WOLVENHEART #9 – Review

WOLVENHEART #9, available from Mad Cave Studios on December 8th, 2021, reveals Van Helsing’s villainous plan and the destruction he’s willing to bring about to make it happen.

The Details

• Written By: Mark London
• Art By: Alejandro Giraldo
• Colors By: Warnia Sahadewa
• Letters By: Miguel A. Zapata
• Cover Art By: Alejandro Giraldo
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: December 8, 2021

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Was It Good?

I like this issue quite a bit. Better than the previous one, in fact.

Why? This is a better issue than the previous one because it’s an excellent example of a “fill in the gaps” issue. In other words, previously opened questions about overlapping timelines (always a point of confusion), the devastating potential of combining dimension keys, how and where and why Van Helsing went bad, and the crux of Van Helsing’s plan all get answered in one fell swoop.

You may be concerned that answering so many questions in a single issue is equivalent to reading a wall of text with pretty pictures. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. London pulls off a minor miracle by integrating all the answers into an organically flowing story within the page count allotted, and it doesn’t feel ponderous or clunky in the slightest.

There’s are a few dialog-heavy panels picking up after last issue’s cliffhanger that some readers may find too wordy, but the pacing is excellent, and you get a lot of meat out of the first few pages that clarify where certain players have been and where we’re going next.

Giraldo’s art helps the exposition quite a by giving readers an eyeful, especially on the Eiffel tower (get it?!? An eyeful on the Eiffel!). The fights scenes, both in Wolvenheart HQ and the Eiffel tower, are memorable and end in such a way as to further the story more than words alone.

What’s It About?

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

If you’re not sure why there are two Sterlings, first get caught up by reading our WOLVENHEART #8 review.

We pick up immediately where we left off in the last issue with Sterling and Tesla suddenly being confronted with Sterling’s doppelganger. Sterling #1 immediately assumes it’s some kind of trick and draws swords when Sterling #2 tries to explain. Through the fight, Sterling #2 explains he was accidentally teleported into this timeline from his own where Tesla and Bathory are evil and combined the four dimension keys with Dorian Gray’s painting to manipulate their timeline to suit their own plans. Sterling #2’s Tesla and Bathory were defeated but he was left stranded in this new timeline with knowledge of what could happen should the four dimension keys be combined.

The two Sterling’s fight, but before Sterling #1 can deliver a killing blow, Sterling #2 divulges a bit of information about Tesla that only an authentic Sterling would know. Tesla is convinced Sterling #2 is telling the truth and agrees to help get him back to his own timeline if he agrees to stop Van Helsing.

Later, the Wovenheart team meet in the command center to discuss where or when Van Helsing may have gone after stealing the second dimension key. Sterling is remorseful about his failure to stop Van Helsing at Blackmoore. Bathory is lenient as she recalls how she had to the chance to stop Van Helsing in Paris, and we get a flashback as to how the chance presented itself, ending in tragedy for innocent bystanders.

We conclude the issue with the death of an innocent, clarity about what’s motivating Van Helsing to turn evil, and the arrival of a “mad” ally.

Final Thoughts

WOLVENHEART #9 takes readers on a wild yet informative ride as we find out about the danger of combining dimension keys and a hint into Van Helsing’s grand plan. There’s a lot of information, but it’s presented in a fun organic way, and there’s plenty of exciting vampire battles to keep readers engaged while the information unfolds.

Score: 8.5/10

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