WEREWOLVES ON THE MOON: VERSUS VAMPIRES – Issue #1 of 3
Dark Horse Comics | Written by Dave Land and the Fillbach Brothers | Art by The Fillbach Brothers
What would a werewolf on the moon do? Would he constantly be a werewolf, or do the lunar cycles still take control of the human skin? Would he howl at the lunar surface or back at planet Earth? Would he be more in control of his actions with the moon inches from his feet or totally out of control like this here comic book? So many questions and so little time to be serious about it all. And then the vampires come along and ruin everything. Don’t they always?
A comic book that doesn’t stray far from the title, WEREWOLVES ON THE MOON: VERSUS VAMPIRES is what it is. Or what it hopes to be: a silly farce with the whole media craze on vampires and werewolves, and we’re not just talking the supernatural kind either, Lindsay Lohan. (She’s a vampire; you and I both know it.) No this comic book aims for the funny bone, and actually hits it pretty hard at times where a painful laugh echoes throughout the room like a Joker crashing the party. I found myself bellowing out some laughs, especially when a werewolf questions himself when he has to scratch his butt, and if he should do so by either scratching it or by dragging it across the floor. It’s borderline toilet humor, but writers Dave Land along with the Fillbach Brothers seem to want it Tidy Bowl fresh. While not all of it is foot-stomping funny, the book does catch the reader at moments when least expected, keeping it from eye-rolling agony and more along the lines of SNAKES ON A PLANE funny. There’s not much horror though, and the artwork is debatable in terms of professional quality and comfortability within the cheesy, futuristic themes. The Fillbach Brothers make this look cartoony enough to keep the sight gags parallel to the goofy story, but at times, the lines seem a bit lazy and unrendered to really satisfy someone looking for the end-all-be-all, humorous horror book.
In other words, it crosses over different levels of comedy, making WEREWOLVES ON THE MOON: VERSUS VAMPIRES inconsistent in the laugh department for different kinds of readers. One minute, you’re reading something stupid-funny like SCARY MOVIE, and the next minute, you’re reading a Larry David/Jerry Seinfeld skit that could easily fly over your head. Let’s not mention the Bill Maher type jokes either. It could have been done on purpose to make sure that anyone and everyone that buys the book gets in at least one or two laughs, but I think as a whole, the book is not consistent enough to really get a full serving of shits and giggles. Then again, most first issues have a hard time establishing the story along with the main theme they want for audiences, as was the case for Image Comics KILLER OF DEMONS, but as I found out in the later issues of that series, warmed up to what it wanted to be: A good laugh out loud book. I think this one has the potential to be that as well. Two more issues to go, and I think we’ll soon find out if this book truly is “funny”, and if werewolves do love living on the moon and sliding their butts across the floor.
CHECK OUT THE 5 PAGE PREVIEW HERE
GRADE: 
