Animal Man #18

A part of me wants to give this issue my "pick of the week" stamp, but sadly, this was only the second book I've read so far. This is one of my favorite issues of this series though. There's a big change in this series which will greatly affect the future of the characters in this book. Lemire and Pugh killed it this week and continue to do so.If you haven't been reading ANIMAL MAN, you better start because you're missing out on an amazing book. Start at the beginning of the series. Sure, you could start at the beginning of Rot World, but you should read the whole series.Overall, I highly recommend this issue. Read Full Review

‘This is the most tragic day in the life of Buddy Baker' is an appropriate tagline for the issue. Issue #18 completely changes the status quo of the characters and is especially devastating. With how the issue ended and the general tone, Animal Man is back as one my most anticipated DC Comics. Read Full Review

"Animal Man" #18 feels satisfying to me; it's been a big build-up after all, and Lemire couldn't have a story that lasted so long feel rushed or simple when the final piece was put into place. I think he's succeeded admirably here, and I'm already looking forward to whatever Lemire and Pugh do in the pages of "Animal Man" next. It's a sad conclusion, but one that will play out with good dramatic effect in the months to come. Read Full Review

What happened at the end of the issue could have been totally avoided and now because of it were going to have to see Buddy fall down a dark hole. I was actually looking forward to a few issues of Buddy just acting again or being that fun loving super hero but now it doesnt seem like were going to see that side of Buddy anytime soon. Read Full Review

teve Pugh really shines in this issue and marks a rare time when I prefer the art to the story in an Animal Man comic. As much as I loved his take on disgusting beasts of the Rot, his return to classic Animal Man imagery is a welcome breath of life in a book that's steeped in some serious pain. Read Full Review

Animal Man #18, while imperfect, is a great conclusion to the Rotworld saga, and the final two pages show us that Lemire and Pugh know how to kick your heart in the ass. Read Full Review

But back to focusing what's in this book instead of what was left out. Namely, Steve Pugh's gorgeously grotesque artwork. When Maxine lights up, man does he kill it. He makes everything from the gross Rot monsters to the mysterious men in yellow wetsuits look vivid and obscure, like an R-rated episode of X-Files. The heart-wrenching final pages are all in his hands with little assistance from dialogue, and boy does he wring your heart dry. Read Full Review

So, the emotion missing from "Rotworld" is back and well executed. Cliff's death is a massive event for the title and it's a shame that the front cover spoiled the surprise. It may be fast paced and the ending a little convenient, but the character and story pay-offs are enough to let that slide. With Pugh delivering the goods and Lemire infusing his script with emotion, Animal Man #18 does more than finish The Rot storyline; it puts the title back on track. Read Full Review

Colorist Lovern Kindzierski does what he can with the colors, but Pugh's inks make it hard. The shadowing is inconsistent, so the colors look like they're fighting the pencils. There's also a drab look to the color scheme, as if we were seeing the story through a thin film. None of the art is awful " it just betrays the emotional charge of Jeff Lemire's writing. Read Full Review

The story feels a little contrived. The ending to the issue seems like it comes out from far left just to get the reader to buy the next episode. There hasn't been any payoffs for the reader yet. Read Full Review

It's truly amazing how low this title has sunk in the last few months. It makes you wonder if it's special enough to keep the faith in anymore. Read Full Review

HuckEverlasting

Aug 18, 2025

Okay this was a good issue, but every big moment was cheapened by the entire rotworld arc, which was completely unnecessary in my opinion. Why spend the whole first arc of this run exploring what can be done with the superhero genre and reinventing the character with a dark grounded tone when you are just going to throw that all aside to have more side characters than you know what to do with running around fighting the zombie justice league. This issue brings us back to what works with the series, but at this point we've seen so many death retcons that I don't even take the big moments seriously anymore. They showed Maxine getting infected and now they are just gonna act like that didn't happen. We finally get a huge payoff with Maxine' s powers as well, but all the set up was done two issues ago (3 if you count the swamp thing issue) so it doesn't hit as hard. And now they end with another death and I'm skeptical that that isn't going to get retconned too. more

GreyMouser

Mar 15, 2013

SO the rot storyline comes to a close with this issue, and i suppose its fair enough. i was hoping for a bit more, perhaps better fight scenes at the least. Still i was pretty satisfied till the end. Its really annoying when things like that are forced and make little to no sense. Nothing against the character, he just got a leg-up in my book. But damn, it made no sense in hoe it went down. Also, it makes no sense that the others are 'cured'. Especially the new avatar! for pete's sake it was STILL too late and nothing addressed that. I was willing accept the 'reset', but they pushed it too far. i think im off this one, but ill give the next issue a try. on the upside, DC seems to be paying attention to the intrusive amount of ADs and may be reducing them in some titles. that will get them i half point up. more