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Elephantmen # 003 - 006
01/04/2007 . Source: Paul Skevington 
Elephantmen # 003 September 2006, Elephantmen # 004 October 2006, Elephantmen # 005 November 2006, Elephantmen # 006 December 2006. pub: Comicraft. 36 page comic. Price: $ 2.99 (US) each. Buy Elephantmen in the USA - or Buy Elephantmen in the UK  check out websites: www.comicraft.com , www.imagecomics.com and www.hipflask.com
Reading these issues of the wonderful 'Elephantmen' comic together serves to highlight the strengths of this series that is now reaching past its sixth issue. Amongst them is this title's astounding artistic diversity and it's willingness to stand at the cliff's edge of ingenuity without falling off.
The two pillars of this enterprise are Richard Starkings, who writes every story, and Moritat, who illustrates at least one of them each month. Great as this pairing may be (and it is), the introduction of guest artists to the mix insures that the reader always has something special to look forward to.
Issue three features art by Tom Scioli of 'Godland' fame. He adequately offsets the dark tone of the story, which concerns an attempt to capture Ebony (one of the half-human, half-animal Elephantmen) for someone's own private fauna collection. The story is grim and bloody but Scioli's style, which is retro in feel but definitely modern in application, awards the reader with a level of removal from the unpleasant events of the script. This is necessary as this narrative is more concerned with Ebony himself than it is about gunfights and gorings.
Issue six includes a piece that is as disturbing as it is revealing, entitled 'The Last Thing I Remember'. Here we discover more about Sahara's parentage in a tale illustrated by David Hine whose simple yet effective panels convey the underlying horror that is at the heart of Elephantmen: the devaluation of life itself.
Despite the interest that these guest artists provide, it is without doubt that Moritat is still the star of the show. His work is improving with every issue as he manages to handle every subject that Starkings throws at him.
For instance, issue three features the story 'A Good Look' which depicts the first meeting between Miki and a severely injured Hip Flask (another Elephantman). The story is full of understated comedy that is greatly supported by Moritat's character illustration. When we see Miki give her cheeky grin, we know exactly what she is thinking!
Merely one issue later and Moritat is drawing the darker and more upsetting story 'Tusk'. Initially, we are shown scenes from the youth of the Elephantmen, when they were still captives of their creators, the unethical corporation Mappo. We witness the way in which they were subjected to medical experimentation of a type horribly reminiscent of the Nazi 'experiments' of the holocaust. The war between ethical considerations and science is a central theme in 'Elephantmen'. We then move forward to the present where Miki is visiting Hip in hospital. Here she meets the injured Ebony who shows her Tusk, another Elephantman, who was broken by the poisons Mappo subjected him to and lost his mind as a result of it. Moritat handles the tragedy of this story equally as well as he did the humour of the previous instalment.
'Exodus' in issue five continues in this vein. Like 'Tusk', it is drawn by Moritat and has no companion piece within the issue. The events of the story unfold just after the Elephantmen were freed from the Mappo facility where they were raised and is chiefly concerned with ideas of nature and nurture. As they are herded onto a cattle train for transportation (again with its connotations of the holocaust), they quickly fall back into familiar habits of blood and anger, because they have never known anything else. This behaviour is so deeply ingrained that in the postscript we see an Elephantman many years down the line acting in a way that suggests he is still enslaved to his upbringing.
The most recent issue brings with it the story 'Abandoned By God', a beautiful tale of the strength of the love that is between Obadiah Horn and his human fiancée, Sahara. It is a credit to Starkings that this unlikely relationship (Horn is part Rhinoceros) does not seem even remotely ridiculous. These are characters that will endure and a large part of that credit for that goes to Moritat, who in this simple tale produces some of his best work on the series to date. Moritat is skilled at conveying emotion and this story is perfect for his skills.
The covers of the comic continue to be of the highest quality. Some issues have flip covers whereas others have alternates. This allows for the introduction of guest artists to the series. Amongst the guest artists, Brian Bolland's cover for issue four is marvellous, incredibly detailed and guaranteed to grab the attention of passing comics enthusiasts as they trundle past the shelves of their favourite retailer.
Ladronn's work is beyond comparison though. The Eisner winning artist, for his astounding work on 'Hip Flask: Mystery City', is obviously still fully committed to this title. My favourite so far is his work for, yet again, 'Abandoned By God', which features an image of Sahara that communicates the characters depths of spirit and suffering. The presence of the massive hand of Horn behind her head is at first easy to miss, such is the subtlety of the image.
'Elephantmen' is a phenomenon. Don't allow yourself to miss out.
Paul Skevington
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