Hung like an elpehant…
Posted by themasonElephantmen: Worlds Collide (Starkings, Churchill [in this case] and often [but not in this case] Moritat) part 3 of 3 came out Wednesday and, since it’s the only new book I got this week, I thought I might as well review the series.
Don’t know what Elephantmen is? Lemme get you caught up…It’s the future, after a war with genetically altered animals (giraffes, hippos, elephants) where a lot of people died because of said animals and some crazy ass disease, but don’t worry, the war’s over and now the Elephantmen are trying to assimilate to society with some (not total) success. There ya go, you’re caught up. Now go out, buy Hip Flask and whatever else you can get your hands on, then come back here.
One of the best things about Elephantmen is that it’s able to tell these close-in detective, sci-fi or action stories while also giving you a very broad view of this future Earth. It balances fun and simple stories with a complicated, dare I say, allegory of the world we live in now. Allegory isn’t quite right though. For one, only douche bags use words like allegory and I’m no douche bag. For two, it’s not a fair to look at the events in Elephantmen and to compare them to the events of today simply because Richard Starkings seems to magnify the issues of today tenfold.
Worlds Collide is based off a simple concept: an object falls from the sky that contains something that turns out to be deadly. Elephantmen Ebony and Hip run to the scene with their human friend Miki and find a group of dead humans and a team of government robots ready to “sterilize” the scene, which may mean the death of Miki. Simultaneously Obadiah and his fiance Sahara (who will possibly be the first elephantman/human marriage) are in a horrible accident that sends them to the hospital. Sahara’s father, an Elephantmen hunter, gets wind of this and embarks to the hospital to kill Obadiah. And, of course, both incidents, which seem to involve only a handful of people, actually have worldwide causes and repercussions. Repercussions you’ll have to find out on your own.
All in all Worlds Collide was another great Elephantmen story. Simple to follow with beautiful art that, in the end, had a mystery which turned out to be caused by the past the world’s been trying to run from, while also having consequences for the future.
The art is typically done by Moritat, who does beautifully painted scenes. In this case it’s by Mr. Churchill. While not the same exact style, it’s still amazing how he can get such human (sometimes in a painful way) characteristics out of the Elephantmen. Certainly it pushes the story and makes you care more. It’d also be a shame to not mention the fact that Elephantmen is the best lettered book in the market. So, you know, go out and buy it already.
