Are you buying Elephantmen? You really should be. A fiction built around a bipedal humanized hippo named Hip Flask is nothing to shake a stick at, after all. But more than that, Elephantmen touches on themes that tend to separate thoughtful, lasting fiction from the more pulpish varieties. Namely: What is Human?

War Toys is a 3-issue mini that looks to be detailing the war that the Elephantmen were used in — the cleansing of Europe by the Mappo corporation after a plague annihilated the population. In this, you can see the brutality of the transgened troops — and you can also see where one hippo hybrid starts to break free of the conditioning.

Really, Elephantmen is good to read however deep you want to go — Richard Starkings knows his craft, and plies it effortlessly across the pages. Artist Moritat can pack more action or feeling into one panel than most of his peers can in an issue.