by Jarrod Jones. Howard and Lupe are on the run. Such is the life of the lonesome monster hunters of (what do you know!) The Lonesome Hunters. Their strange bond involves a mystical onyx anime sword, ancient Christian mythology, talking magpies, and, most recently, a werewolf pack. You know, normal stuff you’ll find as you mosey down the road. Think of Tyler Crook’s Dark Horse Comics series as Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon’s Preacher with softer features and far less chatting. And here comes The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child, the latest entry in Crook’s gorgeously painted series.
As a sequel, The Wolf Child is a new adventure, but more than that, it’s a dutiful extension of the previous one. There is a new breed of beast that Howard and Lupe must encounter, sure. And their world gets a little smaller and a lot more dangerous with the presence of The Church, a group of hardened, God-fearing folks who refer to Howard as “The Great Betrayer” and have dark things in store for him and his big, ol’ sword. But don’t think of The Lonesome Hunters as a procedural horror story. It’s a comic saga that hits the rhythms of most modern comic sagas: tight, swiftly-told arcs brimming with tragedy and trauma, a bit of violence, and some good humor, easily packaged for the trade. If it helps, think of The Wolf Child as The Lonesome Hunters #5-8.
This arc comes to a head with The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child #4. Lupe and Howard are up against a terrible enemy, only they ain’t of the lupine persuasion. They’re the meaty blonde types that say “dude” and “sick degenerates” in the same breath. They got guns, too, and it seems they come in separate but markedly similar packs: a completely different group of fellas, hunters, confuse Lupe and Howard for “terrorists” and follow them down their dark path. Complicating matters: a werewolf has gotten its fuzzy mits on Howard’s sword. (“It happened last ish!” — The Ed.) Crook heightens his action, zooms in on the instant of mayhem, lets the movement of adversaries do the talking. The tight compositions, the slashes, the panels going berserk — it’s down-home horror manga, in the inimitable way only Crook can tell it.
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics, DoomRocket has your exclusive first look at The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child #4, the final chapter of Tyler Crook’s latest arc — or the last issue before the next, however you want to look at it. The boys from the Church are about to walk into a real mess, it’s true — but are they less prepared for this reckoning than Howard and Lupe? Is that even possible? Time will tell.
From Dark Horse Comics: From Russ Manning award-winning and Eisner-nominated Harrow County co-creator Tyler Crook comes this supernatural fantasy about loss, power, and destiny.
Chaos erupts as the wolf mother and the local militia go to battle with Howard and Lupe pitted in the middle of this final issue of the hit series.
THE LONESOME HUNTERS: THE WOLF CHILD #4
Written by Tyler Crook.
Art by Tyler Crook.
Letters by Tyler Crook.
Cover by (yep!) Tyler Crook.
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Read our interview with Tyler Crook here.
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