"Unnatural Selection (The Origin of the Elephantmen)"
Writer (& Letterer): Richard Starkings
Artist (& Story): Ladrönn
Dialogue: Joe Casey (with Richard Starkings)
Publisher: Image Comics
As with just about any other #0 issue, Elephantmen #0 is not so much for the regular Elephant-reader as it is for a passing reader..., or more importantly, a new one. Clearly stated on the cover, this is the story of the Elephantmen’s origin, of how they came to be, of how they were created.
The work of the Dr. Nikken, the Elephantmen are genetic children of..., well..., animals and humans. Since the mothers are human, one can assume that it was the male of the animal species that was used to provide the other half of the Elephantmen’s DNA. Do note that while called Elephantmen, these beings have humanoid "children" of various animals: Zebras, Giraffes, Crocodiles, Hippopotamus, Wild Hogs, Camels, Rhinoceroses, and of course, Elephants. You name it and they are here.
Taking and building on the flashbacks shown in the regular Elephantmen issues, the readers get to see the whole process of creation and history of the Elephantmen, right up to their liberation by the authorities (which I assume are some form of the U.N.). The main character of attention here is a Hippo-Kid/-Man (he may or may not be Hip, the Hippo-Man from the main series). It is with him that we follow the whole process of birthing, growing older, attending "classes" (and being punished for something as egregious as raising his hand to ask a simple question) and later on going through training and even fighting with and against his fellow Elephantmen.
The artwork, though a bit convoluted at times (but only because of the sheer detail) is in the same style as the other Elephantmen series. If anything, the starting panels did seem a bit dark but even that can be attributed to an effort at creating a sinister and foreboding ambience, which it does quite well.
Conclusion: An ideal buy for new readers looking to get into this series, this will also be useful to the regular reader, both to freshen up on the Elephantmen and to see all the flashbacks come together in one place. Still, the ending could have been better instead of the abrupt one that we get here.
You can find more reviews by Bruce Logan at www.xcave.net
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