Attackerman

Perhaps you don’t like comic books. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with comic books. Perhaps you’ve passed the point in your life where superhero comic books offered you anything.

But perhaps you’re also willing to keep an open mind about why adults enjoy comic books. No condescension, just genuine curiosity. I’d like to thank you for that, first of all. And to repay it, I’d suggest reading a single issue of a perennial also-ran comic book called Animal Man.

The Wikipedia-level basics: Animal Man tells the story of Buddy Baker, who has the power to commune with the animal kingdom — even borrowing their abilities, which, when applied to a human, reads as “super-human” — through a weird shared consciousness represented as a kind of astral plane called The Red. (Because nature is red in tooth and claw.) He’s given up being a super hero. His young daughter Maxine has inherited Buddy’s abilities and is destined to be more powerful. Meanwhile, his wife and son are regular people. The family dynamic is the real story of the book.

But you need to know none of that to enjoy issue #6.

Issue #6 abruptly interrupts a story arc that’s running since the first issue. (DC Comics recently relaunched all 52 of their ongoing series, starting from issue one, including Animal Man, to make the comics more accessible to new readers.) The story it tells is entirely self-contained. Writer Jeff Lemire decides to “film” a Darren Aronofsky movie — referred to here as “A Ryan Daranovsky Film” — about the post-super hero failings of a man once known as the Red Thunder. The tenuous link back to the actual Animal Story is that Buddy stars as title character.

To go into further detail risks spoiling a truly unique comic book, but the unfolding story is depressing, wrenching and exquisitely told. It’s The Wrestler with a super hero. Perhaps you liked The Wrestler, or you like Darren Aronofsky movies. Or perhaps you like artists who riff on their inspirations, without care for genre restrictions. You will enjoy Animal Man #6 if so.

There is no reason why this story ought to work. It’s a complete digression from a very strong and critically beloved story arc — until the book whiplashes the reader back to the arc after page 18, when it’s revealed that Buddy’s son has been watching the “Red Thunder” movie on his phone, a wonderful meta-textual device. (It’s worth mentioning that young Cliff is watching that movie from an RV frantically driven by his parents to escape an ongoing quasi-demonic disaster that has nearly killed the whole family — which is exactly what a 13-year old would do in such a circumstance. Hey, an RV trip is boring, right?)

It’s hard to escape the conclusion that Lemire has wanted to tell this story for a long time, and used the opportunity presented by Animal Man’s critical success to indulge himself. What a worthwhile indulgence it is. You don’t have to read any other issue of Animal Man, although I’d consider that your loss. But the sixth issue is something very, very special, and enthusiasts of any artistic medium or genre will recognize it for what it is.