Elephantmen #45

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin and Tula Lotay

One thing that I love is the way in which creator-owned books allow their creators to explore whatever tangents they wish to through their story.  I doubt anyone who started reading Cerebus at its inception would have ever expected Oscar Wilde to show up in it (to pick one of the more extreme examples), and yet when Dave Sim felt like writing about Oscar Wilde, there he was.

Similarly, this issue of Elephantmen, which we were all reminded back in December is a prequel series to Richard Starkings's Hip Flask series, which comes out once or twice a decade, has a retelling of the story of the birth and early life of Siddhartha, who became the Gautama Buddha.  What makes that even stranger is that this story is being told by an Elephantman (a genetically-engineered man/animal hybrid soldier) during his service as a medic to another Elephantman who has been injured.  In typical Starkings fashion, this scene is being recounted by that same injured soldier, Ebony Hide, to his doctor while being treated in the present (really the far future, but the story-present) for another recent injury inflicted by the same person who injured him in the flashback.  Got it?  Good, because that's only one of a number of things that happen in this issue.

Starkings's story gets ever denser, but also increasingly effective in the way in which he has developed and strengthened his characters.  Individual issues, and really even arcs, mean little to Starkings, who has this very complex story mapped out in his head, and has decided to tell it in his own fashion, and at his own pace.  This issue also has Hip Flask and Miki get into a big argument over his having caught her kissing another man after he stood her up.  We also see Ebony make a fool of himself outside of a Hooters (further proof that the future isn't going to be all that bright?), and we learn who the Silencer's next target is.

This is always a lovely book to look through, as Axel Medellin continues to impress.  Tula Lotay provides the Siddhartha pages, and they are gorgeous.  At first I thought the pages were drawn by Marian Churchland; I need to check out more of Lotay's work.

Elephantmen #43

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin and Dave Sim

I ended up with some pretty mixed feelings when it comes to the forty-third issue of Elephantmen.  First, it's wrapped in a beautiful cover by Brandon Graham, which got me very excited that he may have also done some of the interiors (sadly, he did not).  This is an amazing cover, and it actually depicts a version of an event that happens inside the comic, which is rare these days.

Elephantmen, a series following the travails of some transgenic 'Elephantmen' - former soldiers who are now integrated into human society - who work in law enforcement or organized crime, is often a mixed bag story wise, ranging wildly over a variety of themes and genres.  Right now, it seems that Richard Starkings is mostly interested in giving us an updated form of romance comic, as the series follows the relationships of Hip Flask and Miki (and maybe Vanity Case?), and Obadiah Horn and Sahara (with a dash of Panya tossed in).  The story continues to work on the plot involving the pursuit of the Silencer, a hired killer who has been murdering Elephantmen, but it's the romance angle that gets the most screen time.

Hip gets attacked by the Silencer at the beginning of the book, and spends some time in a Dave Sim-drawn dream, similar to Ebony's from the last issue.  This in itself is fine, but with multiple pages given over to showing details from the same drawing, it kind of felt like filler.  Miki, Hip's new girlfriend finds out that he also has a thing for his fellow officer, Vanity Case, and gets angry.  Meanwhile, Sahara, who is carrying Horn's baby, further imposes on her body-double (and pregnancy-double) Panya to basically become her.

There are other things happening in this book as well, such as a small retcon to establish that Hip, Horn, and Sahara all went to Mars once, and that Mister Purchase, Horn's robotic aide de camp, was originally constructed for that voyage.  I could be wrong, but I don't remember reading about this part of the Elephantmen's history before recently, and I'm not sure why it's being included now.  That's what bothered me with this book; that Starkings will often shoehorn information about the past into a story in a manner that is more distracting than informative.  The reference to Hip being an 'astronaut' made by the Silencer came out of nowhere, and felt out of place.

Artistically, this book is as good as it ever was, with an extended section of pin-ups from various conventions (including art by Becky Cloonan!) given to Starkings taking the place of meatier backmatter.  I think my problem with this issue comes down to the fact that it didn't live up to its wonderful cover.

Elephantmen #42

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin and Dave Sim

A new arc starts with this issue, but once again, Elephantmen is all over the place story-wise; arcs don't much matter in this comic, it's more about theme, and the slow advancement of myriad plot lines.

