Animal Man #19

[superfangirl1]

Comments

[superboyprime]

"[Grant Morrison's] such a cool guy. It was so intimidating to meet him, but he was so kind and warm and he knew I was doing Animal Man. He wished me luck on it. His only advice was to not fuck with Buddy's family. (laughs) I promised I wouldn't do that. It was kind of cool to meet him."

-- Jeff Lemire

[nate_abril96]

We can only hope that at the end of all this Buddy can find someway to bring back his son, and save his marriage.

[espanolbot]

Always the sign of a sane person, thinking you can save your marriage by raising the dead.

[nate_abril96]

Well Buddy's family has died before, and he managed to bring them back before by asking Grant Morrison. Plus this is comics! Reality and sanity have no place in here. I mean they exist in a universe where death is basically the equivalent of being on vacation or taking a sick leave from work.

[icon_uk]

If Cliff ain't coming back then kudos also to LemIre for not being afraid to go agaisnt the advice of Grant Morrison!

[turtlefu]

Say what you will about Grant, but Buddy's family was always the most interesting thing about his run and Animal Man in general. It's good advice.

[grazzt]

Didn't Grant kill of Animal Man's entire family, though, only to bring them back with a deus ex machina? I think the advice might have been more of a "I've already gone there" kind, rather than a "It doesn't work" kind.

[turtlefu]

It was groundbreaking at the time and in context, but either Grant made the mistake of killing of the family only to realize after the fact it was a bad decision, or he was making commentary on a writers relationship to the characters. But in the book he clearly says that Buddy and his family are the heart and soul of the book.

[katya]

I saw a panel with Lemire on it at SDCC last year, and he asked the audience who Animal Man's greatest nemesis was.

Someone in the back of the room yelled "GRANT MORRISON!"

/random

[jlroberson]

And truly great in a completely different way: Jamie Delano, whose run Lemire's is most beholden to. And who everyone seems to have forgotten, despite that Pugh was the artist on that run as well. It was Delano, for instance, that invented "the Red."

It's kind of impossible to compare the Morrison and Delano runs because they're totally different takes on the character. Morrison's is metafiction while Delano's is more of an exploration of the character and the family, and of the eco side of the character on a more massive scale than Morrison did. I like both. But Delano's gets completely ignored and that annoys me.

By the way: Maxine died--and brought herself back--in that run.

[sigmund_droid]

HAPPY TIMES ARE OVER.

[icon_uk]

On the one hand, another superhero family torn asunder, which is a shame, especially with Animal Man being one of the few superheroes with a wife and children.

On the other hand, these are plausible people, acting in entirely believable and heartbreaking ways to an unspeakable loss, so kudos for that.

[gamerguy]

To some degree. We don't know too much about how things work in the Nu52, but previously it would be entirely sane and logical to try and resurrect him someway first - especially since two characters are intimately tied to the forces of all life and death on Earth.

Ellen's wish to be 'normal' is just silly. Her daughter will never be normal; as far as I know she's barely human anymore, much less normal. Just let it go, Ellen, you don't have that choice anymore. You gave that up the second you stayed with Buddy after he got powers. Maybe she'll come to her senses, maybe not.

[mrstatham]

I'm really uncomfortable with the notion that Ellen 'gave up' things the second she married Buddy. There's nothing wrong with her wishing to have elements of a normal life, especially given her son was just killed by something connected to the lifestyle of her husband, which she didn't approve of. You might as well slap her in the face and tell her to 'get over it'.

[shadowpsykie]

well she did kinda accept it didn't she? I admit she probably didn't want her kids involved but she Loved buddy and accepted that risk was involved. that said, she, and buddy just lost their son. they are not in a good place right now

[mrstatham]

She's never entirely accepted that part of Buddy's life, though. Lemire established that early on in his run.

[shadowpsykie]

true enough. but she accepted it enough to stay with him all this time. my point is more that she loves him. and because ofthat tshe accepted the rush involved. but right now she lost her son, and buddy planning a resurrection at his funeral is... tactless to say the least

it's a lot that she needs to process right now.

again I think this story, the next sex will serve to strengthen the family. because he had fine a lot to show the family in this comic. and I honestly believe Lemuire loves this family. but he wants to be as realistic as he can in portraying the dangers of a hero with a family.

[mrstatham]

I'm gonna assume the, ah, dreaded predictive spelling struck there, but I definitely agree. Again, this is why I find it difficult to understand certain reactions to Cliff's death, somehow; Yes, it sucks, but that's largely down to how much work Lemire has put into this version of him and the Baker family overall. I just find it insulting that some seem to be finding this 'Cry for Justice' bad.

