Comics

Review: ‘Alabaster: Wolves’ TP

Published

11 years ago

February 15, 2013

The religious aesthetic of the American South is one of the most prevailing tropes in horror fiction to date; only to be matched by the “The Chosen One” concept dominating the urban fantasy sub-genre—Bonus points if the Chosen One happens to be a reluctant teenaged girl, sworn to fight against the forces of darkness. Dark Horse Comics’ Alabaster: Wolves is an amalgamation of all these common tropes, yet Caitlin R. Kiernan manages to write a series that falls far outside its clichéd foundation.

WRITTEN BY: Caitlin R. Kiernan
ART BY: Steve Lieber
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $19.99
RELEASE: February 13th

Award winning author, Caitlin R. Kiernan teams up with acclaimed artist Steve Lieber (“Whiteout”) to create this ambiguously post-apocalyptic world that’s deeply rooted in the American South. Lieber’s artwork is murky and sets the tone effectively, as it presents a dark, yet ethereal world created through the mythically poetic imagination of both writer, and artist. Opening with a despairing single-panel page, “Alabaster: Wolves” begins with our protagonist entering a deserted South Carolina town which reeks of “slow death”.

The narrative follows sixteen-year-old, Dancy Flammarion, a religious, albino drifter anointed with the calamitous calling of being a grudging slayer of monsters and demons. By the command of an unsympathetic and impassive seraph, Dancy journeys through the Podunk towns of the American South, bringing death upon each and every supernatural target assigned to her. But she’s had enough. Sick and tired of doing her angel’s dirty work, Dancy rebels against her calling, and causes the seraph to abandon her. This sets forth a series of events that lead our protagonist to the greatest evil she’s ever had to face; and ultimately, leaves Dancy in a crisis of faith and disillusionment. Will she choose to carry out her journey on her own, or will she forever be a slave to the “system”?

The Southern Gothic style of “Alabaster: Wolves”, in both script and art, lends itself to a higher level of uniqueness and authenticity most Southern horror fiction fail to achieve. There’s nothing contrived or trite about the series. Even Kiernan’s protagonist veers away from the conventional hero tropes. Dancy Flammarion may very well be ridding the world of “evil”, but she’s a sociopathic hero. She’s an antihero who has a fundamental lack of empathy and a sociopathic disregard for human life. So long as the monsters die, she can accept the death of innocents as a just sacrifice, and there’s something disturbingly refreshing about that.

“Alabaster: Wolves” is like the lovechild of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Bill Paxton’s “Frailty”, and “Hellboy” (specifically “The Chained Coffin and Others”). If any of these things interest you, then this is a book I’d highly recommend.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – ShadowJayd

Related Topics:Alabaster Wolves American South Caitlín R. Kiernan Dancy Flammarion Dark Horse Comics

Lonnie Nadler

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

7 days ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.