Will Animal Man's family survive an attack from The Rot? Can Maxine's new powers help them too?
If the cover alone isn't striking enough, then wait until you see the interior artwork as Travel Foreman's art will either blow your mind or make you scream and give you nightmares. With Animal Man issue number five, we continue from last issue where Ellen and Cliff are attacked by an agent of The Rot. Despite trying to find sanctuary on Ellen's mother's farm, the police detective who escorted them there, was actually a Rot agent in disguise. Arriving in time before any harm can be done, Buddy and Maxine, who has new found powers, thwart off the threat for now. Or have they? Writer Jeff Lemire has thrown in a wrench in the works, as Maxine and the rest of the family discover that the situation has become worse!
The Good: Great story
The Bad: The cover was a bit over the top.
Final Verdict: A
Animal Man is the best New 52 series (along with Blue Beetle).
ReplyDeleteWhat makes Animal Man special is the way Lemire deconstructs the superhero mythology. For example:
1) Superheroes tend to monopolize the attention of the reader, while Animal Man is constantly upstaged by the supporting characters of the series.
2) Superhero comics usually don’t give much importance to the private life of their main character (they tend to focus only on the “costume on” part); in Animal Man, on the contrary, the private life of Buddy is the main theme of the series. In fact, it is rather infrequent to see Buddy with his costume on.
3) Buddy is not perfect, and is not perceived as perfect by other people: in fact, in the 11th issue, when he tells his wife “It’s going to be okay”, she replies “Don’t give me anything of that superhero crap, Buddy.” That cut and thrust perfectly enlightens the philosophy of the series.