The Good
Sorry fans of ANIMAL MAN, but this is your last stop. Luckily, writer Jeff Lemire provides an incredibly moving final piece for this book, as Buddy tells his daughter a fairy tale of the adventures they've had over the course of this series.
There's going to be a ton of talk about the artwork on this book since it's the return of Travel Foreman on this book. While we don't see the super-creepy artwork from when he was last on the book, drawing things from the Rot, Foreman is still fantastic at conveying emotion through his character's faces. Together with Lovern Kindzierski's colors, they create some really satisfying pages.
Normally, two artists on a book is quite an annoying thing, but ANIMAL MAN #29 shows readers the correct way to use two artists on a book. Lemire's art works so well for this format, during the Buddy Baker fairy tale scenes. During these scenes, Jose Villarrubia provides the brilliant color work. Lemire's distinct style lends so well to these scenes, and his cover to this issue is fantastic as well.
How about that final page? If you've been reading this book since the beginning, then this last page is incredibly touching and will bring back some really positive moments within ANIMAL MAN, as well as a few not-so-positive moments. Frankly, it's the perfect way to end this utterly fantastic series.
The Bad
While it was great to see Foreman back on this book, the background tend to suffer, which leaves a bit of a feeling that the work was rushed.
ANIMAL MAN #29 is really a retelling of the entire series. It works and doesn't work at the same time. It doesn't add much to the closing of the series, but at the same time, it's a nice way to wrap up the book.
The Verdict
ANIMAL MAN #29 isn't the perfect was to close up a series, but it was still a delightful read. It was great seeing Foreman back on this book, even if he isn't spending the whole time horrifying the reader with some creepy art, and Lemire's section of the book works perfectly for the issue. While his section is pretty much just recapping the entire series, it was a solid read. It really sucks to see this book go, since it was one of the best solo books at DC comics, but it goes out in an enjoyable and moving way. Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
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