Werewolf X The Society of Fearless Frontiersmen is the reason I don’t have buyers remorse for a Bad Idea. A long time ago, Bad Idea offered a chance to exchange collectible gold buttons for one of two comics. We’ll be talking about the expanded edition of the first one, Werewolf. Similar to other Double Shots, there’s a connection bridging two stories. In this case, it’s a figurative and literal bit about comparisons.
Werewolf: The Line Between Hunter and Hunted
The way writer Peter Milligan repeats the phrase “Hunter and Hunted” is a clever use of the symbol of werewolves. The protagonist Moko represents the werewolf victim after losing his innocence. His failure to succeed his father as shaman of his Native Siberian nation is a curse that he has to live with. Afterwards, Moko spends most of his adult life trying to drink his trauma away. It didn’t help that Moko and his nation ended up in Soviet Labor camps. Even when Stalin himself gives Moko a chance to prove his nation’s worth, he’s still treated like a sub-human.
Ironically, the persecution Moko and the Alpha werewolf face evokes similarities with Universal Studio’s werewolf. Just the rituals Moko tries to go through to fight the Alpha feel like they’re persecuting him. Almost as if they’re acknowledging him as a monster more than the werewolf who killed Moko’s father. Even as Moko makes personal breakthroughs, there’s a suspenseful air of tragedy. That no matter what he does, it’s all going to end in some kind of failure. Something that the Alpha is all too ready to pass on to Moko.
Society of Fearless Frontiersmen: B (for Breakthrough) Side
And now for our pulp adventure tribute. This is a very meta piece by Robert Venditti as this band of adventurers strive to be more than just a B plot. It comes across as a pitch trying to expand beyond its shelf life. Imagine yourself as a writer, trying to give the best pitch possible; more than it just coming down to “something happens”. In this way these adventurers feel sympathetic for wanting more out of their lives than just as a concept. If some unseen characters get a mini-series, why not them?
But it’s the execution of crossing over that catches my eye. The shift in art from Tomas Giorello’s pen and Diego Rodriguez’s colors to the cold colorless art by Robert Gill evokes a change in tone. Everything started optimistic with colorful personalities, only for a doomed outcome to cut them to ribbons.
But with this tragic fate comes a new opportunity that serves as the crux of Werewolf X The Society of Fearless Frontiersmen. The Alpha werewolf leaves readers with the infectious idea that this might not be the last time we see Moko. Or maybe there’s something bigger on the horizon; crossovers with Hero Trade maybe?
Werewolf X The Society of Fearless Frontiersmen: Complete Edition!
Bad Idea continues to be one great surprise after another. The Werewolf half of this Double Shot is a great one-and-done story of a symbolic character arc. Meanwhile Society of Fearless Frontiersmen shows how to make a great idea last longer. Final score: 9/10.