Daily Grind: 1/13/07

Because I don't think I'm writing enough here, I now will make sure I write a short observation/ramble ever day under the 'Daily Grind' banner. I'm sure all three of you are thrilled.

Today: Death of Animal Man.

Haven't read that issue of 52 yet, but I'm sad all the same. Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man remains one of my favorite comics, not just because it combined the expected surrealism and metafiction themes with a less expected social conscience, but also because, dammit, I cared about the characters. I identified with Buddy Baker, and it enhanced the stories. Albeit, Grant's Doom Patrol still remains my favorite comic series, but Animal Man might have more resonance.

I know, these deaths are almost always for shock value. Grant Morrison being on the writing team kinda helps give it more meaning, as he defined the character and might've been part of the decision to kill him off at all (although, after 'certain comments' he has made, that may not be the case). And there's also the sense that the character was not being used at all, and there were probably no plans of making any use of him outside of 52 anyway, so it really isn't hurting anything to have him go into 'retirement' in a blaze of glory. That's a pretty cold philosophy, and it isn't looking much to the future. But then again, this is superhero fiction. They could always resurrect him if someone comes along with a decent pitch. It'll make killing him off even more worthless in retrospect, but...


...I got nothing.