Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man has become one of my favorite comics out of the New 52. It’s just this issue I’ve finally gotten the chance to sit down and look over an issue. After the past five issues of being in an ongoing battle with the Rot, we get a respite in this issue with a special story illustrated by John Paul Leon. It’s the movie mentioned in issue one that he filmed called “Tights.” Buddy Baker a.k.a Animal Man plays Chas Grant, a former superhero named Red Thunder, a street level hero in the vein of Batman, yet nowhere near as successful. Red Thunder is only part of the story, the crux of it being a man dealing with his life outside of the costume.
The title sequence at the beginning of Animal Man felt like I was watching a movie. It’s helped by Leon’s art style, it’s some of his best work to date. It’s realistic yet not so realistic that it takes you out of the story. Lemire’s handling of the movie aspect absorbs you into this story. In the first part Lemire gives you a look into Chas and what’s left of his family life, which is little. The only relationship that isn’t fractured is his relationship with his son, who hasn’t seen his Dad recently yet deeply cares for him. Lemire did a sweet yet sad way of relaying this to you. Then as things start to fall apart in other matters, he starts to look towards the comfort of an old friend.
John Paul Leon’s and Lemire are in sync with this story, the silent decision of Chas and him thinking about wearing the costume was spot on. I thought about it in relation to the first issue of Animal Man, referencing to Buddy not wearing the tights anymore. Giving the movie a deeper meaning in how it relates to what’s been happening within Animal Man. It’s a good examination into not just this movie but just what was happening in Buddy’s life at the time he made the movie. When you see Chas in the costume, you’re cheering at the page, then it turns into something completely different. I was sad for the character by the end of the story. Leading us to the last two pages illustrated by Travel Foreman, setting us down the road to the next story arc.
I can’t say much more on this issue of Animal Man outside of saying I loved it. John Paul Leon was a good fit for what Jeff Lemire was aiming for with this issue. It’s not often in a comic I feel like I am truly absorbed into a world, yet this issue of Animal Man did exactly that. I would consider this story to be something you could hand to a non-comic fan and have them see just why comics are great. It’s one of those sort of stories. It’s a good jumping on point for Animal Man and just a great story in itself. If you haven’t grabbed an issue of Animal Man yet, this is the perfect time to do so, a comic that truly has to be experienced.
