Book Review: Werewolf Comics
Apr. 9th, 2019 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crockpotcauldronAlright, here we go! A big old pile of cheap woofs. I have, technically, twelve of em, so that works out to four bucks. Let's see how well I spent it.
First out of the gate is Moonstruck, which is very adorable. Big fluffy lesbian werewolf barista protagonist. I'm not gonna bother giving star ratings to these, so let's just say I found it very enjoyable, but am not passionate about it.
Next, some sort of Marvel Who's Who or Encyclopedia, with the cover ripped off. It ranges from Molecule Man to Owl, but I bought it purely for the one page containing Deadly Nightshade. I just really enjoy having snoopy little insider details like her height (5'4") and strength level (Nightshade has the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and guild who engages in moderate regular exercise). There are technically probably no actual werewolves involved in this comic, since Nightshade just makes em, and is not one herself. There's an outside possibility Marvel has some sort of werewolf character whose name starts with something from Mo to Ow, I guess?
I picked up Legend for its talking dogs, which I consider close enough to werewolves to add this to the pile. I mean, it's not like werewolf literature is famous for its accurate depictions of wolf anatomy or psychology in the first place. This one's a bit grim, though! Postapocalyptic and full of murder and weird cat mysticism. This one might not be a keeper. I did like Animal Rites: Beasts of Burden, though.
Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre just barely squeaks in with some Wolfmen. I mean, they're all werewolves, but the plot is mostly about Dracula and a copyright infringement suit. Lots of lawyer shop talk, no woofing. I am not particularly the audience for urban fantasy: courtroom edition.
The Boogieman looks like someone's first indie scribbles. Not particularly good, I'm afraid. Does feature an actual werewolf, at least, though he seems to be set up to be the protagonist's sidekick in future issues. Can't promise I'll read em.
Cat Claw technically features the leg of a werewolf cameo on the last page, so I feel obliged to mention it here, though his actual introduction is in the next issue. He's one of those anthro wolf types, not a flat-faced Wolfman, and he does transform (as I learned from reading the following issues I found online), but he's a mad science whoopsie like Cat Claw, and has no further connections to werewolf mythology.
Speaking of werewolf mythology, I gotta look into Hellboy or something. I have the feeling there's gonna be at least one werewolf involved. Jim Henson's Storyteller series has that feeling too.
Back to werewolves, Jughead: the Hunger seems to be about the entire cast of Archie turning into werewolves in a horrible bloodbath? I have no idea why this comic happened, but it's really gross.
The Astounding Wolf-Man looks cute, and features a fresh werewolf rampaging around, but there isn't much in the copy I got, just a quick origin story. Free comic book day issue, you know how it goes. I'm going to check out the next issue.
Someone at the comic book sale recommended X-Force to me for werewolf content, but warned me about the thick eye-dialect Scottish accent on the werewolf, and the fact that she's a homophobe who swore revenge on her gay ex. I didn't get it, and I don't think I'm gonna give that one a shot.
I did get Rise of Magic: Possesses Megalith, which is a lovingly drawn werewolf punch-em-up involving a group of werewolf demon spirits trying to take over a superhero. Points for originality! I'm gonna read the next one to see how it goes.
3 Devils has the hilarious problem of someone rescuing a Wolfman-looking gentle werewolf from enslavement in a freak show, only to find out he also turns into a full moon rampage werewolf! I've never seen a double werewolf before, but I love this. Totally reading the next one.
I picked up a couple Mad-Dog comics. They have a gimmick where half is a tongue in cheek goofy superhero like early Batman, and the other half is a tortured vigilante with the same name. I checked the Wiki, and it's some sort of confusing matryoshka of references. Anyway, there's some gorgeous Ty Templeton art, and I like both halves of the comic, though they have absolutely nothing to do with each other and are very confusing to read together.
So, out of twelve comics, I only got a couple stinkers, and I'm happy with the majority of them. Good job, past me. I've got an early morning, so I needed to stop reading werewolf comics and go to bed fifteen minutes ago. Ah well! Some things are worth staying up for.
