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Peter Milligan's Animal Man

eric minutes

05:10 / 07.06.04

I just read Milligan's 6 part Animal Man that took place after Morrison's...and I must say it was quite cool!! I can't imagine having to follow issue 26 but Milligan did a great,bizarre job...has any one else read these issues?thoughts??

Lord Morgue

12:40 / 07.06.04

Blah. I still have issues with anyone who uses Elektra. Show a little solidarity, people!

FinderWolf

13:09 / 07.06.04

I remember reading this and not being very impressed by it. The bit with the Schroedinger's Pizza Box was fun, tho'. (Last time I read this was when it actually came out) Bolland still rocked out some nice covers (as always), though. Milligan was in his mediocre phase of writing (before he entered his Shit phase writing ELEKTRA) -- and how could anyone really follow Morrison on that run, really?

gridley

15:36 / 07.06.04

Despite being a huge Shade fan and getting Milligan's Animal Man issues for free, I still thought they were hugely disapointing.

eric minutes

23:19 / 07.06.04

What Milligan do you guys recommend? I've only read his Animal Man run and X-Force/X-Statix.And yeah I hear alot about his Elektra...what was it about? Any help would be much appreciated.

Bed Head

23:39 / 07.06.04

What Milligan do you guys recommend?

Shade. Enigma. Girl. Rogan Gosh. Human Target. London.

That’ll do for starters. How have you managed to miss all this stuff? Peter Milligan writes wonderful, wonderful comics. If he had a beard, Alan Moore would bring him breakfast.

Billuccho!

00:37 / 08.06.04

Human Target by Milligan is my favorite ongoing out right now. Great stuff and highly recommended.

For more mainstream stuff, try his Batman issues from the late 80's/early 90's. Also good.

eric minutes

05:27 / 08.06.04

Another quick question:What about after Milligan...how many more issues did Animal Man go and are any worth getting??

Dan Fish - @Fish1k

07:14 / 08.06.04

SeqArt Continuity Pages has all you need to know about Animal Man's comic run (89 issues by the way).

I recommend Morrison's run (obviously), plus Delano's 'Flesh & Blood' (pick up Veitch's 40&41 to find out why the Bakers own a pet dinosaur).

I liked Milligan's run, but it wasn't his best. I've also read 46-50, but I thought these were very average. There was also a 'Childrens Crusade' annual, which was ok.

adamswish

11:13 / 08.06.04

Can't believe no-one's mentioned Skin when talking about Milligan

.

Fabulous, heart-warming, gut-wrenching tale of Hatchet, a skinhead born as a thalidomide and his normal world.

And in my opinion always think Milligan does his best work when partnered with Brendan McCarthy.

gridley

12:54 / 08.06.04

If I was teaching Milligan for Beginners, I would start you off on Enigma, then if you liked that set you up with big pile of Shade the Changing Man.

_Boboss

13:27 / 08.06.04

and everyone in class would fail gridders.

sensibly, you'd start with bad company, move through tribal memories, hewligan's haircut and bix barton, before coming to the peak of his excellence with skin and rogan gosh. if anyone is still bothering to come to the lecture hall after that, hit them with the full vertigo bunj of enigma and a selection from shade and finish the semester with a look at x-statix or perry mason - i mean human target. astars all round.

now we just need to wait for dunc to arrive and tell us about crossroads...

pornotaxi

13:29 / 08.06.04

does no one rate the eaters?

i thought it was great, deserved an extended run, rather than the one shot novel

Harhoo

15:07 / 08.06.04

Shade The Changing Man rocked so hard it hurt. The sweep of stories culminating in Seasons of Hell and #50 was what really, truly sold me on comics.

Also on underrated Milligan:

I loved Egypt, a series which nobody ever mentions. Cold, cynical, clever. Imagine A Secret History crossed with Reincarnation Man and a dash of Troilus and Cressida

Face is proper good, too and is by far my favourite Milligan one-shot. A plastic surgeon is invited to the island of a Pablo Picasso manque to create the ultimate work of art.

The recently re-released Skreemers was tops too. A retro sci-fi gangster story which grafts Milligan's usual themes onto Goodfellas, while still finding room for a healthy dollop of heart.

Mr Tricks

16:21 / 08.06.04

Hey, I've mentioned EGYPT! enjoyed Eaters but prefer FACE to it...

then there's GIRL which was fun & odd... and The Minx which in combination with Sean Phillips' artwork should (IMO) have lasted longer than it did.

Haus of Mystery

17:01 / 08.06.04

Shade should have ended with issue 50, so if you're a newcomer, my advice is anything before and up to that. It really hit it's peak (IMHO) around issue 30 when it 'went' Vertigo - the 'Hotel Shade' issues.
BUT YOU FOOLS! The best Milligan is clearly Paradax, Strange Days & Johnny Nemo (+ the aforementioned Bad Co.) done when he was apost art-school hooligan with co-horts Brendan McCarthy & Brett Ewins. Ha Ha! Obscure? You betcha!
But siriusly, it's worth reading pretty much any Milligan. His writing always has a slight smirk that can be grating, but he's a genuinely idiosyncratic writer who remains, well, an Enigma.

P.s. Animal Man went super-shit after Mozzer and Milligan's runs. The Tom Veitch issues beggar belief in their cod new- age wanktitude, and the story seemed to go on FOR EVER! Avoid. I don't rate Delano's run after 'Flesh & Blood - too sanctimonious by half. You can tell he cares, but I, frankly, didn't.

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