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The
Wolfmen Book 1
by Dave West and Andy Bloor
Published by Accent UK
I can’t take credit for the Reservoir Wolves line
- that’s from Andy Diggle’s blurb on the back cover. But it’s so good that I
had to use it. Because it’s really the obvious, immediate comparison to make.
You’re all up to speed with everything the book is about now. The Wolfmen is
book 1 of a werewolf crime drama from Accent UK, the company responsible for
the excellent series of anthologies (Monsters,
Zombies, Robots).
Andy Bloor’s stark, black and white linework does
a good job of emphasising the brutality and violence of this horror crime
story and he’s made great use of the darkness of the tale to illustrate the
story with huge chunks of blacks and greys across the page, with white space
at a minimum, used just to accent some detail or other through the panels.
There are a few off moments where Bloor’s figures lose a bit of perspective and
the anatomy goes a little stiff, but overall; very nice.
The story by Dave West is good, but lacks the
final piece of greatness in both plot and dialogue that would make this a
really good comic book. Some of this is down to the fact that this is just
the first volume, so the story here is essentially the set-up portion of a
longer story. It’s very fast moving, with a lot of action as one man becomes
involved with a criminal gang who disguise their true identities behind wolf
masks. Of course, as the brutality of their actions escalate, our hero
realises he’s too far in to back out now and the real secret behind the
gang’s true nature is revealed.
But of course, given the title and the blurbs and
the whole tone of the book, you knew exactly what was coming from the very
first time you saw the gang, if not before. This is the big problem that
books like the Wolfmen have. They need a great hook to get you to read it,
but in giving away the hook like this, the sense of surprise is also thrown
away. I know there’s no other way to do it, but it disappoints all the same.
So despite a couple of quibbles, The Wolfmen is
still good crime/horror fiction. It moves a little too quickly for it’s own
good perhaps, and the plot seems rather sparse. But the art, with it’s
confident handling of darkness within and without more than makes up for
these problems. I’m not a great horror fan, so that may explain some of my
lukewarm responses to it. However, I’ve heard back from a friend I showed it
to, who IS a manic horror fan and he reckons it’s really good. So what do I
know?
The Wolfmen is available from Accent UK at their
website. Book 2: Fall Of The Wolfmen is plotted and scripted and should be
out in 2009. Keep an eye on the Accent UK
website for news of this and their annual anthology series.
Richard
Bruton
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Review from www.statueforum.com in 2008.
JLM’s Frighty Trade Review
The Wolfmen Accent UK Written by: Dave West Art by: Andy Bloor On the forum of my LCS there’s something of a rave about Accent UK, a UK based indie company who have been around a few years. (Check them out at http://www.accentukcomics.com/). On a trip over to the shop, to pick up a few things, the owner keenly trust a copy of this title into my hands, and I was suitably impressed after reading it. Set in 1960’s London, it tells of a small town crook, Jack Grey, who gets his chance to play with the big boys – the Reservoir Dogs suited Wolfmen. He joins them for a bank heist and quickly realises he’s in over his head. Then he meets the head of the Wolfmen, and realises that what he though was over his head before, was merely up to his knees, as the whole thing takes a supernatural turn. At 60 pages, it’s a slim volume, but tightly paced all the way through. The artwork is in a clean black and white. Appropriately enough (given the main character’s name) there’s a predomination use of grey, setting the gloomy, foreboding tone for the tale. The cover has some red thrown in on a magnificent stark image. There are a couple of epilogues to the story, and a sequel is in the pipeline, which I’m looking forward to. I don’t know the availability of this outside the UK, but if you can get your claws on this, I suggest you pick it up and devour it. |
Review by Lewis?!?!'s on www.comicsvillage.com in 2008
The Wolfmen Accent UK Written by: Dave West Art by: Andy Bloor
The Wolfmen is a 60 page B&W production from
Accent UK, and having read it twice over, it's very good. Basically, Jack
Grey is recruited by the Wolfmen, a group of robbers with wolf masks, to have
a role in a bank heist. That's all I'll tell you.
To quote the introduction by Paul Cornell,
"Bloor clearly sees black and white artwork as a delight, not a
restriction". Very true- the colours are used masterfully, and make the
book a pleasure to look at. The only slight gripes with the art are when you
take a look past the striking cover and take a peek at the anatomy. Heads are
often incorrect, although this is no major problem. The cover is also very
appealing, and what persuaded me into buying the book in the first place.
Excellent use of colour.
The writing is also top notch and there are very
few faults. Dave West uses two genres skillfully, both crime and horror. It
does, at times, give the impression that a lot has been missed out- things
which are barely touched that could definitely could be elaborated on. Apart
from that, though, the writing is nice and there's a good ending.
The book is extremely well presented- as
previously mentioned, there is an introduction from Paul Cornell, who has
written for Doctor Who, and there is also a sketch of a Wolfman by
John McCrea in the back. It is billed as a graphic novel at 60 pages,
although I did finish it quickly - in about half an hour. This said, it costs
£3.00, which is phenomenal- even better value than Irn Bru. It's that good.
On the whole- pick it up, definitely. It's worth
it. It's not without flaws, but it's a good read, without question.
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Review by David Hailwood in www.downthetubescomics.blogspot.com in 2008.
The Wolfmen
Accent UK
Written by: Dave West
Art by: Andy Bloor
Another fine offering from Accent UK, publishers of Robots, The Wolfmen
successfully merges the crime and horror genre.
This time, we get a stand alone comic written by Dave West and drawn by Andy Bloor set in South East London, in the 1960s. It's the tale of Jack Grey's chance at making something of himself, of becoming one of the most notorious gangs of the time .... of becoming one of The Wolfmen.
The script by Dave West is incredibly well paced, and keeps the story moving along at break-neck speed; there’s never a point where I felt bogged down in unnecessary detail. Andy Bloor’s dark and gritty film noir art style complements the material perfectly – he even manages to make a splash page of a goldfish look exciting, which is quite a trick to pull off.
The only negative comments I’d level at the artwork is that some of the characters look alike, making it difficult at times to work out who’s who. Also, the character proportions (especially on one of the henchmen) are occasionally a little off. Minor details in a real page-turner of a comic.
This time, we get a stand alone comic written by Dave West and drawn by Andy Bloor set in South East London, in the 1960s. It's the tale of Jack Grey's chance at making something of himself, of becoming one of the most notorious gangs of the time .... of becoming one of The Wolfmen.
The script by Dave West is incredibly well paced, and keeps the story moving along at break-neck speed; there’s never a point where I felt bogged down in unnecessary detail. Andy Bloor’s dark and gritty film noir art style complements the material perfectly – he even manages to make a splash page of a goldfish look exciting, which is quite a trick to pull off.
The only negative comments I’d level at the artwork is that some of the characters look alike, making it difficult at times to work out who’s who. Also, the character proportions (especially on one of the henchmen) are occasionally a little off. Minor details in a real page-turner of a comic.
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