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