Elephantmen Volume 1: Wounded Animals

The first seven issues of this superior dystopian sci-fi tale are collected in a deluxe volume. In the year 2162, a madman named Kazushi Nikken creates giant hybrids of humans and animals—elephants, rhinos, camels, giraffes—and brainwashes them into an army of fearless killers. But the United Nations liberates the “elephantmen” (they're all given that pejorative “e-word,” no matter their species) and integrates them into society. That's the setting for plenty of metaphor about racism, xenophobia and globalism; against this backdrop we meet hippo Hip Flask, who works for a government agency and is trying to recover a certain African idol. But Obadiah Horn, the world's most successful and high-profile elephantman, wants it too. Brief stories do a great job fleshing out the world and the major players as the larger mystery of Hip and the Idol unfold. Visually, the various artists give a nod to great dystopias past—Blade Runner via Neuromancer via Brazil —but the sepia-tinted color palette and soft, painterly shading set it apart. The character designs in particular are spectacular, and the whole is a lightning-fast but addictive read (July)