Review by Frank Plowright

It’s not everyone who has a shapeshifting artificial intelligence in their possession, but Lauren Greene has, and because she has she’s set up a new life in Flat City, Alaska. However, it seems trouble just finds her, and she’s located an abandoned missile facility built on top of a gold mine where people have been disappearing. Her first exploration ended with her escaping a strange being deep beneath the ground, but she knows she owes it to the disappeared to try again.

Without wanting to give too much away, a really impressive aspect of Wolf’s Head is Von Allan’s power of suggestion. Just as he sowed uncertainty in Vol. 6, Allan cleverly does so again, making us wonder what Lauren’s true circumstances are. Her subterranean explorations are contrasted with some home truths deduced by a friendly guy on her meal delivery route, and these play out in some fundamental changes Lauren makes in the following chapter. Since moving to Alaska she’s kept people at a distance, but circumstances now require friends, so Allan expands the cast.

Attention should also be drawn to what an accomplished artist Allan has become. There were some rough edges as the series began, but he’s developed into one hell of a storyteller. Wolf’s Head has a fair amount of words, be they Lauren’s conversations with herself or with others, and yet they’re accommodated in efficiently composed panels that convey everything needed and still look good. An even greater wonder is how many there are to a page, sometimes fifteen here.

Wolf’s Head is a strong drama with a sympathetic lead character that just keeps improving. Bring on Vol. 8.