The Monster Hunters’ Survival Guide
Case Files: Wendigo
Zenescope Entertainment 2018
Written by Joe Brusha
Illustrated by Fabio Jansen & Andres Barrero
Coloured by Juanmar Studios
Lettered by Kurt Hathaway
Native American Indian myths tell of an ancient evil creature that stalks the wilderness feeding on the flesh of men. When people go missing in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, whispered rumors that the Wendigo is to blame brings legendary monster hunter JP Russ to the scene where he soon finds that truth is far more dangerous than myth.
Well I can’t believe I am going to say this but I love this. Maybe Joe has listened and learned how to translate his ideas into a viable story, okay this one needs tweaking here and there but overall it has that feel of say Supernatural only set in the Zenescope Universe. I still knew way too early who the Wendigo was and that’s a shame but it isn’t enough to ruin the story or anything. I was kind of taken with the opening here and anytime you can tie the story into the history of the very land the way that we see it done here not only raises the interest factor exponentially but I have to give major props for understanding that it wasn’t until man arrived and treated the land like something to own and destroy that it would rise up to fight back.
Plus the aftermath of the attack is what we get to see not even the attack itself which in some ways is much more powerful as well as scary. Vesper and her team are called in and it’s only been one week since the attack. Turns out that the guy who runs the place, Mr. Irons, his son is still up at the site and for closure he needs to know what happened to his son. Plus well this is what Vesper and her team do so who ya gonna call right. It has been a while since we’ve seen any of the Monster Hunter stories so I like that we don’t spend a lot of time here getting to know each individual member as that usually proves to be a waste of time, supernatural creatures meet humans a few die it’s how the universe flows.
Speaking of flow I really am impressed with the ebb & flow of the story here. The transitions are nicely done and there isn’t a lot wasted space at all and we get pretty much everything that we need. Okay so maybe not the background the Wendigo that I would like or more about the ancient ways of combating such a creature. Regardless while we may not get all we want it’s a one-shot issue and with that and the page count I think pacing and reveals are done very well.
Huge fan of the interior artwork here. There are a lot of moments that remind me of some artists that I discovered growing up like James Sherman or in any of the old horror comics, more so the covers as they all had this certain style to them that blended reality and comics in a way that at the time was innovative, fresh and new and here it just seems like the most natural fit in the universe to have within these pages. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off such great eyes for storytelling. That backgrounds are utilised as they are enhance the story beautifully.
The makes me not only want more, as in on a regular basis, but it has such a throwback appeal to it in every which way you turn that it evokes so much about classic horror that every aficionado knows and loves. Smart, interesting and using local supernatural entities to weave a story that serves no other purpose but to creep you out as it entertains yeah. Zenescope has found yet another way to be reinvigorating the horror genre.
Case Files: Wendigo
Zenescope Entertainment 2018
Written by Joe Brusha
Illustrated by Fabio Jansen & Andres Barrero
Coloured by Juanmar Studios
Lettered by Kurt Hathaway
Native American Indian myths tell of an ancient evil creature that stalks the wilderness feeding on the flesh of men. When people go missing in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, whispered rumors that the Wendigo is to blame brings legendary monster hunter JP Russ to the scene where he soon finds that truth is far more dangerous than myth.
Well I can’t believe I am going to say this but I love this. Maybe Joe has listened and learned how to translate his ideas into a viable story, okay this one needs tweaking here and there but overall it has that feel of say Supernatural only set in the Zenescope Universe. I still knew way too early who the Wendigo was and that’s a shame but it isn’t enough to ruin the story or anything. I was kind of taken with the opening here and anytime you can tie the story into the history of the very land the way that we see it done here not only raises the interest factor exponentially but I have to give major props for understanding that it wasn’t until man arrived and treated the land like something to own and destroy that it would rise up to fight back.
Plus the aftermath of the attack is what we get to see not even the attack itself which in some ways is much more powerful as well as scary. Vesper and her team are called in and it’s only been one week since the attack. Turns out that the guy who runs the place, Mr. Irons, his son is still up at the site and for closure he needs to know what happened to his son. Plus well this is what Vesper and her team do so who ya gonna call right. It has been a while since we’ve seen any of the Monster Hunter stories so I like that we don’t spend a lot of time here getting to know each individual member as that usually proves to be a waste of time, supernatural creatures meet humans a few die it’s how the universe flows.
Speaking of flow I really am impressed with the ebb & flow of the story here. The transitions are nicely done and there isn’t a lot wasted space at all and we get pretty much everything that we need. Okay so maybe not the background the Wendigo that I would like or more about the ancient ways of combating such a creature. Regardless while we may not get all we want it’s a one-shot issue and with that and the page count I think pacing and reveals are done very well.
Huge fan of the interior artwork here. There are a lot of moments that remind me of some artists that I discovered growing up like James Sherman or in any of the old horror comics, more so the covers as they all had this certain style to them that blended reality and comics in a way that at the time was innovative, fresh and new and here it just seems like the most natural fit in the universe to have within these pages. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off such great eyes for storytelling. That backgrounds are utilised as they are enhance the story beautifully.
The makes me not only want more, as in on a regular basis, but it has such a throwback appeal to it in every which way you turn that it evokes so much about classic horror that every aficionado knows and loves. Smart, interesting and using local supernatural entities to weave a story that serves no other purpose but to creep you out as it entertains yeah. Zenescope has found yet another way to be reinvigorating the horror genre.
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