Animal Man Annual #2

The Team 
Writer Jeff Lemire Artist Travel Foreman

Animal Man is still in a moment of transition that many people have openly criticised the book for. After the death of a family member shortly after the huge Rotworld crossover, this title was completely changed. There is promise here that writer Jeff Lemire is going to turn what happened here around. The problem is that when nobody is keen on the main story, who is going to venture towards a weird annual at the side? While this issue may have slower sales numbers than the first annual, there is a fair amount of quality to enjoy here. The best part about this is the return of the long absent Travel Foreman on the title. When writers come to Animal Man they always seem to have the urge to kill off the family of Buddy Baker in order to create drama. The current writer now has the impossible task of bringing back the character or acclimating readers to his death. Either way a clear decision needs to be made one way or the other in order to get completely invested in this book again.

This is the kind of story that the creative team of this title could do like no one else. Previous works like The Underwater Welder by writer Jeff Lemire, have crafted a gateway into exploring family life. Buddy Baker has always been disconnected from those that he loves. His entire life as a superhero is selfish above all else, these are themes that have been explored since the first issue of the series. This is sort of a take on the haunted dreams a reader would have after a love one is dead. The only comfort that could possibly be found, is in the remembrance of what has just happened. An issue like this is poorly timed as it would have helped readers process the recent developments in the series sooner. As it stands though this is a landmark achievement in the comic, and it is one of the best issues in the series.

Having Travel Foreman back at the helm for art on the title is lovely. The artist has a strange indie horror sensibility that really shook the tone of the book to it’s limits. It is a kind of pencil style that pushes the boundaries of comic books. Foreman’s characters look relatively clean, but touches of background around start to give way and the craziness is induced upon the reader. Places where the style get completely unhinged are truly epic, and bring a sense of purpose to the book. Animal Man has seen little creative shifts in it’s tenure at DC yet the one it has endured has seemed to detract from the title. Hopefully in the future we will be seeing more artwork on the comic by this penciller. Lemire and Foreman seem to have a great working relationship as this issue encaptures the vibe of the scripting and art perfectly.

This installment is almost completely carried by the stunning artwork, it is also a testament to the writing that Lemire pulled back. This bittersweet tale that should really strike the heart of those invested by the Animal Man. The highest praise I could probably give this title is to mention that it could only be written by a father.