ANIMAL MAN #18
by Jeff Lemire and Steve Pugh
It's nice to see Buddy is bringing out his inner Darth Vader on the cover. "NOOOOO!"
Animal Man #18 is one of the most interesting issues of Animal Man yet. #18 drops Buddy back off at the farm, where Maxine is about to give herself up to the hunters. It's nice to see the emotion that made the first part of the series worth reading is back, along with the sense of dread Rotworld lacked. Speaking of Rotworld, this book completely makes Rotworld irrelevant, and retcons everything that happened in it. I mean, I thought Rotworld was building up to something that would have a long lasting impact on AM and SW, but it didn't. But the end of this issue WILL rock long time Animal Man fans for many weeks to come, with its emotionally charged ending, finally giving Cliff a time to shine. And the entire revelation about the Hunters, boy, the storyline revolving around that is sure to be a doozy.
Steve Pugh's art gives this issue a very Vertigo-esque feel, recalling the tone of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, and Peter Milligan's Shade. It seems stiff at times, but for the most part it works. Pugh really brings out his inner artist for the last two pages, and contributes a lot to the tragic gut punch.
Animal Man #18, while imperfect, is a great conclusion to the Rotworld saga, and the final two pages show us that Lemire and Pugh know how to kick your heart in the ass.
STORY: 4/5
+ The emotion of the first couple of issues is back
+ Woah, woah, woah, I did not see the Hunters reveal coming
+ Dem last two pages...
- Makes Rotworld absolutely useless
ART: 4/5
+ Classic Vertigo feel
+ Works well
+ Makes the last two pages even sadder
- Feels stiff at times
VERDICT: 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment