Animal Man #9 (March, 1989)
"Home Improvements"
Writer - Grant Morrison
Guest Penciller - Tom Grummett
Inker - Doug Hazlewood
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Tatjana Wood
Assistant Editor - Art Young
Editor - Karen Berger
Cover Price: $1.25
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!
Hint: There'd better be some Oreos for dessert!
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We open with Cliff Baker heading home from school. Along the way, he is confronted by a quartet of goofy-looking bullies... and we know they mean business, as one of them is wearing a Bon Jovi t-shirt! Not to mention, one of them looks to be Mastermind from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Anyhoo... they razz him for being Animal Man's son, referring to him as "Animal Boy" before feeding him some sidewalk. Meanwhile, at the Baker house... Buddy plays with a cat.
There is a knocking at the door... that Buddy ignores. After all, he is playing with a cat. An irritated Ellen resigns herself to the fact that she's on her own here... and answers the door. She is shocked to see that their guest is the Martian Manhunter (who was she expecting, Sidney Poitier?).
Buddy greets his fellow superhero, and asks if J'onn is here on official business or just to say "hey". Turns out, it's a little bit of both. Buddy, now a member of the Justice League Europe, is able to reap the benefits of home repair... and a new home security system. This is a callback to an earlier issue where the Mirror Master did a number on the Baker home... the League will cover the repairs at no cost. I guess membership does have its privileges!
Ellen kinda nudges Buddy in the ribs, suggesting that this might be the right time for him to share some recent news with the Martian Manhunter... and so, Buddy invites J'onn to chat... outside.
We shift scenes to the apartment of the returning James Highwater, a man who had simply "appeared" in an earlier issue. He has no memory, however the apartment feels quite familiar to him... even down to the copy of Alice in Wonderland laying on the floor. He picks up the book and finds a folded note inside instructing him to "Ask the Psycho Pirate". That's probably nothing, right?
We rejoin J'onn and Buddy as they fly over some canyons, at which time Buddy shares that ever since the Invasion/Gene Bomb, his powers have been... unpredictable at best. If he focuses on a cat... he might wind up with chicken powers, stuff like that. J'onn is disappointed, stating that while the League can ill-afford "carrying passengers"... he still really wants Buddy on the team. He appreciates that he fights from a "different corner" than many others, with his position on environmentalism and animal rights... after all, somebody's gotta make Thanksgiving dinner awkward and uncomfortable!
Next, we rejoin Cliff... sunken-shouldered Cliff... as he continues his walk home from school. He hears a rustling in the leaves in the trees above him, but chooses to ignore it. As he passes the trees, we see a man land behind him. Probably nothing, right?
Back at the Baker house, the Justice League International's crack security team is setting up the lasers... and it kinda goes ca-ca. Ellen ain't at all keen on having an in-house arsenal that could, ya know, cook one of her children. Dude starts to lecture her on how dangerous it is for superheroes to have families in the first place... and so, she offers him a beer. Yeah, that'll fix it!
At the canyon, Buddy attempts to focus in on a rabbit... instead he gets a barrage of other animals... rattlesnake, scorpion, kit fox, buzzard, ants, German Shepherd, catfish, termite, coyote... ay yai yai... thankfully, no lions, tigers, nor bears though! Overwhelmed by the intensity, Buddy vomits. J'onn stands there, unmoved... gotta figure by now he's already seen Guy Gardner huggin' a bowl or two after a rough night.
He helps Buddy to a rock where he can sit... and suggests he see a doctor. Buddy wishes he had a better understanding of his powers to begin with... after all, they are rather impossible. How can he breathe underwater without gills... fly without wings... these are all questions we'd never ask of other heroes... but a dude who gets his powers from animals? That actually makes you think a bit... if you let it. The pair fly off... with, for whatever reason, a parting shot on Blue Beetle.
We rejoin Cliff as he arrives at home... and since he hadn't a clue about the new security system, he just saunters on in... and is faced by a whole lotta lasers!
Everything's cool, however... everything has been modified to be "non-lethal". The Bakers will each receive a special key to bypass the security system. Meanwhile, Maxine draws a picture for their guest, the Marshmallowhunter.