In this issue, Panya, the dancer who looks just like Sahara, is implanted with an embryo that matches Sahara's - if both women are successful, they will give birth to the first new Elephantmen since Mappo was shut down.  What Sahara doesn't know though is that Panya has recently been with another man - the hired killer known only as The Silencer, opening the possibility that the child may end up being his.

Meanwhile, Hip Flask is investigating the drained river bed where the Silencer has been dumping bodies for years, hoping to find clues as to his identity or location.

Of most interest in this issue is the state of Ebony Hide, who is in hospital recovering from the injuries he received three issues back.  While unconscious, he dreams, and those pages are the ones that Dave Sim drew for the Hero Intiative's 2012 comic a few months back.  It's cool to see them repurposed and worked into the story here, and it's also cool to see Sim's artwork coloured; something that doesn't happen that often.

This comic opens with the text of two laws that were written in the last ten years in America to limit the extent of experimentation with stem cells and human/animal hybridization.  It's kind of strange that Starking waited until now to include this information in the comic, but I guess with the pregnancies taking place, he felt it was appropriate.

This issue also comes with some other goodies.  Starkings revisits his 'English & Media Studies' text-piece with a bit about Arnaldo Putzu, a British comics cover and movie poster artist from the 70s.  The 'Charley Loves Robots' back-up strip is entertaining as always, and there is a preview for Non-Humans, an upcoming series by Glenn Brunswick and Whilce Portacio.  I liked Brunswick's Killing Girl, and while I don't usually enjoy Portacio's work, it looks okay here.  I may be checking this out.

Elephantmen #39

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin

I don't remember when any one issue of Elephantmen seemed so consequential, and final, as Richard Starkings wraps up a number of long-running plotlines, and sets up some new story potential for future issues.

The identity of the killer who has been wearing the deceased Elephantman Tusk's skull was revealed last issue, and revealed, the killer has no choice but to go after her original target - Obadiah Horn, who is in his private terrarium, enjoying some private time with his wife Sahara.  Hip Flask and Ebony Hide race to the terrarium to help them, and there is a big stand-off.

This is an exciting issue, but Starkings never forgets to fill each page with smaller character moments.  I love the fact that, as they race to the tower, Ebony begins to suffer flashbacks to his recent experimentation with the drug Mirror, which means that he spends part of the issue picturing everything as if it were a Conan comic.  It's a good way to add humour to an otherwise very momentous scene.

Axel Medellin's art continues to blow me away, and he does a terrific job of balancing all the characters and events he has to draw in this comic.  Once again, Elephantmen has slipped from its monthly schedule, but when we are delivered an extra-sized comic of this level of quality, there should be no one complaining about waiting a little longer.  This is a great issue, and I look forward to seeing where Starkings and company take things next.

Elephantmen #38

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin and Rob Steen

Another issue of Elephantmen, and we get much of the same of what we've been getting from this comic lately.  Basically, this series has fallen into a nice groove where each new issue is advancing Starking's general plot, and is working in a much more linear fashion than it used to.

This issue has a focus on Janis Blackthorne, the agent who has recently been working with usual main characters Hip Flask and Ebony Hide.  Blackthorne's past is recapped a little, before she is put into the field, where she manages to track down and confront Razorback, the human who has been going around wearing Tusk's skull and killing Elephantmen for the last few issues.  We also learn Razorback's identity (which wasn't really much of a surprise).

While this is all going on, we also learn a little about the inner workings of Obadiah Horn's home, and meet one of his disgruntled employees.  As well, Hip meets Miki's mother, which doesn't go the way any of them would have expected.

Axel Medellin's art continues to grow in leaps and bounds with each new issue, and he was already very good.  This issue has an almost painted quality to some of the pages, and generally looks great.

There is also the continuation of Rob Steen's story set in the early Mappo days (which is okay but is not really grabbing me), and another chapter of the back-up story Charly Loves Robots, which I've liked a lot since it started.  Elephantmen really delivers value for its $4 price tag.

