Review - Wolfcop #1 (@DynamiteComics)


"WHAT THE--!"

A full moon is a werewolf's worst nightmare. Not only does it thrust them into an unpredictable rage once a month, but it also means that you lose complete control and don't really have full control. Mix that in with being a cop like Wolfcop #1 from Dynamite Comics and you get a really intresting story. The issue is written by Max Marks and 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! Everyone's favorite alcoholic lycanthropic lawman tearing out of the big screen and onto these gorgeous pages to fight bigger, badder, and meaner monsters than anything that has threatened Woodhaven before!

Marks knows what makes a good werewolf cop story: a disgruntled sheriff, werewolves and roving gangs focused on violence. Wolfcop #1 has all that and then some as Marks focuses on getting right into the good stuff. His take on Lou Garou is one of sobering awareness of what he can become, even if he is content to try to drown it with alcohol. The issue plays out in three acts and each act is very good at serving as one piece of the larger puzzle. Marks plays up the dichotomy of Lou and Wolfcop as an homage to other such dichotomies in comics, such as Peter Parker/Spider-man and Bruce Banner/Hulk.

Arcana Studios illustrates the book with a sheen and polish. The human characters are relatively simple in their appearance and the team does a great job of highlighting animalistic qualities in some of their appearances. The book focuses on a werewolf and Arcana Studios really tap into the ferocity of the creature as he tears through his opponents. There's plenty of violence and gore in the book and at times it does get a little intense. In fact, most of the issue is just a werewolf tearing through and eating people and the action becomes a blur--much like the likely point of view from the werewolf.

Wolfcop #1 is purposefully over the top and it works. Lou Garou is a reluctant hero who leans on his unique, transformative abilities to wreck shop and protect himself when the time comes. Marks' script is very no-frills and pretty straightforward, but there's still plenty of room for heroes and villains in it. The artwork is pretty standard and handles the combat sequences well. Wolfcop #1 is a pretty nuts character whose physical prowess is guided by the moral compass of a man in law enforcement.

Wolfcop #1 is in stores now.

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