Overview
Written by Warren Ellis. Illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp.
Mature Readers
Warren Ellis cuts loose to unleash his take on the genre fans demanded he assault with full color art from Juan Jose (Frank Miller’s Robocop, Nightmare on Elm Street) Ryp! Wolfskin fuses heroic fantasy in the mode of Conan, the Viking sagas, and samurai fiction into a single story of weird history and apocalyptic violence. A village torn in half by travelers from the East is about to join in final battle. The Wolfskin, the rogue soldier from the North caught in the middle, has chosen sides, and sits to eat the strange black mushrooms that are his berserker sacrament. There will be blood. More blood than any of them imagined. As well as the Regular, Wraparound, and Vicious covers by series artist Juan Jose Ryp, this issue is also available as a Painted Cover by Carlos Valenzuela.
Wolfskin awakes covered in blood (some his own, some that of his enemies) and still in sight of the fire he caused, meaning the enemies still living are close. The poison still hurts him and he realizes he's not going to make it. He reaches for a pouch and pulls out the blackcap mushrooms. He calls the name of his god, swallows the mushrooms and passes out.
Wolfskin awakes again, this time in a place covered in snow or ash. Above him is the giant head of his Wrod, his god. The head is of an old man with an eye missing and ruined teeth. Wrod says that it's been a long time since he's seen Wolfskin and asks if he's afraid. Wolfskin says yes and Wrod asks why he waited so long. Wolfskin says that he brings too many dead, he kills too many when he eats the mushrooms. The last time he brought women, children, old men, even his own people. He was afraid to eat the sacrament because he kills everything he sees when he is close to his god. With everyone else the affects only last half the day, they rage from morning to afternoon or afternoon to evening, but he will kill for twice as long. If he takes it in the morning, he will kill to night. If at night, he will kill to the next day, and nothing can stop him. Wrod asks him why he takes it now then and Wolfskin says that he only does it now because he is poisoned and when he takes the mushroom he heals faster, takes the pain away and gives him power. He doesn't want to kill though, he knows that if he starts he won't just kill the soldiers of the village, he'll keep going and kill all the families, people that don't deserve to die. Wrod says that he took the mushrooms so he wouldn't die, so now he will live and kill. Wolfskin looks down into a puddle of water and sees his reflection turn into a monster.
Back in the real world the two armies line up and attack each other. Across the battle the red-faced brother aims his gun at his older brother and cries. Just before he kills him though, something comes from the forest. It is the Wolfskin and he looks and fights like a man possessed. He kill the older brother and without slowing down dives into the midst of battle. He kills many men but the red-faced brother tells the others to back off and then lines his gun up so Wolfskin is in his sights. This stops Wolfskin, even as an animal he can still recognize the weapon. The Noi shoots but when he does Wolfskin vomits and the action moves his body out of the way. Before the Noi can react Wolfskin throws his hammer and takes his head off. Then he goes back to killing. He kills for an unknown amount of time and wakes up near a lake. He looks down into the water and sees himself covered in blood. Then he walks back to the village and sees everything he's killed. Nothing is left alive. Wolfskin looks up at the sky and curses his god.
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