Books

Elk's Run

By Julie Gray
June 9, 2007 - 23:59

Elk's Run graphic novel cover art.

According to the last page in this book, Elk’s Run was originally self-published by Joshua Fialkov who then switched publishing to Speakeasy in 2005. Speakeasy went under and the Elk’s Run series (which was supposed to be eight issues in length) was left hanging and unfinished. This graphic novel is the series in its entirety. It’s nice to see that the series was actually completed. Villard Books now have the publishing rights in the United States.

Elk’s Run is a dark and disturbing tale that blends the story of two main characters; that of the father and Vietnam vet named John and his son, also named John. Although the beginning of the story has a slow pace to it, things really start to pick up with furious intensity about half way through and continue on at a frenzied pace.

The storyline begins with a town named Elk’s Ridge which is systematically controlled by John the Vietnam vet and his Vietnam vet buddies. It was decided (by majority vote) that Elk's Ridge would be their town and anyone else (that isn’t a resident) is considered an outsider. What makes this decision so frightening is the extent of control that John and his friends are willing to enforce upon the residents, including their family members.

Enter John junior. John is like any other teenager in a small, backwater town trying to make the most of his dull and uneventful life. The only difference is John just happens to be the son of John senior and that’s kind of where all the problems begin. It’s evident early on that father and son seem to have very different opinions about how people should live their lives and John junior isn’t buying a bar of it from dad. To top it all off, John’s mother just happens to be the female equivalent of her husband. Two domineering parents under one roof spells disaster for John junior.

The story progresses rather quickly after we are introduced to John junior’s friends and to some of the other minor characters in the story such as Jim the delivery man. Readers are presented with flashbacks of John senior’s life as a Vietnam soldier and as much as I’d like to be able to sympathise with this character, it was just so much easier to dislike him. Nevertheless, John senior is a well developed character who grips the entire town in darkness and violence. His life seems to be one endless, chaotic mass of absolute control and containment through extreme violence and fear.

One by one people begin to see through the façade and try to break through the system of control that John and his buddies have created, starting with his son who with the help of some of his friends, struggles to find a way out of the nightmare. But none of this is possible without extreme sacrifice. Lives are lost, pain and suffering ensue but the strength of John’s belief in a better life leads the others to believe in him too. The wayward son with a dead-end life and no prospects transforms and this is one of the best parts of the book.

With such a great storyline and strong characters to match, the art work in Elk’s Run is equally as good. The colors are rich and warm in some places and cold, dark and foreboding in others, giving the story that much more feeling and appeal. The chapter title art also stands out and gives the book a certain grittiness that really fits well with the rest of the content.

I liked Elk’s Run and I would definitely recommend it. Strong characters, a compelling storyline and nicely drawn art make this book an entertaining read.

Reviewer's note: This graphic novel depicts scenes of extreme violence and contains foul language.

Elk's Run is available now from all good bookstores and you can visit the Villard Books website for this graphic novel here. 

Art Work: 7.5/10
Story: 8/10
Overall Rating: 8/10

Contact the author of this review: Julie@comicbookbin.com

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12