Having caught up with all the books that came before this, I still see so many of the problems every other volume has – a lack of coherence, a lack perhaps of truly likeable characters, and an approach to showing this world that just didn't quite work for me. Why have a look at the way animals treat animals – and the way humans respond – that involves such a random thing as some rats dragged into the story at the last minute? And why rush away from such a rich world as the Rise spin-off proved this could be, to go down the whole cyborg animals route? I admire the efforts to play with all the potential ideas The Wake had to offer, but I dislike the ones that were chosen, and this book is not unique evidence of that. One and a half stars.

I would give this a 3.8 if that was an option.
I found this story to be intriguing, interesting, well plotted and with a strong storyline. Some minor things I would change (not worth mentioning), but I see this becoming an even more compelling story as future volumes unfold.

A sci-fi world where animals talk and are in charge? I was thinking kind of a Wolf's Rain type thing for some reason, but even after I realized that this wasn't like that, I could never connect with the characters in this story. It's more history and less story apparently.

'Animosity: Evolution Vol. 1' by Marguerite Bennett with art by Eric Gapstur is about a time in the near future when animals have found their voice, and with it, they also gain power.

At some point before this graphic novel, an event called The Wake happened. Now that animals can speak, they are, for some reason, in charge. A wolf named Wintermute runs a town with her human companion Adam. Resources are lean, and food is a bit scarce. Because of this, there is a thriving black market. There is also enough dissatisfaction to make Wintermute an assassination target. It's a good thing that Adam is an animal doctor.

It's a volume 1 that follows previous events, so I felt a bit lost reading this. I was able to pick up on things, but I missed having emotional connections to the characters that seemed to be called for. It's an ok story, but I had a hard time keeping my interest. It's talking animals, but it's definitely not a kids story based on the language and violence.

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.

An event called the Wake occurred and animals began to talk. And since they could talk, they started to organize them selves under a leader - the feared Wintermute! Times were hard. Justice was extreme, and the need was great. But still the animals came seeking a better society. Except that there were always those who wanted more. Those need to be feared and fought. But first they must be found in the lairs they create. Plenty of intrigue and action in a short book. Be interesting to see what may come next.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title.

When The Wake happened, all animals gained human levels of thought and speech. Unfortunately just like humans, some of the animals break bad. Bennett shifts the focus of the series to San Francisco in Evolution where a strange looking dog, Wintermute, has taken control of the city. Now animals and humans must work together to survive in a world where meat is suddenly outlawed. Resources are tight as the city gets back on its feet and a black market underground emerges. It's there a plan develops to destroy Wintermute and the rest of her animal cyborgs.

I love the premise and the world building is great. My one complaint is that this volume ends mid story.

Animosity: Evolution Vol. 1 is a terrific fantasy comic that just may not get the audience it deserves because it does not really offer anything very fresh and inventive. All of a sudden animals can think like humans and when they figure out what jerks humanity is, they take revenge. Decent artwork but nothing eye catching and a slow moving storyline will not help this one out.

When The Wake happens, all animals suddenly find themselves with the ability to talk and think on what was previously a human-only level. Annoyed with the way they’ve been treated, they quickly seek revenge. A month later billions of animals have taken over a city, holding off human armies on one side and dolphins on the other. Their self-proclaimed leader soon finds herself the victim of a suicide bomber. . . then things really get interesting.
For those entering the city for the first time, the entrance is set up like a refugee camp, with delousing and such, and those who pass are treated to an intro by a song-and-dance pink-dressed creature. For such a bright idea, this gets depressing in a hurry.
In the background of one of the panels is an angry-looking woman carrying a sloth. . . which makes no sense. Sloths are fun!
There’s a law firm called Hart, Ram, and Wolfe. That can’t possibly be a coincidence, can it? After that I found myself looking through each panel carefully to see if Buffy’s buddy Angel showed up next.
Ugh, why did one of the main characters have to be a bat? So ugly.
If you’re gonna do biological terrorism, a frog is the perfect animal to do the job.
That dog-like creature in charge. . . some of the philosophy she expounds is interesting, but she’s so much of a deep thinker compared to everyone else it makes her kinda ridiculous.
So many characters made it somewhat confusing, though I suppose if they were all human factions it wouldn’t be any simpler. Maybe a character page would have helped.
About a dozen pages of extras at the end, like alternate covers and progress comparisons.

I recieved a free copy of the book by the book's publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.


I'm pleasantly surprised with how good this was! This was wonderfully written, with a fantastic pace! I absolutely loved getting all the books in one Volume and cannot wait for Volume 2!
However, it ended on a cliffhanger *le sigh*

One day, the animals woke up. They started thinking. They started talking. They started taking revenge. Now, they’ve started building. In a city by the sea, a new power is on the rise…and they’re making an animal kingdom all their own.

You may expect that's just another post-apocalyptic tale and in a way, it can be interpreted as such. Animosity Universe feels well developed and rich. Humans and animals can communicate and cooperate. Unfortunately, after their "awakening" animals experience feelings such as jealousy, guilt, hate, hunger for power. Conflicts arise and lead to dangerous situations.

Gapstur’s visual style is clean and polished. Apart from more static panels, there's plenty of dynamic, action-packed ones that look very well. It makes the world incredible and I'm impressed by the way he gives the animals personalities. A stellar job, really. Rob Schwager’s saturated colors bring sharpness to the story.

Overall, it's a dialogue-heavy blend of drama and emotion set in a well developed and rich world. I liked it despite some minor issues.

