Make sure you read ANIMAL MAN #12 first for part one
The Good
This is the moment we've been waiting for. It's been a year and we're finally seeing the culmination of Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire's set up. While I'm not normally a fan of crossovers that force you to read another series first, this is the exception. These two books have been hinting and teasing about this crossover for quite some time. It would be a shame to read one without following the events of the other. This story has been building and we're finally getting to see the characters cut loose.
As great as both series have been, now we get to see what they've been guided towards. This appears to be an epic battle in the making. Now that the green and the red have joined forces, we're seeing here that it still might not be enough. There's been the question of how and why Anton Arcane was able to come back from the dead. Now we're getting some answers.
There's something about seeing the characters interact with each other this way. For so long, both titles have been tucked away in their little corners of the New 52 Universe. Seeing Abby talk to Ellen and Maxine. What's even better is seeing the fight on two fronts. There's plenty of action here and if this is an indication of what we can expect in the ROTWORLD story, we're all in for a treat.
The Bad
At first, I was a little unsure of Marco Rudy's art. There were some inconsistencies with it. It almost felt as if we had different artists on this issue. It turns out there is three different inkers. Rudy actually inks himself on the first ten pages. Those ended up being the pages with the more crisper art. It's always a pet peeve when whatever circumstances calls for this to happen.
The backgrounds when Alec and Buddy entered the rot left a little to be desired.
The Verdict
The crossover we've been waiting for the past year is finally here. I'm not normally a fan of these sort of crossovers but the worlds that Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire have created have been screaming for this to happen. The core of the crossover will take place in each character's own book but you'll want to follow the adventures of both Swamp Thing and Animal Man. This issue is definitely a game changer. There is quite a cliffhanger at the end that you won't want to believe but we'll have to wait to find out after next month's zero issue.
Check out Inferiorego's ANIMAL MAN review for part 1.