Will Read Comic Books

So up to this point, I think I’ve been fairly clear about how I feel about Lemire and Foreman’s Animal Man. It happens to be probably my favourite of the New52, along with Wonder Woman and Swamp Thing. Well, for #3, Lemire and Foreman brought their game faces. And by faces, I mean creepy things with no faces at all.

<SPOILERS—Sorry, but the reveal in this issue is crucial, so if you care, stop reading>

What I’m referring to are the Totems, the former avatars of the Red - many without faces -through whom Buddy actually got his powers (slight retcon) and that Maxine, not Buddy, is the true next Avatar of the Red. Up until this issue, everyone had a basic consensus that Animal and Red equaled Swamp Thing and the Green; to see that put on its head is just fantastic. 

And aside from the reveal, I feel like so much more happened in general. While Maxine and Buddy are in the Red, two of the Three Hunters go after them there, and Buddy seems to get an extra power set of looking similar to whatever animal he takes the powers of—whether this is because they are in the Red or not is left to be seen. Back on the home front, Cliff and Ellen are similarly attacked and are now on the run. This looks like a set up for multiple parallel storylines between the two parts of the Baker family for a little while, giving Lemire some extra leg-room for a more literary approach, perhaps. 

Now, no review of this issue should go without mentioning the level of creepy that is elevating with every issue. While Animal Man is certainly earning its place as part of the ‘Dark’ family of DC books, it certainly isn’t the creepiest book that came out that week. With only one fairly calm death and almost comical body-snatching (re: ala Egger from Men in Black), its creepy factor is coming from Foreman’s fantastically surreal art. And intestine tentacles.

As for Travel Foreman, I have no idea how this guy is going to top himself. The sheer amount of non-violent viscera in this book is staggering, to the point that it is abstract in its portrayal - in truth, it’s some weird shit. Couple that with great Hunter and Totem models, and you have the space for some eventually-iconic interpretations of things in the DCU. And the lovely colourist, Lovern Kindzierski, gives the ability for the human brain to even begin to comprehend what Foreman is putting down. I mean that in the nicest, most effusive way possible.

TL;DR

Friggin amazing, as usual. 

WK

Now that #1 month is over (sort of - there mini-series’ to attend to now), now its time to see if the #2s are as good as their predecessors. In the case of this week’s 3 #2’s, it is certainly true. So to start off, let’s talk about Animal Man #2. 

Sweet merciful crap, I love this comic book.

First, a summary. After Maxine’s uh…new pets… show up, Buddy steps in and starts taking superhero leadership action, and the whole family gets involved. A neighbour gets involved, Maxine does something to him as well, and Buddy realizes he needs to take his daughter to ‘The Red,’ a place he’s never been and never fully understood. This place has some connection to his and his daughter’s powers, but he still doesn’t quite know. From there, we go on an artistically abstract journey with Buddy and Maxine traveling into the Red and the three gross monster’s from Buddy’s dream show up and feast on San Diego zoo, taking human form. Awesome.

What I love about Lemire’s writing is that even more than the previous issue, this book is about a plausible family, each with their quirks and personality. Even though two members of the family have zero powers, there is a feeling of importance to Ellen and Cliff to the story. I have a suspicion that duel narratives may be a strong aesthetic to this book in upcoming issues. For now, the father/daughter narrative is really compelling - what would you do if your six-year-old had the powers of a god? I don’t know, but I want to see what Buddy does in my place.

As for the introduction to the hunters, I loved them, but I loved them even more after reading Swamp Thing #2. It’s fairly clear now that Swamp Thing and Animal Man will be meeting eventually (within the next year of issues, I imagine) since they are both fighting agents of the same team. This is a great way to tie things together: you don’t need to read Swamp Thing to understand Animal Man at all, but knowing Swamp Thing makes Animal Man so. much. better. I get a real feeling of world being created between these two comic teams. 

Foreman’s art is still on that edge of surreal, bringing a level of aesthetic consistency to each character - their models are such that he’s able to be flexible with proportions without losing too much - Cliff, for instance, is very kinetic and is shown to be so by his proportions and perspectives always in flux. What I thought was a slight downturn though, was that the inks were thicker in this issue, creating a muddiness that took a little away from the art. That’s forgivable, however, because the travel spreads are delicious. And the bloated hippos will haunt my dreams. 

I failed to mention Lovern Kindzierski’s colours in the last review, but she’s still on point with a muted palette bolstered by slight gradients that give the book a gritty, organic quality that helps augment Foreman’s art very well. If Lemire, Foreman and Kindzierski keep it up, I may soon have a new favourite comics team (my favourite being Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leiahola from Fables.) These guys seem to get each other very well. 

TL;DR

If you didn’t pick up #1, the reprint is out this week, so pick it up with your #2, because this book is amazing and EVERYONE SHOULD READ IT.

WK

Ok, so we’ve moved past Justice League and have what I’m going to call the meat of the New 52 - the actual titles. I’ll be reviewing each one individually - some longer, some shorter, depending on how much I like them, essentially. Let’s start with my favourite: Animal Man.

Let’s start with what I know about Animal Man. I’ve read the first issue of Morrison’s run off of Vertigo’s website. I know Buddy Baker is a C-list superhero with a family. During Morrison’s (et al) Vertigo run, Buddy did some really weird, meta stuff. He has animal powers. That is all.

Reading the above paragraph, I feel like I’m in a good position to say that I’m new to the Animal Man character and backstory. I also don’t know Jeff Lemire (writer), Travel Foreman (cover, penciller and inks) and Dan Green (inks). Aside from one of them having one of the greatest names in comics, I don’t know them from Adam. 

Good God, this is the greatest #1 issue of anything I have ever read. Here’s why:

Lemire’s story is just cool. We start with an interview on the first page to get us up to speed with the character in a way that makes me feel like Buddy could have been cut whole-cloth from the mind of Lemire, with no history in the DC: A post-superhero actor/activist/icon who kind of misses being a superhero. Cool concept. Let’s add his family! The family’s conversation is genuine and warm - this is a real cohesive unit, despite the son’s crazy mullet (which is awesome). The family encourages him to go a save some kids at a hospital - Daddy’s off to work. Cooler concept. He saves some kids, things get weird with his powers, has a bad dream and turns out his daughter has powers. HORRIBLE, TERRIFYING POWERS. AWESOME CONCEPT.

But the story is nothing without the art. Travel Foreman’s lines and hard inks (with help from Dan Green) set a dark tone, with every person looking very hard-edged and ‘mod’. This gives a gritty tone to the book - you know something bad is going to happen. In a book that is about a guy named Animal Man who has animal trait-stealing powers and a daughter with bone-chilling abilities, the art feels primal. Also, the dream sequence (not the only one this week) turns the book on its head with a different, ethereal feel. It doesn’t feel like a comic book - it feels…different.

Finally, we’re told by Lemire in this summer’s interviews that this is a horror book. I like horror. I want to like horror comics. However, I find that ‘horror’ comics either are more urban fantasy (Hellboy) or just grossly violent (I hear Preacher is pretty bad). Animal Man is horror; bone-chilling, creepy-ass horror. Between the dream sequence (which introduces some antagonists - scary antagonists) and the final panels, this book left an impression. An impression that if I don’t buy the next issue. The book itself may kill me in my sleep. 

Awesome.

TL;DR

Buy this book - it is beyond rad.

WK