Comics
Review: ‘Alabaster: Wolves’ TP
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
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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