Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Jason Howard
Company: Image Comics

After singlehandedly re-imagining the zombie genre with books like The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies, it only seems natural that Robert Kirkman’s next topic of choice would tackle yet another of the major horror sub-genres: Werewolves. Now, for me, the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning werewolves are movies like American Werewolf in London, Silver Bullet, and…Dog Soldiers? Okay, maybe not the latter one but most certainly the others, splashed with a bit of Cycle of the Werewolf (the book Silver Bullet is based on) and a few scenes from the cult hit Monster Squad (Wolf-Man’s got nards!). Now, I’m sure that by now you’re probably wondering what the hell do any of these things have to do with a Robert Kirkman comic book. The answer to that is simple, they have nothing to do with it. In fact the only thing that can be said about these things in comparison to The Astounding Wolf-Man is that every single one of them brought the fun. And that’s what this book does: It brings the fun.

While bringing the fun, Kirkman also brings with him his patented atypical perspective of things, this time blending the horror genre with his other mainstay, superheroes. It also skews away from the over the top gore that one would expect and allows the characters and their relationships to act as the central focus of the story. For some, this might be the book’s major flaw, as people like the over the top, very explicit violence that Kirkman is known to do in his books. And sure, it’s not as if the violence has been completely clipped from view here, as there’s violence to be seen in several scenes, though none better than the in your face, extremely satisfying hook that thrusts you into the story. What makes the difference is that it’s not as overdone as it could have been and the book is better because of it.

As for what takes place in the issue itself…Plainly put, it’s an origin story that covers how the life of elite and ultra-rich Gary Hampton changes when he’s bitten by a werewolf. Think Batman meets the Wolf-Man of old. It’s simple, not overdone and every aspect of it, from the werewolf bits to the cliffhanger ending, reads extremely well. The character moments, the conversations between Gary and his wife and his daughter are top notch, as they graft you into the story and make you care about what is going on. Also, the strain that his “transformation” takes on other aspects of his life adds yet another interesting level to an already full storyline.

On art duties we have Jason Howard, an artist that to be completely honest with you, I’m not familiar with at all. After reading this issue though, I’m making it a point to keep an eye out for him as his work is gorgeous; flat out, hell-on-wheels fun. The angular lines, his sense of motion, and the overall cartoon-like designs that he uses are all completely refreshing to the eye and oddly enough, they seem to fit the superhero/horror/mystery vibe that the book encompasses. Added to that a heavy lined, clean looking ink job and a dramatic sense of color that changes with the mood of the story, and you have an artist that pretty much knocked this one out of the park.

So, what could make this immensely fun, wolf-tastic issue even better? Well, how about this…It’s free! Yup, it’s true. If you take a nice quiet stroll out to your local comic book shop on May 5 (Free Comic Book Day), you can get this first issue for nada. Zilch. Zero. Nothing. Folks, this is what I like to call, in no certain terms, a steal. Savor the goodness that is The Astounding Wolf-Man.