Buddy’s life only gets more and more strange as Maxine seemingly manages to exceed him significantly.
What They Say:
Maxine’s new abilities continue to terrify Ellen and Buddy Baker, and things take a turn for the worse as Buddy begins a startling transformation of his own that will lead him on a journey into the heart of The Red. Meanwhile, The Hunters Three arrive on Earth and set their sights on the Baker family. The Hunt is on as DC’s most surprising new series continues to take ANIMAL MAN in shocking new directions.
The Review:
The opening issue of Animal Man was a real mixed bag for me in that I absolutely liked the story, though it felt like it put too much in it, but I really didn’t care for the artwork. I can see the appeal of Travel Foreman’s style, but it’s one that doesn’t work for me and unfortunately takes me out of the book more often than I’d care for. Part of it is my preference for the way things operated under Grant Morrison’s run of the series where so much of it was done clean and “standard” superhero fare in a way which made the surreal aspects all the more so because it felt like Buddy’s life was normal. Here, everything feels strange and weird from the start and only gets more so. The artwork is just off-putting to me, though I can readily admit it does fit within what Jeff Lemire is doing with the book and its story.
Maxine’s raising of the dead is certainly disturbing on its own level and it’s almost amusing how much it’s freaking out her mother considering some of the things she’s seen after being with Buddy. But it’s outweighed by her concern for Maxine and trying to get things right again. But even her concern for Maxine is put to the test when Buddy himself changes, as his eyes start to bleed again. But it’s not just that but his chest and arms start showing disturbing vein-like tattoos which causes plenty of panic, at least until Maxine is seemingly the voice of reason. With her having a seemingly elevated sense of what Buddy has, she’s more in tune with the Red than he ever was, or was open to since his powers came to him as an adult. For Maxine, she’s connected with it much easier and comes across as older and more at ease with it all. It’s something that Ellen was prepared for to some degree when she and Buddy decided to have kids, but Maxine really has taken it to a whole other level.
The exploration of the Red is definitely one of the things that I’m keen on with this series as it’s a new exploration of the field that he accesses and it looks like we’re getting a Tree of Life kind of approach to it here at the start. Turning it into a journey where Buddy has to work with Maxine, almost to the point where she’s leading the way, it puts a different kind of pressure on him but also helps to bring him closer to her. But it’s beneficial for him beyond that as well as he starts to understand more of her connection to the Red which in turn opens his eyes just a little bit more too. And as connected as he’s been over the years, this is something that can push him to the next level. Jumping deep into what the Red is here may feel like a little too much, since it exists but can’t be seen, but it’s the kind of forward momentum that I want to see out of a book like this. It’s moving quickly, having things happen and even ties in a little bit more to back story material.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Animal Man contains the main cover as seen with the print edition with no variants or other extras included outside of an ad at the end for Swamp Thing.
In Summary:
I have a long time love affair with the Animal Man character and he was one of the few things in Countdown that kept me coming back to it. With his own series, it’s right back into the Vertigo-esque world that he feels the most appropriate in and Lemire has managed to capture it well. His life is being thrown for a loop and something he didn’t think he’d have to deal with for years to come with his daughter having powers is forcing itself on him in a big way. Maxine comes off a bit odd at times in a way that feels strangely written, even for her different view of the world because of her exposure to the Red, but it’s also written in a way that reminds me of a lot of old 80’s horror movies where the kids have a disconnect that’s creepy and haunting. The only thing holding the book back from really being a top flight title for me at this stage is the artwork as Foreman doesn’t work for me in the slightest.
Grade: B+
