Comic Info
Comic Name: The Astounding Wolf-Man/Invincible
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Jason Howard
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2015
The Astounding Wolf-Man #9
Reprints The Astounding Wolf-Man #8-12 and Invincible #57 (September 2008-January 2009). Gary Hampton is wanted by multiple law enforcement agencies and is on the run. With his identity as Wolf-Man revealed and wanted for killing his wife, Gary wants revenge on the man responsible and seeking out the werewolf that made him Wolf-Man might be the only hope. Meanwhile, Gary’s daughter Chloe is mourning the death of her mother and seeks a way to avenge her.
Written by Robert Kirkman, The Astounding Wolf-Man—Volume 2 is an Image Comics collection. Following The Astounding Wolf-Man—Volume 1, the series features art by Jason Howard and the issues in this volume were also collected in The Astounding Wolf-Man Complete Collection and .
Kirkman’s superhero books always have a style. It is a balance of realism, outlandish action and gore, and real-time pacing. While Invincible is the perfect combination of these (with some slow points in its long run), The Astounding Wolf-Man is trying to keep pace.
This collection has a bit more meat that the first volume. It was too easy for Wolf-Man in the first collection and here, he’s facing more danger and more threats since everyone wants him captured. Gary gets to “meet his maker” and work on honing his powers which are more than just becoming a wolf.
The Astounding Wolf-Man #11
The volume also contains a crossover with Invincible which shows how the whole Invincible universe works. The Astounding Wolf-Man has the same tone as Invincible so a crossover seems rather natural, and it works. It is the typical fight and then team-up style of comic books, and despite being a modern comic book writer, it is a kind of wholesome aspect of Kirkman’s Invincible universe.
Despite being a bit more movement and action in this volume, The Astounding Wolf-Man is like Invincible in that it does move rather slowly overall. The “real-time” aspect of the Invincible Universe doesn’t make it realistic for Gary to be having adventure after adventure. The pacing is methodical, but Kirkman injects insane violence and gore at the drop of the hat which keeps the series spiced up.
The Astounding Wolf-Man is a nice addition to the Invincible Universe. It is a different comic book than Invincible, but it still has a lot of the same tone and feeling. Unlike Invincible, you can feel that The Astounding Wolf-Man doesn’t have as long of a shelf-life. It feels like it is moving faster and doesn’t have as much depth to keep the series going. The Astounding Wolf-Man—Volume 2 was followed by The Astounding Wolf-Man—Volume 3.
Related Links:
The Astounding Wolf-Man—Volume 1
