Jeff Lemire's 2011 re-imagining of Animal Man is okay, but feels more like an event tie-in than something that stands on its own.Don't expect Grant Morrison's combination of humor and surrealism here (though the preachiness is fortunately absent too). Animal Man is now an action-packed horror comic, and is perhaps too tense to succeed. Travel Foreman throws creepy drawings at the reader left and right, which is not the way I'd like a horror comic. Travel Foreman does them well, though. There are breather moments in companion comic Swamp Thing, and most of the creepiness is reserved for the villains Alec Holland has to face (and the prospect of Holland losing his humanity). The effect works better if done sparingly rather than machine-gunning Lovecraftian drawings, making the Red look as evil as the Rot.Buddy Baker as Animal Man is rather ineffectual, relying on his daughter Maxine (the avatar of the "Red", or the animal life web) to bail him out of situations. When agents of the Rot trick Maxine into infecting animals, then Animal Man panics and looks for Swamp Thing. This whole story arc is just a buildup to a crossover, and Animal Man isn't given enough time to stand on his own. Alec Holland doesn't pine for Buddy Baker to save him; he takes the initiative to become Swamp Thing and fight the Rot himself. Holland and the people he fights for are established as characters, and they don't spend ALL of their time fighting, unlike what Lemire did with Animal Man.Maybe it's my bias to early issues of Grant Morrison's Animal Man speaking, but Animal Man was meant for humorous B-list superhero action rather than horror, and Buddy Baker doesn't have much of an identity here. I have never read an Animal Man story, so I really did not know what to expect, but this blew away my expectations. Jeff Lemire has created a horror story with family at its core and made this a brilliant read. Animal Man has to come with terms about his daughter and her connection to "The Red" which is being attacked by something called "The Rot" (which is basically death). This is leading to a crossover event with Swamp Thing, and I am so excited to read that story, called "Rotworld."The artwork is simply stunning, and Lemire is an amazing writer. I highly recommend this to anyone, especially from the point of view of a new reader to the world of Animal Man.
Do You like book Animal Man: La Cacería (2012)?
Love Jeff Lemire, but this one is not one of his best. Sorry.
—randomhearts517
Has a talking cat. What more reason do you need?
—sgwn
For trying too hard to be Swamp Thing...
—AshyGirl
