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Animosity
Animosity, Vol. 5: Southern Gothic
The Animals rest and consider their path. Where have they come from? Where can they go? When they were taken from the wild, how did their fates change humanity forever? What will they become?
From the writer of INSEXTS, A-FORCE, and BOMBSHELLS and the artist of SUPERZERO, comes the fifth collected volume chronicling a new kind of road trip, a new kind of black comedy, and a new kind of coming-of-age.
Collects Issues #19-23
From the writer of INSEXTS, A-FORCE, and BOMBSHELLS and the artist of SUPERZERO, comes the fifth collected volume chronicling a new kind of road trip, a new kind of black comedy, and a new kind of coming-of-age.
Collects Issues #19-23
128 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 27, 2020
I absolutely love this series so it pains me to only give this 2 stars, but this arc was a real dud. In the aftermath of The Walled City arc, the survivors are dealing with having been slaves. Jesse and Sandor meet some snakes who believe in magic and go on a vision quest for the god of animals. It was 4 issues of psychedelic nonsense that didn't advance the story at all. Then there are two issues that set up the next arc.
Elton Thomasi steps in for Roberto de Latorre on art and it's a steep downgrade. Thomasi doesn't have near the talent for drawing realistic animals. He also draws all these two page spreads with terrible panel structure. I was constantly lost by which panel I needed to read next. I've been reading comics for over 30 years, so that is rarely an issue for me. I found it extremely frustrating.
I think that is supposed to be a dog. That's a real issue for a comic that is 90% animals.
Received a review copy from Aftershock and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Elton Thomasi steps in for Roberto de Latorre on art and it's a steep downgrade. Thomasi doesn't have near the talent for drawing realistic animals. He also draws all these two page spreads with terrible panel structure. I was constantly lost by which panel I needed to read next. I've been reading comics for over 30 years, so that is rarely an issue for me. I found it extremely frustrating.
I think that is supposed to be a dog. That's a real issue for a comic that is 90% animals.
Received a review copy from Aftershock and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
May 30, 2025
The great exodus begins. Why did they leave the relative safety of the Walled City anyway? So the humans are dumb and the animals are no better. This is the great text-rich chapter of the saga. Dear God, couldn't they abridge anything? It feels like reading a novel. I skipped the pages that have more space for text than for images. I don't need exposition for the level of confusion the camp is going through. Bottom line, they're debating their own existence. Jesse is more sure of herself as she takes her friends and leaves. Yeah, girl, to hell with indecision. There's a strong, independent woman in the making.
Jesse's gang reaches a sinister house filled with snakes. Though they are feared predators, they choose to heal other animals in exchange for goods and services. They ask Jesse to help them understand the Wake via a vision quest. So basically, the story is crap and I skipped most of the text. Also the artwork takes a dip. This chapter is easily skippable.
The exodus reaches a marker. Jesse still wants to go to California. Her animal friends want to give her something special for her 13th birthday, but the lemur gets captured. Off they go to save him.
Jesse's gang reaches a sinister house filled with snakes. Though they are feared predators, they choose to heal other animals in exchange for goods and services. They ask Jesse to help them understand the Wake via a vision quest. So basically, the story is crap and I skipped most of the text. Also the artwork takes a dip. This chapter is easily skippable.
The exodus reaches a marker. Jesse still wants to go to California. Her animal friends want to give her something special for her 13th birthday, but the lemur gets captured. Off they go to save him.
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February 24, 2020The first issue does something which often riles me; it's fine having one character declaiming a revolutionary sermon on history (especially if that character is a Pallas cat), but once it becomes a relay race, I start to find it didactic and implausible. Here, though, it serves to alert us that naturalism has been left behind. Which is necessary, because the subsequent story is a vision quest at the behest of a coven of snakes, who after all have a valid point: isn't magic as likely an explanation for animals suddenly gaining speech as anything else? Maybe likelier than most? It's trippy as blazes and I love it. Then, back to the main plot, with its story of a dog and his girl tugging my heartstrings as easily as ever.
Plus, a chicken with a gun!
Then the volume ends with a side-story about a lovelorn fish which is even stranger than standard Animosity.
Also - this is the first volume I've read with animals in the room, and it did leave me wondering: would an idiot dog still be an idiot after the Wake? I assume so, because it's not like there's any shortage of idiot humans.
(Netgalley ARC)
Plus, a chicken with a gun!
Then the volume ends with a side-story about a lovelorn fish which is even stranger than standard Animosity.
Also - this is the first volume I've read with animals in the room, and it did leave me wondering: would an idiot dog still be an idiot after the Wake? I assume so, because it's not like there's any shortage of idiot humans.
(Netgalley ARC)
February 20, 2020
'Animosity Vol. 5' by Marguerite Bennett with art by Rafael de Latorre and Elton Tomasi continues the saga of a world where animals now have speech and have risen up against humans.
After the fall of the Walled City, the animals and women spend time discussing their lot in life and how oppressed they each are. Then Jesse gets lured by a group of snakes to take some venom and talk to God, only to find that God isn't there. A trip to an encampment puts everyone in danger, and the animals plan a celebration for Jesse only to have things go very wrong.
