UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: BLOOD OF THE WOLFMAN #1 (SKYBOUND ENTERTAINMENT/IMAGE COMICS)

Adam Jaeger is a young man in college trying to become an artist. One night he is at a party on campus when a full moon awakens something. Now the only question that remains, is Adam a murderous werewolf or is it all in his head?

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolfman #1 - Written By Joshua Williamson - Art By Leomacs - Colors By Pip Martin – Letters By D.C Hopkins - Published By Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics

Credit: Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

STORY OVERVIEW:

Adam Jaeger is a young awkward young man who is an art major in college. After a while of keeping to himself, Adam goes to a party with the rest of his classmates. This night there happens to be a full moon, and this spells doom for the party. The next morning Adam’s dad Henry gets a call from the hospital saying that Adam is there. When he gets to the hospital, he discovers that Adam is covered in blood and is the only survivor of what appears to be an animal attack. Adam confides in his father that he thinks that he became a monster and killed all his classmates. His father tries to calm him down and get him not to say things like that, as the cops stop in for questioning. Is Adam a werewolf or has he just plain lost his mind?

WRITING:

This first issue takes a legendary monster story and gives it a fresh, unsettling edge without losing the classic horror foundation that makes the Wolfman myth so effective. Joshua Williamson builds the issue around uncertainty, using Adam’s fear, confusion, and guilt to keep the reader questioning what really happened during the night of the full moon. The idea that Adam may be a werewolf is terrifying on its own, but Williamson makes it even more interesting by leaving room for the possibility that Adam’s mind is unraveling under the weight of trauma. That mystery gives the story a strong hook and creates tension in nearly every scene, because each clue can be read in more than one way.

What works especially well is how Williamson balances the familiar werewolf tropes with a more personal character-driven approach. Adam is not presented as a simple monster or victim; he is a frightened young man trying to understand whether he committed an unthinkable act or survived something beyond his control. That emotional angle makes the horror feel heavier, because the bloodshed is tied directly to Adam’s identity and future. The violence and gore are intense, but they do not feel empty. They add danger, urgency, and consequence to the mystery, making the reader feel the full weight of the nightmare Adam has awakened into.

By the end of the issue, Williamson has set up a story that feels both traditional and new, honoring the Universal Monsterslegacy while giving readers a darker mystery to follow. The pacing keeps the issue moving, the questions surrounding Adam remain compelling, and the horror elements hit hard enough to make this debut stand out. It feels like the start of a brutal, emotional, and unpredictable ride, with enough mystery and monster mayhem to make readers eager for the next issue.

ARTWORK:

The artwork in this first issue leaves very little to the imagination and immediately makes the horror feel brutal, physical, and impossible to look away from. Leomacs does a fantastic job of bringing Adam’s world to life, grounding the story in a setting that feels real before tearing it apart with violence and nightmare imagery. The character designs are expressive and full of personality, especially when Adam shifts between awkward college student, terrified survivor, and someone who may be hiding something monstrous inside himself. The backgrounds also help establish the time period and mood of the story, giving the issue a lived-in atmosphere that makes the eventual horror hit even harder.

Where Leomacs truly excels is in the horror sequences. The violence is detailed, gruesome, and genuinely unsettling, with panels that capture the chaos of the attack and the terror left behind in its aftermath. The creature elements are handled with a strong sense of weight and savagery, making the werewolf threat feel less like a distant legend and more like something vicious that could burst onto the page at any moment. There is a strong cinematic quality to the page layouts as well, with moments of quiet dread building into sudden flashes of bloodshed and panic.

Pip Martin’s colors push the artwork even further, giving the issue a grim, blood-soaked energy that fits the tone perfectly. The darker palettes create a heavy horror atmosphere, while the brighter bursts of red make the gore stand out in a way that is shocking without feeling random. Combined with the strong line work and expressive faces, the colors help make this a book that is absolutely not meant for the squeamish. The blood, gore, and violence in this first issue clearly show how far the art team is willing to go, and that commitment gives the series a powerful visual identity right from the start.

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Final Thoughts:

Universal Monsters: Blood of the Wolfman #1 kicks off this latest series in the partnership between Universal Pictures & Skybound Entertainment in a big way. This legendary franchise gets a facelift with a great new take on the Wolfman. Add to that the amount of horror & gore and this will surely be a favorite amongst horror fans at the shops. If you like Universal Monsters, horror, or just great stories with violence, this is a series you need to check out and add to your Pull List now!

FINAL GRADE: 9.5/10

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