Book Review: Werewolf by Night: New Wolf Rising by Taboo et al.

Werewolf by Night: New Wolf Rising written by Taboo and B. Earl, art by Scot Eaton and Scott Hana

This 2020 reboot of the classic Marvel horror series has Jake, a teenaged Native American living the life of the lycanthrope in Arizona. He uses his transformations to scare off bad guys from the reservation where he lives. A new, stronger set of bad guys shows up--monsters with technology enhancements from a local bio-tech company. Jake is going to need more help than from his girlfriend. Luckily, some sympathetic government agents (who know about monster activity) show up and want to help him understand and develop his powers and take down the bio-tech business.

The storytelling puts some effort into explaining the werewolf condition using Native American mythology. I found that interesting. The rest of the plot was not so interesting. The corporate bad guys are cliche and not that menacing. The fight scenes are lackluster and don't give any sense of peril or higher stakes involved. Jake's struggle to control his werewolf form is not convincing because he is always guiding the action or keeping the wolf from going too far. The creators play it too safe and wind up with a bland product.

Not recommended--apart from the Native American mythology, the story is uninteresting.