Elephantmen #2

Genre adventure Author Starkings Publisher Active Images External Links Official Hip Flask Website

Comics these days continue to expand the boundaries to which they are normally confined. As someone who normally likes the standard six-panel storytelling format, it takes something very creative to expand my horizons. Now that is not to say I am stuck in a rut, I just like things to be familiar sometimes. But there are always ways to spice things up. When storytellers and artists like Richard Starkings, Moritat, and Henry Flint combine to create an out of the ordinary story such as Behemoth vs. Leviathan, it deserves to be cheered with the utmost levels of yours voice. The second issue of Elephantmen is just such an issue. Combining the visual aspects of the world of the Elephantmen with quotations from the biblical Book of Job took an incredible amount of brilliance and knowledge of both their characters and The Bible. I myself have to admit to never having read these particular passages before. Yet they fit together with the fight scene so well that you might think it was written just for this.

The main story had many features that make it stand out including no dialogue, the use of the biblical scripture, no humans, and only one scene. That said, all of these, combined with the excellent and detailed art, make for a stunning piece worthy of the industry's top awards. As a fight scene, it really needs no dialogue. All the yapping between guys in mortal combat at times seems a little too cerebral. Especially when the main thought should be on pounding their opponent into unconsciousness. There is no need for snappy banter here as the Behemoth and Leviathan resort to their basic animal instincts in combat. It's almost like watching an episode of Nature circa 2660.

The use of biblical scripture to narrate the piece from beginning to end carries religious overtones. Similarly, the pointy-eared idol the behemoth is holding further carries the religious implications, as does the Howard Stern quote on the inside front cover. Exactly how all this interplays with each other I am not sure, but the impression that it does is strong throughout.

Containing the story to one scene - the fight scene - may have precipitated leaving our any humans. Indeed, dragging them in, even at the end, would have tainted the story. As short as the story was, it as well planned, executed, and masterfully done. It could not have been done any better.

One of the positives to having the main story short was that it allowed, as mentioned on the flip back cover, for "two complete stories." It is no often you get a second story in comics today due to the focus on six issue story arcs.

Due to the fact that I am not a huge Howard Stern fan, I did not find particularly appealing the Herman Strumm parody. Aside from the fact that it took up approximately half the pages of the book, it just seemed misplaced. After the visually appealing and serious first half, the humor was juxtaposed at an improper time. However, it may have been the size of the stories that made the two appropriate to put in this issue. Be that as it may, the Strumm character seemed to capture Howard dead-on. I do not watch or listen to much if any of Stern. But from what I do know and have seen, this was a well-done parody.

However, the scare tactic used by Elijah Delaney seemed misdirected. Using the young lady to get Howard to freak out and soil his pants does not seem right for the girl's sanity. Surely she will be having crocodile nightmares for years to come. While mildly funny, it seems cruel. The funnier part is actually that Strumm soils his pants. An effective reversal of Strumm's attempt to get under the skin of his guest using the young lady. I guess Herman failed to see the sympathy that Elijah would have for him would be tinged with crocodile tears.

While not terribly taken by the Herman Strumm story, the Behemoth vs. Leviathan story makes this issue a must have due to style and substance. Certainly it makes picking up the next or future issue something I can recommend if it runs parallel to this one, and something to which I look forward.