Halloween is only days away and just in time, comics company Mad Cave Studios will release the first issue this week in a brand-new horror-based series that is unlike so many others of its genre. Hour of the Wolf #1 is scheduled for release Wednesday. The second title in Mad Cave Studio’s new “Underworld” universe (which started with Revolution 9), it opens on quite the unsettling note. This will be discussed shortly. The story’s pacing plays directly alongside the story to ensure readers’ engagement and entertainment and will be addressed a little later. The artwork featured in this debut issue of Hour of the Wolf rounds out its most important elements and will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the book. All things considered they make Hour of the Wolf #1 an interesting start to this latest addition to MCS’ “Underworld” universe.
Hour of the Wolf #1, the debut issue of Mad Cave Studios’ “Underworld” universe, is an interesting start to this horror-series. The 21-page issue’s appeal comes in part through its story, which centers on a cursed painting that is apparently responsible for the deaths of a number of people. As the story opens, the painting’s latest victim is a young man named Phil (yes, that made me shiver a bit). Phil is on the phone with his mom when he is suddenly sucked into the picture, which features two very homicidal children and an equally scary faceless man in a chair. His fate is left up in the air until later in the story, at which we find out his fate was not good. This is revealed by his wife, who makes clear, her intent to destroy the painting, only to get caught in the painting herself in the process. As she is sucked into the story, our main protagonist, Owen Blackwood, makes his way through time on his own mission to destroy the painting. Unbeknownst to Owen, who is an agent of Wolvenheart, the noted events have already happened. He spends most of his introduction with exposition, setting up his place in the bigger picture, so hopefully in Issue #2, readers will learn more about him than is offered here.
Being that the story spans only 21 pages, writer Mark London did a relatively good job of setting the stage of just how evil the painting in question is, especially as he reveals what happened to the man who painted the work in the first place. He essentially makes the story a prologue of sorts to what is to come. He clearly labels the time frames of each scene, making the transitions clear and in turn the pacing stable. Even as Owen is introduced and uses so much exposition, London still does not waste too much time setting up his story. The result is, again, stable pacing that hints at hopefully more back story involving Owen and Wolvenheart as the bigger story progresses in issues to come. That overall stable pacing makes it easy for audiences to remain engaged in the story, as brief as the story is in the case of this book.
The story presented in Hour of the Wolf #1 and its pacing do plenty to make this book worth reading, and a relatively good start to this new series from Mad Cave Studios. It is only part of what makes the book interesting. Artist Danilo Beyruth’s work in this title makes for its own interest. One of the greatest moments exhibiting his work comes as Phil’s wife Jan pulls up to the vacation house where Phil was staying along with the painting. The scene in question is reminiscent of a certain house from Alfred Hitchcock’s famed slasher flick, Psycho. The way the moon hangs over the house, illuminating it just right along with the headlights from Jan’s car makes that exterior shot spooky in its own right. Keeping that in mind, the work of colorist Fabi Marques is just as much to applaud considering the mood that the pair collectively set here. Earlier in the story as the currently nameless villain uses a razor (yes, a razor) to make it so he can speak and see, the pair works to keep the moment from being too gory while also making it shocking, like something out of a Guillermo del Toro movie. It is a brief moment but powerful in its own right, what with the angles and colors. On a similar note, the revelation at the book’s end, of the painting’s artist by Owen makes for another powerful visual, considering the skeletons and blood, the old man sitting at a chair painting, with it all surrounding himself. The scene is the stuff of so many gorefest flicks. Between these moments and other more subtle moments, such as Owen traveling through time to get to the house and his interrogation of what looks like a werewolf beforehand, there is so much to note about the artwork in this book, even as short as the story proves. The modern artistic look is easily comparable to anything that audiences might expect from titles from Marvel and even Image Comics. Keeping that in mind, the artwork here is just as important to the debut issue of Hour of the Wolf as the book’s story and the story’s pacing. All things considered, this book proves a good read at least once, especially for those looking to get into the Halloween spirit this year.
Hour of the Wolf #1, the debut issue of Mad Cave Studios’ latest addition to its “Underworld” universe, is an interesting start to the company’s own multiverse project. That is due in part to its story, which is clearly more a prologue to the bigger story to come. It sets the stage for what Owen will likely have to face as the story builds in the coming issues. The story’s pacing adds to the appeal because of its stability. The book’s artwork rounds out its most important elements, proving to be as good as anything readers expect from other major comics publishers. Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of the book. All things considered they make Hour of the Wolf #1 a relatively solid start to this latest addition to Mad Cave Studios’ new multiverse. It leaves one wondering, in a good way, how it and the other titles in the company’s “Underworld” universe will ultimately collide.
Hour of the Wolf #1 is scheduled for release Wednesday. More information on this and other titles from Mad Cave Studios is available at:
Website: https://madcavestudios.com
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