Monday, April 27, 2009

Werewolf by Night #1-4


Too sad for me. I know this was a MAX series, so I should have expected it, but I like my Werewolf by Night to be a little bit more fun. This was a sad, gory story from start to finish. I expect it is out of continuity too, since Jack Russell would be pretty unsalvagable after the amount of rending he does in this series. I was also befuddled by a plot point in the conclusion. It seems that werewolf blood can speak to other werewolves, as seen when Russell's sister's blood gives him a slideshow of her life. She also teaches him how to combine his wolf self with his normal self, which allows Russell to remain in control of his wolf-form. So she knew how to do that, right? So why did she rip Russell's wife apart to get to the baby within looking for him? That seems like she was totally controlled by her wolf-mind. If that isn't the case, then Russell's sister was totally evil and I have no pity for her. This series had some neat moments and twists, like when the scientists think they have Russell prepped for transport in issue 1 (spoiler: they don't), but the tone was so sad and negative that I can't really say I loved the series. The inclusion of a vampire and frankenstein in the final issue seemed silly too, especially since they were no threat to Russell at all. Duane Swircyznski continues to write comics that have some neat moments, but overall aren't my cup of tea. Adding in a complex government conspiracy rarely betters a character's origin. If I view this as an independent story apart from the existing comic character, it does hold up a tad better though. The ominous ending was pretty spooky too. "I'm coming for you, Daddy." What a nice family!

Mico Suayan's art is pretty dark throughout, but he does a good job on the faces. The experiment subjects in issue 3 were well-designed too, they looked absolutely pitiful.

Fair

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