Simon MacDonald is a software developer by day, a comics omnivore by night, and a devoted reader of all kinds of books during the moments the rest of us would waste time sleeping or blinking or something. He's a proud father and husband, and he still finds time to run and seek the perfect cup of coffee.
He's got a great perspective on comics new and old, and its always fun when he shows up in the comments or volunteers a Guest Post.
He took some time off from making Android apps and his own blog to send us the post below.
take, it Simon!
Well's it been awhile since I've gone to my LCS to pick up an actual comic instead of a trade. I've not purchased a new release floppy since Thor: The Mighty Avenger was cancelled and I haven't purchased multiple new release floppies in a long, long time.
That's all changed with this weeks release of thirteen new #1 issues four of which I'm picking up hard copies of and depending on word of mouth I may pick up even more when the digital price drops by $1 in a month. Here are my thoughts on the books as I read them in the scientific alphabetical order:
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
Frankly I was blown away by this first issue. This is a master class on how to introduce a character to a bunch of new readers. I can see people who've never read an Animal Man book enjoy this just as much as folks who are fans of Grant Morrison's turn on the title.
The first page is a magazine interview which nicely catches up readers on the history of Buddy Baker, Animal Man. Some people don't like prose piece in their comics but I don't have a problem with it as long as it is used properly and in this case it's a perfect fit.
We are introduced to Buddy's wife Ellen, son Cliff and daughter Maxine and we get a really great scene in the kitchen setting up the tension between Buddy's role as a family man and being a super hero. From there Buddy must stop a kidnapping which serves as an excellent forum to explain and showcase his powers.
The balance of the book then sets up a number of plot points where we see that Buddy may have a problem with his powers, there seems to be something rotten with the "Red" the morphogenic field where Buddy can access his various animal attributes and finally Maxine seems to be coming into some powers of her own.
There is a certain horror aspect here that really sets me on edge. As a Dad I'm always worried about my kids and stories like Poltergeist, The Shinning and Locke & Key where the kids are in danger really, really make an impact on me.
Lemire succeeds in making me bite on this book, hook line and sinker. On my first read I wasn't too sure about Travel Foreman's pencils but on subsequent reads I'm really digging the creepy vibe he's able to give the book. I'm going to have to contact my LCS and tell them to put this on my pull list permanently.