Clawing My Way Through 8 Issues & Hungry for More
Or, I Dated a Vampire But She Wasn't My Type...
Night Wolf Vol 1-2 Urban Fantasy Werewolf Coming-of-Age Epic
After discovering his werewolf lineage, a young man is reluctantly thrown into a supernatural war.
Born into the outcast breed of werewolves known as the Monoki, eighteen year-old Rodney Marcelli is reluctantly thrown into an ancient war between good and evil in today's world where the line has blurred. With the help of Snow Paw, the Pureblood Monoki, and the supernatural evil slayer, Night Hunter, Rod must learn to master his newly found lycanthropy and mysterious kinetic energy power that only he possesses. All while struggling to keep his soul from the conflict within, Rod must fight the Dark Covenant in order to avenge his friends and family, and save the girl he loves from the master vampire, Lord Malice.
Rodney Marcelli is… NIGHT WOLF
Next Review: Rob Multari’s Night Wolf!
I’ve known Rob from our online friendship for a few years now. We back each other’s stuff and we’re genuinely fans of our respective works. It’s cool to get a chance to actually review his book series, reading a few new issues (to me), and possibly introducing some of you to a whole new indiecomics series that deserves your attention.
I’ll take this review a little more differently since I’m writing while reading (or re-reading in some cases) all EIGHT of Rob’s comics in the series. For the uninitiated, Volume 1 is issues 1-4, and Volume 2 of course is 5-8. His current Kickstarter is for Volume 2, but you can get Volume 1 digitally or physically as a “catch-up” tier (or via Add-ons).
Initial McThoughts or TLDR
From the start we are set up in Rob’s world and it’s not unlike ours today - teenagers acting like teens do, twenty-something’s not sure what to do with themselves, and guys named Rodney having nightmares about werewolves, vampires, zombies, gory deaths, and miscellaneous supernatural mischief.
Typical wet dream stuff, amirite…? Well, its’ about to get decidedly more wet when the blood squirts happen IRL!
Okay, here’s what I love about this series: it somehow takes every major supernatural element we’ve come up with to date, dropped it all into a Vitamix and put it on pulse, then sprinkled on a dash of mystery, a drizzle of sci-fi (dude, the FBI Special Investigation Unit has some dope vehicles!), and a smattering of hot-Celtic-warrior-babe to create what I think is one of the most innovative, well-written comics out there. Not just indies, but comics.
Reminder that you have until Friday 5/24 at 9pm EST (GMT-5) to back my book, American Yakuza (Act I)!
Volume 1
Issue one starts a lot like I already described, so I’ll cut to the actual opinion: I really like it. At first it’s a bit heavy on dialogue but that’s balanced against a lot of initial story being told, solid art, and a good bit of action to elevate your heart rate again.
We get some details about this war that has raged (and continues to rage) across time, Snow Paws’s backstory, introduced to Silver Mane (via recall, setting us up for something later), more on Black Claw, Vampiress *NAME REDACTED*, and more. Rodney grows in his own hero’s journey as he and Snow Paw go through training together and she continues to provide him (and us) with backstory.
The water starts coming to a boil throughout the back half of the volume (as if it wasn’t already bubbling!), and then we close with a minor confrontation with the FBI-SIU agents and a Victor-ian style cliffhanger. You’ll have to read to understand that last part…
Strong start!
Issue 5 (vol. 2, pt.1)
My first comment when I opened issue five was, “thank the stars they kept Carlos Herrera on line art chores,” and I mean it. Carlos’s lines are really clean and full of depth and expression. They have a manga-like flow and energy, and even some of that かわいい -ishness about them. So, his characters can exude flirtiness, power, scariness, and all sorts of emotions effortlessly. I love it.
The story is still super-dope, too. I just wanted to give Carlos his credit, I give Rob enough. 😎
Issue 6
Oh, sh!+ here we go!!! Rodney has a literal face-to-face with the Vampiress and Snow Paw is out tracking down Dark Claw. This issue flies by in a whirlwind read that will make you want more…!
Issue 7
Night Wolf gets armor!!!!!! I won’t spoil how or from whom, but LET’S F*CKING GOOOOOOO!!!!
Yes, this is another action-packed episode in the Night Wolf saga and we get introduced to a vampire who doesn’t crumble under the sun — well, not completely anyway. Can you tell I’m having fun reading this series in it’s full glory in one setting?
Issue 8
Village fight! More tricks! More ex-girlfriends! A hard choice is made! Death! And one pissed-off Rodney to finish the volume out! Oh, boy!!
The Final Word
I can’t recommend Rob’s Night Wolf series enough. He has a world here that is clearly well-thought out, well-crafted, and hella-good fun. You can check out more at the campaign site, including more preview pages than what I posted above in the gallery. It’s worth a look. It’s most definitely worth a backing. And even more worth reading and enjoying.
If you like mystical magical fun shit, weird sci-ops, experimentations, a f*cked up homecoming dance, and more deaths than licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll® center of a Tootsie Pop® then this is right up your alley.
Of course, if you just like dope werewolf stories this fits that bill, too.
BACK IT HERE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/multari/night-wolf-vol-1-2-urban-fantasy-werewolf-coming-of-age-epic
🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰 (5/5 Acorns)
[Night Wolf] takes every major supernatural element we’ve come up with to date, dropped it all into a Vitamix and put it on pulse, then sprinkled on a dash of mystery, a drizzle of sci-fi (dude, the FBI Special Investigation Unit has some dope vehicles!), and a smattering of hot-Celtic-warrior-babe to create what I think is one of the most innovative, well-written comics out there.
Not just indies, but comics.
