Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Elephantmen #35
Image Comics
Starkings, Cook, Wright & Roshell
The story of Yvette continues in a brutal and bloody conclusion to the sequel to War Toys. This issue is very simple in its execution – Yvette is a badass and takes on all sides. The subtext is all of this is just how different the creations of Elephantmen are based on the countries or companies that made them. The book is a fantastic read and Starkings clearly has future plans for Yvette but what could possibly top this?
The two aspects of this book that are the most memorable are the mindsets of Yvette and that of the Elephantmen. Yvette is so scarred and damaged that she can't even find comfort in some human companionship. Basically the softer side of Yvette is barely a sliver at this point and it actually comes across as being very sad for the character. I almost felt like it might be best if she just dies during the pending battle. Then, she finds the Elephantmen's robotic suit and I return back to the opinion that I want her to kill everything that moves.
The Elephantmen in the issue are very familiar characters. It's very difficult to map their personalities from here back to the regular time period when they have been deprogrammed. Starkings manages to almost keep them in a protagonist role because they certainly are sympathetic here. The revelation in this issue is that the Asian Elephantmen army have different war programming. They are simply about winning at any cost, even if that means sacrificing their comrades.
The issue wouldn't be complete without amazing artwork. Cook makes this book every bit as bloody as I could have imagined. He holds nothing back in terms of imagination of how these creatures could and do die. Cook shows his versatility by drawing a stunning Yvette. Yvette proves she belongs among the other beautiful women of this title and it's because of Cook's depiction in this issue.
Elephantmen has many faces to it. This particularly issue gets down to war and blood. There isn't anything subtle about the issue and Starkings makes sure no one is safe. The issue contains a very good back up that helps round out this issue. The series is excellent and whether you are looking for science fiction or war you have the mix right here. I highly recommend this book.
4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