First out of the gate is Moonstruck, which is very adorable. Big fluffy lesbian werewolf barista protagonist. I'm not gonna bother giving star ratings to these, so let's just say I found it very enjoyable, but am not passionate about it.
Next, some sort of Marvel Who's Who or Encyclopedia, with the cover ripped off. It ranges from Molecule Man to Owl, but I bought it purely for the one page containing Deadly Nightshade. I just really enjoy having snoopy little insider details like her height (5'4") and strength level (Nightshade has the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and guild who engages in moderate regular exercise). There are technically probably no actual werewolves involved in this comic, since Nightshade just makes em, and is not one herself. There's an outside possibility Marvel has some sort of werewolf character whose name starts with something from Mo to Ow, I guess?
I picked up Legend for its talking dogs, which I consider close enough to werewolves to add this to the pile. I mean, it's not like werewolf literature is famous for its accurate depictions of wolf anatomy or psychology in the first place. This one's a bit grim, though! Postapocalyptic and full of murder and weird cat mysticism. This one might not be a keeper. I did like Animal Rites: Beasts of Burden, though.
Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre just barely squeaks in with some Wolfmen. I mean, they're all werewolves, but the plot is mostly about Dracula and a copyright infringement suit. Lots of lawyer shop talk, no woofing. I am not particularly the audience for urban fantasy: courtroom edition.
The Boogieman looks like someone's first indie scribbles. Not particularly good, I'm afraid. Does feature an actual werewolf, at least, though he seems to be set up to be the protagonist's sidekick in future issues. Can't promise I'll read em.
Cat Claw technically features the leg of a werewolf cameo on the last page, so I feel obliged to mention it here, though his actual introduction is in the next issue. He's one of those anthro wolf types, not a flat-faced Wolfman, and he does transform (as I learned from reading the following issues I found online), but he's a mad science whoopsie like Cat Claw, and has no further connections to werewolf mythology.
Speaking of werewolf mythology, I gotta look into Hellboy or something. I have the feeling there's gonna be at least one werewolf involved. Jim Henson's Storyteller series has that feeling too.
Back to werewolves, Jughead: the Hunger seems to be about the entire cast of Archie turning into werewolves in a horrible bloodbath? I have no idea why this comic happened, but it's really gross.
The Astounding Wolf-Man looks cute, and features a fresh werewolf rampaging around, but there isn't much in the copy I got, just a quick origin story. Free comic book day issue, you know how it goes. I'm going to check out the next issue.
Someone at the comic book sale recommended X-Force to me for werewolf content, but warned me about the thick eye-dialect Scottish accent on the werewolf, and the fact that she's a homophobe who swore revenge on her gay ex. I didn't get it, and I don't think I'm gonna give that one a shot.
I did get Rise of Magic: Possesses Megalith, which is a lovingly drawn werewolf punch-em-up involving a group of werewolf demon spirits trying to take over a superhero. Points for originality! I'm gonna read the next one to see how it goes.
3 Devils has the hilarious problem of someone rescuing a Wolfman-looking gentle werewolf from enslavement in a freak show, only to find out he also turns into a full moon rampage werewolf! I've never seen a double werewolf before, but I love this. Totally reading the next one.
I picked up a couple Mad-Dog comics. They have a gimmick where half is a tongue in cheek goofy superhero like early Batman, and the other half is a tortured vigilante with the same name. I checked the Wiki, and it's some sort of confusing matryoshka of references. Anyway, there's some gorgeous Ty Templeton art, and I like both halves of the comic, though they have absolutely nothing to do with each other and are very confusing to read together.
So, out of twelve comics, I only got a couple stinkers, and I'm happy with the majority of them. Good job, past me. I've got an early morning, so I needed to stop reading werewolf comics and go to bed fifteen minutes ago. Ah well! Some things are worth staying up for.
