Last summer, writer-artist Tyler Crook (Harrow County) debuted his solo series The Lonesome Hunters. It was a story that, underneath the promise of a massive magical sword, explored ideas of friendship and duty through a most novel friendship, the young and adventurous Lupe and the older, guilt-ridden Howard. It was clearly fantasy but so much more raw and unwaveringly human than such a genre tag might often promise.
As it turns out, the Howard-Lupe story isn’t quite done, and we’ll further follow the pair’s adventure in the all-new The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child. Here, the pair experience some car troubles in a small town on their way to finally vanquish the giant magic sword. What should be a temporary detour, however, sees Lupe befriend a young boy in a wolf mask, drawing the duo “into a war between the townspeople and the deadly beasts.” This second chapter of The Lonesome Hunters is just as poignant and earnest while spinning in even more novel ideas about human connections and how we all manage things like grief/loss.
We were able to ask Crook a few questions ahead of The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child #1, which is out this week (July 12) from Dark Horse Comics. In addition to exploring how this story relates to its predecessor, Crook also talks about his own ongoing connection to the book and some possible future plans, among other tidbits.
AIPT: How do you think the first The Lonesome Hunters series was perceived? Do you think that you “accomplished” everything you set out to do?
Tyler Crook: It’s hard to know for sure. I don’t read a lot of reviews but the ones I have read have been pretty nice. And folks have reached out to me on social media and told me that they really enjoyed it. I think that first series accomplished what it set out to do, which was to introduce the characters of Howard and Lupe, introduce this world that they live in and get them started on their larger adventure. It’s a story that’s intentionally messy and mysterious and I could tell you the plot but that’s not really what the story is about.
AIPT: Would you encourage new readers to jump into The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child totally blind?
TC: I think a reader could get by if they started with The Wolf Child, but it is part of a larger story, so readers will get more out of it if they started with volume one.
AIPT: Do you think Wolf Child differs in terms of tone, feel, look, your approach, etc.?
TC: Not a lot. I think the art is a little bit better in wolf child, and the storytelling is a little snappier. But I finished volume one and started working on The Wolf Child the very next day so there is a lot of consistency between the two.
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
AIPT: How has the relationship and dynamic between Howard and Lupe evolved? Where are they at now in terms of how they work together?
TC: The Wolf Child picks up a day or two after the events of volume one so the relationship hasn’t had a chance to evolved much. But as the wolf child progresses, will get to see them settle into their friendship more.
AIPT: Where did the idea for a wolf child come from? Does this youngster have something in common with our own lovable loners in Howard and Lupe?
TC: The inspiration for The Wolf Child is a little bit corny. I was thinking about that idiom “You were raised by wolves.” And I started to wonder, like, what if you were literally raised by wolves. So that’s where the seed of the idea came from. And there are definitely parallels between the titular wolf child and Lupe but you have to read the book to see what those parallels are.
AIPT: I feel like the first book was about people coming together, and this new one’s about how we keep it all together. Does that seem fair?
TC: That’s probably fair. Howard and Lupe are definitely trying to find the best way to support each other in this adventure. And they aren’t always the best at interpersonal stuff. So that’s a big part of the story for sure.
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
AIPT: Are there any big emotional tentpoles here? Is this new book more about, say, grief and community and following one’s own path? Have those tentpoles changed between the two books?
TC: Grief and community are definitely ongoing concerns with The Lonesome Hunters. This series touches on a lot of different themes but I think it’s mostly about the effects that trauma has on our decision making. But I don’t want to say much more for fear of spoiling it.
AIPT: How important is the giant sword in the new book? I get the sense that it’s taken a kind of background role, which I think feels fairly exciting.
TC: Actually, one of the main goals of The Wolf Child is to clarify some ideas of what the sword is, why it’s dangerous, and why the people and creatures of this world want to get their paws on it. While the sword doesn’t necessarily appear in every issue, it’s definitely a critical part of the story.
AIPT: Has your own understanding or ideas of this larger world/universe that you’ve carefully built changed or shifted between the two series?
TC: The world is evolving as I work on it. I have a million ideas for this world and I’m finding that as we move through the story, many ideas start to no longer fit. But at the same time, new ideas for the world come steam rolling in. So I’m basically getting a better idea of how this world works.
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
AIPT: Similarly, does it get easier or more complicated as the lone artist and writer?
TC: So far it seems to be getting easier to be the lone artist and writer on this book. It really feels like each page that I write makes the next page easier. The most challenging thing has been time. Working with a collaborator makes the process go so much faster! But I’m coming to terms with how long it takes me to finish these comics, and the readers I’ve spoken to seem to be content with the schedule.
AIPT: What can you tease about the rest of the story/issues? What other challenges might Howard and Lupe face? How bad are the birds going to mess with them?
TC: It’s hard to talk about that without spoiling things, but I will say that every time things seem to get bad for Howard and Lupe they can always get worse.
AIPT: Do you want to continue The Lonesome Hunters — could we expect series three down the road? Is there a larger mission here?
TC: I’m really hopeful that we’ll see a third series and a fourth series. The Lonesome Hunters definitely has a larger story arc that I’m trying to build. So far, the book seems to be doing well and I hope we can keep it up until we cross the finish line
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