PREVIEW: ‘Wolvenheart’ From Mad Cave Studios Combines Horror & Time Travel

Maybe you’ve heard of Mad Cave Studios, and maybe you haven’t. The publisher had been bringing “Mad Comics. Mad Variety. Mad Fun.” since 2014, boasting a wide variety of titles. I got an early look at one of their upcoming offerings. Let’s talk about ‘Wolvenheart’.

This story is written by Mark London (Battlecats, Knights of the Golden Sun), illustrated by Alejandro Giraldo (Midnight Task Force) with letters by Miguel Zapata (Battlecats, Show’s End). Here is the synopsis provided by Mad Cave:

Follow Sterling Cross, the most prolific time traveling, monster slayer in Wolvenheart. Led by the legendary Professor Van Helsing, Wolvenheart is an organization dedicated to monitoring anomalies in the space-time continuum. After the group is infiltrated and decimated by a cabal of history’s most infamous villains, led by the most notorious serial killer of the 16th century, Elizabeth Bathory; Sterling winds up trapped in an alternate reality where his only choice is to fight his way through time and change the course of history. For fans of Doctor Who, Castlevania, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

That’s what they say, but what do I think? In the pages that I saw, you see Cross in a nasty battle with a werewolf. What leads up to that gave me very classic horror movie vibes. You can almost hear yourself saying, “I wouldn’t do that.” Then you see the cocky and somewhat overconfident Cross swoop in to take on the beast. Writer Mark London echoed those classic horror vibes in saying, “All of the stories I’ve created and written for Mad Cave are dear to my heart, but Wolvenheart holds its own special place because of my love for the classic movie monsters and, of course, time travel. I also really enjoyed the research necessary for period pieces like this. Each page Alejandro turns in puts a huge smile on my face and I can’t wait to share this story with the world.”

I definitely get the Castlevania vibe, as there is something very Belmont about Sterling Cross. This is clearly an influence for artist Alejandro Giraldo, as he said, “Wolvenheart is the perfect vehicle for me to reflect on some major influences in my art; like Castlevania and Bloodborne. This book required me to do something different with my style, but the process was very rewarding.” The art really is the star of these first few pages, and is what really grabbed my attention to this book. There was also a look at the villainous Elizabeth Bathory in the concept art that was amazing as well.

Story wise I understand why you could compare this to Doctor Who tonally, but I got a bit of a different vibe. To me, this felt much more like this past season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow where the team traveled through time to battle magical creatures and anomalies. Crank up the horror, add more of a Castlevania backdrop and boom: you have ‘Wolvenheart’.

The sample size that I got was a bit too small for me to give a full rating on, but I am definitely intrigued to see where this goes. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing what Van Helsing brings to the mix, as well as the addition of Bathory who is one of history’s few female serial killers (16th and early 17th century Hungary to be exact.) If you want something different within the genre, this certainly feels like it fits the criteria.

You can pre-order Issue 1 of ‘Wolvenstein’ now, with the final order cutoff date of August 29th. The first issue drops just before Halloween on October 30th.

For more information, contact your local comic book shop or visit Mad Cave Studios online by clicking here.

Photo Credit: Mad Cave Studios