The Animal Man Omnibus

As a major metafiction nerd, I love Grant Morrison's writing, and here is where his DC tenure began - and possibly his most audacious work for the company... and this is the man who brought back Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. The issues here are a bit disjointed, but in an incredibly revealing way.The first four issues are a run commissioned by DC to find new talent from indy comics writers in the UK after the success of Watchmen. The result was a well received story that took two forgotten animal based superheroes from the 60s to create a great self contained story that rebuilt Animal Man as crusader for animal rights, who protects those creatures who he draws his powers from. This with a charming domestic angle that continues through out the run, the slow burn reveal of the would-be villain who is no longer the obscure figure he likely was in 1988, and the ending that is straight out of the EC Comics horror tradition... well Morrison is just getting warmed up.The run was a success and it continued with #5 The Coyote Gospel - one of the best single issue of any comic ever. No fooling, this issue is not only a blueprint for the rest of Morrision's Animal Man run, it is basically a microcosm of his voice and style. The gritty and the cartoonish, the narrative and the metanarrative, the old way and the new. Part Duck Amuck, part religious text - all 100% Grant Morrision.At it's center is Crafty - both pitiful and tragic, but beautiful as well. If a Wile E. Coyote come Jesus figure is ever going to make you cry, its going to be with Buddy's heartbreaking few words to the desperate creature at the revelation of his Gospel.If there is ever a religion based on comic books, The Coyote Gospel will surely be in its bible.The next two issues, are... well odd turns but telling of the comics business. They are basically two more self contained stories that barely contain Buddy, hardly intersect with him at all, and don't really belong with the rest of the book. This is summed up by Morrison in the intro pretty well - company wide crossover, waddagonnado? Invasion is one of those DC events on my list to get to, but there are a lot of pages to get through before I get to that. As stand-alone stories they are interesting, but I'm not really too familiar with the Thanagarians, so I think a lot of that issue was lost on me.The remaining issues morph from a crusade for employment, respectability, domestic stability, and animal rights into a deconstruction of narratives, comics, superheros of old and new, continuity, multiverses, and the nature of reality. The remainder of this ride is best discovered in the reading.The book itself is bound well, the colors pop off the white pages, which are strong without being too thick. I had no trouble reading these stories for the first time, and in fact I feel the single volume helped propel the story and themes better than if I had read it broken up in volumes or issues.TL;DR: Put it on your coffee table and gain serious comic book cred. Pick it up and read it to have mind repeatedly blown.

This was FANTASTIC! One of the best Grant Morrison books I've read in a long time. Usually Morrison can get very confusing at times, but this one is written clearly. You can also see all the influences other comic books had after this one was finished, especially with the entire fourth wall concept. I found it funny how the character in the book viewed us as the reader calling us "perverts" sometimes. If you like the fourth wall concept, this one is one of the good ones. Many comics try to attempt it, but it not as well done and kind of just a copy of this book. The only other comic book that came close and succeeded using the fourth wall that I've read before was Alan Moore's book Promethea. That comic made you feel like Promethea actually existed.I first came to admire Animal Man in the series 52 DC comics did a few years back (not to be confused with the New 52's Animal Man which I have yet to read). I always seem to like his character though. I liked the fact he was a family man and just an all-around good person. Most comics in the late 80s and early 90s just get too weird and always seem to have an emo type of character. I was surprised to see Animal Man is a happily married man with two kids and a couple of pets. It even includes some family friends and neighbors. The artwork worked for the everyman type of comic too. It's nothing that special, but it simple and well detailed at times.The one thing that stands out with this comic book among other is there isn't one issue that I didn't like. Many single issues stand out the most like Issues 5, 7, 6, 15, 19, and 26. Those are just fantastic reads and really show the power of Grant Morrison's writing. The entire comic you need to read from start to finish to get the point of it, but as I said before no issue that will leave you disappointed.Whom would I recommend this too? Anyone who read comic books and wants to read a superhero comic that is just pure fun without all the sappy melodrama. The people who might enjoy this the best though are fans of Animal Man (obviously), people who want to read Morrison's first successful comic book, people who like animals, people who like the fourth wall and metafictional books, and mostly (as I said previously) people who just want a fun comic book to read.

I really enjoy this text. I know it may not be for everyone, but I love it.Spoilers:I'll try not to ruin anything for any of you that haven't read it, but it is amazing to me the way this story consistently strays from the standard comic series. It begins with a little bend to the fourth wall by showing the viewer a glimpse into the family life of the hero, and showing some of the employee benefits of joining a group of super-heroes rather than being on one's own. The character has purpose and depth throughout and changes/evolves a little with each issue. The real part that I cannot rave enough about though is everything leading up to the ending. This book takes a look not only at itself, but analyzes the entire form of writing that is comics. It examines characters past, and the reader while they read it. I have not ever found a better example of meta-fiction, and I really enjoy it. I can, however, see how this would be off putting to someone who just wanted to sit down and read a comic type story. If you just want a standard comic that you can thumb through to relax without putting much thought into it while reading, this is not a good book for that. Additionally I have heard people complain that the animal rights issues discussed in the beginning are right on the borderline of preachy, so if you don't think you'll like that, you might want to wait on this one. If you want something that's going to make you think/bend your mind a little, and might make you examine the format, I highly recommend this book. Please, after you enjoy it, tell your friends about it...more people should know about this work.

The monkey is dying

Ansioso para ler!!!

Morrison has crafted Animal Man into a peculiar journey that proves to be a captivating and worthwhile experience. With an oxymoron of title and one of the most rare sights in comics (morrison with hair) Animal man is worth the read and undoubtedly excellent.

Grant Morrison, ancora giovanissimo e non ancora pienamente affermato al pubblico (la consacrazione definitiva nel Comicdom avverrà con il quasi parallelo Arkham Asylum), partorisce dalla propria mente un ciclo narrativo geniale, pregno degli elementi che caratterizzeranno il proprio stile fumettistico. È una run fresca, moderna e brillante sotto tutti i punti di vista, in particolar modo se si pensa al che fatto che è stata pubblicata verso la fine degli anni 80.Gli elementi morrisoniani all'interno dell'opera sono evidenti; la meravigliosa metanarrazione con cui l'autore si diverte ad intrecciare l'intera trama dei 26 volumi, la continua ed innovativa (specialmente in un'epoca dove regnava il realismo assoluto in stile Moore) rottura della quarta parete, plot twist singolari e bizzarri disseminati nelle vicende da piccoli indizi premonitori inseriti con una precisione chirurgica. Non c’è solo grandissima abilità narrativa, ma anche un citazionismo intelligente, come i riferimenti fortissimi pre-Crisis (di cui Morrison ricordo essere uno dei massimi esperti, a livello di continuity), alla stessa Crisis On Infinite Earths, e le atmosfere sci-fi e weird à la Silver Age (amatissima dallo scrittore). Il tutto condito con una esplicita etica animalista/ambientalista, feroce nei confronti di un uomo che sembra avere perso totalmente il controllo del suo pianeta ospitante, forse più attuale che mai in questi anni rispetto a 35 anni fa. Di conseguenza, Buddy Baker diventa un araldo portatore delle opinioni personali dello scrittore, che unisce in maniera matura un contesto supereroistico con temi di attualità di una certa importanza.Oltre a quanto elencato, è importante anche notare il distaccamento da parte di Morrison rispetto al Revisionismo tanto in voga alla fine degli anni 80 (e che perdurerà anche negli anni 90). L'autore attua sì una forma di decostruzionismo supereroistico, ma secondo la sua visione fortemente autoriale, visione che poi sarà uno dei punti cardine del proprio e cosiddetto Morrison-pensiero: secondo Grant il fumetto come medium non dovrebbe essere espressione del realismo assoluto, quindi carico di atmosfere cupe, oscure, violenza gratuita e negatività, bensì dovrebbe inneggiare alla meraviglia, allo stupore ed alla magia che solo i comics possono offrire nel mondo della nona arte. A tal proposito, è evidente già in queste pagine antesignane la valorizzazione del Sense Of Wonder rispetto al contrapposto Grim and Gritty dell’epoca, e questo ciclo di Animal Man lo dimostra pienamente in anticipo rispetto ad altre sue opere future come, ad esempio, Flex Mentallo: After The Fact o il capolavoro assoluto All-Star Superman.Fanboyate a parte, è un'opera meravigliosa, che mi sento di consigliare a tutti e non solo ai fan hardcore dello scrittore scozzese. Il comparto artistico non è memorabile, le tavole di Chaz Truog, così come quelle dei suoi collaboratori (ad eccezione del sempre grandioso Brian Bolland alle copertine), si lasciano guardare ma non lasciano il segno. Nonostante questo piccolo difettuccio, con lo scorrere delle pagine ci si affeziona in realtà anche ai disegni e soprattutto alla narrazione, che numero dopo numero crea dipendenza e tiene incollato il lettore alle pagine.Infine, qualche considerazione personale circa l'edizione in oggetto: è meravigliosa. Robusta, solida e spettacolare a vedersi, è anche estremamente più maneggevole delle classiche bombe da 1400 pagine. Semplicemente fantastica.Un'opera consigliata vivamente a tutti, specialmente in questo gioiello di omnibus.

Leuke omnibus een beetje "old school" tekenstijl.