Broken Frontier

(Review by Richard Boom)

I consider myself a visually challenged comic reader. That is why I have a special liking for titles like Vampirella, Witchblade, Cavewoman and others in the bad girl mould over almost anything else.

But just once in a while I venture out and try to look for that special recipe of entertainment that keeps me on the edge of my seat, despite what I consider to be crappy art or other shortcomings. That may sound harsh or short-sighted, but at least it’s a sign that there’s some rationality left in of me!

The new Dark Horse mini-series Werewolves on the Moon Versus
Vampires sounded immensely over the top and that is why I ventured outside of my usual buying habits... and I was happy to do that!

The Fillbach Brothers and co-writer Dave Land created something so outrageous and over-the-top, generating instant magic and making true entertainment be born on the spot!

The first two pages serve as a prelude where the writers easily let the reader know about their sense of sarcasm and dark humour, after which they kick it into high gear by sending three werewolves into a moon station, turning a complete load of moon-bound passengers into fellow werewolves. The critters are funny, sad, lunatic, stupid and just plain hilarious and in many regards remind you of humans in general. The comic is just one slapstick scene after another and the introduction of the master villain – a vampire Lord named Till, bent on domination of Earth while also fond of poems and paintings – is almost too much for my senses.

My favourite scene however is the one just before, during and right after an incident with a magnet. I really do not want to tell anything else for fear of spoiling, but that for me was the most unbelievable scene I have ever seen and that made me laugh out loud. I truly want to thank the team for that scene alone!

The Fillbachs’ particular style of art is not really something I am into. It is cartoony and not as detailed as I would like, but on the whole, I see how the style works so well with the story. Expressions are managed effortlessly and dynamics are adequately drawn.

There are two quirks in the plot I’m anxious to find out more about. The first one being the unveiling of the reason why the werewolves chose to go to the moon, a motive that wasn’t explained in this first issue. What also isn’t explained in the issue is the importance of the Maya-drawing which the 'camera' is suspiciously zooming into. Maybe I missed something, but I hope to discover more about these two quirks in the next installment.

All in all, Werewolves on the Moon Versus Vampires is a tremendously entertaining series. I can’t wait for issue #2.