The genre of Elephantmen balances elements from science-fiction, mystery and fantasy. The characters have interesting qualities and the storyline is well crafted, but they are boring. The art is missing the spark I enjoyed in the last issue, and it features only one new redeeming quality.
Ebony, the main character, finds himself trapped in a dream within a dream battling the Dragon Lord and his seductive daughter. While he fights for his life, back in the real world Hip finds out his murder investigation is far from over in a satisfying twist.This issue has several satisfying qualities, but overall, writer Richard Starkings seems confused about what he wants it to be. The story becomes a fantasy tale in Ebony's dream. The story is narrated in third person, which is an interesting perspective that works well, as it gives us a break from the usual first person narration. Readers see the world around him and it is well constructed for just a dream world. The Dragon Lord and his daughter are not very interesting characters but have some nice fight scenes that were used in just the right amounts. The action balances well with the story and it is perfectly paced. The entire story is constructed well but is slightly confusing for people who have not read previous issues of Elephantmen, specifically Man or Elephantman #1. It was a refreshing change from the previous one, as this issue did not include the poor treatment of animals. Outside Ebony’s dream, the story had a fantasy feel rather than a dream that has a slightly science-fiction feel mixed with some comic noir at the end. It is impressive that all three genres are woven together to make the story coherent, but it was overwhelming at times. It needed a solid direction. The characters in and out of the dream were mostly mediocre. They had depth, but they did not spark my interest. The most interesting quality shared by the Elephantmen is their suffering from their previous lives as soldiers. It is used just enough and doesn't overpower the actual story.The artwork from Axel Medellin lost some of the qualities from the last issue, with little focus on eyes. Although Medellin emphasized characters’ emotions, not many full-paged panels blew me away. The artwork is not bad but fails to stand-out. The colors added a nice touch; an odd, glistening warm effect appears in Ebony’s desert dream and outside the dream the colors are dreary.
Elephantmen #32 has a well-constructed story with little entertainment. It felt slightly boring and failed to capture my attention. It had too many genres, and the direction was too confusing. The art was not mind-blowing, but it had high-quality colors. This issue just did not have enough high notes – it is a solid issue but with mixed results.
Overall Score – 5.8/10*It's a comic, it has colors, art and pages; it's not good but it's not really bad – about 85% of books out there fall into this range.*
For more reviews on the Elephantmen series, check out the links below!Elephantmen #1Elephantmen #30
An all-around nerdette, I’m a comic book connoisseur, horror aficionado, video game addict, anime enthusiast and an aspiring novelist/comic book writer. I am the head of the comic book department and the editor-in-chief of Entertainment Fuse. I also write and edit articles for Comic Frontline. I am also an intern at Action Lab Entertainment, a comic book publisher at which I edit comic book scripts, help work on images in solicitations and help with other comic book related project. My own personal website is comicmaven.com.
This issue has several satisfying qualities, but overall, writer Richard Starkings seems confused about what he wants it to be. The story becomes a fantasy tale in Ebony's dream. The story is narrated in third person, which is an interesting perspective that works well, as it gives us a break from the usual first person narration. Readers see the world around him and it is well constructed for just a dream world. The Dragon Lord and his daughter are not very interesting characters but have some nice fight scenes that were used in just the right amounts. The action balances well with the story and it is perfectly paced. The entire story is constructed well but is slightly confusing for people who have not read previous issues of Elephantmen, specifically Man or Elephantman #1. It was a refreshing change from the previous one, as this issue did not include the poor treatment of animals.
Outside Ebony’s dream, the story had a fantasy feel rather than a dream that has a slightly science-fiction feel mixed with some comic noir at the end. It is impressive that all three genres are woven together to make the story coherent, but it was overwhelming at times. It needed a solid direction. The characters in and out of the dream were mostly mediocre. They had depth, but they did not spark my interest. The most interesting quality shared by the Elephantmen is their suffering from their previous lives as soldiers. It is used just enough and doesn't overpower the actual story.
The artwork from Axel Medellin lost some of the qualities from the last issue, with little focus on eyes. Although Medellin emphasized characters’ emotions, not many full-paged panels blew me away. The artwork is not bad but fails to stand-out. The colors added a nice touch; an odd, glistening warm effect appears in Ebony’s desert dream and outside the dream the colors are dreary.
Elephantmen #32 has a well-constructed story with little entertainment. It felt slightly boring and failed to capture my attention. It had too many genres, and the direction was too confusing. The art was not mind-blowing, but it had high-quality colors. This issue just did not have enough high notes – it is a solid issue but with mixed results.
Overall Score – 5.8/10
*It's a comic, it has colors, art and pages; it's not good but it's not really bad – about 85% of books out there fall into this range.*
For more reviews on the Elephantmen series, check out the links below!
Elephantmen #1
Elephantmen #30 
