Animal Man 1

"The Human Zoo" is the first issue of the Animal Man ongoing adventure series published by DC Comics. The story was written by Grant Morrison with artwork by Chas Truog and inks by Doug Hazlewood. It was colored by Tatjana Wood with lettering by John Costanza. The cover art illustration was rendered by Brian Bolland. The story was edited by Karen Berger. This issue shipped with a September, 1988 cover date and carries a cover price of $1.25 per copy (US).

Synopsis
Somewhere in San Diego, a mysterious figure calling himself the Beast seems to be in some kind of pain, and is searching for the source of the sound of screaming monkeys that he hears in his head.

Meanwhile, Buddy Baker, no longer content with operating as a "small-time" hero, strives to make his way into the big leagues. He begins practicing his powers by tapping into the physical characteristics of cats, birds, fish and spiders. To further promote himself, he makes an ill-advised guest appearance on the Dick Griffith Show. Griffith humiliates him on national television and Buddy decides to beef up his look by adding a leather jacket to his costume.

Elsewhere, in an alleyway, the Beast is attacked by a mugger, who he kills without hesitation, before finding his way to a S.T.A.R. Labs facility, the apparent source of the sound he had been tormented by.

Later, Buddy responds to an emergency at S.T.A.R. Labs. There, Doctor Myers - who had been working on a cure for the AIDS virus - tells him that he was actually hoping for Superman, but will settle for Animal Man regardless. He shows him one of the lab's animal testing facilities, which has been ransacked with broken cages and emptied medical containers all over the floor. All of the test monkeys have somehow been fused together into a gelatinous ball.

Appearances