Anarky was an American comic book series published by DC Comics, as a limited series between May and August of 1997, and as an ongoing series between May and December of 1999. It was written by Alan Grant, with pencils by Norm Breyfogle, and inks by Josef Rubinstein. The comic was a spin-off title derived from the Batman franchise, and followed the adventures of Anarky, an antagonist of the Batman character.
Although Anarky had originally been created to reflect the philosophy of anarchism, the primary influence on both volumes was Neo-Tech, a philosophy developed by Frank R. Wallace. The comic was overtly political in nature, exploring a number of themes including antimilitarism, homelessness, and political corruption.
Publication history
Anarky Following the comic book industry crash of 1996, Norm Breyfogle was unemployed and looking for work. As a result of a request Breyfogle made to DC for employment, Darren Vincenzo, then an editorial assistant at DC Comics, suggested multiple projects which Breyfogle could take part in. Among his suggestions was an Anarky limited series, written by Grant, which was eventually the project decided upon.
The four-issue limited series, Anarky, was published in May 1997. Entitled "Metamorphosis", the story maintained the character's anti-authoritarian sentiments, but was instead based on the philosophy of Neo-Tech, an offshoot of Objectivism.
During the climax of the "Anarky" storyline of Batman: Shadow of the Bat #41-42, it is implied that Anarky dies in a large explosion. In turn, the Anarky limited series resolved this event by revealing that Anarky survives, but chooses to shed the encumbrance of his double life by faking his death. Anarky works in seclusion to further his goal of achieving a utopian society, briefly hiring Legs and other homeless men to monitor Batman's movements. He has several further brushes with Batman, as well as the likes of Etrigan the Demon and Darkseid.; ; ;
Grant has referred to the limited series as one of his favorite projects, and ranked it among his "career highlights".
Anarky (vol. 2) With the success of the first Anarky miniseries, Darren Vincenzo suggested continuing the book as an ongoing series to Breyfogle and Grant. Although Grant was concerned that such a series would not be viable, he agreed to write it at Breyfogle's insistence, as the illustrator was still struggling for employment. Grant's primary concerns centered on his belief that Anarky's role as a non-superpowered teenager was not capable of competing for reader attention when DC Comics already had a similar series in Robin. Further, while potential disagreements with editors over story elements were not among his initial concerns, he eventually found himself constantly at odds with editors and editorial assistants throughout the creation of the series.
During the Anarky series, much of the character's development was influenced by the nature of Grant and Breyfogle's association. As part of the story writing process, the duo would engage in philosophical discussion carried out entirely over fax-transmissions. These long, in-depth, and occasionally heated debates influenced plot points, as well as the general direction of Anarky's character development.
Scheduled for a release date of November 1998, the premiere issue was rescheduled for March 1999, to coincide with the creation of a trade paperback, Batman: Anarky, to help promote the new series. Collecting several of the character's printed appearances, Batman: Anarky was released in February 1999. However, the release date for the second volume was then pushed back again to May. An unintended result of this constant rescheduling was the effect it had on Grant's efforts to plot early story lines for the series. Due to increasing time constraints for the approaching millennium, it prevented Grant from exploring potential plots involving the Y2K bug he discussed with Breyfogle. Grant also reported that the series was dogged by editorial restrictions, including demands that he include cameos for particular characters, or "tone down" the degree of philosophy of the series. One of the earliest of these editorial mandates was that Grant was ordered to completely rewrite the first three-issue story line, and remove Anarky from Gotham City in the first issue. This was achieved by explaining that following an earthquake in Gotham Lonnie's parents disappear, their house is destroyed, and he is threatened by Batman to leave the city. As one of many refugees who escapes from No Man's Land, he relocates to a new base of operations beneath the Washington Monument. Extremely displeased with the forced approach in creating this justification, Grant later said: "Reading over that I was not so happy with the way I’d written that because it didn’t make sense to me at the time and it doesn't make sense now". These constant impositions on the part of editors nearly drove Grant to quit the series, but he continued the project for Breyfogle's benefit: "I was all for walking away, but artist Norm had a mortgage and family, and basically needed the work".
Grant's doubts concerning the comic's prospects eventually proved correct. The series was panned by critics, failed to catch on among readers, and was canceled after eight issues, but Grant has noted in an interview that it was popular in Spanish speaking countries, perhaps owing to a history of political repression in the region: "It didn’t sit too well with American readers, who prefer the soap opera and cool costume aspects of superhero comics. But I became a minor hero in many Latin countries, like Argentina and Mexico, where readers had been subjected to tyranny and fascism and knew precisely what I was writing about".
