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November 15, 2005
Comic Book Review: Cry Wolf, Vol. 1
Coming in December is a new title from a small independent publisher: Cry Wolf, Vol. 1. Writer Doug Crill and artist Daniel J. Frey have put together the first installment of a larger arc, one that covers a lot of emotional and physical territory.
The story, a take on werewolf lore, relies heavily on serial-adventure style storytelling, evocative of Indiana Jones in tone, setting (Prohibition Era Chicago and South Pacific) and style (even down to the use of maps as panels, overlays of a character reading a letter, and an effective "montage" of train to ship transport). These break some of what has become "standard" images found in comics, and reminded me of older, black and white adventure stories. Also, unlike other werewolf tales that I remember, this one doesn't center itself in Europe but in Borneo, and it's a nice change of pace.
While not as polished as books from Marvel, DC or the major independents, Cry Wolf shows a great amount of effort and dedication to story telling. The scope of the story is clearly looking down the path a bit because characters are introduced in a wide variety of locales and leave hints that there's much more of the story to be told.
More than anything else, this first volume reminded me of 'zines'--those independent, often original and daring self-published magazines that tried to chip away readership from the "typical" press publications by being new, or shocking, or simply independent from big publishing concerns. I think that Cry Wolf's creators should be applauded for getting their work out there, for the public to read, which is so much more than so many have the guts to do. By setting themselves apart by not telling another ho-hum superhero or monster tale, by carefully crafting a setting and era that is well thought out, they're onto a good track.
There's obviously a lot of story left, and this first volume gives a strong lay of the land and sets a tone and theme which is clear and fun to read.
--Sean Ferrell
Posted by sferrell at November 15, 2005 5:43 PM
