Posted in: Comics | Tagged: aftershock, animosity, HRL, Marguerite Bennet, rafael de la torre

Animosity #9 Review: Talking Animals Are Always Welcome

Always being up for some Marguerite Bennett fare, we're covering her Aftershock comic series about sentient, intelligent animals, called Animosity.

Animosity #9 finds Jesse and her band of furry and one-not furry friends (not that kind of furry — actual animals) roaming through Hourglass Falls in Virginia. Before long, they see smoke from over the tree line and find a massive dam constructed by bees. People in bee suits are fighting with the bees, and the bees ask Jesse to retrieve their queen.

This is one of the most chill comic books that I've ever read. That's a weird evaluation to have, but there's just something so mellow about how this comic presents itself. It's a very happy and pretty damn fun read.

The characters endear themselves to you from the first page onwards, with Bethesda the buffalo — or Bethany, or just Beth, depending on what she wants to be called — singing over a rainbow in Virginia.

Jesse, Beth, Sandor (who is a hound), and the others are all very enjoyable characters with unique personalities. It also manages to not give characters the personalities you would expect based on their species. Some people would call that not working with visual designs, but it frankly feels fresher than making the buffalo either a tough, grizzled old man or a sassy black lady.

The dialogue really makes this comic what it is. It really could just be a full comic of these animals talking to each other, and I would probably be just as happy.

Also, Sandor calls someone a chucklef-ck, and that's pretty delightful, too.

The art of Animosity is really solid. Characters are not the most detailed, but it's expressive. Being able to have animal characters who can convey emotions without it looking a tad ridiculous is a hard hurdle to clear. However, Rafael de la Torre manages to pull it off with aplomb. The color palette of Rob Schwager is a bit rustic, and it fits the tone really well.

Pick this one when it hits the stores this Wednesday. It's a really charming read, and I enjoyed every page of it. Animosity easily earns its recommendation.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!