Animal Man

With all the reboots that Marvel and DC are lauding, and the mass exodus of talented creators leaving the big two, it's easy to see that mainstream superhero comics are going swiftly down the drain...if they weren't down it already. So when people talk about there favorite superheroes, they rarely talk about how good the comics that star that superhero are. The real question is: What is the best superhero comic? For me, it isn't Watchmen or any Batman comic. It's Grant Morrison's Animal Man

The first 26 issues of Animal Man, written by Morrison, relaunched after the Crisis continuity event, heavily featured tons of environmental issues and surrealism.

Blue Beetle doesn't do shit

The most complicated origin story ever 

Morison as an author brings many new things to superhero comics, which for the most part are ignored by the community at large. The character, the everyman Buddy Baker, is completely generic. But that's the point

Yes these are the coolest superheroes ever

The most innovative part of Animal Man, the part that makes it the best superhero comic ever, it the fact that Morrison introduces the DC continuity into the plot, and then obscure characters fight the DC Universe in order to escape oblivion. It's complicated. Typical Morrison
 

They seeeeeeee yyouuuuuuuuuu

The comic also breaks the fourth wall in a major way, for Animal Man travels through it and to our universe's  Glasgow and has a chat with Morrison himself. (According to Morrison's later work, All-Star Superman, our universe is created by Superman) 

You could be Aquaman. That would be worse 

Not anymore

Oh Elongated Man 

Well that's all for Animal Man. The Morrison run is now published by Vertigo in 3 neat trade paperbacks if you want them. See you next time

Narrative Corpse

Have you ever tried to write a chain story with a bunch of friends? Well when a group of 69 underground comixs artists decided to start their own chain-story, it blossomed in to a 5 year long project with each artist contributing only 3 panels. Edited by Art Spiegelman (Maus), and including creators such as R. Crumb, Will Eisner, and Los Bros Hernandez, it is a truly interesting read.

The story, while only slightly rational, follows the confusing adventures of Corpsey, a stick figure. A lot of work has been put into the character design. Totally 

Grand philosophical statements right there

And the Spirit makes a guest appearance 

Cross-dressing. Always a good idea 

Narrative Corpse, due to it's underground comixs nature, is not for kids, and it is not readily available. You could order it online, or, if you are in the Lehigh Valley, you can get it from the Moravian Reeve Library.

See you next time

  

Saint Oniisan

Have you you ever wanted to read a comic about Jesus, the Buddha and their incredible vacation to Japan? Not really. It's not that important to read, but you should know that it exists, because the novelty of such a series in just an astounding concept. Besides the novelty, it's boring. If you've read as many manga series as I have, you begin to realize that a lot of them are the same....and tons of jokes in manga are actually puns that only work in the Japanese languages. I don't know Japanese...so I don't get many of the jokes. Neither will you...that is if you have the same mastery of the Japanese language that I do. 

The Buddha is a really great series and you need to read it

But besides that it has tons of pop culture references, from other Japanese comics (such as Tezuka's masterpiece, Buddha), western celebration, and the length of a certain Disney character's skirt. The last actually is central to the plot of a chapter.   

Remember that Buddhist parable? 

Dr. McNinja

The only thing you need to know about Dr McNinja is that it is a colorful tale of tropes and general badass-ery that is published online tri-weekly and can be read for free so there is absolutely no excuse for not reading this whimsical tale about an Irish Ninja who is also a doctor 

Or is it about Doctor who is also an Irish Ninja? 

Along with his receptionist who just happens to be a gorilla, and his 12 year old, gun-toting, and mustachioed sidekick, the good Doctor gets himself into many predicaments in both the fields of Medicine and vigilantism.   

See? General Badass-ery

You should go read this comic. Like right now

Here's a link

http://drmcninja.com/

You should click on it 

like now

If you read these words that come after the link you are failing miserably at everything

You should have clicked the link the moment you saw it. 

Because you couldn't wait to read the tales of the ninja who is also an Irish doctor. 

so yeah

click on the link already

or you will have wasted your time and my time 

Ryan out