Wolverton, Thief of Impossible Objects #1 is a good start for a comic book series. The reader is introduced to the titular thief, the book shows off his talents, and it offers a brief glimpse at the series’ antagonist.
As a character, Wolverton is exactly what the title suggests. He steals magical artefacts (though not for personal gain), and the comic starts with him stealing a cursed monkey’s paw. His mission in securing the object offers some insight into his personality on the job, and it is a well-written scene. The action moves at a brisk pace, the magic involved leads to some creative imagery, and the whole thing has the feel of an old
-school action movie to it. The hero is nothing new in terms of personality but he is a well-executed version of what he is.
Such a tone isn’t surprising for this book, as it started out as a screenplay for a proposed movie. The comic is imbued with all the charm of such a movie, but the translation to comic book has failed in one key way; the narration box describes everything.
When the story existed as screenplay this would have been part of the format. However, in the context of a comic book narration box, it only serves to repeat what the art has already told the reader. Once or twice the text provides a bit of extra flavour to the book (at one point the word tantrum is used as a metaphor to describe a storm) but for the most part, it fails to add anything.
While this is annoying it doesn’t distract from the book’s charm or the promise offered by its world. The villain, in particular, has a lot of potential, and the book wisely opts to keep his intents mostly mysterious (though the character may be familiar to fans of classic literature).
Wolverton, Thief of Impossible Objects #1 suffers from a teething problem in the form of its narrative style but still manages to be a worthwhile adventure. It sets up the status quo for subsequent issues and has a decent balance of humour and intrigue.
WOLVERTON, THIEF OF IMPOSSIBLE OBJECTS #1 / WRITERS: MICHAEL STARK, TERRELL. T GARRETT / ARTIST: DEREK RODENBACK / PUBLISHER: BURNT BISCUIT BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
