The Hour of the Wolf is back with Mad Cave Comics. To me, it feels as if this is still just new as I have been doing a Daily Read with the first four issues of the series, which were published originally in late 2024. Now we are in 2026 and the fifth issue came out last week and I have been enjoying what came before.
Owen Blackwood is back as a member of Wolvenheart, and is amazing brutal during this new arc of the storyline.
The fifth issue has a distinct feel of horror to it. There is a creature involved that was so creepy look.
The issue did a great job of refreshing the background story of the book for those who may not have read this since 2024. Of course, I just read this starting this past Monday.
I am happy this is back, and, truthfully, I hope this is more than another four issues.
The final issue of the first arc of Hour of the Wolf from Mad Cave Comics came to a close with this issue and I am really glad that there is another arc ready to go. I enjoyed this a lot, but there feels like there are so many things that this comic book could explore about this character.
I am glad that the arc with the painting was brought to an end with a fiery conclusion. It showed how clever Owen could be and the two children who were with the Businessman wound up in custody of Jan. I loved how Owen did not beat the Businessman with physicality, but by out thinking him.
This has a lot of potential to be a great ongoing series. I know tomorrow I read issue #5 of the new arc, but I am hoping it is not just another four issues afterwards. I would absolutely support this series moving ahead.
With Owen and Jan inside the painting trying to navigate their way through, we get glimpses at the background of Owen Blackwood. They go back to London and Whitechapel where he was originally recruited into the Wolvenheart.
There were also references to Jack the Ripper, which has always been a personal favorite of mine.
Owen and Jan are trying to find their way to Jan’s daughter, Ellen, but she is currently in some real trouble with the Businessman.
The clock is ticking as Owen only has a limited amount of time before he is lost in time forever.
Another great issue of this series, but it does not feel like the penultimate issue. I am excited to see what the fourth issue will bring. Is this going to be a story wrapped up in the four-issues or will this be a book that leaves off with a cliffhanger or a dangling mystery. I know issue #5 is out and that there are a few more scheduled to come out, but I am definitely curious about what is next.
With the second issue of Hour of the Wolf, we get some backstory on the painter of the mysterious painting that steals people away, and Owen Blackwood is inside the painting looking for the woman and her daughter.
The first half of the issue was pretty exposition heavy, but the second half was freaky and enjoyable. I do like the story so far. It is a very creative storyline and has some elements of horror too.
The art is excellent and work well for the idea of the painting.
Second issue felt a little short for a four issue series, but Owen and the woman are together and so we will see the story progress.
I picked up the original four issues of this Mad Cave series, released in 2024, off eBay because the company was releasing the fifth issue and continuing the run. I was curious about the book, and because of that, I decided to do a Daily Read of the first five issues.
I have not done a Daily Read since I read the first book of the Starhenge series, and this one works very well as the next one. I have Camelot 3000 #1-12 that might be the next series I do, but with the busy time of October, we will have to see if the schedule permits that.
But the schedule will allow me to do this since there are only five issues at this moment.
I did not know what to expect, but I was engaged immediately with the bizarre painting and the manner in which the painting came to life.
I found myself intrigued as well by the main protagonist, Owen Blackwood, who was an agent of Wolvenheart. The agents of Wolvenheart are time travelers and they have one hour to complete their mission, always during the time frame of 3-4 AM.
I loved the concept laid out with the first issue and I am excited to see where it goes from here. Apparently, this is a part of a universe called Underworld, which I do not know much about. After a little research, it seemed to include the books Revolution 9 and Exit City, neither of which I know anything about.
The final issue of the first book of Liam Sharp’s mini-series, Starhenge brings us the fate of Arthur, what happened to Merlin, and where Taliesin, Amber Weaver, and Daryl wind up.
As Book One ended with a distinct cliffhanger, I am happy that I am ready to move into Book Two, number one of which I have already purchased from Image Comics. A Kiss for Atticus is the subtitle for the four issue limited series. I had picked up the first issue before knowing anything about the series and I am very pleased that I did so, because otherwise, I would not have gone back to read Book One.
