Wolvenheart with a dash of Gunpowder & Gelatine

Cross travels to London, 1861. He needs to talk to Queen Victoria. But in the throne room, he’s thwarted by another queen. She turns out to be this Queen in Black that everyone’s obsessed with. And so, she transforms into a terrifying creature.

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The Queen in Black, a.k.a Elizabeth Bathory, shows him visions of “an old woman and a blind girl.” The old woman is Kesia. Last ish’, we met her as someone from his private life. Here, we learn that she actually raised Cross. The blind girl is Sabine. Not sure what Cross is to her yet. But the way she speaks of him, feels like he’s a family friend. I like that as we march on, we’re gifted with clues into the protagonist’s backstory. And there’s a great time-travel twist at the end involving the two.

Bathory may have been terrifying. But what’s really daunting is that Kesia can hear her cackles through the vision. Is this Kesia premonition powers at work? In my review for issue #1, I expressed my fascination of pairing an oracle with a time-traveler. This trickery just continues to feed my fascination.

Dynamite with a Laser Beam

Though, when you think Cross has almost defeated this creature, he’s thwarted. He’s stabbed from behind by a man referred to as Dorian. This comic employs characters from classic literature as well as real people from history. Last issue, we met Van Helsing and Nikola Tesla. With Cross unconscious, the antagonists discuss a plot about collecting Dorian’s four paintings. So, I’m gonna go say this is Dorian Grey.

And as the first issue told us that Sterling Cross is a time-traveler and a monster-slayer, we get to put another feather in his hat. I don’t remember if they mentioned this before, but Dorian calls him a Dhampir. Upon research, I discovered these are a vampire/human hybrid. Another name for them are “Daywalkers.” I can’t help but think of Blade, whom also hunts those like him.

Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind

In my last review, I felt bad about discounting Wolvenheart for its art. It resembles an anime style. However, I’m not a fan of the genre. But the art really is growing on me as I read on. Yeah, it could be that I’m really enjoying the story. I gotta tip my hat to the artist right along with the writer, though. Mark London and Alejandro Giraldo really have something special here.

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