A comiXologist recommends:
The Curse of the Wendigo #1 

by: Matthew Burbridge

International comics readers are all too familiar with the gritty realism associated with Charlie Adlard and his long time run on the instantly popular Walking Dead series. “The Curse of the Wendigo” marks the first time I’ve encountered Adlard on anything outside of his work with Robert Kirkman in a long while – what a piece to step out with!

At this particular moment, Mathieu Missoffe is, from this critic’s perspective, relatively unknown in the comic scene. That is, of course, only on this side of the Atlantic, as Missoffe has been writing some of the most exciting horror and action stories on the European market. A French writer better known for his series “Corpus Hermeticum,” Missoffe has been producing some of the most interesting twists on old world legends since early 2007.

“The Curse of the Wendigo” is the fifth story in the series, and it starts excellently.  In issue one we are introduced to the trenches of World War I on the German and Allied frontlines.  Sentry sharpshooters are vanishing from both sides in the dead of night.  The losses have led a desperate and confused German officer to seek out leadership from the Allied side of the trenches, in an attempt to solve the mysterious murders.  Irony never tasted sweeter than in the scene where the officers discuss stopping the murderer in order to continue “killing each other proper.”

Only a few pages after the meeting are we introduced to the “crack team” assembled from both sides and tasked with ending these disappearances.  Amongst them are three German soldiers (of varying skillsets), two Frenchmen (also of varying abilities), and a Native American tracker. The tensions between the European natives is felt almost immediately over a shared campfire when one of the Germans accidentally confesses his hand in killing one of the Frenchmen’s friends, erupting into an explosive brawl. Tensions only grow higher between them until the “Injun” tells the tale of his people and his personal destiny.  His name is Wohati, and he is a warrior of the Cree Nation.  Wohati is the only one aware of what is lurking in the fogs and mustard gas, and he has made his way across the world and a war in order to kill it.

This is a title worth some love.  As far as supernatural books go, this one is sure to please even the most hardened of fans.  Missoffe’s story sets us up right for the road ahead, and paired with Adlard’s harsh realism we are sure to feel the weight and the bloodshed.  This one looks like it is sure to excite.

[Read The Curse of the Wendigo #1 on comiXology]