The Astounding Wolf-Man Vol.1 (TPB) – Review

By Robert Kirkman (story) and Jason Howard (art)

The Story: Meet Gary Hampton-millionaire, family man, all around nice guy, who is bitten by a werewolf and thus becomes one, while vacationing with his family in Montana.  Gary has issues adapting to his new powers until he is taken under the wing of Zecharia, a vampire with a mysterious past and seemingly ambiguous intentions.

Under Zecharia’s mentorship, Gary learns to control the beast within and takes on the role of superhero. However, the curse of the werewolf slowly surfaces and seeps into Gary’s life, gradually destroying all he holds dear in shocking, twisted and dramatic ways.

The Good: The story arch featured in this volume ascends swiftly to engage the reader into anxiously awaiting what is to come, while simultaneously making some of the cliché back story retroactively relevant and compelling. Robert Kirkman delivers unexpected valuables with the supporting cast made up in part by a superhero group, werewolf gang, and estranged daughter. These players make Gary’s plight far more interesting than would be on its own. Additionally, Jason Howard’s art is solid and at times, well, astounding. The cartoonish feel to the colors and inks serve to make the more dramatic and mature scenes that much more remarkable.

The Not-So-Good: This story is fast paced and at times almost feels like a daily-serialized strip. Plot developments happen so quickly that they are often unnoticed, or worse, unable to resonate with the reader.  This pacing also caused many of the characters to seem flat. Gary, for example, is defined as a werewolf, then superhero, then emotionally unstable individual rather then being revealed to become these things. Basically, there is a lot of telling and not enough showing in the beginning issues.

Conclusion: This arch is ramped up and excellent by the final issue, but the first few installments are not nearly as good. The problem is without these back-stories the end wouldn’t resonate or be very interesting at all. Many things are left open for Kirkman to play with and Gary’s wife is set up to possibly play a haunting and gripping role down the line. Overall, this is a good trade to pick up, especially if you’re a Kirkman fan.

Grade: B+

– Rob. G