She Wolf #1 by Rich Tommaso


She Wolf #1 is a tangled, disorienting story of a young woman named Gabrielle who believes she has been bitten by a werewolf. Writer and artist Rich Tommaso's surrealist style seamlessly melts dreams, hallucinations, and reality together, keeping the reader unsure and on edge.




The comic begins with Gabby being attacked by a werewolf, whom she seems to know- the pages seeping with rusts and browns. The scene abruptly changes in setting and color: Gabby lays in her bed startled, bathed in cool blues and grays. The remaining pages are not so monochromatic but the abrupt changes in setting and time continue.


This comic is full of juxtaposition and symbolism; Gabby runs down the street in the night, her posture mirroring the werewolf she pursues. In another scene she runs through the woods in a red hooded cape, then inexplicably finds a wolf consuming a grandmother figure in her sister's bed. Elsewhere, Gabby sits in a church while meeting with a priest; the moonlight shining through the window, it's frame casting a cross on her face.


Tommaso has promised at least 4 issues but says if the series does well, he is prepared to write it as an ongoing series. So many questions are left at the end of #1. Everyone agrees that a terrible thing happened but no one mentions werewolves. How much of what occurs is real? This first issue is subtitled, “Spell Number One: Shapeshifting.” Could this indicate more spells and powers to come in Gabby's future? How did she gain these powers if they are indeed real? We must read on to learn more.


Posted by Aly
Tags: review blog