Elephantmen #37

Written by Richard Starkings and Rob Steen
Art by Axel Medellin and Rob Steen

It must be a lot easier to read Elephantmen in trade than it is to buy the semi-monthly issues.  This particular issue, which is the second part of the four-part 'The Killing Season' arc, has barely a single page that doesn't reference something from a previous comic.  Now, that is something I'm more than fine with.  I like series that build upon themselves, and accrue a great deal of history.

What makes Elephantmen such a challenging read is that Starkings is forever playing around with the timing of individual issues, and where each one fits in relation to the issues around it.  This has to be the most non-linear series ever made.  For example, this issue takes place 'yesterday' in story time, but we learn that events of issues from a few months ago, like the excellent Shaky Kane-drawn issue 33.  Out of the blue, we are back in that issue, and it is hard for the reader to remember exactly how to slot everything in order in his or her mind.

Aside from that, which always nags at me when reading this comic, there is plenty to like here.  A killer is going around killing transgenics and writing 'No Mercy' on their chests.  In this issue, we get to see that killer, who is walking around wearing Tusk's skull as a helmet.  We also learn  that Sahara is planning on having a baby, although apparently through her look-alike Panya, who may serve as a surrogate. 

There is a lot going on in this book, and the pacing feels a little bit off, but Axel Medellin's art continues to be gorgeous.  The back-up story about Dr. Nikken, creator of the Elephantmen, is creepy and atmospheric, but I find not as enjoyable as the main story.  I find my mind wandering a lot while reading it.

Elephantmen #36

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin and Rob Steen

First, I want to mention how Richard Starkings makes sure that his readers get their money's worth with this comic.  For $4, there are 35 pages of comics in here, spread across the main story, and two back-ups:  one a Mappo story set in the past, and (finally), a new chapter of the very cute Charley Loves Robots series.

The main story starts a new four part arc called 'The Killing Season'.  In typical Elephantmen fashion, this story is set before the story that Shaky Kane drew a couple of issues back, and it concerns Hip's investigation into the killings of Elephantmen for their ivory, which led to his bizarre visit to the plastic surgeon in the aforementioned issue.

Starkings uses this issue to check in with almost all of the cast.  Miki wakes up in Hip's bed (alone), and goes to work on Tiny's first day back.  Mr. Apostrophe takes a dip in a familiar canal, and finds the bodies dumped by the assassin who keeps showing up in this series.  Later, Trench oversees the recovery of all these bodies.  While all this is happening, Sahara and Ebony Hide have a visit from a Buddhist Elephantman, who has a long (and wordy) talk with Sahara about his religion.

In all, this is a decent issue, although it requires a better memory than mine to put all of the scenes in the correct context.  While I admire the complexity of Starkings vision for this comic, I do find it hard to pick up on all the subtle references to former issues that he makes, and I don't have the encyclopedic knowledge at hand that this comic sometimes needs.  Still, I don't want to fault someone for vision.  I just can't imagine picking up a random issue for the first time and understanding it at all.

Medellin continues to grow as an artist, putting ever more detail into his backgrounds, while making his central figures look terrific.  I don't think he can get much better than this, but then each month, he proves me wrong.

Elephantmen #35

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Boo Cook and Axel Medellin

This is a nice thick issue of Elephantmen, which is nothing but comics.  There are no ads (yay!), and also none of the text pages that Starkings usually provides, which is a shame, because I do enjoy them.  Of course, the first choice would always be to have more comics, especially when they look this good.

The main story (drawn by Cook) continues to examine Yvette, the heroine of the War Toys stories.  In this issue, she continues to lead a group of human soldiers into China, pursuing Mappo's forces.  Her crew capture a big Robotech like Elephantmen robot thing, and Yvette gets to pilot it.  At the same time, the Mappo forces are ambushed by the Chinese tiger creatures we met last issue.

There was something that happened here that I need clarification on.  I thought that the Elephantmen were not given their names until after they were rescued from Mappo, and that many of them were named by Sahara, the woman who aided in their rehabilitation.  However, in this issue, Hip and Ebony call each other by those names, and show a level of concern for one another that I didn't think they would have had at this point in their story.  I could be wrong (and don't have time to dig out all my back issues to check).

