BELLE: ANCIENT INSTINCTS, from Zenescope Entertainment on 7/19/23, pits Belle against a thousand-year-old werewolf who wants to make Belle his mate.
The Details
- Written by: Dave Franchini
- Art by: Rodrigo Xavier
- Colors by: Juan Manuel Rodriguez, Maxflan Araujo
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Caio Cacau (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $5.99
- Release date: July 19, 2023
Is It Good?
Yep, you read that description correctly. In a year of Lovecraftian horrors forcing the Grimm Universe toward a fateful confrontation with the imminent return of Cthulhu, BELLE: ANCIENT INSTINCTS takes a break from all that mess for a nice hike in the woods, leading to death, dismemberment, and fangs.
Dave Franchini’s script centers on Belle, Mel, and Hershey enjoying a getaway for nature hikes when Belle’s family curse lures the dreaded Alpha werewolf to the area to find his Queen. When Belle’s investigation crosses paths with another family of hunters, superior numbers still prove insufficient for the greatest werewolf of all.
On its face, this is a standard, action-packed, monster-hunting adventure for Belle. The monster is more formidable than your average werewolf, crossing paths with another group of monster hunters increases the drama, and the resolution sets the stage for more conflict in the future. And true to form, Belle is unnecessarily chatty in her narration. Thankfully, Fraanchini has toned the chattiness down a tad, but Belle’s penchant for unnecessarily describing everything that’s around her is in full effect.
What’s not so great about this issue? It seems odd that when the “Year of Lovecraft” is drawing close to a climactic battle with every Grimm character under the sun that Belle would take a timeout for a hiking getaway. Further, when you peel back the layers of the excessive narration and conversations with Mel that don’t go anywhere, this really didn’t need to be an oversized issue. In short, this is a vanilla monster hunt with too much filler.
How’s the art? The art is generally good. Rodrigo Xavier’s grasp of the standard Zenescope house style gets the job done. The werewolf looks good, and there’s more than the usual amount of gore in this issue to grab your attention.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with Belle, Mel, and Hershey enjoying a woodland hike in Pennsylvania when they stumble upon a crime scene. Belle recognizes the body’s state could only be caused by a monster, so she heads back to the hotel to get her “work” clothes.
Later, Belle tracks the killer, but before she gets too far, she runs into a group of armed monster hunters. They explain they’re tracking the Alpha, the first werewolf. He’s bigger, stronger, and faster than the average werewolf, and he can talk. The werewolf kills most of the hunting party and wounds Belle before she can escape to a nearby cabin. Jenna, one of the hunters, follows Belle to help with her wounds.
Jenna hears the screams of her sister and insists on leaving the cabin to find her. Belle warns her not to leave since it’s an obvious trap. We conclude the issue with glowing magic, role reversals, and a grudge.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)
BELLE: ANCIENT INSTINCTS takes a break from the “Year of Lovecraft” with an oversized-yet-standard monster-hunting story sending Belle off against the first werewolf. There’s plenty of action and more than plenty of Belle’s trademark chattiness, but there’s a little too much fluff padding out a standard monster-hunting issue.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.