52 Pickup: The DC Shuffle – Animal Man

I was going in expecting very little from this book, I liked the Morrison stuff making him an everyman, wife, kids, hates his job, and very human, he made mistakes, like we all do. I have noticed since his reboot in the late 80’s he had become a whipping boy for DC, constantly making his superhero career a living hell and ruining any chance at a normal life. So when I opened this book and found out that Buddy Baker was the George Clooney of the DC Universe, I was excited, until the end.

eat your heart out Steve Miller, he CAN fly like an eagle

I was genuinely put off by the creepy nightmare with the monsters that called themselves the Hunters Three, Buddy’s bleeding eyes really made me uncomfortable, and the ending? I got full on heeby jeebys. This was a good thing though, Animal Man had me pulled in from page one when he is setting with his lovely family having a family talk. This book used very real emotions and feeling to move the story along, I cared for Animal Man, hell, I cared for the gunman that Animal Man took down. And when we got to the end and saw the creepy secret of Buddy’s family, I almost gasped out loud.

 

No longer does he need to be near the animal, I like that.

 

The art is different, a good different that works with the grittiness of Animal Man’s character. I also really like the suit redesign, it’s very stream line and Hollywood, which he is, being an ex actor and now celebrity activist. His monologue on how his power works and how he handles issues doesn’t seem forced either, very fluid writing and a great style. Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Superboy) and Travel Foreman (Immortal Iron Fist) really work well together for one of the best books out of the DC relaunch.

 

I give this book an Ace, the highest honors that we can give.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where is the mysterious shrouded lady? Just chilling right here.

Just hanging with the sick kids

About Brandon C. Williams

I'm one of the main contributors to 8 DAG and I take pride in my other job as Public/Staff relations. I'm a comics and movie junkie and I love to podcast. Follow me on Twitter @BrandoCop
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