EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: "Animal Man" #7

[CBR News]

Courtesy of DC Comics, CBR presents an exclusive look at "Animal Man" #7 by Jeff Lemire, Steve Pugh and Travel Foreman. The birth of Animal Woman goes on sale March 7.


Full article here (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=37318).

[sethysquare]

I love the new artist much better than trevor foreman.
I'll continue to check out his stuff in BOP, but I think I like Steve Pugh much better. You just have to read this issue and you'll tell the stark difference in their art.
Foreman draws crazy stuff really well, but when there isn't action it doesn't look as pretty.

[weeks]

so many great things in this book. i was really impressed with pugh's art, though i still prefer foreman's on this title, we are still getting some high quality work.

"and not the cheap dry stuff, either." that panel really cracked me up.

[Desaad]

This book remains the best thing being put out by DC or Marvel, month in month out (until Batman Inc returns, I suspect).

Just. WOW.

[FHIZ]

I actually like Steve Pugh's art a bit more than Foreman's. It has a bit more depth too it? I guess? The sketches Foreman has done for Birds of Prey just look to have more going on in it, where the pages here on Animal Man look somewhat flat. Maybe he's just already ready to move on to Birds? Probably should be drawing that first issue now, given the schedule of other artists, and what I've read they're working on currently.

[Desaad]

I still prefer Foreman's art by a health degree. His characters were a bit more expressive and far WEIRDER, which was just a wonderful element of the book; it continued the juxtaposition of the weirdness of the Red mythology with the normalcy of the Baker family.

But Pugh's artwork is high quality if I've ever seen it. The biggest regret/problem is that I don't think he's really a monthly guy.

[ajinkris]

Ok so, this is the best title of the new 52. It has proven itself time and time again. The writing is absurdly good and the art hits the mark every time.

[Desaad]

Yeah, agreed. There hasnt' been a truly off issue in the bunch. Last issue, 6, was the 'worst' and even that was brilliant conceived and rendered.

[spambidextrous]

Another superb issue. However, I do have one slight gripe...

As we already know (and, without giving too much away, is reinforced heavily in this issue), Buddy and his family are on a mission to find Alec as they need him to take on the Rot. This is a good thing insofar as it is leading toward Deadworld, which I think everyone has extremely high hopes for. Buuuuuuut... everything in Animal Man seems very centered on finding Alec at the moment, with the entire family helpless and pinning all their hopes on the main character of another book. Similarly, Maxine is also being set up as the saviour of the Red. Now, I understand (and very much support) the family dynamic being a central plank of Animal Man, and the interaction between Buddy's paternalistic instincts and Maxine's developing powerset is clearly key to Lemire's narrative. But this combination of Alec- and Maxine-focused plot is kind of detracting from the sense that Buddy can achieve anything off his own back here. He just seems pretty... helpless I guess.

I dunno, I guess I am just airing my thoughts that I would like Buddy to be able to play a significant role in saving the day when all is said and done within this storyline. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate and love the fact that Lemire is showing that being a hero is more than simply putting on a pair of tights and hitting something really hard - it's about being a good dad, a good husband, keeping your family safe, helping out the Police, etc. But at the same time I really hope that, well, Buddy gets to hit something really hard and help stop the Rot rather than just leaving all the heavy lifting to Maxine and Alec.

[Desaad]

Another superb issue. However, I do have one slight gripe...

As we already know (and, without giving too much away, is reinforced heavily in this issue), Buddy and his family are on a mission to find Alec as they need him to take on the Rot. This is a good thing insofar as it is leading toward Deadworld, which I think everyone has extremely high hopes for. Buuuuuuut... everything in Animal Man seems very centered on finding Alec at the moment, with the entire family helpless and pinning all their hopes on the main character of another book. Similarly, Maxine is also being set up as the saviour of the Red. Now, I understand (and very much support) the family dynamic being a central plank of Animal Man, and the interaction between Buddy's paternalistic instincts and Maxine's developing powerset is clearly key to Lemire's narrative. But this combination of Alec- and Maxine-focused plot is kind of detracting from the sense that Buddy can achieve anything off his own back here. He just seems pretty... helpless I guess.

It's an interesting but effective recasting of Buddy as the everyman caught up in events beyond his ken, just as he was in Morrison's Animal Man.

It works for me, but I absolutely understand what you are saying. The book has really become an ensemble book, with Maxine as the big important character with a destiny and a future. That's part of what gives it its charm, for me -- Swamp Thing, in a way, feels almost stale or staid with this "you are destined to be the greatest..." plotline. We've all SEEN that before, in fantasy, in sci fi, and especially in superhero comics. It's a cliche.

Here we have a book called Animal Man, and indeed ANimal Man is a very important figure in it, but he's not the one with a special destiny, he's not the most crucial, critical, prime mover in the whole thing. He's very much swept up in events, and trying to come to grips with it. He's ineffectual as much as he is successful. But there is still a lot of emotional exploration of the character, even if he's not the decisive action-hero most stars quickly become.