Not every collection of volumes can have a complete story arc, and after the events of the last book, I suppose I should have expected this. There is an awful lot of dialogue happening and it kind of crawled along for me. The art is still good, and there are glimpses of where the story might end. Read it because you enjoy the series, but know that it feels like a middle with some set up happening.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Aftershock Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
After the fall of the Walled City, the animals and women spend time discussing their lot in life and how oppressed they each are. Then Jesse gets lured by a group of snakes to take some venom and talk to God, only to find that God isn't there. A trip to an encampment puts everyone in danger, and the animals plan a celebration for Jesse only to have things go very wrong.
Not every collection of volumes can have a complete story arc, and after the events of the last book, I suppose I should have expected this. There is an awful lot of dialogue happening and it kind of crawled along for me. The art is still good, and there are glimpses of where the story might end. Read it because you enjoy the series, but know that it feels like a middle with some set up happening.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Aftershock Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
October 22, 2020
the last book and this arrangement are as yet going well indeed.
i like when the characters i needed to realize more get their space and when things that have been stacked are replied. what's more, i additionally like it when we are served a truly harsh world, where passing prowls everywhere.
this arrangement is great at exchanging between existential assessments of the human condition/cognizance and walking dead style prophetically catastrophic commotion. this volume was somewhat more philosophical, yet at the same time fiercely unique.
art: 3/5
story: 3/5
i like when the characters i needed to realize more get their space and when things that have been stacked are replied. what's more, i additionally like it when we are served a truly harsh world, where passing prowls everywhere.
this arrangement is great at exchanging between existential assessments of the human condition/cognizance and walking dead style prophetically catastrophic commotion. this volume was somewhat more philosophical, yet at the same time fiercely unique.
art: 3/5
story: 3/5
February 24, 2021
(3,4 of 5 for a book where nothing really happened)
Do you like the moments of calm, the mundane task, chit chat, showing how daily life works in The Walking Dead? Bennett too. But unlike her, Kirkman doses those moments into the right places and right amounts (more or less), includes them seamlessly into the flow of the story. In Animosity, there is one, then it flips into a random side mission with snake cult and then back to the chit chat and lollygagging. And it's not really working here. It feels bland and like unnecessary filling.
Well, I'm curious how the next book wraps it up.
Do you like the moments of calm, the mundane task, chit chat, showing how daily life works in The Walking Dead? Bennett too. But unlike her, Kirkman doses those moments into the right places and right amounts (more or less), includes them seamlessly into the flow of the story. In Animosity, there is one, then it flips into a random side mission with snake cult and then back to the chit chat and lollygagging. And it's not really working here. It feels bland and like unnecessary filling.
Well, I'm curious how the next book wraps it up.
November 19, 2020
Jesse and Sandor's latest quest is more internal than cross-country, as a coven of witch snakes sends them on a psychedelic trip into their minds for answers about The Wake. Then, a Bat Mitzvah celebration goes wrong, sending both characters after a missing friend, but each must travel their own separate path. Plus, a Free Comic Book Day story - with all these animals coming to life, what are the fish doing?
This is one of those 'tale of two parts' trades. The first four issues deal with the aftermath of The Walled City as everyone tries to work out what to do next, with varying degrees of success, before the aforementioned drug trip for Jesse and Sandor which tries to be introspective and deep but is mostly unsatisfying because there's no solid answers given. There's a tantalizing hint about Sandor's past that we don't get to dig into very much, but otherwise these four issues don't really go anywhere other than having some thought provoking ideas.
The second two issues are much better as the plot begins to move forward again, if slowly. I like that the bond between the animals that Jesse has picked up along the way is strong enough for them to try and celebrate her birthday, but this arc is more prelude for what's coming next than story in itself.
The Free Comic Book Day story is probably the best of the bunch, because it's hilarious. The interpretation of the world through the fish's eyes is great, as well as the fact that Bennett keeps coming up with new perspectives to look at The Wake, even for a short 10 page story, is astounding.
The artwork this time around is a little more haphazard than before. Elton Thomasi jumps in for the opening four issues, which are surprisingly solid, but then he and Rafael De La Torre double team the last two, and it's not the winning combination you might think. I know De La Torre has drawn most of this book without a break, but I'd rather we wait for him to be able to pencil full issues again.
A bit of a stagnant volume overall - the story doesn't move very far until right near the end, and while I'm always glad of breathing room between bigger arcs, I don't need six issues of it before we get going again. The FCBD story is a nice inclusion, but it's not enough to keep this volume at the same level of quality as those that came before it.
This is one of those 'tale of two parts' trades. The first four issues deal with the aftermath of The Walled City as everyone tries to work out what to do next, with varying degrees of success, before the aforementioned drug trip for Jesse and Sandor which tries to be introspective and deep but is mostly unsatisfying because there's no solid answers given. There's a tantalizing hint about Sandor's past that we don't get to dig into very much, but otherwise these four issues don't really go anywhere other than having some thought provoking ideas.
The second two issues are much better as the plot begins to move forward again, if slowly. I like that the bond between the animals that Jesse has picked up along the way is strong enough for them to try and celebrate her birthday, but this arc is more prelude for what's coming next than story in itself.
