The Beast of Wolfe’s Bay
Written by: Erik Evenson
Paperback: 92 pages
Publisher: Evensen Creative
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0989010406
ISBN-13: 978-0989010405
Written by Erik Evenson, The Beast of Wolfe’s Bay is a new graphic novel that takes in the legend of Sasquatch.
A struggling anthropology teacher, Brian Wegman, is called upon to help investigate the murder of two teenagers in the forests of Wolfe’s Bay. Evidence shows that whatever did it walked on two legs and is either a deformed human or a gorilla. And Wolfe’s bay is also his home town.
He teams up with Sheriff Roth’s daughter, Winifred, whom Brian is old friends with, to investigate and things take a dark turn. Brian is alarmed and dismayed his credibility is about to be ruined when he realizes they all think Bigfoot committed the murders. Not even footage of a hairy hand from a cell phone can convince him otherwise despite the local belief that Bigfoot is real. It’s almost like Mulder and Scully in reverse as Winifred is more open to the possibility than Brian who rejects it completely seeking rational explanations.
Ridiculed by his lack of success by the police department, Brian finds himself at a loss. And as we know you should never say, it couldn’t possibly get any worse so in a Bigfoot story, you should never say ‘There’s no such thing as Bigfoot.’ Really? When are people ever going to learn?
This is the cue for a rock attack from the beast as it storms the Roth’s house ala Terminator and Brian finds himself firing a gun at the very thing he claims does not exist. He manages to blast fingers off before he collapses. However things get more complicated when a deputy vanishes, seemingly at the hands of a human that can open a fridge and remove the fingers Brian shot off. How does a monster know to take back evidence? What lurks in the caves of Wolfe’s Bay? What’s the connection to the missing townspeople and who are ‘the children?’
This is a nice little story written by a sci fi fan as we get references from Doctor Who to Star Wars. And the final reveal wouldn’t have been out of place in an X Files story. Evenson uses the Sasquatch legends well from rock throwing to dark shapes in the forests at night. The artwork is effective and the sequence where Roth reveals his Bigfoot encounter is atmospheric and spooky. It draws on many aspects of the creature and weaves them to good use.
Essentially this is a classic theme of a man searching for himself and finding it in the most unlikely of places in the most unbelievable circumstances. I liked this a lot and look forward to Eric’s future works. Recommended.
4 out of 5 Nerds
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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