Animan - by Anouk Ricard (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Pet therapist by day, animal-morphing pet detective by night--fear not, Animan's on the case!

Inspired by the 1980s TV series Manimal, award-winning cartoonist Anouk Ricard pairs her unique brand of absurd storytelling and impeccable comedic timing to deliver the riotously funny adventures of Animan, superhero pet detective.

A radioactive mosquito bite as a baby gives Francis the superpower of morphing into any animal at will. Learning to keep his powers secret from an early age, Francis takes up pet therapy as his day job, the perfect cover for his secret identity as Animan.

Francis uses his fantastical gift to treat his animal patients, go undercover to solve murders, and battle it out with his nemesis, Objecto, a man capable of transforming into any and every possible object. And to top it all off, in his free time Francis is an avid watercolorist, who enjoys drawing landscapes and risqué portraits of his frog girlfriend, Fabienne.

Winner of the 2025 Grand Prix at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, veteran cartoonist Ricard delivers a fresh take on the superhero genre, imbued with her signature slapstick sensibility, preposterous scenarios, and off-the-wall punchlines.

Review Quotes

"Animan is the superhero we need today! I have loved everything Anouk Ricard has done and this may be her best yet. An absurd, hilarious and oddly-touching story from a master of anthropomorphic comedy." --Tom Gauld

"I want to have Animan as my best friend. The virtuous and kindhearted hero well all need right now" --Elizabeth Pich

"Anouk Ricard is one the greatest cartoonists in the world. With a truly sophisticated and silly line and droll deadpan writing, she weaves an intricate psychological genre bending ripper of shapeshifting, murder, and Sunday watercolors. It runs over and through every kind of story form, while being hilarious on every single page. I don't know how she does it. Animan is brilliant." --Sammy Harkham

"One evening, a little girl came to my house and discovered Animan in my bookcase. She read it over and over again, then told her parents: 'for Christmas, all I want are books by Anouk Ricard.' That little girl was right. That's what we need, Anouk Ricard, at Christmas and every other day of the year. Francis and Fabienne's world makes ours more beautiful, more fun, and deeply joyful." --Anne Simon

"The first time I saw the cover to this book, I thought" "nailed it." Animan's gorgeous face. Ricard's amazing character designs are perfect for their use in the her air-tight sitcom-ish narratives." --Marc Bell

"Funny, imaginative, and beautiful. Ricard designs an absurd world with lovable characters who behave logically, but not predictably. This book is full of delightful surprises!" --Keiler Roberts

"Combine absurdity with Ricard's simplified, charming funny animal art style and you've got a very funny comic. Ricard has a healthy appreciation for the ridiculous that is infectious." --Comic Book Resources

"Surreal workplace comedy as performed by anthropomorphic animals." --The AV Club

"In Anouk Ricard's gently bonkers satire, [she] just barely cushion[s] her pointed jabs at the insular, dysfunctional families we construct at work." --The Globe & Mail

About the Author

Anouk Ricard was born in 1970 in southern France. She studied at the Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence and the Strasbourg School of Decorative Arts where she graduated with a degree in illustration. She launched her career in comics with Anna and Froga, a children's series first published by Capsule Cosmique magazine, and later published in English by Drawn & Quarterly. The french edition of Animan--soon to be published in English by Drawn & Quarterly--was awarded the special jury prize at the 2023 Angoulème Comics Festival. In 2025 Ricard was awarded the Angoulême Grand Prize in recognition for her lifetime career achievement in comics.