Image Comics 2017
Written by Sean Lewis
Illustrated by Caitlin Yarsky
Faced with Abuela and the old women that originally warred with the Werewolves, Red and Coffey discover a history of this ancient war and of Red's lost sister, Maria. All the while, Adlin Industries continues to torture the werewolf Seff in pursuit of the greatest weapon imaginable.
Alright so this book is just so I dunno it's hard to explain but it keeps you entranced. I couldn’t think of a better pair of people to be working on a story together because whatever they have here is magical. This is a fresh new look at Werewolves and weaves them into an origin story involving Gaia emerging from the earth itself before the dawning of the age of man. I mean that sounds like it shouldn’t be and the details behind all this, which is in this very issue, ignite the imagination in some spectacular ways. This is what the power of storytelling is all about.
So the women in this part of the world are a strange and wondrous lot. They are hunted by wolves in the night and cluster of them are with The Duchess living, training and being groomed as it were. Red alone among them is being chosen to have a greater destiny than she realises and it’s not something she’s prepared to face but in light of recent events does she really have a choice? This right here is the kind of story and storytelling that engages, engrosses and excites readers in ways almost impossible to quantify.
The way Sean has structured this book and how we see it’s ebb & flow through the pages is extremely well done. There are moments where a leap of faith is taken and seems out of character but other than that I love the progression of what we see here. After all I feel like this is a limited series and an ongoing monthly so some things must be done quickly. Though I will also say that nothing here feels rushed or glossed over (that one thing aside) so the natural flow of things is what becomes attractive here.
Caitlin sigh while not a terribly big fan of her work its really rather well suited for this story. She seems to be on this wavelength with Sean and is able to do some fabulous work bringing this to life. Abuela alone made me both repulsed, intrigued and kind of mesmerised (those old lady boobs I mean uhm ew yeah). The way she uses page layouts with the way we see the angles and perspective in the panels is well done. I don’t know if artists are afraid of or just don’t see the point of backgrounds because when they are used they do so much to expand the story Gaia’s page alone shows as much.
As we learn more about the women and the wolves things become much more interesting. I like how they are a kind of balance for one another. I like how this corporation is involved and then there’s the man who brought the wolf to the corporation, in the name of science you understand. All of their roles expanding and finding a way to understand them better all comes from this issue. That is quite the feat actually to learn, to see how they all interconnect oh and let’s not forget Coffey and the local police here for they to have a roll of their own to play.
There is this X-Factor about this book that is irresistible and you find yourself swept up in it and it stays with you. You think about what is presented and you think about the ideas here almost as if they become a part of you. Sean and Caitlin are making something special here.