Written by Si Spurrier
Art by Ryan Kelly
Colors by Nick Filardi, Matthew Wilson, and Lee Loughridge
Published by Image Comics
Werewolf stories often promise narratives brimming with bodily desire, i.e., carnage, sex, self-loathing. Despite a recent Teen Wolf binge closely followed by Glen Duncan’s The Last Werewolf, I have yet to satisfy my hunger for this werewolf stories. Genre tastes aside, the folks at Image had me at “Lesbian werewolf who goes to war.” Yet, the creators pitched the book for more than the promise of gore. They announced, “this is not the tale of a lesbian werewolf who goes to war… except it kind of is.”
While this coy statement attracts readers, it also turns out to be exceptionally true.
Cry Havoc opens with a quotation from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Already, the book promises a story both deeply informed by literary tradition and steeped in lore. Even without the high bar set for mythology-based stories, *ahem, WicDiv* this will be an ambitious story to tell.
Now, to our werewolf: she’s British; she has blue hair; she’s a lesbian; also a violinist. Give me a less likely star for a fantasy-horror book. Lou takes on a commercial black-ops position with soldiers who also have mysterious afflictions. She hopes that by helping the soldiers avenge their murderous commander, they will help her find a cure for her lycanthropy. (The fate of her troubled lesbian relationship is also undetermined.)
Since the book flits between Lou’s origin story in London, her “corporate” military mission, and a mysterious third act, the creators have embarked on a formidable task. As they weave the three timelines together, the creators employ three colorists: Nick Filardi, Lee Loughridge, and Matt Wilson. In addition to this coalition of brilliant artists, writer Simon Spurrier describes the grid system his team developed to control the pacing between sections. While pre-publication art makes for great back matter, Spurrier explains a much more subtle process that what goes into creating individual frames. He delves into how they crafted the book with ardor. Ryan Kelly’s stunning art is similarly strong. The first issue’s full-page spreads are remarkably beautiful. Kelly conveys viseral, frenetic movement that. When rendered by the colorists, the cool tones seem to emit a crisp glow; warm, fiery reds threaten to burn the page. Clearly, I’m excited to see what the artists will do with a full double-page spread.
*PSA: Knowing some background information will likely deepen how you reed the book. The title originates in a line from Shakespeare’sJulius Caesar: “Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war.” Perhaps coincidentally, the phrase also recently titled the Season 4 finale of Grimm. Cry Havoc is built on folklore, and like many great stories, relies on a good deal of supplementary reading. Luckily for readers, the book contains pretty thorough back matter. Yet these notes simultaneously rival the book’s script in terms of length and are (arguably) essential to understanding the story’s underpinnings.
