I started trying to do reviews early December, but it appeared that not many people were interested. But today I said, "Screw it, I am doing them anyway". Today I picked up Animal Man #18, Swamp Thing #18, Green Arrow #18, and Bedlam #5. Unfortunately, my comic book store got screwed over and didn't get enough issues of Bedlam #4 in, so I still haven't read it. Warning, possible spoilers ahead! Basic plot summary for Animal Man and Swamp Thing: For those of you who are unfamiliar, Animal Man and Swamp Thing are connected series; and this month reached the end of a story spanning all eighteen issues. So you will have a good bit of back reading to do if you decide to read these. There are three forces in the world: the Red, the Green, and the Rot. The Red, which Animal Man is the avatar to, is over all animal life; the Green, which Swamp Thing is the avatar to, is over all plant life; and the Rot, which Anton Arcane is the avatar to, is the force of death. Animal Man, especially, and Swamp Thing are both 1980's Vertigo horror inspired. Animal Man #18 Firstly, I hate Steve Pugh's art. It is just not good. At all. Travel Foreman, the first artist, was much better, and in many ways made Animal Man what it is. That being said, I really liked the cover; except for the text. I do not like text on covers, it just seems to clutter them up. If the text had been removed and the cover had just been Animal Man, it would have been much better. I cannot focus too much on the story without bringing up major spoilers. I did think the writing was much better in this issue than the past few. The writing reminded me much more of the first story arc of Animal Man; the dialogue just felt right, unlike the past few issues. Jeff Lemire did a good job subtly setting up the next story arc, but I fear that it will not be as good. There is on thing that bugged me... How did Cliff take down William? William is the freaking prince of the rot! Every time he is fought he always comes back, but I am supposed to believe that a little boy tackling him somehow killed him. The ending was pretty good but Swamp Thing had a much better ending, which brings us to... Swamp Thing #18 This cover reminded me of the Alan Moore run of Saga of the Swamp Thing. And, unlike Animal Man, I really like the art in Swamp Thing; the way the edges of the panels are done, for example. This had a much better ending than Animal Man. I was much more emotionally satisfying than Animal Man and may or may not have made me tear up a little bit. It is one of the most tragic and beautiful endings I have ever seen in a comic book. My fear is that the quality of Swamp Thing will drop drastically after this issue. This was Scott Snyder's, the current writer of Batman, last issue. I have never heard of the new guy, so next month will be interesting. Green Arrow #18 Green Arrow has recently been taken over by the writer of Jeff Lemire, the writer of Animal Man. There is not much back story to read for this; you only need to pick up issue 17, which was the first issue Lemire wrote. The art is done by the artist for I, Vampire. Honestly, I didn't like the art in the first issue. But I did really think the art fit this issue. I do not know if the art just grew on me or if it has gotten better. The cover pretty good, although slightly generic. The story is really good so far. I think Lemire might take in in a sci-fi or possibly even horror direction. The story is about Oliver losing every thing and finding out about his past. It is a decidedly dark Green Arrow, which is something I can really get into. And with all the references to Black Mesa, one wonders when Gordon Freeman will show up... Sorry for the short and kind of sucky reviews this week. I was very short on time.
