Alright, so lets talk about Blackwulf.

Glenn Herdling, writer. Pencils, Angel Medina. Inks, Bill Anderson. Letters, Jack Morelli. Colors, Ray Murtaugh.

The comic starts with brothers Lucian and Pelops battling. Well, sparring. But with some intensity. Lucian is bested even though he feels he tries harder than his brother. Their father, Lord Tantalus, enters and pretty much craps all over Lucian for being the weaker brother despite his desires to only please his father.

They both have some sort of unstable cursed genetics that sometimes appear on their skin. In order to stabilise their DNA Lord Tantalus wants a geneticist above ground to be kidnapped. Pelops makes a plan, and Lucian leads a group top side. But wait, Blackwulf appears and he has his own team too. About ten super people just got introduced. There’s a fight and a revelation. Back in their home domain, Lucian confronts Pelops. For he is Blackwulf!

I really expected this revelation to take place over many issues but we’re only halfway through. Now I’m thinking this whole idea is rushed just to get a copyright out. I know I have an issue 2 here but I’m not expecting more than that. (There’s 8 issues I believe.)

We get the set up, a little bit of who’s who. Then its time for Lucian to confront his brother. Pelops admits he’s Blackwulf and holy crap here comes Tantalus to kill his own son!

I’m floored. I never saw this coming.

Lucian has now seen his brother, the more loved one, the chosen one, killed by their own father. Lucian now understands what his brother was doing in secret and the need to stop Tantalus’s plans. Lucian in his slain brother’s honor becomes the new Blackwulf!

And that’s issue one.

I’m loving this.

The cover screams Image comics. Liefeld touches. Extreme looks. Way too many characters introduced all at once. Tell me who was in Brigade. Or Bloodstrike. None of us can, and I bought every issue.

However, they take this idea. New heroes, new battles, new everything, way too many people introduced. And make it work! I’m invested in this story. Can anyone trust the new Blackwulf? Will he lead two lives? In the notes at the end of the issue we’re told we’ve only meant about half of the new characters. This is epic.

I looked into some of Blackwulf’s history and he and this kingdom I guess for lack of a better term are Deviants. A group that comes from the Eternals and Celestials stories in Marvel comics. So he is part of traditional Marvel and it looks like he has made sporadic appearances over the years.

This is a Kirby treasure trove though. Everyone here is new. There’s a reference to SHIELD. So many powers. So many characters to choose from. Unless everyone but Blackwulf is dead by the end of this, there is no reason to leave this concept on the shelf. One issue in and I want to do more with everything here. If I’m ever working for Marvel, Blackwulf is going on my team book. Led by Speedball. No, I’m not kidding.

I’ll be reviewing issue 2 soon and then looking for the rest of his appearances. Honestly, I want to flip through old Previews or Wizard to see if there are some interviews with the creative team. Hell, are any of them on Twitter? There’s a forgotten part of Marvel here waiting to be told.