EYES ON WULF AND BATSY PART 2
Wulf and Batsy chronicles the adventures of a ferocious werewolf and his sexy female vampire companion, as they wander the earth in search of a quiet place to call home.
From the 2021 untold tales of Wulf and Batsy by Bryan Baugh, Wulf and BATSY #7 tells the tale of case file number nine million, Fearborn, from the OH Police Department: They call him “The Gorilla Suit Maniac”.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Wulf and Basty is written and illustrated by Bryan Baugh. The horror adventure series was nominated as “Best Horror Comic Book of 2008” by the online Rondo Hatton Awards.
Initially published by Viper Comics in 2008, the Wulf and Batsy series was republished by Alterna Comics in 2021 for mature audiences in stand-alone black and white single-issue stories to break up the pace, in between the long, multi-issue story arcs.
THE BOOK
Wulf and Basty #7 was printed in newspaper print and published by Alterna in 2023 and is the first full issue that features a never-before-published Wulf and Batsy story.
Alterna Comics was founded in 2006 by publisher Peter Simeti and has gone on to help produce over 100 titles since then. Alterna has been home to a New York Times best-seller, FUBAR Empire of the Rising Dead (2012), and a film adaptation, The Chair (2017), and has gained attention for its modern newsprint initiative and affordable prices. Alterna Comics titles are distributed to readers and retailers worldwide from their online store.
WULF AND BASTY #7: THE GORILLA SUIT MANIAC
While attending a monster movie double-feature, Wulf and Batsy meet Orrie Clayford, a failed actor who once specialized in playing Gorillas in old movies. As a man, he was a prisoner of cruel reality, but in a gorilla suit, he was free to live his dream. Ultimately, rejection from Hollywood and the audience he wished to entertain filled him with beastly rage and turned him into “The Gorilla Suit Maniac”.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Wulf and Batsy #7 is a story that deals with a lot of themes including a reverence to the classic monster movies, being naive and unprepared for a job, dealing with disappointment, dealing with rejection, the choice to give up or move forward, neglecting self-improvement, turning into a monster, the influence of people, having the right support system, and moving away from the wrong support system.
A REVERENCE TO THE CLASSIC MONSTERS
The story starts showing Wulf’s love for the classic monster movies from the 30s and 40s with illustrations of Dracula and Frankenstein, As the story progresses, they mention the pre-Code Hollywood era and how different it was back then.
BEING NAÏVE AND UNPREPARED
Orrie was entering the entertainment world with no preparation and had his idea of how things would work. It would have been different had he talked to people working in the entertainment industry. Talking with people working at the company and those who used to work there gives you an idea of the work culture and the work environment of said company.
DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
People have dreams and ambitions and think it will be easy. When confronted with obstacles they declare themselves victims of injustice and choose to stay stagnant. Instead of looking for ways to improve their craft. And if there is someone else who puts in the work and becomes successful in the field they are in, they make it their mission to destroy them.
It’s a self-destructive attitude that will lead to unhappiness and a bad life. Unfortunately, it is the path many people choose to walk on consciously in this era of social media and transform into unrecognizable monsters on the internet. And the internet archives everything even deleted accounts can be found and restored.
DEALING WITH REJECTION
Generally, it’s easier to blame others for your failures than to take responsibility for your own actions or lack thereof and do something about it. Especially when you don’t have a good support system around you to guide you. It reminds me of Rocky’s motivational and inspirational speech to his son in Rocky Balboa/Rocky VI (2006):
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!
Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life. “
THE CHOICE TO GIVE UP OR MOVE FORWARD
When his name was left off the credits of his first film, it was devastating for him. His mistake was that he relied too much on that one role to promote himself. He should have improved the skills he learned on the job, taken the experience as a lesson, and continued moving on. He gave up on his dream too quickly.
After giving up, the only thing left according to Orrie was to go back to his town but did, he go back to his family or live alone as he was embarrassed of his failure? He spent years living unhappy and when Batsy tried to help him, his response was to hurt her.