I do understand your complaint, and understand you already 'get' where I'm coming from, just wanted to give my own alternative opinion. I'm okay with Buddy playing ONE important role in the ultimate defeat of the Rot, and it's okay with me if that role is simply to be a good enough dad to Maxine to get her to where she needs to be to actually defeat them. Literally he'll save mankind and be the greatest superhero in the world...only through being a good father. It really gets back to the whole point of this take on the character, family and mythology, in my opinion. And I suspect he'll also have to be a good husband to Elln, and a good father to cliff, to ultimately pull it off, as they'll all be important.

[spambidextrous]

That's a great point about Lemire expanding on the Morrissonian theme of the everyman buffeted by the whims of a power beyond his understanding or ability to effect; I hadn't considered the link before but it is definitely present.

And I yes, we are definitely coming from the same place Desaad. The typical dynamics of the superhero book are not what makes Animal Man so great (either in this iteration or any other). Buddy's most important contribution is going to be to keep his family safe, and to wrestle with the dilemma of how to save the world when the only way of achieving this is to let his daughter take the fight to the enemy.

It wasn't so much a complaint I was making really, and am totally cool with the focus of the book lying with the issues we've discussed. I guess I was just expressing the (personal) hope that we get to see Buddy have a few moments of more 'traditional' comic-book-heroism within the grander sweep of things. :smile:

[Alex Decay]

Pretty good issue. The cliffhanger was weirdly anti-climatic, since it was so predictable, and I just don't like some of the faces in the art, here. I would swear the clerk was staring off into space while talking to Cliff.

[Desaad]

That's a great point about Lemire expanding on the Morrissonian theme of the everyman buffeted by the whims of a power beyond his understanding or ability to effect; I hadn't considered the link before but it is definitely present.

And I yes, we are definitely coming from the same place Desaad. The typical dynamics of the superhero book are not what makes Animal Man so great (either in this iteration or any other). Buddy's most important contribution is going to be to keep his family safe, and to wrestle with the dilemma of how to save the world when the only way of achieving this is to let his daughter take the fight to the enemy.

It wasn't so much a complaint I was making really, and am totally cool with the focus of the book lying with the issues we've discussed. I guess I was just expressing the (personal) hope that we get to see Buddy have a few moments of more 'traditional' comic-book-heroism within the grander sweep of things. :smile:


Understood, and I'm right there with you sir!

But I hope we see ALL of them have a few moments of traditional comic book heroism. Perhaps that's greedy, but it was fun seeing Cliff take action against a Hunter, it's great seeing Ellen playing decisive ACTION roles against foes, in addition to her already obvious importance to her family (as she's clearly the backbone of the Baker clan, not Buddy).

[blackphoenix]

Can't wait to pick this up. It at least looks miles better than last issues' lackluster Kick Ass knock-off.

[Shimarenda]

Another superb issue. However, I do have one slight gripe...

As we already know (and, without giving too much away, is reinforced heavily in this issue), Buddy and his family are on a mission to find Alec as they need him to take on the Rot. This is a good thing insofar as it is leading toward Deadworld, which I think everyone has extremely high hopes for. Buuuuuuut... everything in Animal Man seems very centered on finding Alec at the moment, with the entire family helpless and pinning all their hopes on the main character of another book. Similarly, Maxine is also being set up as the saviour of the Red. Now, I understand (and very much support) the family dynamic being a central plank of Animal Man, and the interaction between Buddy's paternalistic instincts and Maxine's developing powerset is clearly key to Lemire's narrative. But this combination of Alec- and Maxine-focused plot is kind of detracting from the sense that Buddy can achieve anything off his own back here. He just seems pretty... helpless I guess.

I dunno, I guess I am just airing my thoughts that I would like Buddy to be able to play a significant role in saving the day when all is said and done within this storyline. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate and love the fact that Lemire is showing that being a hero is more than simply putting on a pair of tights and hitting something really hard - it's about being a good dad, a good husband, keeping your family safe, helping out the Police, etc. But at the same time I really hope that, well, Buddy gets to hit something really hard and help stop the Rot rather than just leaving all the heavy lifting to Maxine and Alec.

I think you will get your wish. Buddy's dream seemed to indicate that Maxine will fall to the Rot if he fails to protect her in some way. He may not be "The One," but his part seems to be crucial.

To add two more points, I didn't care for the art when this first started, but Travel Foreman's art has come to be such an integral part of the book for me. I understand his reasons for making a change, and Pugh's art seems like it will work well for this (the boneyard splash page was especially good I thought); but I have to praise Foreman for what he's done for Animal Man.

Also, I laughed aloud at a couple of things (the dry catfood line and Buddy making Cliff look good for those girls). It's fun to have those moments in the middle of a creepy horror story.

[jabari18]

What I love most about this book, is despite it being called Animal Man, I actually care about the other characters. I even care about his mother-in-law and would feel some grief if and when she meets her tragic end. I actually loved the interactions between Buddy and Cliff. I just love the whole dynamic and feel of this book. The dialogue in Animal Man has also been far better than most other books (and I read most). The art wasn't as tops as the first 5, but good enough.

