, Ultra the Multi-Alien, Red Bee and even the Joker’s Jokermobile from years ago. This adds so many fun and enjoyable moments to the story, particularly after witnessing the events of the previous tale, where numerous characters from the multiverse were brought back to life. Animal Man is then introduced to the monkey, another aspect of fun for the story and after a long time, the monkey dies and instead of Animal Man getting to this City of Formation, he just ends up back home. While some could argue that this story doesn’t add anything, I entirely disagree as it shows the uniquely strange aspects of the run come to a close and not only that, but the story is an incredibly entertaining read. This is the journey that Animal Man has to go on to get his family back and although it is a silly one at this stage, he doesn’t find it funny at all, which I think is a good character choice taken by Morrison, otherwise, scenes featuring the Red Bee and the Inferior Five would have come across as joke-worthy, but Morrison manages to write them in such a skilled way, making them more serious to us, yet silly at the same time. However, things really get weird when at the end of the first part, Animal Man meets the writer himself, Grant Morrison, which leads into a great story involving Morrison as the main character. This inclusion of the writer is the pinnacle of breaking the fourth wall, but in context of everything that happens in the twenty-six issues of Morrison’s run, it is a genius move. We get some genuinely interesting dialogue scenes and we learn the harsh inhumane concept of comic books, which is to be entertained by readers. Due to this, we get a great constructive argument between Animal Man and Grant Morrison, with the hero speaking about how his life has been ruined, just to entertain readers, while Morrison, explains that
basically, Animal Man and every other superhero is just a toy to be played with. This is Animal Man’s life that Morrison is playing with, but he doesn’t care as it is entertainment. This is certainly a first for something like this as we have never really seen such a realistic perception of comic books and their characters on the real world, but in a fictional comic, meaning that everyone who appears in comics are sort of like mice waiting to be tested on with some new drug (perhaps not the most appropriate metaphor to use for Animal Man). Then, after some great dialogue scenes while Animal Man fights some strange new villains, Morrison thanks everybody who has worked on the work or have made into something of value. This is a fantastic scene as it really shows that Morrison cares about everyone who works on a comic, even including the letterer and some readers, something which most comics didn’t even think about making a big fuss of. After that very enjoyable scene, Morrison sends Buddy home and pretty much reverses what he did to the hero, meaning that his family is back. The great thing about this story which none other can get away with is the fact that this story is a comic book and by the end, it explicitly states that it is. This means that it can pretty much just break the laws of reality, explaining why Morrison can simply bring back Animal Man’s family by just typing some sentences on his computer. Apart from that, Morrison’s story about his dead cat really adds a sense of human sadness and realistic emotion to combat against Animal Man’s sadness, which has been fabricated by Morrison himself. But overall, for the last story of this run, it is excellent and flawless for too many reasons. The unexpected turn of events, throughout all of the story, feel so exciting, dramatic and great and along with the excellent content in the story, this is was the greatest way that you could end this fantastic run.
Instead of inks by Hazlewood, we get Mark Farmer over Chas Truog, which I think is a genuine improvement in terms of the art. It actually seems to add a lot more detail to the characters and story, making the art a lot more interesting to look at. Although some of the textures used can be a bit strange or off-putting, I wish that Farmer would have been the regular inker on the title earlier, but it wasn’t the case.
Story: 10/10
Art: 8.5/10
VERDICT
Overall, Animal Man: Deus Ex Machina is a brilliant conclusion to what I think is a brilliant run. Although the story featuring James Highwater is undoubtedly the weakest of these stories, it isn’t below average, and the rest of the stories are pretty much flawless. Morrison creatively and uniquely ends his twenty-six-issue stint of Animal Man (vol 1) by using some of the most extraordinary and enjoyable ideas ever, such as the multiverse and taking advantage of breaking the fourth wall. This part of the run also seems to be a highpoint for the artwork, where artists such as Chas Truog, Doug Hazlewood and Mark Farmer shine. But looking at the run overall, Animal Man by Grant Morrison is a historic and a noticeable landmark in comic book history. As there is no point repeating what my thoughts are on this run as you can read this review and the two before it, to me, it is one of the best comic runs ever produced and there is nearly nothing that can beat it…
Stories: 9.5/10
Art: 8/10
Highlighted Character: Grant Morrison
Next Review: Deadman By Mike Baron and Kelley Jones: Action Comics (stories from Action Comics (vol 1) 618-621, 623-626. Written by Mike Baron with art by Kelley Jones, Tony DeZuniga, Pablo Marcos and Vince Giarrano. Expected to be published by 29/09/2019.
Comments