Animal Man #1

Another character that spent some time as a Vertigo book. Now back in the main DCU for the "New 52".

Title: Animal Man
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Penciler: Travel Foreman
Inker: Travel Foreman, Dan Green
Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Kate Stewart, Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Travel Foreman

Clever opening with a first-page text feature that is a magazine interview with actor, animal rights activist, and semi-retired superhero Buddy Baker. Buddy isn't really sure what to do with himself, and the pressures to provide for his family are beginning to mount.

When he stops a distraught hostage-taker at a hospital, Buddy gets his first hint that something is not right in the morphogenic field that is the source of his powers.

The focus soon shifts to Buddy's daughter, Maxine, who really wants a pet puppy. Someone should have played the old song "dead puppies aren't much fun" for her.

There's also a very surreal (and pretty effective) dream sequence in here.

Horror, check. Family drama, check. Something weird going on with Maxine, check. Surrealism and bizarre dreams, check.

Yeah, this is an Animal Man book. It is, in fact, THE typical Animal Man story from the Vertigo run, and it left me with quite a bit of deja vu. I'm guessing this was a conscious decision, made to introduce new readers to they type of story that longtime fans expect from this title. While not all that new or original, it was handled well from start to finish.

Buddy Baker works really well as a sort of liberal "everyman" character. He's an environmentalist and a vegan, and he's got a complex family situation to juggle. And he's basically a well-intentioned nice guy. A lot of readers will relate to him (even readers who don't agree with him on his choice of a vegan lifestyle). It's hard not to relate to him.

The story moved along at a good pace and planted plenty of seeds for future action. It also had some creepy moments and a disturbing ending.

I would have liked some more originality, but this provided a good starting point.

Rating: 7/10