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.
(Art (c) Andy Bloor, from The Wolfmen. Published Accent
UK)
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.
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.
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.
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.
