Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Animal Man #2

By Garth the Geek
October 6, 2011 - 23:50

It took Jeff Lemire only one issue to get me hooked on this series. This second issue serves as an exclamation point more than anything else, turning my previous feelings of, ‘I really enjoy Animal Man’, into ‘I really enjoy Animal Man!’ One more issue like this and I just might have to replace ‘really enjoy’ with ‘love’…

I tried summarizing the story and have since given up; there’s so much going on here that any single sentence will never do it justice. What I WILL say is this: I love Lemire’s pacing. He takes his time telling the story, showing us bits and pieces of Buddy’s life - both as a hero and a family man - but all the while building toward something much bigger. Even the small things - the comments, the asides - serve to progress the reader’s understanding of the characters. There hasn’t been an unnecessary scene yet. In short, Lemire is using his 20 pages to their full potential. At no point does the story feel padded, like Lemire was trying to squeeze 20 pages out of a 17-page script. And vice versa: it doesn’t feel rushed. As such, it reads more like a suspense than anything else. And while the final, cliff-hanger ending isn’t quite on par with the last page of issue one (it’s hard to top a yard full of reanimated neighbourhood pets) it’s still good.

The artwork, while not beautiful, contains a raw aesthetic quality that complements the story well. And the scene with the ‘pregnant’hippos was truly disturbing.

I highly recommend picking this issue up.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12