Conan the Barbarian and the genre he inhabits has never really been my thing. Sure, I get a kick out of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, but I’ve never really found myself drawn towards the comics (despite the talent that works on those books). It seems to me to be a very specific genre that aims for a particular audience, so I never gave it a shot. Leave it to Warren Ellis to manage to draw me in and show me exactly what I’m missing.
Wolfskin collects three issues and one annual (written by Mike Wolfer with a story by Warren Ellis) starring the eponymous Wolfskin, a warrior from the North who has decided to walk South. Happening upon a small village, he gets mixed up in the battle of two warring parties and, unlike Yojimbo, decides to deal with them in a rather unorthodox way. Part Conan, part samurai, and part epic viking tale, Wolfskin manages to effectively tell a violent and sweet tale for just three issues, as well as an additional story in the annual.
So, seeing as I’ve never really ventured into the barbarian genre, what did my trip as planned by Warren Ellis have in store for me?
Follow behind the cut for more in depth thoughts on Wolfskin.
The last time I read something by Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp, I was blown away by how the two melded for storytelling, and Wolfskin is basically no different. With absolutely no expectations, it was very easily for me to be entertained by the high octane action contained within the pages of this trade. It’s incredibly stylistic and does a great job of presenting itself as nothing more than it is, which makes sense as Wolfskin explains art within. And on top of all that, it’s damn good fun.
The thing about Wolfskin is, with three issues, you’d have to be rather wary to make sure that you could effectively put a story that is mildly similar to a two hour movie by Akira Kurosawa. This is apparently no problem for Warren Ellis, and those familiar with his work will know this to be true as this is not the first time he’s written a great story boiled down to just three issues. While you never quite get attached to Wolfskin due to his barbaric nature and rather inhumane way of behavior, you can’t help but be highly entertained by his choice of actions. The very opening scene with it’s extended fight sets a perfect tone for the rest of the series, as Wolfskin battles off five warriors with two swords and a hammer. It’s absolutely great. And the thing that amuses me so much about Wolfskin is that, whereas in other books characters become more endearing, Wolfskin becomes even more of a bastard until you finally learn why he left his home, and then it’s just solidified. And leave it to Ellis to throw in a couple extra and fun twists in for the end, as it all matches up perfectly with his style of storytelling.
And of course, what would be an excellently violent story without some excellently violent art? As I said, the last time I saw Juan Jose Ryp was when he did the art for No Hero (published after this), and I loved his work then. It was full of rich and sick details, and just as with Jacen Burrows (another Avatar art veteran), Ryp perfectly manages to capture Ellis’ violent vision. In just the action sequences alone, Ryp fills every scene with so much bloody detail (pun intended) that the action sequences, which can usually be simply glanced at and moved on, require you to sit and actively digest what you’re seeing. I’d compare Ryp to Burrows and Darrick Robertson (a Conan veteran, as well as artist of Ennis’ The Boys) in his ability to create such big scenes with such great detail. While I’m not taking the time to actively focus on the smaller scenes when Wolfskin is talking instead of just talking, I will point out that as good as those scenes look, the action is where his talent really flourishes.
In the end, Wolfskin is a great book of fun and flashy barbaric violence. If I had to put my money on it, I’d bet that Wolfskin himself could probably take on Conan the Barbarian, even when drawn by genre great Frank Frazetta. Wolfskin is a very entertaining character, and with a new series starting up, I’m interested to see how the further adventures of Wolfskin play out and hope that they are as good as this is. Short and sweet, Wolfskin is definitely an entertaining read for Ellis fans as well as people who enjoy barbarian books.
