Animal Man #18
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Steve Pugh and Lovern Kindierski
Cover Artists: Steve Pugh and Lovern Kindierski
Publisher: DC
Buddy Baker escapes Arcane’s clutches and makes it back home, but he’s not in time to save everyone. When Rotworld was nearing an end, Jeff Lemire promised there would be consequences, and it was foolish to ever question him. Though the Parliament of Decay was able to transport Animal Man and Swamp Thing back to their own time, they didn’t arrive exactly when they left. In Buddy’s case, he arrived after his family had been captured by warriors of the Rot. Fighting ensues, and well, the ending will leave you feeling like you’ve been sucker punched in the gut. With a title like Animal Man, with lower readership but critical acclaim, there’s always the possibility that DC might go ahead and cancel the title. However, that also tends to mean that there are far fewer spoilers floating around to ruin your reading experience, and that works out fantastically well for this issue. 4.5/5
Batman: Detective Comics #18
Writer: John Layman
Artists: Jason Fabok and Jeromy Cox
Cover Artists: Jason Fabok and Jeromy Cox
Publisher: DC
While this title was slightly sidetracked because of Joker’s meddling, Detective Comics gets back on track with Penguin looking to regain his throne. Because of “Death of the Family’s” interlude, Layman uses this issue to re-establish his story, while also attempting to move things forward. As a result, however, the story reads a tad slow. The most awkward moment of the issue comes when Batman ends up at Damian’s grave site. The scene felt forced and almost unnecessary. Given that Damian only died the previous week, it wouldn’t have been of any concern if his death wasn’t mentioned in this issue. That being said, Layman has been doing a great job handling his story while juggling the aftermath of the other Batman titles. 4/5
Swamp Thing #18
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Yanick Paquette and Nathan Fairbairn
Cover Artists: Yanick Paquette and Nathan Fairbairn
Publisher: DC
As Rotworld comes to an end, so does Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette’s fantastic fun on Swamp Thing, and they don’t hold back in the slightest with this issue. The end of the last issue saw Swampy and Animal Man escaping Rotworld with a bit of assistance from the Parliament of Decay, and readers all around the world groaned in fear that Rotworld would have no consequences. However, Snyder made sure that nothing would be the same upon his departure. These past 18 issues have pretty much been one long story, filled with emotional highs and lows and gruesome action, culminating in this heartbreaking finale. Snyder did an amazing job developing this tragic love story, however, the true success of this issue comes with Paquette’s gorgeous artwork. His art, which has been amazing his entire run, is absolutely breathtaking in his final issue. The raw emotions, the gorgeous layouts, and the bold linework leave you wanting more. If Paquette’s art is perfect for this series, which it has been, Nathan Fairbairn is the perfect colorist to pair with Paquette. His colors have made Paquette’s work blossom throughout the series, helping establish tone, distinguish characters, and emphasize certain scenes. Though they may be leaving the title, these guys are leaving a fantastic story behind. 5/5
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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
