The Good
Buddy finds himself on a distant planet and discovers that the world of the Red and the Green reaches much farther than Earth. Buddy learns he has to take on new responsibilities that will alter his life forever.
Cully Hamner's art here is breathtaking. I love what he does with this issue. He and colorist Dave McCaig work so well with each other. Their styles really compliment one another well. It may not be the best fit for the book, but the art is some of my favorite of the week, regardless.
The scene opens up with Buddy fighting some pretty big beasts, and Hamner's art shines here. I love the design of these characters, and the details within the hands and the face. Where we really see some stand-out art is within the two-page spreads and splash pages later on where Hamner really explores the page with interesting layouts and amazing backgrounds, as Buddy floats through space.
Jeff Lemire presents some interesting ideas here, with The Bridgewalker and making the world of the Red and Green feel larger. Conceptually, it's really cool, even though it felt to foreign for this issue.
The Bad
Animal Man in space is a bit too "out there" for me. Sure, the idea that the Red is greater than just what's happening on Earth is cool, connecting more planets to it is just going too big, especially when there's so much more to handle on Earth.
Buddy has a giant list of things he has to do. I feel like Lemire is just throwing too much at the reader too quickly, which could be because this book is ending soon and Buddy is moving over to Justice League Canada. Either way, this issue felt really disjointed to the rest of the series.
A part of it may be Hamner's art, but this issue comes off as a bit goofy. The themes and tones Lemire has been setting up for two years don't mesh incredibly well with Hamner's art, which has a bit more of an animated feel to it.
The Verdict
While ANIMAL MAN is known for being a pretty "out-there" book, this was too out there for me. It's a series with a horror element attached to it, but this book felt a bit more comical, and a part of that may be because Hamner's art didn't mesh well with Lemire's writing on this issue. However, Hamner does a phenomenal job here, so don't let that last point take anything away from him. More than anything, I'm excited for the next issue, which has Buddy back to where he belongs. Overall, I mildly recommend this issue.
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