CREDIT: Comixology
Rating: 5/5 – Elephantmen Lives On in Digital Comics Format!
By ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.
I was really sad when Richard Starkings ended the run of Elephantmen at Image comics, it was always one of my favorite series (for a previous review of the series, look here). Imagine my glee when I saw that he was continuing to tell stories in his Elephantmen Universe, but now as a direct-to-digital comic via “comixology Originals”. I’m not particularly enthused about reading digital comics as a rule, but when that’s the only option and the comic is something I think I’m really going to like, then I drag myself out of my reading spot on the couch and sit in front of the computer screen.
This is going to be a 5 issue series. On comixology each issue is $2.99, and it looks as though the collection, once it is complete, will be $6.99. Fortunately, due to their relationship (aka “being owned by) Amazon, this is also available on Amazon’s “Prime Reading” for Prime members (which I am) for free, so I was able to read this issue at no cost.
Issue #1 was a nice companion story to the existing Elephantmen comics, but I think it can be read and enjoyed on its own. If you have read the existing comics it adds some new insight about the war and we get to see Yvette again, which I enjoyed. And lest I forget, the art by Axel Medellin was superb, as always. Great panel-to-panel storytelling and really emotive characters whose eyes communicated what they were feeling. Not easy and certainly not something that has been mastered by every comic book artist.
I went in expecting a story purely set in the war time, but Starkings masterfully segued to current time and set this up as a first installment that read satisfyingly on its own but also left me wanting to know “what happens next?”. Everything an installment of a comic should be. I’ll be back for part 2! If I had to pay for this, I’d personally wait and read the $6.99 collection. There is no “having the 1st printing” thing to massage my collector’s mentality when dealing with a digital comic. If you are an Amazon Prime member, this is a no brainer. Go hit your “Prime Reading” and search for “Elephantmen 2261”.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
http://comicspectrum.com/ By Fans who Love Comics For Fans who Love Comics
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