Picking up this collected volume of the new Animal Man series, I knew two things about the character: Grant Morrison’s run is considered a classic and I really enjoyed the way the character was portrayed during the whole 52 series.
I really enjoyed being able to pick this up completely fresh; I had no preconceived notions about the character or knew to expect. Jeff Lemire has put together a very well written series, but one that didn’t resonate with me. I can sum it up as a really good book that I don’t want to read.
What does that even mean?
Animal Man kind of goes too into the supernatural/horror genre for my tastes. It reintroduces the Baker family, with their patriarch Buddy getting used to and enjoying not being an active super hero. Unfortunately, things get really bad very quickly as it turns out that his young daughter Maxine will some day be the avatar of the cosmic force called the Red–essentially what makes up the essence of life in animals. Extensions of the Rot–the essence of death and decay–want to kill Maxine, therefore throwing off the balance between life and death in their favor.
With this new dilemma, it’s up to Buddy to save his family from all kinds of zombies and other really gross things, disturbingly thought up by artist Travel Foreman. His art looks nightmarish, which really fits this story well.
This is a really well done book that I appreciate, but isn’t really my genre. But it you like stuff like The Living Dead or more heady horror, definitely check this out.
Ridiculously Awesome 