Animal Man (Animal Man, Book 1)

CODA: DC has done the unthinkable and, after nearly twenty years, decided to release the other two books in the series as "Origin of the Species" and "Deus ex Machina." Go buy them NOW.

To try to explain the entire storyline in just a few paragraphs would be woefully inadequate, but I will say that, while ANIMAL MAN could be defined as Grant Morrison voicing his opinions on animal rights, it is so much more than that:

First, its a study of how the world of comics interacts with (our) reality - almost mind-bendingly so. Morrison drops hints from the beginning of his run that our perceptions of "reality" in the DC Universe will be challenged with these stories. It takes over 20 issues to make his final point, but brother is it worth it. From the Looney-Tunes-ish antics of "The Coyote Gospel" to the revelations of the villain Psycho-Pirate (the only character who remembers the DCU before the Crisis), this is some very creative work.

Second, these stories are a tribute to the pre-Crisis DC Universe. Its putting it mildly that Grant Morrison misses the timelines and characters eliminated by the Crisis, and in ANIMAL MAN, he does what he can to make sure that we dont forget the richness and fun of the Golden and Silver Ages. His final 3 or so issues made me feel even MORE ashamed that the Crisis ever happened. I will say this, however: if the Crisis created the fertile ground for stories like this, then Ill accept it. Its a case of being thankful for the good and the bad.

Brian Bolland provides excellent covers for the series. I always felt it was a shame that he couldnt do the interiors as well. The work of Chas Truog, regular series artist, is lacking. The few issues with guest artists were welcome breaks from Truogs visually boring style. Dont let that hold you back, however, as his art does improve somewhat over time, and the story more than makes up for it.