WOLVENHEART #10 – Review

WOLVENHEART #10, from Mad Cave Studios on January 12th, 2022, uncovers the truth behind Joan of Arc’s salvation from a fiery death. Meanwhile, Van Helsing and Rasputin enlist a famous genius to find the Philosopher’s Stone.

The Details

• Written By: Mark London
• Art By: Alejandro Giraldo
• Colors By: Warnia Sahadewa
• Letters By: Miguel A. Zapata
• Cover Art By: Miguel A. Zapata
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: January 12, 2022

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Was It Good?

WOLVENHEART #10 is another intriguing entry in the series with the introduction of yet another historical figure to fill out a Who’s Who of a supernatural adventure. On the one hand, it’s fascinating to see how many different persons of note London can creatively work into the story. On the other hand, the list of names is starting to become a little unwieldy.

The beauty of this series’s central premise is the adventure surrounding famous characters (both real and fictional) who’ve been recruited from assorted points throughout history by the forces of good and evil. For the uninitiated, it’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure as a horror story and less air guitar. Now, imagine that same premise but instead of four or five historical figures, you have a dozen or more (and counting). It’s not a bad thing to bring the unique individuals of history to life in a creative way, but adding in new characters to each issue is starting to make the narrative feel busy and unfocused.

That said, the growing list of historical figures is a mild down point. Everything else works. We get an origin story for Joan of Arc’s recruitment into Wolvenheart, and we get a renewed sense of direction for Van Helsing and Wolvenheart with the promise those directions will violently intersect. While the plethora of side stories and subplots can start to sound like noise distracting away from the main plot, those lesser threads take a back seat in this issue and allow the main plot room to build momentum.

Giraldo’s art is very food in this issue. The character designs are solid. The few fight scenes in this issue are gritty and impactful. And Sahadewa’s coloring complements Giraldo’s pencils/inks beautifully. Another (minor) down point in this issue is the lack of integration of the characters into the scenery. In several scenes where characters are standing or walking, they don’t cast shadows from the obvious light sources, giving the visual impression that the characters are pasted on top of the panel backgrounds rather than part of the scenery. In other words, shadows don’t match the light sources, and it throws off the visuals.

In all, the main plot is coming into focus with great character art, but the character list is becoming unwieldy and integration between character and background is not what it should be.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

The cliffhanger from the last issue has heavy consequences for this issue, so if you don’t recall what happened, first read our WOLVENHEART #9 review.

We begin with Joan of Arc in the throws of a vivid dream about her historical campaigns in France, her “official” death, and how she came to be at Wolvenheart. Without giving away what could be an important detail in the future, the body burned at the stake belongs to a different figure of fictional importance.

Meanwhile, we catch up with Van Helsing as his newest recruit, the Mad Monk Rasputin, is living up to his reputation as a partaker of multiple vices. Son, Rasputin’s partying ways try Van Helsing’s patience, and he demands Rasputin make good on his promise to help him find the Philosopher’s Stone. Surprisingly, Rasputin has already taken steps to that end by “recruiting” a genius to help him secure the mythical element.

Later, Sterling attempts to rekindle his romance with the alternate-timeline Sabina, and his attempts don’t go well. Before the Sterling loses an appendage, the group is called into a war room meeting. Tesla has identified the location of an object, against Bathory’s wishes, that could help turn the tide in their war – Dorian Gray’s canvas. The location of the canvas is the team’s next mission.

We conclude the issue with the revelation that historical geniuses tend to be crazy, no love for the Pope from either group, and a new weapon revealed.

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