Cook's art looks great through here.  He usually has a good command of the proportions of the characters, although I'm a little unclear about the horses that Hip and company are riding - I'm going to assume they are larger than normal horses, and otherwise enhanced, or the Elephantmen wouldn't be able to ride them.

The back up story, with art by Axel Medellin covers familiar ground, but looks phenomenal, as does the back cover.

Elephantmen #34

Written by Richard Starkings and Monifa Aldridge
Art by Boo Cook and Axel Medellin

I suppose that Elephantmen's unpredictability is one of its strengths, but I do find it hard to figure out what to expect from one story arc to the next.  After having finished the drug-fueled Elseworlds visions of Man and Elephantman, I thought we'd bee seeing a little more of Hip and Ebony, but instead, we are getting a sequel to War Toys, which was originally published as a separate mini-series.

It's all good, as I love this comic, but this issue felt more like a recap of earlier material than anything else.  We start with a Chinese legend, the relevance of which does become apparent later, before checking in with Yvette, the star of War Toys.  She's leading a squad in Siberia, and kills a group of Mappo soldiers - mostly hyenas led by a single elephantman.  This gives occasion for one of the guys with her to talk about her story. Later, there are a bunch of rockets launched from the moon, with rather interesting occupants.  I'm curious to see where this goes.

There is also a back-up story, written by Aldridge, which helps fill in the back history of Panya, the dancer who likes to switch places with Sahara from time to time.  It's perfectly fine, but pretty predictable.

This issue has art by both Boo Cook and Axel Medellin, and it's a very lovely issue.  There are perhaps too many splash pages for Cook, but he does make good use of them.

Elephantmen #32

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin

In a lot of ways, Elephantmen is the ultimate vanity project comic.  With this issue, Richard Starkings decides that it's time to do a tribute to the Conan comics he loved as a kid, so he does just that.  In fact, I think that this whole 'Man and Elephantman' arc has existed just so he could create the book-ending Elseworld-style issues.

In the comic, both Hip Flask and Ebony Hide have now experimented with the drug mirror, which causes very believable hallucinations.  When Hip did it, in the Man and Elephantman one-shot, he believed he was human, and that conceit lasted for the entire issue.  In this comic, when Ebony tries it, he envisions himself a barbarian king, who sleeps with vampires, and does battle with dragons in a desert oasis, alongside a busty woman in a chain-mail bikini named Vanya (Red Vanya?).

Because the reader already knows what's going on, this sequence does not take up the whole comic, and is instead used to move the plot forward incrementally, as Ebony's colleague LAPD Lieutenant Trench discusses his own struggle with the drug.  Behind the scenes, we learn more about the illegal ivory trade, and are introduced to a murder case that is probably going to drive the next story arc.

One could complain that this issue is wasted, story wise, but Axel Medellin's pictures are so nice, and the story is enjoyable enough that the comic still works.  In the back matter, Starking provides an excerpt from his book on lettering to show how the old Conan comics influenced his work.  I found this section very interesting, and I also enjoyed the Charley Loves Robots back-up.  Most surprising, though, was seeing that my review of Man and Elephantman was printed in the letters page.

50 Girls 50 #1

Written by Doug Murray and Frank Cho
Art by Axel Medellin

50 Girls 50 is a fun science fiction adventure comic with art by the current artist of Elephantmen.  Story-wise, it reminds me of a free-wheeling all-girl version of the early days of Fear Agent (whatever happened to that book?).

A group of all-female scientists have been sent on a resource-gathering mission through a wormhole for five years.  Now they are sent to return to Earth, hopefully with their ship full of bounty.  As they come out of their wormhole, however, they find themselves orbiting a different planet.

Two women go to check it out, and are soon running from giant insects, as something in the atmosphere melts their gear (including the plastic stitching in their uniforms).  Yes, we are in cheesecake territory, but it's still a fun comic, with some decent character work and great art.

What I don't understand though, are the basic premises of the series.  How would one ship be able to gather, in five years, enough of any material to help a planet choked by overpopulation and lack of resources?  In the text piece at the back of the book, co-writer Doug Murray says that only 50 women had the necessary triple-x chromosome that would allow them through wormholes, yet the comic makes it sound like any woman can do this.  Also, throughout the promotional material for this series, it keeps referring to "10 Ships. 50 Women".  Well, if there are ten ships, the other 9 never come up.  Also, the one in this comic has at least 6 women on board, making the math not work for the others.

