Written by: Ales Kot
Art by: Matt Taylor and Lee Loughridge
Publisher: Image
I always read a comic book twice before reviewing it, the first pass for story and the second for art. With Wolf, however, I’ve needed to spend much of that second pass on the narrative, to make sure I understood everything that just happened, because dang, this series is a little confusing in its style/execution. It’s partly why I never reviewed the second issue. I was just kind of lost.
Issue 3 is a bit easier to follow though, especially after a second read, and my initial response of, “Gosh I wish I liked this more,” has now turned into, “This s a pretty cool series. I just wish it wasn’t so confusing sometimes.”
We return to a strange city in California, now following Wolf, Anita and her dead grandmother, and the mysterious badguys who seem to be plotting the end of the world ala some Satanic ritual. Anita is the Antichrist, and they need to sacrifice her for their plans to work. Wolf is caught in the middle of this, with the badguys holding his brother’s life as ransom.
It’s time to see just how much of a good guy Mr. Antonie Wolf really is, and I’m not sure the answer is one we’ll all like.
Wolf is a busy comic series, and Issue 3 has a lot going on, especially given that it’s only 32 pages long. It’s partly why I find it so confusing at points. The comic opens with Wolfe talking to a mysterious vampire slum lord (probably Azimuth), and then jumps to the various groups mentioned above. There are times when it’s going back and forth every few panels, and it can be hard to follow, especially given how so few characters have names.
But even without the back-and-forth panels and jumping around, there are still moments of confusion. At one point, it looks like Anita is about to be captured, yet in the following panel, she’s perfectly fine. There’s no explanation as to how she got away, at least none that I can see. She never brings up it up with Wolfe. It’s all very strange, and not in the mysterious way the comic is trying to give off.
It doesn’t help that the art style is filled with heavy silhouettes, making it hard to tell who is who at points. Perhaps one of the badguys later on was the mastermind behind Anita’s failed kidnapping, but I honestly don’t know. Without names or faces, it’s anyone’s guess.
My confusion/mild annoyance aside, there’s still a lot to like about this series and this particular comic. The world is great, and the more I learn about the various characters, the more I like them. Anita has really been fleshed out since her first appearance in Issue 1, and I really like her because of that. Wolfe is no exception, though some of his evolution is a bit more negative than positive. Still, I like that too. He’s flawed, but in a very believable way.
But more than that, I like how well Issue 3 manages to balance its exposition with character development. A lot happens, and yeah, that is confusing at points, yet nothing is bogged down by needless talking or explanations. I like that, even though a few bouts of hard explanation would be nice now and then. Exposition vomit is bad writing, but sometimes exposition is what is needed.
Wolf is very much a comic that moves at its own pace and expects you to keep up. This has turned into one of its biggest strengths yet also one of its biggest weaknesses. Still, I look forward to Issue 4. There’s a lot of mystery left to unravel, and the new problems introduced in Issue 3 are only going to get worse.
