We all have trade paperback (TPB) collections we'd like to see. Here's one of mine:

Gallery

Gallery

Hailing from 1987, I think that Wolfpack is one of those embarrassments of the time, but one that's probably remembered fondly by far more than are willing to admit it. Why? Because it was different, and in the 1980's, I think that fandom as a whole, though in love with superheroes, was rabid for new ideas. Although, to be fair, for Marvel, this wasn't a completely new idea.

In August of 1987, when Marvel Graphic Novel #31 was realeased, a then-hit mini-series, Fallen Angels, was just starting the latter half of its run. The problem is that what made Fallen Angels a hit wasn't that they were living like a street gang, it's that it was a team of misfit mutants that was headlined by some of the wildly popular New Mutants, and filled out by Devil Dinosaur and a few unknowns, including the keeper of two mutant lobsters.

This...is in no way...that. It was a group of misfits, and they were living like a street gang...but that's where the similarities end. I think the initial popularity of Wolfpack may have been buoyed by Fallen Angels, because fans were maybe expecting something similar. I mean, come on, it's superhero-laden Marvel Comics. With a cool name like "Wolfpack," wouldn't you expect them to break out with super powers at some point? Someone at Dark Horsemust have thought about that when they created Wolf Gang for Comics' Greatest World, and obviously someone at Milestone recognized the potential in a super gang when they created Blood Syndicate. So why wouldn't Marvel turn this cool name into a super team?

Well... it didn't happen.

Have no doubt, Larry Hama is a fantastic writer, and this isn't his first foray into non-powered and/or street level characters. He's written GI Joe, Elektra, Wolverine, Punisher, Warlord, and Conan to name a handful. Here though...I'm not sure why this one failed. Yeah, they're a street gang without any real powers, even if they do have abilities- martial arts, stealth, strength (not super strength, just strength), speed (not super speed, just speed) and smarts (not super smarts, just...ah, you get it by now).

However, Hama did try to inject some of the fantastic into it (and would it be a comic if he didn't?). The Wolfpack were just the latest in a long line of packs brought together to stand against The Nine...an ancient cult whose current plans are centered in...The Bronx. And only a group of misfit street kids can save us. ...Yeah, what went wrong?

It was perhaps a bit overly preachy. After all, we can't have readers deciding that street gang life would be cool. You could do drugs and wind up shot. Oooo, bad! Nevermind that street life was popular movie culture at the time, with breakdancing movies like Breakin' (1984), Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984), and Krush Groove (1985). Rap- seen as street music that made it big, at the time- was at a high point of its popularity, so when you factor in all of the urban stuff being focused on in popular culture at the time, Wolfpack was just something trying to ride a trend.

Still, I remember it as being a fun ride. A trade paperback of this series might be nothing more than pure nostalgia, but isn't that okay sometimes?

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#20: Wolfpack: The Complete Collection.

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Thanks again!