NEGLECTING SELF-IMPROVEMENT
The greatest enemy of Orrie is himself. He didn’t invest in learning the craft and further developing his skills. Instead, he focused on the esthetics putting all his money into a costume that was not necessary.
TURNING INTO THE MONSTER
When Batsy convinces Orrie to try again he is entering a new field, street performing and instead of trying to understand the field, he quickly gets riled up by unkind people and quickly becomes frustrated. He blames everyone for his failure and uses his costume as a shield to air his frustrations by killing everyone. Decades of depression, jealousy, and anger take over his mind transforming him into a horrible monster.
THE INFLUENCE OF PEOPLE
The people gathering around the street are similar to people online commenting on a video or post. You will always see more negative than positive comments and you need to be prepared for it. Orrie was unprepared to listen to negative feedback and eventually exploded. It goes back to his lack of support system, mentorship, and fragile state of mind. At the start of his career, he was alone in a new town with no contact with his family or friends. When he went back to his town he probably lived alone in hiding.
THE RIGHT SUPPORT SYSTEM: A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
Having the right support system, and a healthy environment is very important for anyone to have. Having a mother figure, a father figure, a best friend, mentors, and critical supporters/friends in real life who stand by you while keeping it real. I’m talking about real people who are there for you to celebrate your wins and to help you when you lose. They help you see the mistakes you make and will support you when you’re ready to try again.
THE WRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM: SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
People should avoid social media influencers who are supposedly “experts” and “gurus” who most of the time are just pretenders in their field. You have several examples of people giving “courses” on how to become rich online when they are broke. Or those pretending to advocate for something that they in reality don’t believe in.
There is also so much content on the extreme side of things, that it makes you wonder whether these advocates believe in these extremes and if they are willing to live with the consequences of what they preach on their conscience. Being on the extremes often leads to violence, abuse, and murder, especially in an era where mental illness is on the rise. Sometimes just one word or sentence is needed to trigger a negative reaction.
It’s amazing how a story about monsters would have so much food for thought underneath the surface but it is extremely important to have these stories, especially for the generation of adults in their 20s and 30s who grew up shielded and are easily influenced. They are having a difficult time living in the real world and demand the world to adjust to their needs.
To go even further, they blame their mistakes and failures on others instead of taking responsibility for their actions. It is childish behavior. There are so many examples on Tik Tok and Instagram is not funny anymore. It’s hard to find a solution to this problem but I’m hopeful that on an individual basis, people eventually get live experiences to mature. People have to go on their own personal journey to wake up and grow up. It can’t be forced.
THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
Alterna Comics Winter 2023 pre-order crowdfunding campaign did not disappoint. Alterna is actively publishing comics and offers clients, through its crowdfunding campaigns, the opportunity to get new issues of comic books before they go public on their website.
The prices are very affordable for pre-orders and when it goes public the price remains almost the same. The interior pages of the book are made of newspaper material, very similar to readers’ digest just thinner, and with a more vulnerable cover.
Alterna has good customer service. You can always be sure that you will get a response when you contact them. The tracking number was timely provided. They delivered everything in one package, which is what was expected and what I prefer. Receiving multiple packages can be costly for international backers who may use third-party packaging management services.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wulf and Batsy’s stories are interesting to read. The art is quite distinctive with a particular cartoony style. As it is directed at adults you will find gore and partial nudity, but most importantly are the themes about life challenges that will probably catch your attention.
The adventures of Wulf and Batsy will continue in future issues. The Alterna Comics Winter 2023 pre-order crowdfunding campaign is closed but the physical and digital copies of Wulf and Batsy #7 are available at the Alterna online store.
Interested in Wulf and Batsy #1-#6? Check my notes on EYES ON WULF AND BATSY PART 1. For more interesting titles check COMIC BOOKS under the “EYES ON” series I documented my experience with crowdfunding entertainment and shared my notes on the products I received.
My notes are all set. Let me know what you think.
See you on the next page!
