Review: Animal Man Vol. 2- Animal vs. Man

Quick Summary

Pros: The premise is great and allows the story to be filled with suspense. New details about the Red make the series even more interesting. Buddy and his family are charming, for the most part. The horror is great and is made even better by the creative art.

Cons: Buddy’s wife is written poorly in some places.

Overall: This collection guarantees that the success of the first volume was not a fluke, this is definitely a series to watch out for. It essentially takes what was done already and enhances it through worldbuilding and a captivating new premise. Meanwhile, the horror and characters are still just as great as they were before. Anyone who read the previous volume should read this one to continue what is shaping up to be an epic saga.

Story

The second volume in the Animal Man series is every bit as captivating and terrifying as the first. Animal vs. Man, by Jeff Lemire, is a book that excels in suspense, worldbuilding, and horror. It takes readers on fantastic adventures filled with epic battles and bizarre displays of superpowered chaos. It is also constantly building a larger narrative that has a ton of potential to pay off in the future. Overall, this is another solid entry in a series that is just getting started.

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The volume picks up right where the previous one left off. Buddy Baker and his family are heading across the country in a desperate attempt to escape the Rot. The family’s misadventures on this road trip are the base upon which the rest of the narrative is set. This gives the entire volume a sense of urgency, as the family is constantly on the run from one threat or another.

Along the way, Lemire continues to further elaborate upon the specific nature of the Red. He shows pieces of the Red’s underworld and even demonstrates how the Red can be used to construct a new body if an avatar’s host body should die. Readers even get a peek into the past, where they discover a past conflict between the Red and the Rot. This worldbuilding is remarkable and made me even more interested in the story and characters. It truly feels like we haven’t even scratched the surface as to what this concept could offer, making future volumes even more tantalizing.

Animal vs. Man also excels in stressing the human element during this road trip. Buddy’s status as a father and husband is part of what makes him unique and is part of what made the first volume so endearing. This continues here as Buddy pals around with his son and shows that he’ll do anything to protect his children.

Despite these many positives, the major draw to this book is, above all else, the horror. The creatures of the Rot are terrifying and produce copious amounts of anxiety on any page they inhabit. This is made even more intense when the main characters are put at risk, such as when Cliff is held hostage or when Maxine temporarily dies. Lemire clearly knows how to write tense situation and scary concepts, which works out well for Animal Man.

My only complaint with the volume is that Ellen, Buddy’s wife, acts rather irrationally. She seems to believe that running away from the Rot and forbidding Maxine from using her powers will somehow distance the family from danger. However, everyone else seems to acknowledge that the Rot will never stop chasing them. Her actions could be explained by a desire to protect her child but it seems like the other characters should at least be able to point out the inconsistencies of her argument.

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Art

The artwork throughout Animal vs. Man is also every bit as good as it was in the first volume. Steve Pugh and Travel Foreman take the lead on most issues, bringing back the first volume’s characteristic minimalist style. This approach allows the book to place all of the reader’s focus on the grotesque monsters found here. This monsters are terrifying, while still being drawn with a high level of creativity. The end result is an art style that is simply perfect for the story being told.

Continuity

Animal Man Vol. 2: Animal vs. Man continues the story from Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt (Review).

The story here continues in Animal Man Vol. 3: Rotworld- The Red Kingdom (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Central City’s lack of power is explained by Flash’s actions in The Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward.
• A number of references are made to Swamp Thing and the avatar of the Rot. Both of these characters are developed in Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise them Bones (Review) and Swamp Thing Vol. 2: Family Tree (Review).
• Animal Man references a “dream” that he had where he met his creator. This happened in Animal Man Vol. 1 #26.