Great high concept of a world where all animals from ants to humans to elephants one day suddenly can think and speak to one another. The leaders in Animosity: Evolution Vol 1 believe that predators must be prevented from killing their natural prey. Only meat from criminals may be eaten after they are killed by the state. The predators form gangs to sell forbidden products. They also attempt to overthrow the state.

The world building within Animosity: Evolution Vol 1 is great! The idea of using technology to both save and protect animals is ingenious. My only issue with my advanced review copy was that the muddy artwork sometimes prevented me from determining what was happening. Some of the pages, in particular the two-page close-up of the Leopard’s face, were extremely clear and detailed. Hopefully, the blurriness in the other pages will be corrected in the final version of the product. Still, due to the intriguing plot, I’m looking forward to reading more in the series. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

This book contains issues #1 through #5 published October 2017 through April 2018. Thanks to the publisher, Aftershock Comics, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Spin-off from the series about animals waking up, set in San Francisco, where a cyborg husky-malamute cross has kept civilisation running, and animals and humans in harmony of a sort...but not without cost. As a noir-tinged political drama, inevitably it's more prone to stretches of undigested exposition in the dialogue than the main book's survival horror/road movie hybrid. And for all that I loved the opening, with mayflies telling legends of the way the world changed so many generations ago, I still don't entirely feel the waking of insects too has been fully factored into the set-up. But I can't be too down on any series featuring a kangaroo rat who's grown up on Roman-themed bodice-rippers and is now out for justice.

(Netgalley ARC)

Animosity is an interesting series; it’s set in a world where all of the animals on the planet, from the smallest to the largest, suddenly and all at once gained sentience. It’s the story of the fallout from that; how human society would react to it, and how the animal societies would develop.
This series immediately caught my attention, because in a way it reminded me of Y: The Last Man, but with a totally different twist to it. Obviously it also resonates with the story that Animal Farm was trying to tell. It had the potential to be harsh and brutal when needed, but tell an uplifting story should they decide to do so.
I went into this series really hoping to like it, but also aware of the fact that I might not be able to finish it. Side note: my friends and I have a scale that says how safe a series is for me, based on what happens to the animals in it. The higher the rating is, the less likely I’ll be ‘allowed’ to watch/read it. So I knew this series had a very high risk of being up on that rating, but I liked the concept enough to give it a go anyway (and yes, the rating is unsurprisingly fairly high, however the cartoonish style to the animals does help at times).
The concept really creates a lot of interesting questions and food for thought. What would happen is animals could suddenly say “no, I’d really rather that you didn’t kill and eat me, thank you very kindly.” Would the humans respect that? What about other animals? Would the wolf listen to the rabbit, or even care? And if everyone somehow agreed to not eat each other, what on earth would we feed everyone? Fruits, grains, and veggies can only go so far, can’t they?
And that’s not even considering working animals, beasts of burden, and pets. However, that’s quite a bit to think and worry about, so I’m just going to stop there (though I’d like to think that my cats would still love me, and would have appreciated all the expensive food and toys I’ve bought them over the years…the neutering/spaying not so much I’m sure…).
The story did touch on these concerns a little bit, with food and breeding restrictions (which makes sense, if the predators aren’t eating the prey, then prey populations would get out of hand and eat up all of the food). It also touches upon how humans and different species of animals would coexist.
I do like that they didn’t feel compelled to lump all of the species together; dogs and crows and all sorts of other species didn’t agree with the ruling decisions being made, even if their own kind was involved. Though apparently dolphins are just pure evil? We didn’t see enough of them for me to be sure of that statement.
I also enjoyed the fact that they had smaller animals helping out with more delicate work, as electricians and surgeons. This actually makes so much sense it isn’t even funny. But that’s beside the point.
I mentioned above that I felt this series was high on the animal rating scale, which is the truth. However I would like to stress that it isn’t the reason why I didn’t end up loving the series. Though I’ll admit I’m proud of myself for reading it through to the end – there were a couple of scenes I found particularly trying. However, if you’re like me and don’t like seeing animals (of any kind) get hurt…you should rethink reading this one.
I think in the end the series tried to tell us too much too quickly, and everything just got lost in the process. Do I think this series has potential? Absolutely. Would I try reading the next volume, should one come out? Probably not. But that has more to do with how I wouldn’t like to keep seeing animals get hurt, more than my opinion of the plot.

The premise of the story is great but there was a lot of back story and things that had happened and I dont think this came through strongly enough. The artwork was ok. I wasnt really a fan though.

A very interesting and unusual graphic novel with echoes of Animal Farm here.
Sometime in the not too distant future, for reasons are never explained, all the animals on earth "awaken." This means they are now able to to talk, think and function just like human beings. A panic and a revolution ensues and we pick up the story 6 months later when the animals are still adjusting to their new life. It's not easy because the de facto leader is a dog (? wolf? dog-wolf? wolf-dog? No one seems to know!) named Wintermute. Everyone hates her, but most also grudgingly accept her leadership even though her laws are strict: animals may no longer kill other animals for food, breeding is outlawed for a year, hoarding of food, stealing food or black market traffic of food is punishable by death.
A select few humans, mostly veterinarians, zoologists and the like, have been accepted by the animals, and help them run this new society... it is not until someone tries to assassinate Wintermute that the humans learn she has been creating a special force called the Lex Animata - animal/machine hybrids with special powers. Is Witermute a good guy, or a secret villain? Why is the Lex Animata being created, and why has a black market in animal meat sprung up so quickly?
This is definitely not like anything I have read before, and though I was left with a lot of questions, I do look forward to the next issue.