4 out of 5

When discovering new creators, while there are those who automatically cement themselves in my pull pile due to whatever random detail, most go through a hazing period during which I spread out to their other works to get my bearings.

With Dark Corridor, Rich Tommaso fell into that category; though the story rang, for me, all the right grindhouse / crime genre bells, an unfortunately clipped publishing schedule hindered the story’s evolution and Tommaso’s undeniably eye-catching stylized flat art style and intense coloring occasionally felt mis-matched to the tale’s high action antics.  More research was in order.  She-Wolf was announced in the last pages of Dark Corridor, and I was happy that I’d sooner-than-later have another example of Tommaso to consider.

But man, when I first read the first issue, it seemed so abstracted to Hell as to read like an amateurish mess.  I thought: Well, that’s done.  However, there was something so assured about the book’s oblique narrative that I questioned whether or not I was missing something.  To the internet!; confirm my feelings, or give me a majority reason to doubt them!  (Internet: Feel free to adopt this as your official slogan.). And while I didn’t find a clear “here’s what you missed” explanation, I did find enough people who were down with waiting for issue 2 to consider doing the same.  While I waited, I reread the issue I had.  Still assailed with doubt, but a better understanding began to form…

Tommaso’s work can, perhaps, be defined by what it is not, which, despite its clear genre leanings – with She-Wolf there’s am 80s teen horror vibe – it’s not, I don’t think, genre.  Dark Corridor explored a revenge story through a certain lens, and Wolf goes the self-acceptance route with its lens, but in both cases, its a story adapting a style that suits it and not someone starting with Image first and then adapting their tale.  It’s an odd fit at first, because the high-contrast style Tommaso employs makes you think that it’s going to be this very self-aware kitsch thing…  But it’s not.  And ultimately, while She-Wolf’s first “season” ends a bit abruptly and there’s that uphill climb of the opening issue’s non-linear structure, the dedication to story – Rich’s realization of what pacing and tone best fit his story – win me over to Team Tommaso.

She-Wolf dreamily narrates Gabby’s first transformation into a werewolf, and her teenaged attempts at wrangling that amidst her school life, sex life, and family life.  The characters’ styles and the general plot focus are ripped from the Teen Wolf era of goofy 80s coming-of-age-with-a-twist tales, and some of the simplistic dialogue speaks to that, but its not Tommaso’s game, overall.  She-wolf isn’t narratively heavy by any means, but it’s not exactly silly, either; we float around the concept, falling into comedy, sometimes horror, all with this dreamlike flow that makes the order details float right under the radar until you read it a couple of times to digest the subtle twists to the formula.  (Or that’s how it worked for me…)

Tommaso’s expressive art is much more in line with the book’s off-kilter slipperiness; some passages, with their hallucinatory colors, are particularly striking.

These positives expressed, I can very clearly see that Rich – and She-Wolf – will be an acquired taste.  But this story, in particular, benefits from taking it as it comes, and though I hate saying “wait for the trade,” having the full first storyline in hand makes the bigger picture that much more appealing.