Comics
Review: “Curse” # 2
“Curse” continues its descent into small-town madness with another chilling chapter of werewolf mythology. Laney pushes himself to a point of no return. Moreci and Daniel show that compassion is both his greatest strength and weakness. Yet, it is history that becomes the focal point of this stellar second issue. Our past defines us, and that characterization is often impossible to escape.
WRITTEN BY: Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel
ART BY: Colin Lorimer & Riley Rossmo
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 19, 2014
People in small towns love to gossip. They take great interest in the lives of others, particularly a person’s past. It’s hard to change who you are when everyone has already made up their minds behind your back. Laney will always be the failed Football star. It’s a shame really, but it’s his cross to bear.
The script this month does a solid job at turning the screws on every character in play. Things are getting significantly worse, and are only bound to get darker with each successive issue. Within all of this darkness is an air of compassion. We’re reminded why Laney has taken on his crazy inquest and briefly encounter some humanity within the heart of the beast.
It’s a great way to bring everything into a murky grey area. Within this fog the lines of right and wrong dissipate. Laney is no better than the town drunk, and the werewolf becomes a victim. It’s a heartfelt spin on the dynamic we’ve seen before. Managing to breath new life into an old fable.
Lorimer does the bulk of the lifting again this month. His clean digital approach manages to imbue the cold winter with some warmth, and his character work is stunningly clean and detailed. He revels in darkness, and has a serious gift for creating haunted eyes. His choice of angles imitates some of the horror greats. By using obtuse viewpoints on the most normal interactions he creates an unparalleled sense of dread.
Rossmo’s work falls onto the complete opposite side of the spectrum. His lines are wild and unkempt. His work is drawn with a certain ferocity that screams danger. He make the werewolves’ past brilliant. The muted color palette channels a ghostly world devoid of warmth and should bring back twinges of his work on Green Wake.
This issue takes a more leisurely pace and uses it to gloomy effect. We’re dragged through a story of loss and desperation. The characters that populate this bleak world are given their time to develop and the conflict becomes even more complicated. Thing’s won’t be easy going into issue 3.
“Curse” manages to be so much more than typical werewolf fare. The dynamic combination of styles within the creative team propels it to be something uniquely horrifying. There is loss, isolation, blood, guts, manipulation and more. The book touches on all sorts of taboos and like any good horror story has its roots firmly grounded in the history of its world.
Rating 4/5 Skulls.
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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