A perfect jumping on point and a new story for fans are
rolled into one in this issue of Elephantmen, along with several flaws. The fan service is not as strong as the
series urges to hook new readers the same way Image did by reprinting the first
issue of Elephantmen
#1. This issue may have more
flaws and less of an emotional impact than that issue, but it has its moments.Sahara continues to encourage man to accept the Elephantmen
and the responsibility as their creators.
All the while animals are being killed by a deranged madman and Hip
Flask is on the case trying to track down the killer before more innocent
people die.Richard Starkings has devised a story that seems to have a
detective story thrown in at the last minute. Without Elephantmen this comic would fail as a simple
detective story. But it has them
and makes the comic a continually emotional experience. The overall message to accept everyone
is an old clichéd one constantly used but rarely effective. This story manages to capture the
better side of the cliché, though the issue can get a bit preachy about it at
times. Sahara is usually the
cause. She goes on for an entire
page with a speech about men and the Elephantmen and it gets slightly boring
about halfway through. She is
still an interesting character, but only when she avoids the page-long
speeches. There is also a lot of background on the history of the comic. The issue is the second part of a three
part story arc geared towards new readers, but still has a slowly progressing
story while talking about the series’ history.
The strongest points and biggest flaws both came from Axel
Medellin’s art. Starkings mostly
failed with giving his message to “save the animals” subtlety. Medellin made a much bigger emotional
impact on the reader using no words, just the characters’ eyes. He managed to draw such expressive
details from a characters’ eyes, sometimes dedicated an entire panel to a
close-up of an eye. The look of
pain Medellin can make in an Elephantman’s eye makes the character even more
sympathetic, making the phrase “the eyes are a mirror of the soul” come true in
the most delightful of ways. Other than Medellin’s masterful work with irises, most fails
to impress on any level. The
characters are drawn mediocre at best and often have too much light staining
their features making them more memorable… for being as bright as a light bulb
and nearly blinding me. There is
some surprisingly gorgeous full panel shots of settings, but the deep
concentration on these settings seems to have Medellin forget that there were
others. He pays little attention
to detail in every other background, which are almost completely neglected when
the characters are wrapped up in dialogue which is most of the time. Despite this mostly lackluster art from Medellin the eyes
were truly mesmerizing and helped Starking tell his story. A story that is both very unique and
unfortunately preachy at times.
Not very much is accomplished in the issue but it is a great read for
new readers and does have a bit of a story for fans to read too – just try not
to go blind because of the offsetting color palette.Overall – 7.5/10
*Good – Perfect for
animal rights activists and new mature readers*For more Elephantmen,
check out Dustin’s review of Elephantmen #30 and his review of
Elephantmen: Man or Elephantman #1.
An all-around nerdette, I’m a comic book connoisseur, horror aficionado, video game addict, anime enthusiast and an aspiring novelist/comic book writer. I am the head of the comic book department and the editor-in-chief of Entertainment Fuse. I also write and edit articles for Comic Frontline. I am also an intern at Action Lab Entertainment, a comic book publisher at which I edit comic book scripts, help work on images in solicitations and help with other comic book related project. My own personal website is comicmaven.com.
Richard Starkings has devised a story that seems to have a
detective story thrown in at the last minute. Without Elephantmen this comic would fail as a simple
detective story. But it has them
and makes the comic a continually emotional experience. The overall message to accept everyone
is an old clichéd one constantly used but rarely effective. This story manages to capture the
better side of the cliché, though the issue can get a bit preachy about it at
times. Sahara is usually the
cause. She goes on for an entire
page with a speech about men and the Elephantmen and it gets slightly boring
about halfway through. She is
still an interesting character, but only when she avoids the page-long
speeches. There is also a lot of background on the history of the comic. The issue is the second part of a three
part story arc geared towards new readers, but still has a slowly progressing
story while talking about the series’ history.
The strongest points and biggest flaws both came from Axel
Medellin’s art. Starkings mostly
failed with giving his message to “save the animals” subtlety. Medellin made a much bigger emotional
impact on the reader using no words, just the characters’ eyes. He managed to draw such expressive
details from a characters’ eyes, sometimes dedicated an entire panel to a
close-up of an eye. The look of
pain Medellin can make in an Elephantman’s eye makes the character even more
sympathetic, making the phrase “the eyes are a mirror of the soul” come true in
the most delightful of ways.
Other than Medellin’s masterful work with irises, most fails
to impress on any level. The
characters are drawn mediocre at best and often have too much light staining
their features making them more memorable… for being as bright as a light bulb
and nearly blinding me. There is
some surprisingly gorgeous full panel shots of settings, but the deep
concentration on these settings seems to have Medellin forget that there were
others. He pays little attention
to detail in every other background, which are almost completely neglected when
the characters are wrapped up in dialogue which is most of the time.
Despite this mostly lackluster art from Medellin the eyes
were truly mesmerizing and helped Starking tell his story. A story that is both very unique and
unfortunately preachy at times.
Not very much is accomplished in the issue but it is a great read for
new readers and does have a bit of a story for fans to read too – just try not
to go blind because of the offsetting color palette.
Overall – 7.5/10
*Good – Perfect for
animal rights activists and new mature readers*
For more Elephantmen,
check out Dustin’s review of Elephantmen #30 and his review of
Elephantmen: Man or Elephantman #1. 
