Even way back when, comic book all-star andDC Comicswriter Grant Morrison had a real piece of criticism for one annoying comic trope.Morrison has never been shyabout criticizing the medium they love so much, and one iconic conversation allowed the writer to get a proper dig towards one storytelling convention they couldn’t stand.
InAnimal Man #26by Grant Morrison and Chas Truog, Buddy Baker comes face to face with Morrison in the last issue of their run. Morrison has a dialogue with Buddy and informs the hero that everything that he has been through has all been for the sake of a story.
Animal Man eventually asksif Morrison can bring Buddy’s wife and children back to life. Unfortunately, Morrison denies the request, sarcastically saying that doing so wouldn’t be ‘realistic’. Morrison really leans into that criticism and says that because comics are ‘realistic’ now, pointless death and violence are what matters.
Grant Morrison Just Couldn’t Stand Realism in Comic Books
Their Dialogue with a Justice Leaguer Showed Their Distaste for the Annoying Trend
Grant Morrison wrote forAnimal Manfrom 1988 to 1990 and their run on the character is considered one of the best reinventions of a previously obscure hero.Animal Manfollowed Buddy Baker getting back into action as a superhero, largely to use his powers to defend animal rights across the world. However, towards the tail end of Morrison’s run, Buddy’s wife and two children are killed, sending Animal Man into a spiral. Thisleads to Animal Man going on an intense, introspective journey that ends with him discovering the higher planes of reality before coming face-to-face with his writer.
While Morrison denies Buddy his wish, they ultimately do give him what he wants and bring Ellen, Maxine, and Cliff back to life in the story’s final pages. Granted, it’s not realistic, but that ultimately serves the point that Morrison was trying to make. Morrison was critiquing a trend in comic books at the time (the early days of the Modern or ‘Dark’ age) where storytellers equated ‘realistic’ plotlines with needless trauma and suffering.Morrison admitted to Animal Man that they followed this trend to tell an interesting story, but ultimately, it’s not one the writer actually endorses or likes.
Grant Morrison Doesn’t Think Comics Need to Be Realistic
They’re Comics and They Should Be Fantastic and Weird
Anyone who’s read a Grant Morrison story in their life knows that Morrison likes the unabashedly bizarre nature of comic books. But at the time they wroteAnimal Man, the industry was shifting and a lot of authors were going for storylines that involved death and violence so that comics would be taken more seriously. ButMorrison believes that comics that feature heroes and villains and all kinds of monsters shouldn’t be so damn cynical and grim.
Comics allow for bold, creative storytelling and writers shouldn’t be afraid to break the rules just so the story is seen as more serious. Comic books are predicated on imagination and creativity, so why abide by limitations and go for something so downbeat for the sake of realism? Grant Morrison’s words are just as true now as they were back then in theDC Universe, and it’s important to never lose sight of what makes comics truly special.
