Written by Taboo, Benjamin Earl
Art by Scot Eaton
Published by Marvel Comics
Buy it Digitally from comiXology
Now that’s what I’m talking about!
When you name your comic book Werewolf By Night, I want lots of werewolf. And the second issue delivers plenty.
Our story picks up right from the cliffhanger, where Jake as werewolf was trying to stop a truck from Life Pharmeceuticals that was kidnapping teens from his Hopi Indian reservation.
But three monster-cyborg hybrids are standing in his way. (They remind me of the bad guys The Pack from the old Gargoyles cartoon.)
Cue the heaping helping of major monster fight action! In the rain! With lightning! This is what you want, folks.
Two old pros in Scot Eaton and Scott Hanna uncork the beasts with dynamic poses. And their panel work both adds pace while lasering in on details in effective storytelling fashion.
Remember how werewolf Jake’s gal pal Molly uses music to drive him?
After taking a hefty punch from one of those creatures, she pumps his earbuds full of “Chop Suey!” by System Of A Down. I took the cue and put on the song followed by the band’s new singles.
However, Jake is only 17 and nowhere close to mastery of his powers.
For all the deep rage of the wolf, Jake isn’t good at fighting or knowing how to use his abilities in full. It’s a solid storytelling technique where we ride shotgun to Jake’s journey and find out as he does.
Taboo and Benjamin Earl do not skip out on the representational elements of retelling WWBN through the eyes of a Native American. While injured, Jake slips into a fever dream, and through this generational wolf curse, he sees pivotal moments in his life as well as how the wolf manifested in his ancestors throughout the centuries.
Images of conquistadors, mothers holding babies, and packs of wolves dance in Jake’s head. It’s a thrilling sequence.
We also get a glimpse at our villains, Life Pharmaceuticals, and a Dr. Makowski as she stands at a wall of windows looking out onto the Arizona desert. (Like a comic book supervillain does, natch.) Why does her face look mechanical?
Guess we’ll find out later.
U.S. Marshals Red Wolf and JJ reappear, trying to find Jake after the previous night’s rainstorms and monster fight.
Can they reach Jake, without Molly’s music to calm him, before sundown?
You probably know the answer to that one already.
