Elephantmen: Shots 1

Led by Tim Sale’s 9 page When The Night Comes story, this special collects all the Elephantmen strips from Hero Comics, Liberty Comics and The Thought Bubble Anthology. Features the hard to find Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and Marine Man  crossovers and beautiful covers by J. Scott Campbell and Tim Sale! All proceeds go to the CBLDF!

Elephantmen is parody and satire at its very best.  Even better, it’s for a great cause.  For anyone unfamiliar with the CBLDF, it is a non-profit organization, dedicated to protecting the rights of creators in the field of Comics.  Since its inception, it has paid for the legal defense of countless people who create, publish, or even just read comics.  For that reason alone, you should buy this book because censorship is a terrible thing.

Goody twoshoes notions aside, this is a great book coming from an immense wellspring of talent. No surprise there, Image paved the way for many independent comic publishers.  The Judge Dredd, Marine Man and Strontium Dog cross-overs are delightful.  I always wondered what Dredd would look like tripping, and now I know.  Scary.  I hadn’t read, or seen Strontium Dog in at least a decade, but it was amazing to see him and Wulf again in this anthology.  The Marine Man crossover is low on plot, but high on punching, kicking and overall smashing of crustaceans, and who doesn’t like to see crabs getting theirs.  With those little feelers and big claws, they are just plain creepy.  If for some reason, you are threatened by a Cruelty Against Crustaceans activism group, maybe the CBLDF can help with your legal costs. It’s worth the risk, tempt fate, and buy this comic.

There are also elephant penises in the character cut out pages, so people who are offended by penises, and breasts should by all means buy this book, and do what comes naturally to you.  The cut outs are delicious tongue in cheek humor aimed at all the people in the world who can’t take a joke.

The black and white feature from Hero Comics, Ebony Dreams is a rare treat. I’m not usually a fan of black and white, but the art and narration of this strip is haunting, evocative and soul stirring.  Old Soldiers resonates with the arc of war and the prize that is paid by by sides, and how at the end, no matter the side, they are just Old Soldiers, trying to find a place in the all too fleeting peace.

This collection is beautiful and fun.  It has something for every taste, and benefits creators legal defense, so by all means get this book and share it with your friends.  For more information about Elephantmen Shots and other great titles from Image Comics, visit Image Comics.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.