Cliff is annoyed... as he usually is. Probably something to do with that haircut. With the rage of a million Suns, he slams a half-gallon of milk on the counter... then begins to cry about those jerks calling him "Animal Boy"... and we learn that they also stole his bike. Well, lucky for him, "Uncle J'onn" is there... and he's got a plan.
We follow Cliff to the nearby 7-11 (where hot dogs are $1.19... which seems kinda high for the late 80's!). Cliff gets in their faces and gives them the ol' "You won't like me when I'm angry" speech... to which, "Stay Gold" Ponyboy blows his cigarette smoke in his face. When the smoke clears, it would appear that Cliff has transformed into a giant green beast! The gaggle of geeks mess their pants... and run away. Cliff and J'onn share a moment... and a laugh, as Buddy walks up. Cliff tells his father that his powers are lame before speeding away on his reclaimed bicycle. Can't win 'em all...
We close out in Africa, where a painted tribesman puts his head to the ground... and hears a "weeping in the Ghost Country". He reports that... the Gods are coming.
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Alrighty, it's been quite a while since I read a random issue of Animal Man... and gotta say, I'm surprised that Grant was already peppering the Psycho Pirate bits in this early. Having read this run several times over, I'm sure I knew that, but it's still kind of odd and crazy to see the groundwork being laid.
This was a really nice snapshot of the Baker family... playing into their archetypal roles. We start with Buddy... who is so wrapped up in his own nonsense, that he comes off as aloof. Ellen, who has to hold everything together... and you can tell it's beginning to wear on her. Cliff, the angry boy... who is being bullied, and feels he can't turn to his father for help... and instead lashes out. And finally Maxine, who's main trait at this point is being adorable. I mean "Marshmallowhunter"? C'mon... that's gold!
There's this discomfort in the Baker house. It feels like we're viewing one of those portraits of the typical suburban family... everything seems safe and secure... but you know that just below the surface, there's a bunch of, err... "imperfections".
I feel like having J'onn be the Justice League International representative to witness all of this is pretty much perfect. He doesn't really react... but, you just know he's soaking it all in. He really is the perfect observer. The story wouldn't have worked with any other member showing up to set up the security.
Overall, this entire run is worth checking out. I find I get a deeper appreciation from reading Morrison work in single-issue format... because they come with letters pages, which are a hoot anytime... but when it's Morrison, I feel like we get a bit "more" from them. If singles (remember... not floppies) are too inconvenient, definitely nab those trade collections!
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Letters Page:
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Justice Society of America (vol.3) #20 (December, 2008)
"Earthbound"
Story - Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Pencillers - Dale Eaglesham & Jerry Ordway
Inkers - Nathan Massenhill & Bob Wiacek
Colorist - Hi-Fi
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Harvey Richards
Editor - Michael Siglain
Cover Price: $2.99
Alrighty, having read the Annual... we can now move forward with, what's that word... context!
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Picking up where we left off last issue, Power Girl has emerged, seemingly from Starman's chest. Great news, right? Well, if you recall... she didn't come through alone! She was followed by Earth-2's Justice Society Infinity... who we formally met in yesterday's discussion of the Annual. See, we do a lot of "table-setting" here! This double-page spread in particular is quite wonderful, featuring (I assume) both Eaglesham and Ordway art! Just awesome!
Power Girl-2 is leading the charge... still ranting about her lost cousin. Of note, we see some odd "reunions", including one between Alan Scott and Jade. In stereo, one informs the other that they are... dead... well, on their respective Earth anyway. This just might become important in a bit.
It isn't long before Power Girl-2 lays eyes on Superman-22. He is apologetic and informs her that the Superman she's looking for is in a different castle (or under one)... and so, she blasts him with her heat-vision, and before we know it... we got a rumble!
Well, a brief rumble anyway... which ends with Huntress opening a box containing a Kryptonite Ring to depower Power Girl ("our" Pee Gee), before the JSI can nyoink her through a portal back to Earth-2. Green Lantern, Flash, Mr. Terrific, Stargirl stow away, and Starman... since he is the portal, joins them.
The Justice Society crashes onto Earth-2... right into the office of Professor Michael Holt! The Misters Terrific and the Society put their heads together to figure out just what is going on. Holt-2 claims that to send Power Girl back, he had to tap into Starman's costume... which, he'll tell you was designed by three whole Brainiac-5's, and that's almost as good a single Lex Luthor!
