Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt
Paperback
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Travel Foreman, John Paul Leon, Jeff Huet
Color Art by Lovern Kindzierski
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
DC Comics
Release Date: May 2, 2012
Cover Price: $14.99

Animal Man by Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman is easily one of the best titles of the DC Relaunch. The comic does everything it should. What Lemire does in The Hunt is craft a perfect, classic, horror story. The comic starts normally enough in the vein of the radical Animal Man who fights on behalf of animal rights, but it quickly takes a dark and twisted turn that takes Buddy Baker’s life and places it on its head by involving his family closely with his power set. We are also introduced to a group of hunters that are looking for Buddy Baker, but more importantly, they’re looking for his family members.

G.I. Joe Cobra II #4
Writer: Mike Costa and Christos N. Gage
Artist: Antonio Fuso
Color: Lovern Kindzierski
Letterer: Chris Mowry
IDW Publishing
Price: $3.99
Release date: April 28, 2010

It’s finally happened. It only took us more than a year, but Cobra Commander has finally shown up officially in an issue of IDW’s G.I. Joe series, and I’m really surprised his first appearance was in an issue of G.I. Joe Cobra, but here we are. Really though, he’s not the focus of this issue. The focus as always is on Chuckles, the undercover agent for the Joes, and on his mission, and we reach a big point in that mission in this issue, as Chuckles, and his teammate Chameleon are able to get out a valuable Cobra asset, but not without casualties.

G.I. Joe Cobra continues to be the standout series since IDW took over the property. The action continues to be exciting, and Chuckles continues to be an interesting character, with a dilemma not seen executed so well since Ed Brubaker’s Sleeper. Each issue makes you feel worse for him, and each issue sees him dig himself deeper into a hole. This issue is no different. If you like some espionage mixed in with your G.I. Joe, this is a series you will enjoy. It’s definitely not a “traditional” G.I. Joe series, but they have the main series if that’s what you’re looking for. This has characters you may know, but it’s told in a more realistic kind of way. Writers Mike Costa and Christos Gage have created a series that has me coming back for more with each issue.