Wolfskin vol. 1

Because no, I really can’t come back from Comic-Con without finding something from Warren Ellis in their half-off bins.  This time it’s his answer to “Conan” as the titular musclebound, dual-sword-wielding warrior finds himself caught in a rivalry between two tribes.  He’s not particularly motivated towards helping either side out, but a few mushrooms and a communion with his god “Wrod” later and things work themselves out.  That’s the main story, and it’s okay for what it is.  The second has him travelling to a seaside port town after helping out a feral girl and encountering a slaver ring there.  This one was better for the way that it suggests a much broader world than the first one.  The swordfight at the end was also better staged too.

I wouldn’t quite recommend this over Dark Horse’s own “Conan” series, but Ellis completists like myself should be entertained.  It’s interesting to see the writer deal with such a low-tech setting, and he provides some interesting twists to the stories along the way.  Art in the main story is from Juan Jose Ryp, and it’s as detailed and gory as you’d expect from his previous collaborations with the writer (“Black Summer” and “No Hero”).  Gianluca Pagliarani illustrates the second and its cleanliness actually makes for an appealing contrast to Ryp’s.  I’ve read better from Ellis, but there’s enough here to make me interested in checking out the in-progress sequel “Hundredth Dream” once it’s collected — either through Amazon, or another Comic-Con half-off bin.