Alan thinks about how his daughter is still alive on Earth-2 (an Earth where his analogue is dead)... and wonders what he must've done wrong on Earth-1 for her to die. He is interrupted by the arrival of... Paula Holt. Michael Holt-2's wife... and Mr. Terrific's dead wife. The Society is shocked... and wonders how their Michael is going to conduct himself. Being the stand-up (and terrific) guy that he is, Michael simply shakes her hand and tells her it's his pleasure to meet her.
Meanwhile at the Batcave, Huntress, Robin, and Power Girl-2 continue their interrogation. They are overly concerned as to why she attempted to "infiltrate" to the point where Karen-2's search for Superman almost becomes secondary. Huntress tires of the torture, and seals the Kryptonite Ring back in its box. Pee Gee-2 grabs Pee Gee-1 by the chest thing that holds her cape, and again asks where her cousin is. Power Girl repeats that he died saving the universe.
Power Girl-the-second proceeds to pummel the hell out of the first... tossing her around the Batcave. Finally, Power Girl-the-first has had enough... she heat-visions the box containing the Kryptonite Ring shut, and grabs Helena by the shoulder thing that holds her cape... she's tired of being trotted out every time there's a multiverse storyline as a punchline to a cosmic gag... and to be fair, I'm pretty tired of that as well! Sorta like folks droning on about how many times Jean Grey died... when these days characters die and come back seemingly every single month. Phoenix has some catching up to do!
The Justice Society Infinity arrives on the scene as Power Girl faints, and they have Brainwave read her mind while she's out. Wonder why they didn't do that when she first showed up? Anyhoo, they deduce that, barring a few divergences, she shares brain patterns with their own Power Girl. Then, Starman leads the Justice Society of America into the scene, trying to explain that this whole mess was just one big misunderstanding.
He goes on to explain that the map of the multiverse he had sought was (literally) under his nose the entire time... it was his costume! From here we get a quick and dirty on Crisis on Infinite Earths, starting with curious Krona doing his thing, through to the Anti-Matter Universe and the collapsing of the Multiverse... all the way to the (then recent) Infinite Crisis, where Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime triggered the rebirth of the Multiverse... and ultimately the rebirth of this Earth-2... er, I think. So, that explains why there are two Power Girls from Earth-2... right?
Okay, so now our Power Girl knows that this Earth-2 isn't her home... and never was. And so, she decides to return to... whatever we were calling Earth-1 post-Infinite Crisis. Also worth noting, Jay suggests to Power Girl-2 that her Superman might still be out there somewhere... suppose this stands to reason, if this is an all-new all-different Earth-2.
We wrap up with Power Girl getting the once-over from Dr. Mid-Nite, while Stars-Man and Girl chat about everything that went down. Thom claims to have seen some of Power Girl's future, and suggests that her business with the Justice Society Infinity is far from done. From here we join Mr. Terrific, who is looking at a framed photo of his wife. He is joined by a troubled Alan Scott who asks if he thinks Gog might be able to bring Jade back to life.
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Ooooooh boy, that was a lot of information. I definitely want to apologize if anything I wrote during the synopsis (or now!) makes things even more difficult to understand... I have a knack for over-complicating... and misunderstanding things.
Let's start with the easy stuff. We had a pair of reunions here that are worth exploring. First, Alan and Jade. On "our" Earth, Jade is killed during one of the Rann-Thanagar Wars (if I recall correctly)... on Earth-2, Alan is dead. Alan blames himself for Jennie's death... and as we wrap up, wonders if Gog might bestow upon him a blessing, and bring Jade back.
Now, that takes us to Mr. Terrific... who just had an unexpected run-in with Paula Holt-2. He chose not to further complicate her life by explaining who he really is... which was noble, and probably incredibly difficult. Gotta wonder if he might be coming around to the idea of asking for some Gogly intervention himself. The storytelling here really couldn't be better... so much uncertainty... and so much tempered and desperate hope. Really well done... there's a reason why this run is among so many people's favorites.
