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WolfCop Returns To Woodhaven – Max Marks Talks About Taking Lout Garou Home

Published Sat, 08 Oct 2016 17:00:10 -0500

Byron Brewer talks with Max Marks about the upcoming WolfCop #3, on sale in December from Dynamite. Cover by Mario Gully

BYRON BREWER: Max, why the decision to bring the road trip to a close so soon and return Lou to Woodhaven?

MAX MARKS: WolfCop's got something very specific to deal with from the second comic that makes him have to return home. But my personal decision to bring him back to Woodhaven was for a few reasons: First, I wanted to bring Tina into the comics, and she's very bound to Woodhaven. Second, I think that the town itself is almost a character in its own right, and I wanted it to be able to play even a brief role in the comics. Third, since this is the conclusion of WolfCop's first trilogy run into this medium, I thought bringing it all home would be a nice way of giving this foray a nice little send-off.

BB: Now that Lou is "wolfed out" full-time, will you be exploring what that does to his psyche? I know he's always enjoyed being WolfCop more than Lou Garou, but being trapped in the one form would, I would think, bring some type of mental angst … or maybe elation?

MM: This third comic is action-packed and WolfCop takes a lot of physical punishment. His mental anguish doesn't really come up… Yet. But I did some experimenting with internal monologues for Lou in this one, which is a bit different, so you can see a bit more of what goes on in his head when he's WolfCop.

BB: Any clues as to what's going on in the hometown … or hints as to who/what may be behind it? Is it a threat Lou has encountered before? (Non-spoilery, of course!)

MM: This is an entirely new threat. What they want is similar to what other shady Woodhaven villains have, but what WolfCop's facing here is… Well, it's something we absolutely could never afford in the budget for the film.

BB: Aside from WolfCop, what character along the way has been the most interesting to explore … even if briefly?

MM: Willie is in many ways my favorite character in the WolfCop series. He seems like the crazy sidekick, but there's more to him. A lot of the return to Woodhaven is about pushing this mystery of his. But aside from the core cast, there's a lot of mythology I've built in the background about the villains of each issue. The villain in #3 is visually my favorite by a wide margin, and I do hope I'll have a chance to explore him further.

BB: Will there be any new characters in #3, on sale in December? Since Lou is returning to his hometown, perhaps some of his very old friends/acquaintances who can flesh out who Lou is outside of a lupine policeman?

MM: If there's one thing we learn about Lou in the film, it's that he doesn't have many friends in Woodhaven, and after the events of the first film, most of the ones he does have are dead. But he's always got one person he can rely on when he's in trouble, and that's Tina. I'm really happy I got to bring her into the comics, even briefly. There's no good reason she'd ever leave her hometown, so her appearance always has to coincide with a return to Woodhaven.

BB: Max, have you been digging the art for this mag? It has been spot-on, and very faithful to Lowell Dean's film. Thoughts?

MM: The art's been great. Our artist, Allan Otero, has been amazing at giving WolfCop the right feel. There's just the right mix of horror, action hero, and superhero. WolfCop's just so iconic, I feel like any artist is lucky to work with that visual. For this one we got Mario Gully, creator of Ant, to do the cover, and that one is just totally bad-ass. Lowell got a real kick out of that one too.

BB: So, will Lou and Willie be hitting the road again come the end of #3, or in #4, or are we back in Woodhaven?

MM: This visit to Woodhaven was a brief one with a very distinct purpose. The dangers he encounters on the way are indicative of the fact that WolfCop isn't quite ready to be home yet. I have some killer, crazy plans for the next few issues that certainly couldn't stay in Woodhaven. I want WolfCop to be bigger than his town, bigger than his country… Hell, bigger than this dimension.

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