The story ain't bad, either. There's a beautiful moment between Buddy and Ellen that's given the perfect amount of heart and realism. The scheme of the villains takes an unexpected twist. Not to mention we get to see the result of that acting nomination Buddy received. This two-part arc accomplished a lot for Animal Man by resolving some long gestating plots, yet at the conclusion we see it was set up for another arc that could be even crazier than what has come before it. I admit the cliffhanger threw me for a loop, yet Lemire has done such an impressive job on nearly his entire run that I couldn't help but smile and eagerly await whatever he's got coming up next. Read Full Review

This is a horror comic. If readers can wade through the "red" and suspend their personal theology for a moment, they'll find a good story about family, fear, love and consequences. Plus, there's a great panel with tentacles. I love tentacles. Read Full Review

Lemire and Albuquerque are a force to be reckoned with at this point. Although the end of the issue did seem like an odd tonal shift for the series after where it has been for the past few months, like always I'm excited to see what comes next. Read Full Review

ANIMAL MAN #25 was a pretty satisfying issue. Buddy starts trying to put the pieces back together with his home, after it's been scattered away. He has quite the foe in Brother Blood to face. While the overall story really doesn't grab me as much as previous arcs, it's still an enjoyable read. Rafael's art shines in this issue, and it's some of the best of the week. Overall, I highly recommend this issue. Read Full Review

Hollywood Babylon was a great, easy-to-digest arc that shows just how good Animal Man can be at its best and what is on the horizon when Jeff Lemire raises the stakes for his characters. That has always been the hallmark of Lemire's work; he refuses to let his characters get complacent. He realizes what needs to happen to make his characters and plots interesting and he turns it up to eleven whenever possible, giving them new and interesting challenges to overcome, both in their personal lives and within the larger world around them. He is willing to show them as people first and heroes second, subverting the standard way that writers write comic book heroes. These next few months could be some very, very tough ones for Buddy Baker, but they will be nothing but great reading for us. Read Full Review

And the highlight of Animal Man #25, that I adored, was the lettering by Jared K. Fletcher. I really love that specific characters, mainly the creatures of The Red, get their own lettering styles. Reading dialogue boxes that don't have the standard font but rather a squigle or a scrawl triggers my brain to read them with either a growled tone or a hiss. It's details like this that create three-dimensional characters and in this case brings life to fantastical creatures. Read Full Review

That said, it's disappointing that the conclusion of a two-part story is left so incredibly open-ended, but that is par for the course at DC as one adventure tends to lead directly to the next. The upside is that, prior to the final bewildering page of this issue, Lemire works rather diligently to bring Buddy and Ellen back together. After months of crossovers and more downbeats heaped on top of that, "Animal Man" #25 feels like a step in a forward direction. It's too early to tell if it's the right direction just yet, but Lemire gives Animal Man some purpose beyond just being an avatar of the Red. Buddy now has a recognizable foe and a task in front of him. This issue displays that Buddy can act like a hero, so maybe readers will see more heroic deeds from Buddy Baker in the near future. Read Full Review

Animal Man #25 is a rare misstep in the series. Despite finally seeing Albuquerque demonstrate his artistry in Buddys powers, the questionable choices in both the writing and drawing aspects of the book bring the issue down. The ending is shoddy and feels forced, but well have to wait until next month to fully understand what the hell is going on. Read Full Review

I have tossed around what rating to give this issue" if I had guts I'd give it a 5, based on the level to which I enjoyed it (that is, thinking seriously about dropping it from my standing order at the comic shop). On the other hand, it's written well enough to deserve something more like a 7, pretty much any Jeff Lemire book is going to be a well-crafted, thoughtful read. But there are too many other books that I've been rating at 7 that make it to the top of my read pile well before this one. And I didn't like the art either. Read Full Review