Red Wolf #1 Review

Red Wolf #1 from Marvel Comics:


     It is 1872 in Timely, a little town in America's wild west. After the death of Sheriff Steve Rogers, his protege, Red Wolf has taken over as the town's head lawman. It's not easy for Red Wolf - as a native American, he walks the dangerous line between the world of the white man and the world of the native, a line easily demarcated by mistrust, war and blood. When strange, grisly, seemingly supernatural murders begin to take place in his town, Red Wolf sets out to find to find the killer. What he encounters is mistrust from those he's sworn to protect...And he finds a killer with a power far beyond Red Wolf's skills...The power of science and future tech!

    Spinning out of Marvel's Secret Wars, comes Red Wolf! Written by Nathan Edmondson, Red Wolf is a classic western lawman tale with some sci-fi tossed in for good measure, all with a Native American wearing the white hat in the role of the primary protagonist. Red Wolf is a breath of fresh air. He is a cunning, classic do-gooder with the weight of the world on his shoulders who still manages to preserve his innocence, in a manner of speaking. Red Wolf does what is right, simply because it is right, despite the hatred and hindrances thrown his way - he does his best to honor his people and the laws of white man. The fact that Red Wolf is amazingly likable established, for me, a quick empathetic bond with the character. Dalibor Talajić's art is total fun and high octane; his panels are filled with great rough-and-tumble western action. This book is a throwback to those great Bronze Age western comics I loved, adding in a nice sci-fi touch. This is definitely a fun first outing for Red Wolf! No colorful superheroes and villains, just six guns, knives, horses and wild west fun.

RATING: 8 out 10! Red Wolf rides right onto my pull list.