Once again, the book played with the format of comics, as we get another heavily narrative story of King Arthur and how he was killed by Gwynn. Merlin fleeing into the woods, transforming into an Elk as he lost him mind.
The discovery at the end of the book that Merlin was still alive and how he was discovered by Amber and Daryl… and having Merlin call Amber “Grandma” was a shock.
I loved the section of Amber’s narration where she was describing how her “…comic would piss people off.” It was such a meta moment and then she took it even further with the lines, “It would be a convoluted mess of info dumps, footnotes, and sidebars, drawn in random artsy styles, and designed to confuse even the most ardent Morrison fan” is an amazing understanding of the comic that Sharp was creating. Amber’s narration has been an absolute highlight of this book for me.
There is a lot of set up through the Book One, but it never felt like it was only world building. It felt as if the characterization was there and this creates a mood that will only expand as the next Book is released. I feel better knowing that there is a Book Two starting. Had I read this back in the released date of the original series, I am sure I would wonder if I was ever going to get more.
More there is…
Excellent work from Liam Sharp and I look forward to jumping back into this world ASAP.
The penultimate issue of this mini series and Daily Read was the fifth issue by Liam Sharp. Sharp has been extremely excellent in the tale he is weaving with Merlin, futuristic robots, and Arthur.
Once again, the narration is done by Amber and her quippy manner makes this exposition-heavy issue fly by with a better pacing than you would have guessed.
This issue focuses upon Merlin’s problems in the past and Arthur’s aging and his ambition. Because of his ambition, Arthur was losing his main goal, which was protecting magic.
We see Amber and Daryl wind up in the past too, in order to escape the future killer robot. She is naked much of the book.
There is only one issue left, so we will have to see how this will wrap up.
It starts off with Amber facing off with a death robot from the future and, suddenly, Daryl turned into something else as well.
One of the most creative ways this comic has been different than most is the manner in which it presents its material. In this case, the confrontation with Daryl and this death robot is shown in standard comic format, and in the narrative, Amber, who has been out narrator from the beginning, states that she had drawn this confrontation – in order to process her thoughts.
This section of the book was such a departure from the art style, reminding me of the style from issue two. However, this felt more weighty that that did. Part of that is the full page panels that this book was pulling out during this section of the narrative. It felt more important.
Then, it went back to cover more details of Merlin’s life, saying that this needed to be covered or you (meaning the reader) would be confused (she actually said that this would not make any f-ing sense).
The Merlin section in the 5th Century dealt with the Uther Pendragon legend and how Amber stated it actually went down, specifically what led to the birth of Arthur. This section was back to the painting style of the book and included a dense amount of narration. However, this narration is done in such a style that it was easy to follow and entertaining to read.
And it ended up back with Amber, laying naked, and meeting back up with Daryl and she ended the book with the statement that it was not 2022 anymore and asking the question, “Oh God, Daryl, what did I do?”
So issue three is centered on the building of Stonehenge and Merlin’s part in doing it. It was a fascinating issue that I really enjoyed. This gave us more with Merlin than we had gotten before, which was nice, because I had not felt as engaged with that part of this story as much as I had with Amber.
And it sure seemed as if these two timelines are going to cross now, thanks to Stonehenge.
The art continues to be sensational, beautifully rendered and stunning.
We are half way through the series and it feels as if it is just about to really get started.
The story continued with its dual timelines. In one, Merlin convinces King Aurelius to begin construction on Stonehenge. In the other, Amber reunites with Daryl in Brighton. Little do they know that future Mor-Dreadnaughts are coming for them.
I have really liked the manner in which this story is being presented, even if I find it challenging to follow at times. I like a good challenge and this feels compelling and engaging.
Daryl deserted Amber at a point in the past, returning a year later at Halloween.
The art is fabulous once again. The painting style of Liam Sharp works so well with this book. There were a couple of pages that were drawn more like a cartoonish style, which was quite a divergent path in the book. Those three pages were drawn by Sharp’s daughter, Matylda McCormack-Sharp.
The story continues to feel epic as each issue builds a little more. Issue three tomorrow!
This is the second short series for the Daily Read. Back in March, I did a daily read of the Vertigo series by Gail Simone called Clean Room which went eighteen issues. I read one issue a day and did a write up for each. It has been four months and I have picked up a new (old) series that will work for this.
