Last time in the bullet reviews, I briefly talked about a book called Wolfskin. While not a bad tale, really, there just wasn't enough in the main protagonist of the story to make me care enough to come back for more. Today, we're going to discuss a similarly sparse book that doesn't reveal too much about its main characters too quickly, but which got the opposite reaction from me. There wasn't much back story here at all, but what I did get only made me hungry for more.
But before we get into the book itself, let's first discuss how I came to try the book. I'm not exactly a podcast newbie, but I also had very limited experience with them before about 18 months ago. I follow comic-related news on Newsarama, among other sites, and had seen and heard Word Balloon by John Siuntres, but had only listened to current episodes on my computer. Then my lovely wife, Cathy, bought me my first iPod just over a year ago. I started listening to previous Word Balloon episodes, but iTunes also introduced me to a number of other great comic-themed podcasts. They make great listening while I'm out walking the dog around the neighborhood trying to lose a few pounds.
One of these podcasts, I apologize but I forget which one specifically, included a lengthy interview with Richard Starkings of Comicraft and, of course, dealt with his then new book Elephantmen. I'd heard of Elephantmen before and was curious about the concept. Most reviews I'd heard or read were quite favorable. But hearing Starkings himself talk about the book made me really want to try and like it.
So I bought the first trade collecting the first seven issues of Elephantmen.
The story takes place a few hundred years in the future. There are genetically engineered animals who walk upright, wear clothing and speak living among humans. They are not an unusual sight for the time period, but neither are they universally accepted as equals by all men. They were originally created to be soldiers, and were for some time considered to be the property of the company which created them. That ended suddenly when the government decided that the elephantmen were being mistreated by their corporate masters (which was true) and decided to set them free ("OK, you're free; have a nice life; don't call us for help.") Oh, and despite the name "elephantmen," they aren't all anthropomorphized elephants; there's an elephant, a rhino, a hippo, a warthog, a crocodile and a camel that I've seen prominently, and there's a zebra on the cover.
That's kind of the nuts and bolts of what I know so far. Like I said earlier, not a lot of info. And all of that was gathered in the initial premise and in dribs and drabs of back story as it become relevant to the current storyline. Starkings does an excellent job of filling you in just what you need to know when you need to know it, but making the back story stuff fit seemlessly into the story arc. You learn about these characters' pasts like you would a real person's -- a bit at a time. But what he has revealed makes me want to know more.
For instance, I've learned that the hippo, Agent Hip Flask who works for some government sponsored organization, has had one or two story arcs that precede the Elephantmen title. He seems like a very interesting character, so I definitely want to go back and check out the Hip Flask trades. The main focus character in this trade is the elephant, Ebony, who works with Hip Flask. But we also follow the croc, Elijah, a less than likable hired-muscle kind of guy, and the rhino, Obadiah, who appears to be a captain of industry, but in the modern Lex Luthor vein.
Theirs is a layered tale. On the surface, not much has happened in these first seven issues. Ebony meets a little human girl, who later comes to see him in the hospital after he has been hurt on a mission and she has run away from home. Hip, on another mission, is waylaid by Elijah, and winds up in the hospital through the timely assistance of a young cabbie, who later comes to check up on him. These two humans serve as the reader's point-of-view characters as we learn more about Ebony and Hip, both through what they share with their new-found friends, and what they keep secret. Along the way, we're also given glimpses of the near past for these elephantmen, as well as more insights into the personalities of Elijah and Obadiah. Starkings packs a lot into each of these issues, and the art by Moritat and others is just incredible.
This trade is well worth checking out, and as I said previously, has prompted me to seek out more. I have the second Elephantmen trade on order; the third will be solicited soon, I believe; and I also plan to seek out Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection and Hip Flask: Concrete Jungle.
Good comics, Kiddie Cops!
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