Tensions Run High

Animal Man #2

Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Chas Truog
Inker: Doug Hazlewood
Colorist: Tatyana Wood
Letterer: John Costanza
Published by Vertigo Comics, 1988.

The Characters:

The Good: Animal Man, Sheba, Ellen, Maxine
The Bad: Cockroach Man, Rat Man, The Beast, Hunters
The Undecided: Dr. Myers

Life in the Concrete Jungle

The last issue left off with some crazy stuff going on at the research lab in San Diego, and that’s exactly where we pick up in this installment.  Apparently, the break-in at the lab was perpetrated by a giant Cockroach Man, and somehow during the infiltration, a group of monkeys was mutated.  Dr. Myers, head of the lab, claimed they were working on an AIDS vaccine, but I am pretty sure no vaccine would have caused the monstrosity of the monkeys to be formed.  Taking on the olfactory powers of a dog, Animal Man heads off on the trail of Mr. Cockroach.

In the meantime, we flashback to the home town of Buddy to see a group of hunters and a foreshadowing of some terrible behavior. Sure, shooting a dear in the wood is just a typical day for a hunting expedition, but the attitudes in the dialog and the evil depicted on the face of one of the hunters lead me to think only bad will come of this.

Jumping back to Animal Man, he’s getting discouraged. He’s been unable to find the Cockroach Man and bystanders that want his autograph mistakenly think he’s Aquaman – that’s a pretty low blow. And speaking of low, at the bottom of his despair, Buddy receives a visit from Superman who picks up his spirits so that our hero can get back to saving the day.

But as he begins the hunt again, he is confronted with a Rat Man who packs a serious punch. He throwS Buddy around like he’s a baseball, and Animal Man has to reach out to grab the powers of a Preying Mantis. And just at the height of the fight, we flashback to Buddy’s home.

Maxine, Buddy’s daughter, finds a kitten, and his wife Ellen finds the dear the hunters shot, and this doesn’t bode well. As I mentioned, the hunters look creepy, and the lustful gazes they shoot Ellen’s way only emphasize that.

So while Buddy is getting his ass kicked by Rat Man, the emotional center of the story actually shifts to Ellen and their daughter because the tension and threat factor is through the roof with them. I mean, sure, Buddy is fighting for his life, but the family is clearly vulnerable to the lecherous hunters.

In any case, with tensions high back home, we jump back to Animal Man in his fight against the Rat. This is a pretty intense battle and probably the most edge-of-your-seat slugfest I’ve seen in this series. Both sides seemingly get in knockout blows, but the fight goes on. The fast pace of the engagement is highlighted by the panels and the fact that some of the action bleeds outside the lines into the gutters.

Things start looking good for our hero, but then they don’t, and we leave the issue with Animal Man lying in a pool of his own blood, and things look pretty dire.

Verdict

This is definitely an emotional issue with a lot of tension, intense fights, and even a visit from Superman.

I enjoyed it a lot and happily rate it a Must Read.

The characterizations and situational setups are great, and I’m looking forward to seeing where things go…I’m pretty sure this is not the end of the series, but Buddy seems to be in a lot of trouble.

This comic can be found on Comixology or at your local comic book shop.

Comic Corner | Reading Recommendation of Animal Man #2