The Free Comic Book Day story is probably the best of the bunch, because it's hilarious. The interpretation of the world through the fish's eyes is great, as well as the fact that Bennett keeps coming up with new perspectives to look at The Wake, even for a short 10 page story, is astounding.
The artwork this time around is a little more haphazard than before. Elton Thomasi jumps in for the opening four issues, which are surprisingly solid, but then he and Rafael De La Torre double team the last two, and it's not the winning combination you might think. I know De La Torre has drawn most of this book without a break, but I'd rather we wait for him to be able to pencil full issues again.
A bit of a stagnant volume overall - the story doesn't move very far until right near the end, and while I'm always glad of breathing room between bigger arcs, I don't need six issues of it before we get going again. The FCBD story is a nice inclusion, but it's not enough to keep this volume at the same level of quality as those that came before it.
October 3, 2020
Repeat after me, Sandor:
She is not your daughter.
She is not your daugher.
She is not your motherfucking daughter.
God. Honestly, how is the canine MC of a story about self-aware animals this unsympathetic?? It's a special talent. At this point, I'm basically continuing with this just to find out whether Jesse ever learns just what a psycho arsehole he is. Could've really done without all the soliloquising, too.
The snake sub-plot was whack but wow was it beautifully executed. And I loved the story about the girl and her fish.
Overall, same old, really - the concept is cool, the art is absolutely gorgeous, the story-telling is... weird. It doesn't help that I can never tell if I'm meant to sympathise with the complexities of Sandor's convictions and reflect on the ephemeral nature of morality when engendered in an imperfectly self-taught concept of personhood etc etc blah blah, or whether he's actually just a pompous, unlikeable, obsessive prick. My brain seems to be firmly committed to the latter :p
She is not your daughter.
She is not your daugher.
She is not your motherfucking daughter.
God. Honestly, how is the canine MC of a story about self-aware animals this unsympathetic?? It's a special talent. At this point, I'm basically continuing with this just to find out whether Jesse ever learns just what a psycho arsehole he is. Could've really done without all the soliloquising, too.
The snake sub-plot was whack but wow was it beautifully executed. And I loved the story about the girl and her fish.
Overall, same old, really - the concept is cool, the art is absolutely gorgeous, the story-telling is... weird. It doesn't help that I can never tell if I'm meant to sympathise with the complexities of Sandor's convictions and reflect on the ephemeral nature of morality when engendered in an imperfectly self-taught concept of personhood etc etc blah blah, or whether he's actually just a pompous, unlikeable, obsessive prick. My brain seems to be firmly committed to the latter :p
August 16, 2020
I'm really enjoying the trip... I mean, walk. :-) Each installment in the series gets darker and shows what humans and animals are capable of. There are, again, hints at things to be revealed about someone's motives and of course, there are also WTF moments (which I'm used to at this point because when I agreed to believe in animals obtaining vocal cords overnight, I might as well stop bitching about the physiological nonsense it brings). I still like the contrast of a naïve little girl and a seemingly devoted dog who tends to show his rough side more often these days. It's still entertaing and I'm waiting eagerly for the next installment.
January 30, 2022
Wow, how'd such a great comic have such a disappointing volume, containing pretty much nothing of note, just codas and preludes, surrounding a bad arc.
The Master's House (#19). A fine coda to "Power", showing the disruption of our heroes' actions [3+/5].
Southern Gothic (#20-22). Ugh, why'd it have to be snakes? And beyond that, why'd it have to be three issues wasted on hallucinatory philosophy. A real disappointment, and a real waste of three issues, more than 10% of this series [2+/5].
Rites of Passage (#23-24). What starts out as an interesting story about, as the title says, rites of passage, turns out to be just a setup for the next (final?) arc. [3/5].
The Master's House (#19). A fine coda to "Power", showing the disruption of our heroes' actions [3+/5].
Southern Gothic (#20-22). Ugh, why'd it have to be snakes? And beyond that, why'd it have to be three issues wasted on hallucinatory philosophy. A real disappointment, and a real waste of three issues, more than 10% of this series [2+/5].
Rites of Passage (#23-24). What starts out as an interesting story about, as the title says, rites of passage, turns out to be just a setup for the next (final?) arc. [3/5].
July 1, 2020
This series is really good at switching between existential examinations of the human condition/consciousness and Walking Dead style apocalyptic mayhem. This volume was a little more philosophical, but still wildly original.
February 12, 2020
Interesting but engaging suffering and the art in this book is too notch, I definitely recommend this one!
August 17, 2020
This series just continues to get better and better.
January 21, 2022
Potter's story in issue #23 is so powerful....
July 11, 2022
I just love this series.
February 28, 2023
Probably the weakest volume of this story. It was still good but not as good as other volumes.
August 26, 2020
The bad: I feel like this one got a bit bogged down in trying to follow-up after the end of volume 4. Personally, I was not terribly concerned with learning ALL of the characters backstories.. I wish only a few were focused on so that they could have more meaningful impact.
The imagery in the 'finding God' issue was truly beautiful.
The imagery in the 'finding God' issue was truly beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews