Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Elephantmen War Toys Yvette #1
Image Comics
Starkings, Moritat, Roshell & Churchland
This comic book delivers more about the character that was showcased in the War Toys mini series. What we really get here is more horrific warfare and what could be considered as the regression of a human while the Elephantmen take on somewhat more of a human quality. It’s a very good comic and superb one shot. If you like your Elephantmen to include more about the war itself rather than life after the war then this issue is right in your wheelhouse.
The comic begins during the War Toys mini series just prior to Yvette’s brother, Gaston, dying. The purpose of Gaston in this comic is for him to explain to Yvette how something as simple as a Nightingale can provide hope in the face of all the horror around them. Gaston dies in the mini series and is mentioned in passing here which might be a little tough for the newer reader, but in the end the only thing that matters is to establish just how much Yvette changes once her brother is killed. This sequence achieves this very well.
The next part of the comic is surprising as Yvette actually captures a medic Elephantmen. Presumably because he is a non-combant Yvette feels somewhat compassionate and gives him a chance. It seems like the smart thing to do would be to just kill him but she is still human. At least, at this point in the comic.
In getting to know the Elephantmen she begins to identify with him and his kind. She tries to hate them all but finds herself asking simple questions about what they eat for instance. The comic ends with Yvette being reminded just who the enemy is and in the process she flushes away any humanity she had left in her.
The comic is terrific because it’s brutal without showing all of the gore and death. Much of the death is suggestive and yet the comic still manages to twist your stomach a little with what explicit scenes it does show. Yvette is a good character to explore because she literally transforms because of her surroundings rather than breeding or conditioning which is the case with the Elephantmen.
The artwork is brilliant. It’s dark, it’s frightening, it’s deadly, it’s detailed and it shows how life is horrible for everyone in the war. You can’t look through this comic and not feel like you are sitting in a war. It’s a miracle the one Nightingale is alive.
War Toys is long over but we are still getting treats from it. This is a can’t miss for the fans of mini series and for the followers of Elephantmen proper. If you are newer reader to the comic then get ready to see some of the war that has been talking about in many of the issues. This comic shows you ground zero. I highly recommend this comic.
4 out of 5 geek goggles
