Issue Description

Anima has been captured by the Scarecrow, who has been experimenting with her at the New Dawn Institute. He believes her dreams tap into the “fear archetype.” Scarecrow contacts his partner Dr. Maxilla Yale, who is also Anima’s mother’s boss. Anima’s friends had barely escaped the New Dawn Institute, but now they must go back to rescue Anima. Luckily, Pockets has swiped an access card. As Anima’s gang break into New Dawn, the institute also gets a visit from O.D.D. agent Kyle Woodleaf, who has also been tracking Anima. Anima releases Animus, just as Dr. Yale arrives. Yale recognizes Anima as Courtney Mason, and frees her, and takes her away, as her alter-ego Animus wrecks the lab. Agent Woodleaf identifies the Scarecrow, and captures him, contacting Commissioner Gordon to pick him up.  

Anima (1994)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

Anima was a 16 issue series produced by DC Comics that ran from 1994 to 1995. The series followed its titular protagonist, Anima, and her alter-ego Animus. Anima, one of the new heroes created during the 1993 Bloodlines annual crossover event, was one of the few heroes that managed to spin off into its own series. Anima first appeared in the New Titans crossover annual of that event.
 
Writing duties for the Anima series were given to science fiction and fantasy writers Elizabeth Hand and Paul Witcover. While Hand and Witcover had collaborated in the past on stories and blogs, this was the first time for both of them writing in the world of comics. According to Witcover, he and Hand had wanted to build a world that “ripped off everyone from Carl Jung to Kurt Cobain in the process.” Witcover called Anima a “gonzo-feminist comic,” visiting a lot of the common feminist themes both he and Hand would explore in their science fiction stories.
 
Hand and Witcover gave Anima a rich supporting cast, including the band Boojum ( Liv, Alison, Judy, Slam, and Dred), Alison’s family, and O.D.D. Agent Woodleaf. The writers also delved into topics such as lesbianism and featured an H.I.V. positive supporting character. In addition, Hand and Witcover created the world of Arkana, filling it with concepts similar to Neil Gaiman’s Dreaming (Hand and Gaiman had been old friends). Hand and Witcover slightly retconned Anima’s origin from New Titans Annual #9, in order to better fit in with their ideas around Arkana. This retcon was explained away as part of the Zero Hour event.
 
Artwork for the majority of the series was handled by Steve Crespo, who up until then had done some one-shot work for DC. Inking duties would rotate through the series, with a lot of DC regulars and up-and-comers providing inking.
 
Anima was cancelled after 16 issues. After the cancellation of her series, Anima would bounce around the DC universe, and eventually wind up as a member of numerous teenage teams, including Young Justice, the Teen Titans, and the Blood Pack.

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