Doug HazlewoodBesprekingen

Slowly becoming my favorite team of superheroes/villains(?)

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After being kinda disappointed with Batman: Gothic, I went through my recent spending frenzy on Comixology and pulled out the first collection of Animal Man, and it didn't disappoint. There's this really weird feeling to 80s and 90s superhero stuff that I can't quite articulate -- like people were butting up against the limitations of "a superhero comic" as it existed and still pushing -- and Animal Man has that in spades. Usually I find it kind of dull, but here it's fascinating. Morrison takes what could have been a pretty dull premise and mines it for the really good stuff deep down, which is why I enjoy him. Highly recommended.

Animal Man is the story of a superhero from a long time ago that Grant Morrison was compelled to bring out of retirement and make him relevant again. Animal Man actually looks himself up in the library superhero encyclopedia and sees the sentence "Presumed retired".

And this means two things - 1. These comics were published before Google (the late 80's) and 2. Grant Morrison's great sense of tongue-in-cheek humor.

I had picked up one of the Animal Man comics while Morrison was writing it but I didn't really understand it or care for it so I never purchased any more of them. It's only been lately that I've thought that I need to re-visit Animal Man and read the entire 26 issue series.

It started off a little rough for me, but by the time I got to the end of this TPB, I was thinking "No, it ends on a cliffhanger ! No, don't do this to me! Aaaah!" Thankfully, it looks like I'll be able to get all of the issues at the library. Whew.

So at first, Animal Man is finding his voice, his mission, his passion. It turns out to be - well - animals. Animals as in animal rights. He rescues lab animals. There isn't much background to him in these stories - apparently, a space ship blew up in his face and he can pick up the special powers of the animals around him, but amplified. And he can fly. And he also puts on a jacket over his spandex suit - after all, he was just a little too spandexy (or something to that effect, when his wife mentions it.)

He's married. Two kids. He really wants in to the Justice League. Finally, his membership card appears in the mail. We also learn that if his house undergoes damage from aliens or super villains, the Justice League will take care of repairs within 48 hours. Good deal. (Here we see Grant Morrison's sense of humor which permeates this comic.)

Except - there's a problem that might prevent him from becoming a Justice League member. And that's where issue #9 ends. Sigh.

It's not all fun and games - there's some serious issues going on here. I'm glad it got better for me, glad I read it.

Very well written and entertaining book, though there is one thing about the McGuffin that caught my attention, but which nobody brought up.

[spoiler]So, the McGuffin is a Get-out-of-Hell Free Card. Literally. So, you've gotten out of Hell. That doesn't mean they'll let you into Heaven. If you have a Catholic view of the afterlife, then you may still be okay, as you get to do time in Purgatory until you have balanced the proverbial scales. However, if you're taking a Protestant, Purgatory-free view of the afterlife, then you're boned, because that means if you're lucky your soul will be forced to wander the earth for all eternity until something disperses it. If you're unlucky, your soul will be dispersed into the void.

Worse, if any of the villains going after this card have loved ones, if their loved ones are also in The Business, there's a distinct chance that their loved one is going to Hell too. This means that they will also be separated for all eternity. Even if one goes to Heaven and the other goes to Hell, I'd say it's a safe bet that Heaven wouldn't be that fun if you don't have your main squeeze murderous thug to share it with. And that doesn't even get into kids.

Honestly, the only two DC Villains who I could say would really benefit from this card, off the top of my head, would be Cheshire (because of Arsenal and Lian) or Cluemaster (because of Stephanie Brown).[/spoiler]

Ok! So I'm a Morrison fanboi! But this early stuff was genuinely exciting compared to other comics. Not sure how I managed reading this without becoming vegetarian at the time (oh yeah, my Mum wouldn't allow it... :/ ).
Oddly having flashforwards to the Psycho Pirate bits though (probably the current nDCU soft reboot.)

Really fun early series by Grant Morrison. Some of the episodes were more interesting than others (The Death of the Red Mask, and of course The Coyote Gospel). What I like most about this comic is Morrison's playful use of self-reflexivity, which I have read gets more and more theoretical (and supposedly abstruse) in later work.

Really fun early series by Grant Morrison. Some of the episodes were more interesting than others (The Death of the Red Mask, and of course The Coyote Gospel). What I like most about this comic is Morrison's playful use of self-reflexivity, which I have read gets more and more theoretical (and supposedly abstruse) in later work.

Algunas de las historias un poco flojas, pero me ha caído simpático Animal Man y su estilo de vida, intentando compaginar la vida familiar con su vuelta a ser un héroe.

This was a little bit off. I don't think Helena would let Barbara get sooo wrapped up in herself. I think she would try and keep Barbara more centered, the way that Black Canary used to. I liked getting background on Zinda but I didn't like how she just came out of Sharkman Jr's hypnosis drug. It just felt way too easy, particularly since this is something that has been known to work on Zinda before. I also felt like Helena acted kind of fraidy cat on the mission.

This was a very full trade paperback. An old friend was resurrected from the dead. A an old enemy was kicked to the curb and Barbara has a new ward. I love Birds of Prey because it has tons of fantastic, strong, human female superheroes.

This was a little bit off. I don't think Helena would let Barbara get sooo wrapped up in herself. I think she would try and keep Barbara more centered, the way that Black Canary used to. I liked getting background on Zinda but I didn't like how she just came out of Sharkman Jr's hypnosis drug. It just felt way too easy, particularly since this is something that has been known to work on Zinda before. I also felt like Helena acted kind of fraidy cat on the mission.