[El Sombrero]

I still prefer Foreman's art by a health degree. His characters were a bit more expressive and far WEIRDER, which was just a wonderful element of the book; it continued the juxtaposition of the weirdness of the Red mythology with the normalcy of the Baker family.

This is exactly how I feel. Pugh's art really isn't bad at all but Foreman is on another level entirely...there is pretty much no way anyone was going to match up to him.

I would really like to see DC have Sienkiewicz ink this book or contribute to art in some capacity. Foreman's art really reminded me of Sienkiewicz and come on, he would be insane on a dark title. Even just his inking adds loads of tone to a book.

This issue felt slightly low on content / happenings, but I still really enjoyed it. I really like the family road trip storyline because it gives tons of opportunities for character interaction and family dynamics, yet gives the sense of them being on the run which creates tension. I like adding the grandma because she also adds more natural drama, and you have to sympathize with her...of course she would be terrified at what Buddy has done to the safety of her family, even though Buddy has the best of intentions.

The scene where Cliff talks to the girls and Buddy flies away with him was just great, and I totally dug the future dream with Maxine as Animal-Woman. I wonder if the trench coat guy was future Constantine? Pugh did a nice job with the rot designs there.

Solid issue, this book continues to rock.

[Desaad]

Sienkiewicz's inks aren't going to bring to the book what made Foreman's art so appropriate. He'd have to be doing the layouts start to finish, and even then it would be too muddled and not expressive enough, in my mind. Foreman's art was really one of a kind, and I'm going to miss it greatly.

As for me, this issue felt LOADED with content. It wasn't concerned with the main plot, sure, but TONS happened here with the characters. This was one of my favorite issues to date.

And that future guy was definitely Constantine. He has an appearance coming up in issue 9.

[El Sombrero]

Sienkiewicz's inks aren't going to bring to the book what made Foreman's art so appropriate. He'd have to be doing the layouts start to finish, and even then it would be too muddled and not expressive enough, in my mind. Foreman's art was really one of a kind, and I'm going to miss it greatly.

As for me, this issue felt LOADED with content. It wasn't concerned with the main plot, sure, but TONS happened here with the characters. This was one of my favorite issues to date.

And that future guy was definitely Constantine. He has an appearance coming up in issue 9.

Okay, the more I thought about it I agree that Sienkiewicz just doing inks would probably not add enough. I just want someone whose art is more WEIRD, like you said. I saw previews of the guy who is doing the annual and I really liked his style.

I checked the issue quickly and it wasn't as low on content as I initially felt. I think my problem is that I also bought Swamp Thing and Action Comics this week, and both those books were especially content-heavy. But yeah on second thought this issue had a fine amount of content.

Glad to hear that it probably is Constantine. That should make for a nice transition into Lemire's work on JLD.

[Desaad]

Okay, the more I thought about it I agree that Sienkiewicz just doing inks would probably not add enough. I just want someone whose art is more WEIRD, like you said. I saw previews of the guy who is doing the annual and I really liked his style.

Tim Green? It's not bad, for sure, but it's not the style which I'm interested in so much as the imaginative sense of design. Foreman did some nice figure work for sure, but his monsters were just absolutely grotesque and his characters were extremely expressive. He was sort of a modern day Kevin O'Neil in that regard, who was doing similarly weird design work on GL Corps members and various aliens for Alan Moore back in the 80s.

There aren't a lot of guys that really come to mind as being quite up there with Foreman in terms of desgin. I didn't even know Foreman was up there until we saw him cut loose, to be fair! Eric Canete, maybe, has a bit of that in him.


I checked the issue quickly and it wasn't as low on content as I initially felt. I think my problem is that I also bought Swamp Thing and Action Comics this week, and both those books were especially content-heavy. But yeah on second thought this issue had a fine amount of content.

Glad to hear that it probably is Constantine. That should make for a nice transition into Lemire's work on JLD.

Apparently he wrote the issue before he even knew he got the JLD gig, but I bet it was good practice for making JL D Constantine a little more natural.

As to content, I have to say - I got more out of this issue than I did out of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing was well written and brilliantly rendered, but it was a reiteration of a lot of the points and themes we've gotten up to now. Just my opinion, though.

Basically, this was an amazing week of comics where all the best were at the top of their game (Action, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, OMAC) and at least 3 books leveled up HUGELY (Green Arrow, Stormwatch, and Static Shock).

Wonderful stuff.

[paulski]

Really impressive work by Pugh this issue, and it allays any fears I might have had about him taking over the book.

Can't wait for the inevitable Swamp Thing crossover, too.

[coconutphone]

Another just stellar issue. Loved the Cliff/Buddy scenes, especially Buddy flying Cliff away saying that the JL needs them. Adorable. Also enjoyed his mother-in-law bitching about him and ellen brusig it off to Buddy with the "What's her problem?" "You. what else is new?" line.

More!!