Hip Flask: Elephantmen

(Comicraft, 2003)
™ and © Comicraft

If you like really, really good art, don’t miss this book. Only very patient readers will be following Hip Flask: Elephantmen for the storyline, but, when the art is this beautiful, you don’t need a story that makes much sense or a publication schedule measured in increments smaller than geological eons.

The Hip Flask series is set in a future populated by genetically modified animals and humans crowded together in sprawling, perpetual-twilight cities. The Blade Runner urban landscape serves as a backdrop to the usual episodes of crime, corruption, and sleazy goings-on, mostly perpetrated by alarming anthropomorphic characters.

All of which is the merest excuse for Ladron and Casey to stretch out with mind-bendingly awesome science-fiction illustration. This is Spectrum Gold Medal shortlist quality work here, with every scene and every character lovingly rendered to the minutest detail and brought to life with excellent color work. At 32 pages (including a two-page plot summary) with no ads for $3.50, readers don’t get cheated, either.

Yes, the sensible plan is to wait for the graphic novel, since this material is almost too good for the pamphlet format — but, at this rate, many of us won’t live to see it. So consider Hip Flask: Elephantman as a sweet and tasty snack that won’t ruin your appetite when the main course is finally served.

— Rob Salkowitz

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