Elephantmen, Vol. 1: Wounded Animals

One of the problems with war is that it requires warriors: you have to take people and turn them into weapons, which creates the problem of what to do with those weapons after the war is over. A gun can go on a rack, a sword can be mounted on a wall - but what to do with the warriors, and how to re-integrate them into regular society?

Starkings et al address this question by literally creating warriors - the oddly-named Elephantmen, warriors created by creating genetic amalgams of humans and different beasts, such as elephants, hippopotami, and crocodiles. The series begins after the war they were created for ends, and they deal with being celebrities, freaks, and the most visible veterans of war in a dystopian future.

Stylistically, the series is a blend of noir and science fiction, but one that avoids being overly “pulpy” in the traditional sense, while telling a series of loosely-connected short stories.