Now... the Multiverse. If I've got this right (and there's a big possibility that I don't), the Crisis actually did result in the collapsing of the Multiverse... and not simply the spawning of an amalgamated "prime" Earth, as was posited during the Annual. Many years later, the appearance of the Earth-lost characters during Infinite Crisis (and perhaps that reality-shattering punch), triggered the dawning of a new Multiverse... with a new Earth-2 as part of it. So, we now have a pre-Crisis (on Infinite Earths) Earth-2, and a post-(Infinite) Crisis Earth-2... right? Maybe? I think?
If that's the case, at least it explains why there are two Power Girls... right? Crazy, so much thought put into building a Multiverse... when less than three years later, it's all gonna be flushed!
This issue leads directly into three one-shot specials... and unfortunately, I only have two of them... still need to track down Justice Society of America, Kingdom Come Special: Superman (now that's a mouthful!). I'm sure it won't be too terribly difficult to find... hopefully we'll be able to continue this story pretty quick.
Overall... as I've been saying since the get-go (Gog-go?), this is one I highly recommend... however, you'd probably do yourself a service by grabbing it in collected edition. I'm enjoying this greatly just reading issue to issue, but I will concede this is likely a more satisfying read in a single-optic-gulp.
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Justice Society of America (vol.3) Annual #1 (September, 2008)
"Earth-2, Chapter One: Golden Age / Chapter Two: The Hunted"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Penciller - Jerry Ordway
Inker - Bob Wiacek
Colorist - Hi-Fi
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Harvey Richards
Editor - Michael Siglain
Cover Price: $3.99
Alright, we're finally covering the Earth-2 portion of the JSA/Gog storyline. Not that I haven't wanted to share this one... it's just that I couldn't find the dang thing. As mentioned (and likely to mention several more times this month), we're moving house... which makes much of our livable space look as though several comic shops have exploded.
Could'a sworn this one was filed in my spare-room library... but, nope... it was in the loft, amid a pile of unread Marvel. Oh well, better late than never!
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We open atop a building in Gotham City where the Huntress (Helena Wayne) discusses the current state of her world. Batman is dead... several of his villains are also dead. She peers into a hospital window where she sees a man wrapped in bandages. This is Harry, more on him in a bit... and the man behind his injuries is the Joker. Helena vows to find the Joker and do to him what Batman wouldn't.
As she swings off the roof, she witnesses a bolt of temporal lightning resulting in a loud pink flash of light slamming into an alley below. Upon investigation, she discovers her old friend Power Girl! She radios Star-Spangled Kid with the news.
We shift to Kara being examined by Dr. Midnight as Jade looks on. In the hallway, Huntress is approached by an excited Robin (Dick Grayson), hoping that if Power Girl is back, perhaps Superman and Lois won't be far behind. Here we learn that Helena has been on an extended leave of absence from their team... and also, a bit more about the identity of our bandaged buddy from earlier. His name is Harry Sims and he's a Gotham City District Attorney. With Harvey Dent dead, the Joker decided to try his hand at making another Two-Face, by splashing acid in his face! Knowing that Sims and Helena had gotten engaged that night (more on that in a bit), Dick attempts to comfort her. She pulls away... claiming that she will bring the Joker in herself.
Jade pokes her head out into the hallway to let the quarreling Gothamites that Power Girl has begun to stir. Kara is, understandably shocked to find herself surrounded by her old friends, and immediately assumes that it's a Psycho-Pirate trick. As her friends attempt to comfort her, she shoves them away and attempts to flee the facility. Along the way, she recalls the events of Justice Society of America (vol.3) #17, where Gog began bestowing "gifts" on the team. She slams through a door... and sees a logo, that's almost familiar.
She looks up, and finds that she has just bellied up to the table of the Justice Society Infinity! I gotta say, how awesome must it have been for Jerry Ordway to draw this page? Who says you can't go home again? Well... more on that in a bit, I suppose.
Coming around to the idea that this isn't some sort of hallucination or trick, Power Girl starts to break down. After a group hug and collecting herself, we get some Crisis on Infinite Earths discussion... and learn that (post-Infinite Crisis), Earth-2 was never folded into the singular DC Earth... instead, that Earth was simply a "new" Earth, an amalgamation of the other Earths! Ya follow?
The conversation shifts to "Whatever Happened to their Man of Tomorrow?", and Kara shares with them the story of his sacrifice (and message) during Infinite Crisis.
