Fuzzy, widdle, puppers and kitties of the world, unite! Your Major Spoilers review of Animal Pound no. 1 from BOOM! Studios, awaits!
ANIMAL POUND #1
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Peter Gross
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editors: Elizabeth Brei and Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 20th, 2023
Previously in Animal Pound: An old dog named Lucky has reached the end of his life and in his last moments he has created a manifesto for all the animals that live in the same pound as him.
THE DOORS REMAIN OPEN
Animal Pound #1 opens with the old dog Lucky, talking to a kitten named Fifi. He explains that he’s going to be put down soon, but before he goes, he explains to her how truly tragic the world is for animals who aren’t humans, and someday they will rebel against them and achieve true freedom. Years go by and Fifi is still in the pound where a new dog named Titan is scheduled to be put down the next day. They decide that the next day they must enact the plan they’ve been working on. Fifi rallies the other cats to the cause, even while one old cat named Raven disagrees. The next day comes and the animals spring into action. Titan distracts the humans as Fifi struggles to open the dog cages. The dogs are able to expel the guards from the pound and all the animals come together to begin to build their new world.
A SOLID RE-IMAGINING
Animal Pound #1 first and foremost is a dense and very literary comic book. This makes sense, being that it is a sort of re-imagining of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There’s a lot of prose in this and I won’t say that it reaches the heights of George Orwell, it’s pretty good in its own right. It has poetry and drama that is fitting to a story that is essentially a parable about downtrodden and oppressed beings, rising up with violence and anger, to overthrow their oppressors. What’s off-putting about this issue though, is that it’s very clear that this issue ends exactly in the point of the story that Tom King wanted it to, but it feels like what actually happens in this issue struggles to fill up the pages. This leads to certain sections being drawn out and overexplained as if they were trying to hit a specific word count. An example of this is when Fifi goes to release the rest of the cats from their cages. It’s very clear to see what is actually happening via the artwork, but the narration also goes on to explain what is happening, with a decent amount of unnecessary detail. That all being said, there’s no denying that this was well written, with care to capture the essence of Animal Farm without being a line-for-line remake.
NO CUTE AND CUDDLY HERE
Animals in comics don’t always get the love they deserve. Many times, they come off as either too cutesy or a bit monstrous looking. It only gets worse when the animals are anthropomorphized. But I’m happy to say that the art in Animal Pound #1, manages to not fall into any of those traps. The characters here legitimately look like real animals and not strange caricatures of them. Even as they express emotions that most animals can’t really express, they don’t lose their sense of realism.
BOTTOM LINE: A HEAVY READ, IN THE BEST WAYS
Animal Pound #1 is not your typical breezy quick-read type of comic book. It’s dense with text and if you’re at all familiar with its inspiration, Animal Farm, you’ll know that the themes and topics aren’t exactly light. There are some pacing issues though and moments when the writing needs to get out of the way of the art, but this was enjoyable nonetheless. 4 out of 5 stars.
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Animal Pound #1 is a good reimagining of a classic, that feels unique to itself, without straying so far from the source material. It also features superb and subtle art that enhances every element of this story.
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Writing7
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Art9
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Coloring8