This was a very full trade paperback. An old friend was resurrected from the dead. A an old enemy was kicked to the curb and Barbara has a new ward. I love Birds of Prey because it has tons of fantastic, strong, human female superheroes.

This was a little bit off. I don't think Helena would let Barbara get sooo wrapped up in herself. I think she would try and keep Barbara more centered, the way that Black Canary used to. I liked getting background on Zinda but I didn't like how she just came out of Sharkman Jr's hypnosis drug. It just felt way too easy, particularly since this is something that has been known to work on Zinda before. I also felt like Helena acted kind of fraidy cat on the mission.

This was a very full trade paperback. An old friend was resurrected from the dead. A an old enemy was kicked to the curb and Barbara has a new ward. I love Birds of Prey because it has tons of fantastic, strong, human female superheroes.

This was a little bit off. I don't think Helena would let Barbara get sooo wrapped up in herself. I think she would try and keep Barbara more centered, the way that Black Canary used to. I liked getting background on Zinda but I didn't like how she just came out of Sharkman Jr's hypnosis drug. It just felt way too easy, particularly since this is something that has been known to work on Zinda before. I also felt like Helena acted kind of fraidy cat on the mission.

This was a very full trade paperback. An old friend was resurrected from the dead. A an old enemy was kicked to the curb and Barbara has a new ward. I love Birds of Prey because it has tons of fantastic, strong, human female superheroes.

Issue 5: The Coyote Gospel was a 5 star issue. A little out of the blue and unexpected.
There are some lingering threads along the way but I suppose everything will be resolved by the end. I had a little problem with the Invasion tie-in and Buddy's powers going bonkers somewhere outside the book but I can't say I was interested in reading about the inter-planetary conflict just for that.

I love New 52 Animal Man, so I thought I would give Grant Morrison's run a try. As usual, his story is a little confusing and out there, but it works well with a character like Animal Man. I am really interested to see where this line goes. There are a few panels that I find really interesting like one where someone's blood is originally opaque and a brush comes in to paint it red, as well as some other quirky things like that. I like the complexity of a character that seems so simple, and especially with a character that would seem like one that would be family friendly but it's not so much. The man who changes into animals is more of a mature reader's read, but it's not to the point where I would consider it highly adult content, more like the New 52 version which is wild.½

There's a new writer on Birds of Prey again, and this time it's Sean McKeever, known to you and me as the writer of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood are still there on art, in their fourth volume, which makes this the most consistent Birds of Prey art team to date. Bravo! Also they still rock.

Metropolis or Dust never quite clicked for me-- it certainly doesn't rise to the heights of Mary Jane, though of course McKeever's doing nothing like that book here. There are two main plots: Oracle, Misfit, and Black Alice investigating a magical weapons ring, while Lady Blackhawk and the Huntress look into someone from Lady Blackhawk's past.

The former of these is... not great, with an out-of-character Superman, not to mention the constant bickering between Misfit and Black Alice, which is not at all interesting. I've seen a decent amount of fan venom addressed toward Misfit on-line, but I like here... except in this book. Which is odd, because McKeever is actually really good at writing teen characters normally. The vague conspiracy and villains didn't really light the imagination much.

The other one has a lot of good moments-- Lady Blackhawk attacking a volcano is great, and the underwater scenes are gorgeous and spooky-- but overall it's kinda meh. Are we still doing this Unwilling Bride of Evil thing in the 21st century?

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Dead of Winter picks up pretty close to the end of Blood and Circuits: the Spy Smasher has seized control of the Birds of Prey, sending them on a mission into Russia to track down a dangerous weapon, where they come into conflict with the Secret Six, who I guess are a supervillain/mercenary team that Gail Simone has also written for.

There's a lot of running around and fighting; it's a shame that Simone wasn't able to go out with something more character-focused, though Dead of Winter certainly has its moments. I loved the interplay between the Huntress and Catman, Harley Quinn was hilarious, I am starting to like Manhunter (and looking forward to reading her solo series someday), Creote is in it, and the bit where Deadshot shoots the villain was great. There are some confusing continuity touches, though: Ice, of old Justice League International fame, appears, but not in a way that's really clear to new readers. Or even this old one who hasn't read any JLI-era stuff in nearly a decade. Though bringing in other heroes is nice in theory, I think we have more than is needed here; the Birds seem to work pretty well with three or four.

The highlight is definitely the ending, where Oracle finally takes on the Spy Smasher, and we see what really makes her stronger (hint: it's not being stronger). Dinah puts in a final appearance, which is great, and then there's one, final page that sums up everything that's great about Barbara.

For the first time in so many Birds of Prey books I can't even remember it (six, actually), Dead of Winter is illustrated all the way through by one artistic team, Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood. The consistency is nice, of course, but what's even better is that Scott and Hazlewood are good. Their heroes (male and female alike) are attractive without falling into male gaze-type territory, and the artwork is nice and clean without being too cartoon-ish on one hand, or too "realistic" on the other. Good faces, especially. I don't like the way they draw Oracle's glasses, but if that's not nitpicking, I don't know what is.

This is the last (for now) Gail Simone volume, and though it's not as good as some (The Battle Within and Perfect Pitch are probably the apex of her run to me), it's a good way to go out. I look forward to seeing what happens next, especially if Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood are going to stick around.

Birds of Prey: « Previous in sequence | Next in sequence »

The obvious highlight of this volume is "The Coyote Gospel," but it also does a great job of giving hints about what is yet to come in the next two volumes. The majority of the book is kind of goofy, with ridiculous characters and a very preachy "save the animals" message, but it's an intentional (and very necessary) part of Morrison's overarching story.