When I picked up Starhenge Book Two: A Kiss for Atticus #1, I figured that there would have been a previous series. I went to eBay and found the first series. It arrived earlier this week and, I thought this morning, that I could do a Daily Read with the new series.
So I read #1 tonight. I think this has a lot of potential. There is a future character name Merlin sent back to Arthurian times. There are several time frames involved in this story as it seems as if it was being narrated by a woman in the present time named Amber Weaving.
Everything that I have read in this first issue makes me think that this is a real epic story.
The art by Liam Sharp is beautiful. I loved the layout of several of the panels which form a larger pic that I thought was so cool.
I am engaged with the story even though something like this may be a challenge to get into it.
The final issue of Clean Room Vol 1 came to an end and, thankfully, it wrapped up the story in a nice, tight roll.
I was very worried that the series would end without sufficient closure, perhaps canceled by the cruel fates, leaving the threads a dangling. However, my fears were unjustified as this brought everything to an extremely satisfying conclusion.
The finale found the final showdown between Astrid and Derica, which turned out to be more one sided than I expected. I should have guessed that Astrid was in complete control of the situation. Of course she was.
We found out even more proof that Capone is one bad ass m-fer. I am so pleased that she made it through the conclusion.
The story of Chloe made perfect sense and what Astrid had Chloe do at the end also worked for this story. I loved having Spark make his return and play a huge role in the finale. I also loved having the brothers Havelin on site and brandishing a big piece of wood. Avil returned too and the idea of some threesomes between him, Chloe and Killian is mind-blowing.
I’ve been reading this series for the past 18 days and I am very pleased with the ending. It was satisfying and placed the characters that I have grown to love in great places and it works as an ending.
Thanks to Gail Simone for her creativity and storytelling skills. This was a fabulous series that I truly enjoyed.
The Daily Read will pause now for awhile until the next series presents itself. This was a fun time with comics and there is little better than that.
The penultimate issue of this first series in the Daily Read category sees Astrid re-establish control over her #1 Fan, Artus. He spent the first half of the book making himself seem superior to the “critter” but he took things a step too far and Astrid decided that enough was enough and she brought this little creep down big time while coming to rescue Chloe and Killian.
However, the big throwdown is still coming as Derica is on her way to have a massive confrontation with Astrid. This is just after Astrid is informed by Artus that the way to destroy the Entities was to exorcise the child.
That sounds like a big war in the finale.
I have to say that I am worried that the series did not come to a clean conclusion. Was it canceled and so the storyline was left dangling? That would not be what I want.
I know I mentioned that last issue was a filler issue, a look at someone outside of the main arcs of the book.
Man, did that change.
Issue #16 just went to town. Brutal. Violent. Vicious.
While Chloe and Killian are trapped in the memories inside the Clean Room, Artus Greenhand is calling for Astrid.
Then an assault was underway on the building. The creatures were after Capone, who just showed how much of a bad ass she is. They were after Anika, and Capone made it there in time to put an axe through the creature’s head. The Surgeon came to kill Duncan, but he got surprised by the Haverlin boys and some baseball bats.
Astrid’s crew was stepping things up, big time. Even with that, there was a feeling of hopelessness going on in the book.
Some of it may have come from the unsettling conversation between Astrid and the entity in control of the baby Derica. This was disturbing as it gets, with the baby reaching out and asking Aunt Astrid to hold it. Creepy.
This issue was packed to the gills with action and gore after a slower filler issue #15. This was a powerful issue with so many shout out loud moments. It was such a big time book and there are only two more issues to go.
In what felt like a filler issue, we met Mary, a young woman whose husband Ian, was showing up to her after his death in a bungie jumping accident.
Mary wound up in the organization run by Astrid Mueller, but it really did not have anything to do with the story that we have spent the last 14 issues following.
It did take a side of the organization and looked at it in a different manner, with a different POV than what we have been used to. It was an interesting tale of Mary, but I am not sure the purpose of the issue.
We had a different artist, Sanya Anwar, doing the art, but it looked like this was the only issue that she had done in this first volume.