Final issue controversy
Despite numerous editorial impositions, the most controversial plot point was not a mandate, but was instead a suggestion by Breyfogle, intended as a means to expand Anarky's characterization: that Anarky's biological father be revealed to be the Joker. Breyfogle expressed an interest using the relationship as a source for internal conflict in the character: "...I figured that because Anarky represents the epitome of reason, one of the biggest crises he could face would be to discover that his father was the exact opposite: a raving lunatic!" Alternatively, Grant saw it as an opportunity to solidify Anarky's role in the Batman franchise. Grant's decision to pursue the suggestion ran into conflict with Dennis O'Neil, who protested against it. According to Grant:
Pressing forward, Grant wrote the Anarky series with the intention of allowing the storyline to play out over time. As the first issue narrates, Anarky begins a search for his missing parents in Anarky (vol. 2) #1, and comes upon evidence that the Machins are not his biological parents, that his mother is insane and that his father is a "madman". As revealed in Anarky (vol. 2) #8, his leads point to the possibility that his biological father is the Joker. He first meets his supposed biological mother, but finds that she is clinically unstable and unable to answer his questions. He then breaks into Arkham Asylum to confront the Joker himself, but is betrayed, as the Joker opportunistically attempts to escape from the asylum without providing any firm answers.
As the last issue of the Anarky series, this unresolved ending left open the possibility that the Joker might be Anarky's actual father, and the planned "rebuttal" was never published. Further, Grant and Breyfogle later speculated that, as Dennis O'Neil has retired from DC Comics, and the final editorial decision currently belongs to Dan DiDio, it is no longer possible to be sure whether a rebuttal will ever be published. As of 2010, there is yet no record of Didio ever commenting on the subject, though the timeline chronologically prevents the Joker from being Anarky's biological father, as the character is (currently) approximately 16 years old, while both Batman and the Joker have only existed for approximately 13 years.
As Anarky was created while Grant and Breyfogle were operating under "work-for-hire" rules, DC Comics owns all rights to the Anarky character. Following the cancellation of the Anarky series, both men attempted to buy the rights to Anarky from the company, but their offer was declined.
While Grant has commented that the first volume stands among his favorite works, he did not wish to create the ongoing series. Convinced by Norm Breyfogle to continue the series, he chafed under what he felt were excessive demands made by editors for specific plot changes, such as "toning down" Anarky's philosophy and including cameos for Superman, the Haunted Tank, and the Justice League.
One of the earliest of these was that Grant was "made to" remove Anarky from Gotham City. This was achieved by explaining that following an earthquake in Gotham Lonnie's parents disappeared, their house was destroyed, and he was threatened by Batman to leave the city. As one of many refugees who escaped from No Man's Land, he relocated to a new base of operations beneath the Washington Monument:
Grant considered abandoning the project, but continued it for Breyfogle's sake, as the illustrator was still struggling for employment.Getting The 411: Alan Grant. 411mania.com Accessed August 14, 2004
The second volume was heavily criticized by reviewers and failed to catch on among readers, until it was announced in issue #7 that it would be cancelled due to poor sales following issue #8.Anarky (vol. 2) #7 (November 1999) At the time of cancellation, two issues had been fully written and illustrated, but remain unpublished.These details are provided by Breyfogle in the Anarky Farewell , an article written in response to the cancellation of the series. Normbreyfogle.com Accessed February 11, 2007 These were intended to include an encounter with Superman, a story arch set in East Timor, and a confrontation with Capital Eagle, a new antagonist for Anarky that had been created by Grant and introduced earlier that year.The character Capital Eagle first appeared in DCU Heroes: Secret Files and Origins #1 (February 1999), An Anarky Primer. The information regarding the unpublished issues of Anarky can be seen in illustrations created by Norm Breyfogle, provided in the Anarky Gallery section of his website. Normbreyfogle.com. Retrieved March 30, 2007. Despite poor sales in the U.S., Grant noted that it was popular among philosophy students and sold well in Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Argentina, perhaps owing to a history of political repression in the region.Alan Grant specifies that Anarky was popular among philosophy students and foreign sales were high in Latin American countries in a 2000 A.D. Review interview , by Edward Berridge. (2005) 2000adreview.co.uk Accessed January 24, 2007. He later specifies Mexico and Argentina as two of these countries in Getting The 411: Alan Grant. 411mania.com Accessed August 14, 2004
Controversy The series ended in controversy when the final issue suggested that Anarky was the biological son of the Joker. Originally a suggestion by Norm Breyfogle, the idea was advanced by Alan Grant as an attempt to solidify Anarky's role as a part of the Batman mythos. The idea was protested against by Dennis O'Neil, who only allowed the publication of the story to take place after Grant negotiated a compromise.