Night of 1,000 Wolves

CURNOW • WACHTER

NIGHT O

F1,000W

OLVES

In the Dark Ages, the tranquil life of Harrick Benjyon and hisfamily is shattered by unthinkable tragedy. Before they can react,the family find themselves under siege by hordes of wolves withone aim–death! A race for survival becomes all the moreimpossible by the arrival of the supernatural and the dark secretsthat lie at the heart of the Benjyon family.

"It’s rare to come across a modern myth that evokes the agelessnessof the best folktales but is a completely new invention. That’s thecase here in Night of 1,000 Wolves. A hidden gem that shines withspectacular visuals and a story that is both timeless and modern."

–Newsarama

"Perhaps three of the best single issue comics I have ever read inmy life; and when you put them together the sum is greater thanthe parts."

–ComicBastards .com

"This is what a horror comic should be." –Stumptown Trade Review

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The first comic I ever read wasn’t a superherotitle. It was a book-and-record set of a MarvelWerewolf By Night story, and it terrified theliving wolf droppings out of me. It hadeverything a seven-year-old kid could want:blood, smoke, carnage, and sharp teeth. Notonly did that experience help turn me into ahorror fan for life, but a horror comic fan for life,too.

So I would have picked up the smart and rathersavage mini-series you’re holding in your handsanyway, not just because it happened to be co-created by my IDW editor Bobby Curnow.(Though it is always a good idea to read andpublicly celebrate the work of your editor.Ahem.) The title alone conjured images of abeastly siege to end all beastly sieges. I mean,hell, one wolf is bad enough. But a thousand ofthe fuckers? I was sold. Right then.

I read all three issues in one fevered blitz on ahot summer night in the middle of July.

Pretty sure I hugged my family a little tighter that night…

Curnow and Dave Wachter pretty much announce their intentions on the very first page(go ahead, take a peek, I’ll wait). Life may be all idyllic, but sometimes, out of the blue, acrazy bearded dude is going to lift an axe and try to lop off your head. Turn the page againand you realize that we’re in the middle of a classic horror movie set-up: a family isthreatened by powerful forces of the unknown.

But what makes Night of 1,000 Wolves so fresh and cool is that this is not your typical horrormovie setting; we’re in Scandinavia—during the Dark Ages. And we’re not dealing withyour typical supernatural threat, either. Yes, the title promises you wolves, but… you reallyhave no idea what’s stalking our heroes through the countryside, not until the gut-wrenching (and gut-heaving, come to think of it) conclusion. Along the way there’s shockand surprise a-plenty—Curnow and Wachter masterfully toy with our expectations in everybeat of this folk tale from hell. Wachter’s art, in particular, had me reflexively covering mymajor arteries every couple of pages.

Most impressive, though, is the family at the center of this fang-and-fur storm. The settingmay be unfamiliar, but the tale’s central question (how far would you go to protect yourfamily?) hits you where you live. All poor Harrick wants to do is provide for his family andkeep them from harm. The next thing he knows, his crazy-ass father-in-law is ready tosacrifice a goat and Harrick’s simple life is one arterial spray away from disaster. And wecan relate. The wolves knocking on your door may be metaphoric, but we all know what itfeels like to be under attack. What it’s like to feel cursed.

How do Harrick and his family survive? I couldn’t possibly reveal that here, lest Curnowthrow me to the you-know-whats. But let me just say this: prepare yourself for the craziest,heartfelt, and quite possibly bloodiest wolf tale (notice I didn’t say werewolf) you’ll everread. You may hug your family a little tighter tonight, too.

24 August 2012Duane Swierczynski

Duane Swierczynski writes Godzilla for IDW, and is the author of award-winning crime thrillers such as Expiration Date and Fun & Games. Thewolf always seems to be at his door.

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Night of 1,000 Wolves