[jlroberson]

This has happened before. Everyone forgets in Delano's run--which Lemire riffs off of--Maxine herself died and came back. And Ellen left him.

[icon_uk]

Ellen's wish to be 'normal' is just silly.

It may be, but it's still an entirely believable thing for a woman who has just lost her son to want and to cling to.

[shadowpsykie]

motto.

and I think that is why I am still living this series. it's so unlike others. it's a family story, it's a horror story, it's a realistic g in terms of family) story. but it's not grim dark and gritty, at least not by standards we normally go by.

[bewareofgeek]

Would someone tell editorial that DC doesn't stand for Dead Children?

It all started with Lian... but it's gone downhill since.

[dewinged]

I wonder if DC and Marvel have a running bet on who can do the most kid-killing in their books.

[espanolbot]

Don't be silly, the kids have to die and the marriages have to be erased, because having kids or a steady partner are things that OLD people have.

[mrstatham]

Funnily enough, the idea of a single divorced parent isn't exactly common, is it? Much less one with the death of a child on his hands that the writer is trying to handle in a relatively sensible and mature fashion. In that sense, I think it's almost an insult to lump this in with Cry for Justice.

[i_paint_the_sky]

Because it's Jeff Lemire, I'm sure it's a very well written story but ... both Damian and Cliff dying at about the same time? Why???

[flash_fan]

Hardcore Animal Man fan here; I'm pretty upset about this death. Especially since I was loving this book and how they handle the whole "Red' concept. Last time Buddy's family died though it made for an awesome mind-fuck of a story where they came back. I hope this is the same situation.

[captainbellman]

Ah yes, the classic good-writing formula of "Take A Family That Absolutely No-One Disliked And Utterly Destroy It".

This will surely go well for everyone.

[shadowpsykie]

I find this incredibly sad. however I can't lump this all in with DC and marvel's usual crap. because unlike those stories, this is actually a really well taught human story. I hate seeing the family turn like this. but like icon said. it shows how human it is. also it's good to note, yes this family is hurt and grieving, and it seems like it is falling apart. but times like this often also bring families closer together. I am going that is what they are going for. Lemiure often said he loved Ellen and the family. so maybe he is putting them through hell to show that even this can't truly tear them apart

[mrstatham]

Yeah, this. I know we're meant to hate this because of Cliff's death and the fact he's a kid, but it's not nearly as disgusting as I thought Lian's death was, and not nearly as gross and weirdly exploitative as I thought Damian's death was. It.. It kind-of annoys me that just because other, shitty writers handle things in a terrible manner - here's looking at you, handling of Lian's death - it kind of removes our ability to appreciate when a writer is actually doing something similar, but... You know, good. Yes, it stings that Cliff died, but that doesn't automatically lump this in with stuff like Crap for Justice, surely? Is there not such a thing as execution?

[filthysize]

On the bright side... no more mullets?

Maybe there's something interesting to come from this, but meh. Rotworld seriously sucked any enthusiasm I had left for both this and Swamp Thing. I'm just so done with everything DCfied Vertigo.

[shingi70]

Not a big fan of killing Cliff and breaking up buddy's family since that was the best parts of the book. However it does lead to rotworld having lasting consequences (unlike Swamp Thing that had a uneeded reset button). But I must say this issue was well written and handled everything in a pretty realistic manner.

[darkknightjrk]

"(unlike Swamp Thing that had a uneeded reset button)."

Well, Alec's human body did die in the encounter, so he's not fully a plant with the mind of a man. He also had to kill the love of his life to save the world, and while she was reborn as the Avatar of the Rot, the two can never be together again. It definitely isn't as hard a gutpunch as a father losing his son, but that's still some fairly heavy consequences.

[werehawk]

Buddy needs to make a deal with a devil so Ellen and him and the world forgets that they had a son, right? That would be Marvelous. More readers have one child these days so they can now relate to him better.

[mrstatham]

Again, that's kind of what annoys me about the state of the Big Two at times. Lemire seems to be doing his best to write a compelling story, but we're so jaded that we just end up comparing it to Lian's godawful death in CfJ and making OMD jokes about it. I know I'm as cynical as some, if not more so, because that just bothers me - the idea that we've become so overexposed to death in this section of the industry that when a writer has good intentions and wants to tell a good story, we immediately think of and lump it in with shitty stories.

[biod]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sftsn36iYmM