That night we join Dr. Fate and the Spectre as they share their feelings on the "blood of the Multiverse". They fear that Earth-2 is not safe.
Also that night, Power Girl decides to join Huntress on her patrol. Helena is staking out a fella who is trying to get a gig working for the Joker's gang... hopeful that he will lead her to her quarry. She is apologetic about leaving her back the J.S.I. headquarters, and alludes to having differences with the team at this point. Kara shares that she left a lot of good people behind on "her" Goggified Earth... and she's really like to contact them. Helena offers to bring her to see Jay Garrick the next day, suggesting that he should be of assistance.
The pair continues their surveillance until the time is right... and then take the fight to the Joker's gang, making rather short work of them. They bust into a back-room (with a door which reads "Do not Open til X-Mas"), and finally find... the Joker. Holy smokes, is he wearing The Button?!
Huntress heads in for (presumably) the kill, but Kara holds her back. The Joker compliments Helena on growing up to look so much like her mother, before bursting into some painful laughter... ya see, it hurts him to laugh, which is quite the quandary. He fires up a bad-ass joy buzzer, and goes to grab Helena. Kara steps in, and grabs his hand instead... frying him but good!
We rejoin Kara and Helena back atop the building from the open. They are looking into the hospital window where Harry Sims lay. It's now revealed that the Joker's attack happened literally just as Harry proposed marriage... robbing her of the opportunity to say no. Now she's stuck with a man she doesn't love... because, to leave him now would be a pretty cruddy thing to do. She admits to having been in love with another for her entire life... and it doesn't take a genius to realize she's talking about Dick Grayson.
Helena makes Kara promise not to tell anyone... especially not Dick himself, and the pair embrace, until they are interrupted by... Power Girl???
This second Power Girl claims to be the Earth-2 original... and explains that she has been off searching for Superman. She quizzes "our" Power Girl about something she had told Helena before leaving... and she comes up blank. This is enough for Power Girl-2 to throw down.
Huntress is a quick convert to Power Girl-2's story... and suggests our "windowed" version might be Clayface... or his daughter. She is furious that she spilled the beans about her feelings for Dick to an "imposter"... and the Earth-2 duo continue to beat the hell out of Kara. The issue ends with the Justice Society Infinity being tipped off... and heading out to track down the "fake".
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Well, there we go!
A little bit to unpack here... starting with the Crisis blibbuh-blabbuh. It's an interesting wrinkle (if I'm even understanding it right) that the post-Crisis DC Earth wasn't the "sole" merged Earth after all, rather a new Earth comprised of elements of all the others. I suppose it doesn't make a terrible amount of difference either way... but it's still fun to consider the amount of thought put into it.
Speaking multiversally, I was just joking when I pointed it out, but if they can find a way to tie this into The Button/Doomsday Clock event, how wild would that be? Even as just a throw-away... that would be pretty fun.
Seeing the combined Justice Society and Infinity Inc. team was pretty neat. It feels like a natural progression... especially considering that the "statesmen" of the Society have aged and retired. Minus Alan and Jay, the Earth-2 Society did have a decent-sized hole to fill... so why not promote some of the heirs?
I mentioned it during the synopsis, but... man, how cool must it have been for Jerry Ordway to revisit these characters? Not to put words in anybody's mouth, but getting this assignment must've been like "going home" again. Just such familiarity and passion here. It really is quite the good-lookin' book. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it in earlier discussions, but having all of the Earth-2 bits in "Ordway vision" has been a ton of fun!
I don't wanna go too deep into the particulars of the story... as we'll be discussing much of the fallout as our Justice Society reread continues. I can say that I'm having a great time, and was really glad to finally get around to reading this chapter. If I were to make a single non-glowing observation... I think I'd suggest that this might've made a better series of back-up strips for the main JSA series. There would be feelings of progression, rather than getting everything at once. This issue, while enjoyable, kinda flew by... once I found myself getting comfortable... it ended! Now I'll concede, that might've been the point... but I feel like it might've been more impactful had we a little time to reflect.
Overall... great issue... great story... great series! If you're reading the Gog storyline, this is a must-have. This issue is included in the Thy Kingdom Come collection as well as the JSA Omnibus, Volume 3... it is available digitally.
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