Review: Woodland Creatures Volume 1

Woodland Creatures: Wild Souls was originally a novel by Cristina Roswell, which has been adapted into a 3-volume graphic novel series with script-writer Fali Ruiz-Davila, the artist Tomás Aira, and the letterer Gonzalo Duarte. Volume one was released in 2019 and volume two is currently on Kickstarter at the time of this writing.

Woodland Creatures follows Callie and Christopher on a trip to Manhattan to address Lycan attacks at the UN. Callie is a heartless killer who never misses her opportunity to take a life. Originally from Alaska, Christopher is her only help in facing her inner demons. Christopher left the US army for a job as a tour guide in the Alaskan woods and hoping to recover from the trauma of war, but falls in love with Callie, who comes with her own type of trauma. Both are accompanied by their amaroq, a wolf soulmate.

During the UN meeting in Manhattan, a plan is suggested that will ultimately force thousands of innocent children to join the armies of their countries and fight against their will. At the same time, an outburst by Callie virtually assures the plans’ approval. 

Woodland Creatures Volume 1 is a quick-paced story that is veiled in a lot of mystery. Not the least of which are the amaroq, who are never fully explained in volume 1. I’m hoping for some resolution to who Callie is, what happened to Chris, and how the amaroq play into all this.

The black and white art by Aira is beautiful and adds to the story in a film noir way. With Callie’s recklessness, Chris’s blind loyalty to Callie, and the coming program for Lycan children, volume 1 leaves you a bit hopeless and eagerly awaiting volume 2. Not having read the novel, I am hoping volume 2 moves the story along and begins to answer the many questions I have. I do recommend giving volume 1 a read, even if it means having to sit with your questions unanswered until volume 2 is released. Roswell is weaving a unique werewolf story that is unlike most you’ll encounter and it’s well worth the read.

Grab a print copy here – https://woodlandcreaturescomic.bigcartel.com/product/woodland-creatures-volume-1-english-or-spanish Or pick-up a digital copy on comiXology.

Support Volume 2 Kickstarter here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/498801272/woodland-creatures-wild-souls-1-2

About Cristina Roswell:

Cristina Roswell was born in Murcia (Spain) in the summer of 1985 and has a degree in Art History.

Her love of writing began when she was little, when, as a hobby, she dedicated herself to writing sequels to movies or books that she liked. After finishing her first original work and seeing that two of the main agencies in the country offered her representation, she decided to turn the hobby into something more serious, which led to the publication of her first novel Draculesti. The Devil’s Legacy (Ediciones Kiwi, 2012).

​After this, came the publication of the short novel Nicolae (Ediciones Kiwi, 2013), as well as the romantic anthology Broken Hearts (Ediciones Babylon, 2015)

In 2016 he self-published Woodland Creatures. Wild Souls , with which he participated in the Amazon contest for indie authors that year. The novel managed to rise as the second work with the most comments during the two months of the contest, reaching more than fifty opinions on the digital platform with an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars.

His last published work, La Isla de lo Eterno , is his first romantic-sentimental novel and was published in October 2017 by Ediciones Kiwi. For her documentation, Cristina traveled to Dornie, in the Scottish Highlands, where she lived for 8 months working in a small B&B and in Eilean Donan’s castle, where most of the novel is centered.

Currently, the author is working on the second part of Woodland Creatures. Wild Souls , thanks to the results achieved with the first one.

From https://www.cristinaroswell.net/