The Astounding Wolf-Man: vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard

My favorite superhero has always been Wolverine. So imagine my surprise and delight to discover this new wolf on the block! Cosmopolitan CEO Gary Hampton is attacked by a wild animal while on a routine camping trip with the wife and kid.  He awakens from a coma to find that he has been bitten by the werewolf bug. Unlike traditional howlers, Gary can change into a powerful wolf man each night at will. He only loses control of himself once a month when the moon is full, so he takes special precautions to make sure that while under the lunar influence he doesn’t eat his family. He is mentored by Zechariah, a turtleneck wearing Sean Connery-esque vampire, who teaches him how to harness his powers and hooks him up with some sweet superhero gear. Soon Wolf-Man is taking a bite out of crime and loving every minute of it. Until the night where he meets up with a pack of his own kind, who tell him that Zechariah isn’t what he appears to be and that Gary shouldn’t trust him. Who is Zechariah? And what does some dusty old vamp want with a virile wolf-dude anyway? I love Jason Howard’s angular, sharp, square-jawed style, even though he takes a little too much joy in splashing the blood around whenever Wolf-Man raises a ruckus with some baddies. Still, despite the gratuitous gore, I really dug this story of a struggling superhero trying to find his way when no one will tell him the truth. The Astounding Wolf-Man has an impressive pedigree, penned by none other than the zombie-rrific Robert Kirkman, author of the awesomely awful The Walking Dead.