Advance Review — ‘Universal Monsters: Blood Of The Wolf Man’ #4 Can’t Live Up To Its Sister Series

It’s never easy being compared to your siblings — especially when they are more successful than you.

But in the case of Image Comics’ Universal Monsters series, some of the best limited runs from Dracula to Phantom of the Opera to The Invisible Man have been universally acclaimed. So when a sister series like Blood of the Wolf Man comes along, expectations are sky high and difficult to meet.

To be fair, Wolf Man isn’t bad. But it’s not exactly good either. Writer Joshua Williamson knows how to put together a compelling story. But this one escapes him. It starts off with a mystery of who the Wolf Man actually is (though the answer seems and is, in fact, obvious). Then it morphs into a different kind of blood-soaked mystery, a family drama, and — maybe — a story of repentance and understanding. Maybe.

This final issue in the miniseries gives us the answers that we already knew as well as a resolution of the story of the college student who thinks he’s a werewolf. So if nothing else, we have closure.

Artist Leomacs’ Wolf Man is sufficiently frightening, particularly when he’s ripping through co-eds and cops to fulfill his bloodlust. Most of the rest is just okay. The final battle between the werewolf and his human father is occasionally confusing, but you pretty much know where the story is heading anyway, so precise visuals aren’t necessarily the requirement you think they’d be.

It’s tough — maybe even unfair — to be compared to other series. But it’s also the price of success in the case of Universal Monsters. Image has already announced the newest limited series, The Bride of Frankenstein Lives. Set your expectations accordingly.

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolf Man #4 — written by Joshua Williamson, illustrated by Leomacs, colored by Pip Martin, and lettered by D.C. Hopkins — will be available Wednesday in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.