Lemire and Foreman continue to deliver with ANIMAL MAN. The pacing weaknesses I felt in the last issue or two are gone for now, and instead we have simply the incredible horror of the Rot, antithesis to all life – enemy of both the Red and the Green.

It’s taken some time, but Foreman’s art has grown on me. I don’t think I’d like it in a comic of a different kind, but here, he brings the horrific Hunters Three to life. Or undeath. I’m not sure. Some panels are just gut-churningly unsettling, and that’s how they should be. I doubt there are many artists that could do that quite so well.

The writing is also in top form: Maxine takes her experiences in the Red in stride, despite the gruesome appearance of even their allies; Ellen and Cliff escape to Ellen’s mother’s farm, where she continues to grapple with the dangers of a superhero husband; and the Red delivers a new ally to the Bakers in the form of…well, you’ll see. But he’s pretty great.

Also of note is the name-dropping of SWAMP THING’s protagonist, Alec Holland, confirming that these two series are heading in the same direction. Lemire and Scott Snyder have been pretty open about that fact, but this is the first sign of it on the page (well, excepting the fact that their antagonists both appear to be agents of the Rot). Since SWAMP THING is another of my regular favorites, I’m pretty psyched to see this start happening.