The invasion began, and ground zero was in Greenwich Village in the late 1950s, when the people within it found themselves at a turning point in culture. Your Major Spoilers review of Howl #1 awaits!

HOWL #1

Writers: Alisa Kwitney, Kirk Vanderbeek, and Bryce Ingman
Artists: Mauricet, Carol Lay, and Ameilee Sullivan
Letterer: Rob Steen
Editor: Tom Peyer
Publisher: AHOY Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 15th, 2025

Previously in Howl: It’s the late 50s in Greenwich Village, it’s a time of changing ideals and the people are eager for new ideas, new experiences, and science fiction. Also, a mushroom-like alien has begun to take over.

YOU ARE NOT YOU

Howl #1 opens with narration from an alien being as it begins scoping out Earth. It centers on Greenwich Village, observing that its rebellious nature could be a problem. Spores descend from the sky and land on a psychiatrist named Myrtle Morel. Things then shift to one of her sessions where her client discusses his jealousy of his friend Burt and his girlfriend Ziva. Things then shift to Ziva’s perspective as she narrates what her life has been like since meeting Burt. The two meet at a science fiction fan meeting and hit it off. Things aren’t exactly smooth, as his “artistic” demons keep him from being the ideal boyfriend. Ziva and Burt continue seeing each other as his career as a sci-fi writer takes off. At a party, Burt gets his pride hurt, and he leaves, only for his friend to lead him to Myrtle Morel. Weeks later, Burt returns home, but something has changed.

A LITTLE MORE SHOW, A LITTLE LESS TELL

Howl #1 is a beautifully written comic book. It finds interesting and unique ways to draw parallels between an alien invasion and shifting cultural norms multiple times throughout its pages. Also, Ziva’s narration is captivating and reveals a fascinating internal conflict between wanting to be the perfect modern woman and whether or not that allows her to be upset with Burt’s crappy personality traits. The surprising thing that makes this such a good read is how the science fiction elements take a backseat and only reappear at opportune moments, almost like the story wants you to forget about the aliens, only for them to capitalize at the worst moment. Sometimes, though, these things don’t go well with each other. There are moments when the story playing out creates a nuanced bit of symbolism, only for Ziva’s narration to come in and spell it out bluntly. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it makes the writing come off as less than confident. Also, there is a bit of glamorizing of what the world was like at this time in this area, but it works for the story, so it’s easy to look past.

FITTING FOR THE STORY

The art in Howl #1 is exactly what you’d want in a story like this. It is full of expressive characters and nice clean lines that don’t pull attention away from the writing. It might have been nice for it to lean a little harder into the retro look, but as it stands, it works great here. My biggest complaint with the visuals is the choice they make with the colors. The alien spores are red, so of course they have to bathe Myrtle Morel in as much red clothing as possible and make sure that it’s the most vivid red possible. It’s just a bit on the nose.

THE EXTRA STORIES

At the end of the issue, there are a couple of backup stories that are completely prose. They’re a nice touch to make the whole package feel like a callback to the old science fiction magazines of the era. For the most part they’re fine, but there isn’t any art associated with them, so if you’re looking for more comics to read, it won’t be there.

BOTTOM LINE: A NICE PACKAGE WITH A FEW ROUGH SPOTS

Howl #1 is, for the most part, a great read. It doesn’t shy away from its goals of being more than a simple alien invasion story and the ways it does this are the best parts of the comic. There are some moments where it tries to say too much and doesn’t allow for the writing and the art to work together. That being said, this is just the right blend of slice-of-life and science fiction. 4 out of 5 stars.

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Howl #1

80%

80%

Has Me Invested

Howl #1 is cleverer than its premise might suggest. The way it blends genres and messaging is bold and for the most part lands perfectly.

• Writing

  8
• Art

  8
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
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