Issue Description

A Zero Month crossover issue. Jeremy Mason leaves the Tellus Institute for a day at an outdoor concert festival. While there, Jeremy meets a tattooed man, who knows more than he should about the origins of the world of Arkana. Arkana is a dimension created by the collective unconscious, populated by the Nameless One and his children. His children, the Archai, are all crafted by the thoughts and dreams of humanity; some, like the Storyteller, date back to the Najaho Indians, while others, like Lost Johnny, come from American culture. Over the history of Arkana, there are those that side with the Nameless One, like his eldest daughter Mania, and those that fight against him, such as the Warrior and the Animus. Because the dreams of the unconscious can seep into our world, the Nameless One can influence us, and his sigil is prevalent in our world. However, the nameless one gave birth to the Syzygy, a unity of male and female, that can defeat him. Syzygy imprisoned the Nameless One in ice, but the Nameless One prepared the way for one to free him: a combination of Animus and Anima. Jeremy takes this knowledge, confused of his role in the fight. 

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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