I know a lot of this is minor quibbling, considering that I enjoyed the comic, but it is this lack of proper editing and oversight that gets on my nerves with some Image comics.  I like things to be clear.

Elephantmen #31

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin

I get that Richard Starkings is trying, after so many years, to make Elephantmen accessible to new readers, but I'm not sure why that has to come at the expense of moving the story forward.  We are treated to a long conversation between Sahara and Mister Purchase, the fiancee and 'fixer' for the Kingpin-like Obadiah Horn where they discuss Horn's evolution from Mappo soldier to 'businessman'.  It's just so out of character for Purchase, or even more naive than we've ever seen Sahara.

Otherwise, it's a decent issue, with fantastic art by Axel Medellin.  When he started on the book, he was very good, but with each new issue he completes, his art gets even better.  His work here is more rich and nuanced than we've seen before.  I can't tell is Medellin is doing his own colours on this book, as credits are always a little murky on this title, but they are just as fantastic as the art.  I love the way light gets used in the scene where a drug dealer kills one of the Elephantmen.

I see that this current 'Man and Elephantman' arc is set to end with the next issue.  As the drug concept has barely been touched upon in this issue, I don't see how that will happen, but Starking has always had a very loose respect for the industry standard approach to story arcs, so it's all good.

Elephantmen: Man and Elephantman #1

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin

I feel like I need to judge this comic on two levels.  In terms of story, and seen as a new issue of Elephantmen, this issue is pretty good.  Hip Flask, who is more or less the main character of this sprawling series, wakes up one morning to discover himself in a human body.  Basically, he is living in the reverse of Kafka's Metamorphosis, and we watch as he goes about his day in a human body, going to work as usual, and running into many of the various character that make up the regular cast of this comic.

If we view it as an introduction to the series, albeit through the looking glass, it helps to establish a number of the relationships, even if characters like Tusk and Yvette are included.  Of course, it's a hoax, and an interesting one at that, even if it seems outside of character (I don't want to spoil everything).  So what we're left with is basically an Elseworlds story, which while kind of amusing, doesn't do anything to advance the series much.

And this is where we have to look at this comic from another viewpoint.  It seems that Starkings has interrupted the numbering of this title to create a 'jump-on' comic (similar to Marvel's current .1 initiative), which introduces all of the characters in a false light.  Furthermore, this is the start of the next arc, but I'm not sure that the last page of this story is going to be enough to draw in a new reader.  But then, Elephantmen always dances to its own beat, so it's all good.

In terms of art, Medellin keeps getting better and better, and I enjoyed the Charley Loves Robots back-up, which gets recapped and extended by two pages here.

Elephantmen #30

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin

I often find a new issue of Elephantmen contains something totally unexpected.  Starkings has often taken the plot of the series in wild new directions, or has introduced new and unforeseen elements into the story with little warning.  This issue marks another strange departure in the history of this comic, as Starkings and Medellin give us an extremely steamy and suggestive issue.

Hip Flask, who is basically the main character of the book, ends up mending things with Miki, the cab driver who has had a crush on him for ages, and has recently been very angry with him.  This leads to the two of them skinnydipping in Hip's pool, and getting up to much, much more (although, considering the size difference between them, I don't see how).

At the same time, Sahara and Panya share a partially clothed hug, and a strange guy named Mr. Apostrophe (really?) offers his services to the Information Agency to help deactivate the imperiumite implants that can control the Elephantmens' behaviour.

The story seems unconnected and random, but all complaints are easily ignored in the face of Medillin's amazing artwork on this issue.  He employs a couple of different styles, and his erotic scenes are indeed quite lovely.

Elephantmen #29

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medelin and Marian Churchland

This issue of Elephantmen focuses exclusively on four of the women who make up the regular cast of this title.  The issue is split between two artists, each telling their own separate story, although the two stories are interspersed with one another.

