Elephantmen: War Toys, Vol. 1: No Surrender

Elephantmen - War Toys #1

by Richard Starkings, Moritat

The story of the war to end all wars now in one volume! The prequel to Image's hit series, Elephantmen finds Africa and China at war. The battlefield: Europe, recently devastated by a lethal virus. Enter: MAPPO's soldiers, The Elephantmen. Even in the face of blistering resistance, it seems that nothing can stop MAPPO's advance across France to the North. But as Hip Flask comes face to face with the last vestiges of humanity in the frozen Scandinavian wastes, he discovers that only the dead see the end of warfare. Collects Elephantmen: War Toys #1-3

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

104 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2008

About the author

Richard Starkings is a British comics professional, known for writing the hit sci-fi series ELEPHANTMEN and specializing in lettering, thanks to his award-winning Comicraft lettering studio.

Reviews

[Steve Chaput]

This introduces the Elephantmen, genetically created beings part animal/part man. They are living weapons, trained to show no mercy or compassion. Their only loyalty is to the Mappo Corporation, that due to the work of Dr. Nikken, brought these creatures into existence and made them available to the Central African Alliance for a price.

Following a deadly pandemic that killed millions throughout Europe, the powers of Africa and China are now at war. Neither side shows any mercy, with the surviving humans caught between them. Many are simply trying to get by day by day, but others have formed a resistance hoping to save what is left of humanity in this part of the world. We meet the hippo soldier, designated Seven, who will eventually take on the name Hip Flask in later volumes. Starkings reveals in several scenes that Seven might not be nearly as emotionless as he was created to be.

Great introduction to the world of the Elephantmen before the wars end.

[Timothy Pitkin]

Nice to see a more in depth look at the war before the main series and also I do like that we get the war from the human side of things. Also the narration was very effective talking about how inhuman the elephantmen are while as the story goes on we do see the elephantmen develop the supposed human things they lacked.

[Erik]

For several years now I’ve been scratching my head wondering just what comic book my brother’s best buddy Justin Norman draws. And, oddly, it wasn’t until I saw him recently at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con when I ran into him at his booth that I finally found out what he’s been whittling away at.

Already several years into this gig, Justin – now going by the mysterious moniker “Moritat”, which explains why I’ve been in the dark all this time – pencils, inks, and even colors the Elephantmen series penned by Richard Starkings; the latter who is better known for his revolutionary work with the LA-based digital lettering studio Comicraft. (Open a Wildstorm or Image comics on any given day of the week, and you’ll often find them credited for the lettering.)

In the first volume of War Toys, Justin sticks with black-and-white to bring to visual life Starkings’ origin of the cold-hearted killing machines known as the Elephantmen. Imagine a twenty-third century Europe crippled by the worst plague since bubonic times, all while the remaining thousand or so survivors battle the titular half-human/animal killing machines who are the drones of the powerful MAPPO Coporation. (Shades of Blade Runner, you think?) The beauty of Moritat’s art lies in his Joe Kubert-style war-scenes in which the French resistance finally begins to fight-back under the helm of the myseterious Yvette – a Marianne-inspired leader. (Picture Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People crossed with Sarah Connor from the Terminator flicks, and you’ll know exactly what I mean here.) As for the writing itself, Starkings’ script and plot is driven, harsh, and powerful. In sum: A damn fine war-comic if I’ve ever read one.

[Andy]

I've liked all the Elephantmen comics I've read so far but this prequel didn't really do much for me. There isn't really much in the way of plot, rather a lot of exposition repeatedly explaining that the Elephantmen aren't like people, they're evil with no feelings. Gasp. It doesn't really serve a purpose and could have easily cropped up in some flashbacks in the main ongoing. Moritat gets a lot of praise for his art but I found it frequently cluttered and difficult to discern the details. I did like some of the depictions of Yvette though.

Probably just for the real fans. If you're a casual reader you could easily skip it.

[Blake]

I really wanted to like Elephantmen: An interesting premise with a nice art style... I just found the narrative to be too disjointed, the characters too inconsequential, and the plot too muddled to follow. It seems like plot threads are picked up and cast aside with little explanation throughout the series, and the characters--who could, and by all rights should, have been compelling in their own rights--seem to shoulder their way through the plot with little or no consequence.

[William Thomas]

Elephantmen is the perfect example of a comic that gets everything wrong despite the best intentions. It's a great idea that lacks in its execution. It doesn't look slick enough to give it a neo-modern feel, and doesn't look pulpy enough for a retro feel. It falls short in every respect except the underlying idea of the thing.

[Ketan Shah]

A nice take on the war comic.Stunning art and a good story. I gather this is sort of intro to the Elephantmen universe,and I 'd like to read more .If you enjoyed this,you might like John Mueller's Oink:Heaven's Butcher.