Animal Man #21 Review

ANIMAL MAN #21

by Jeff Lemire, Steve Pugh and Francis Portela

So, two issues ago, Buddy dissed off the Totems, and they severed his connection to the Red and banished him. Now, Maxine disses off the Totems, and they basically can't do $#@!. 

Animal Man #21 is the start of a new arc titled Splinter Species, and boy is it interesting. Now, I just want to put it out there, that this issue is going to separate the men from the boys. Because there is some disturbing-ass stuff going on here. If you thought Rotworld was disgusting, you haven't seen anything yet. I mean, (ironically) vegetarians and animal rights activists are probably going to drop the book from here, and if you do, that's okay. It just means you're not a fan of gruesome dismemberment, mutilation, and other sick stuff. Now that we've got that out of the way, this is actually a very good issue of Animal Man. We get to see Buddy investigating a mystery involving missing animals, and a surprisingly light-hearted and charming subplot involving Maxine, Shepherd, and Socks trying to bring Cliff back to life. It's like Lemire is writing two different books, but the two stories click together so well. It's actually pretty depressing to see Buddy go through the aftermath of Cliff's death, but when Maxine goes into the Red, Lemire actually writes in a few chuckle-worthy moments. Like I mentioned earlier, Maxine does diss the Totems,  and just reading that brought a smile to my face. This issue is a real emotional roller coaster. It starts out depressing, then becomes funny, back to depressing, then funny, and then towards the end of the issue.. Well, it takes a turn into some dark territory which you'd think DC wouldn't allow to be published. The new villain is a sadistic mother!@#$er, and he does some stuff that will really turn people off to this book. Hell, it even made me cringe a bit. But it's a testament to Lemire's writing skills, showing he can unnerve reader, even those with steel stomachs. The only thing I don't like, is that I still find Ellen written very uncharacteristically. Back in issue one, she was written as the most loyal person to Buddy, but now, she's left him over Cliff's death, even though it wasn't his fault.

Steve Pugh's art is great in this issue. He lends to the realistic and solemn tone of Buddy's scenes, and is part of the reason the last few pages of the book is so disgusting. I mean, he draws the splash page so realistically, I'm almost sure he used photo reference. Kudos to him if he did, and didn't throw up more than twice. Francis Portela draws Maxine's scenes, and it's absolutely gorgeous. His art is like a cross between Nick Pitarra's Manhattan Projects art and Travel Foreman's work on the first 5 issues of the series. Now, the two artists have such different art styles, but the transition isn't even that jarring. It really works, as the mood and feel of each of two artists, and their subsequent pages contrast each other.

Animal Man #21 is a very good issue. It's one of the best in the series. It's unnerving, funny, creepy, and depressing. Plus, you get some very pretty looking pages.

STORY: 4/5

+ It's like the comic book equivalent of the Red Wedding

+ Buddy is written well, as usual

+ Maxine and Socks's escapades in the Red

+ The new villain is bat-$#!@ crazy

- Ellen is being a bitch

ART: 5/5

+ Pugh's art looks creepier than ever

+ Portela's art looks AWESOME
+ Good transition

VERDICT: 4.5/5