Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Max Marks
Illustrated by Arcana Studios
Ever since hard-drinking local Woodhaven police officer Lou Garou had a late-night bender and stumbled onto dark magic, his life has been turned upside down. Now he moonlights as WolfCop, a rage-fueled, bourbon-swilling, magnum-toting, rabid warrior for justice!
From the cover and after reading this first issue I had to check and see if this was actually one of those bad B Movies. Turns out it is and the trailer for well yeah horror comedy all the way. So after seeing that and reading this I gotta say I like this a lot more. If you don’t want to watch the movie no worries seriously watch the trailer and you’ll understand perfectly what you see in these pages. If not it’s pretty new reader friendly and you’re able to pick up everything you need to know just by reading this.
I don’t what it is about B Movies that make good comic books. Whatever it is Max understands it perfectly. The characterisation right off the bat is great as you’ve got Lou drinking and driving while Willie is whining like a little bitch. They are birds of a feather and somewhat complete opposites. That they are down on their luck is an understatement but I love the characterisation and the way Max sets the story up here is extremely good. The car breaks down and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Along comes a biker gang with two women gagged and bound. Remember Lou’s a cop, a drunk and a werewolf, but it’s daytime so you can imagine that the fight doesn’t go in their favour. A sequence of events happens and Max really gets us into this story, it’s fun, lighthearted and has that horror edge to it that balances it out extremely well. Plus he’s a freakin werewolf who doesn’t love the idea of werewolf who happens to be a cop, hence Wolfcop. It elevates the B Movie status into cult status that’s deservedly so.
Arcana Studios does a marvelous job on the interiors here. The use of page layouts with their angles and perspective not to mention the use of backgrounds is well orchestrated. The look of the characters is fantastic and when he wolfs out that’s amazing to see. So is this issue’s big bad. Great use of creativity and imagination here well done indeed.
I like what happens here to set up this world they live in. There’s some unexpectedness inside all the action. While it’s perfect to show off the lead and his sidekick it also shows us there’s more to this world than we possibly knew or conceived. It sets the stage for future story arcs beautifully. I want to go into more detail about the events that transpire but seriously this is one you’ve got to read for yourself.
I’m a huge fan of kitsch and this has it the horror comedy aspect is wonderfully done and the scenario the boys find themselves in make them great reluctant heroes. I hope this becomes regular limited series because I think it’s just the right amount of fun and creepy.