Most of the book revolves around Vanity Case, Sahara, and Panya, Sahara's body double.  Vanity is still disturbed by her run in with the Simm robot a number of issues ago, and rightfully so, as the device is still stalking the streets, looking for her.  Sahara, meanwhile, is trying to enjoy her night out on the town, and ends up with Vanity.  Panya is given some space in the book, as we begin to explore her character a little.  This part of the book has art by Medelin, and it's all quite serviceable.

The real good stuff is the Miki part of the comic, with art by the always amazing Marian Churchland (read Beast!).  Miki is still mad at Hip Flask, and the Elephantmen in general, but can't keep herself away from them either.  She ends up at The Watering Hole, the original Munt dive bar, where humans definitely aren't welcome.  A hippo who looks a bit like Hip Flask takes an interest in her, and volunteers to keep her safe while going over the less savory aspects of the community she wandered into.  It's a creepy scene, with a creepy ending I don't want to ruin.  Read it - it's good.

Elephantmen #28

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medelin and Marian Churchland

It's always nice to see a new issue of Elephantmen.  This is mostly an action-filled installment, as Hip Flask, Ebony Hide, and Janis Blackthorne fight a bunch of recently activated Crocodile Elephantmen in a slaughter house.  It's a pretty good action sequence, which becomes funnier with the introduction of the Mappo Simms - repurposed androids originally designed to provide sexual pleasure. 

Medelin is showing himself to be a capable artist on this book, and it's nice to see Starkings actually wrap up a plot thread or two, as that's not something that happens all that often with this title.

My favourite part of the book would be the unexpected short back-up story featuring Miki, with art by Marian Churchland.  Not much happens in the story - I just really like Churchland's art, and am always really happy to see some of it.

The regular back-up story, Charley Loves Robots, is still cute, but not as charming as its first chapter was.

Elephantmen #27

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Axel Medellin

It's been a couple of months since we last saw Elephantmen, and I found I wasn't terribly interested in reading this comic.  I started it twice before I finally read it through, which is not something that happens to me often.  I'm surprised by this reaction too, as I like this comic.

I think the problem is that this current arc, "Questionable Things" is very plot-driven, and Starkings has come at the story from a strange angle (which he does a lot, but that's usually what I like about the book).  There's a Mappo sleeper cell planning on doing some Elephantmen-based terrorism, but I'm not sure that their motives or methods are all that clear.

Hip, Ebony, and that strange Blackthorne chick are going after the Mappo base, so they release a bunch of reactivated crocodile Elephantmen into a cattle factory.  Maybe it's a strategically important cattle factory, I'm not sure.

Meanwhile, Sahara continues her walkabout and hangs out with the giraffe tailor guy.  Not much more happens.

I like Axel Medellin's art on this book.  It would seem he's going to be the regular artist for the next little while, so it's good that I do enjoy his work.  I hope he can help put the book back on schedule.  Also, the new "Charley Loves Robots" back-up starts here, by Szymanowicz, Roshell, and Bautista, and it's pretty cute.

Elephantmen #26

Written by Richard Starkings
Art by Andre Szymanowicz, Vince Lee, Moritat, Boo Cook, Axel Medellin, and Marian Churchland

I find it odd that the main reason why I dropped Brightest Day from my pull-list is the same reason why I like this latest issue of Elephantmen:  the way in which it is telling a number of different, interconnected stories, in a very episodic manner.  I find it doesn't work at all in BD, but here it does.

This issue slowly continues the recent plot about the two SIMM androids that have shown up.  Vanity Case discovers that she was manipulated by one, while Sahara, on a 'Coming to America' style walkabout, gets stalked by another.  The main characters of this book - namely Hip Flask and Ebony Hide, barely get any screen time at all, instead giving the spotlight to the aforementioned characters, as well as checking in on Miki.

The longest segment of the issue is given over to Janis Blackthorne, the new partner of our two favourite transgenics.  Blackthorne has an interesting past, and while the narrative explains her history, the artists (Moritat and Cook) show us what she was up to during the war.  It's a very nicely done sequence.

In fact, the art is pretty strong throughout this issue.  I love Churchland's pages the best, but was also happy to see Szymanowicz, Moritat, and Cook on the book.  The only artist I wasn't particularly fond of was Medellin's Sahara pages, which were fine, just a little more cheesecake-y than I usually like.