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The Wolf's Whistle
Enter the big bad wolf. But was he really so bad? This is the question at the heart of The Wolf's Whistle, the first installment in Nobrow's Behind the Tails series. The series explores the back-stories of fairy tales' most notorious villains. In this tale, we follow the wolf from The Three Little Pigs through his childhood experiences to find the ultimate source of his animosity for the porcine protagonists.
Albert is a comic-creating, scrawny little wolf who, along with his misfit friends, battles the Honeyroast brothers, the school's alpha male sports jocks: three bratty pigs. Sons of the local property magnate, they will stop at nothing to torment their weaker classmates. The story resumes many years later when Albert is a mailroom assistant and lives in a dingy one-bed studio in Brooklyn where the Honeyroast brothers are now his landlords. Tragedy strikes and Albert is forced to take the mantle against his oppressors and fulfill his destiny as the crime fighting "Lone Wolf."
Bjorn Rune Lie, originally from Norway, is an illustrator and author living in Bristol, United Kingdom.
Scott Donaldson a freelance writer who lives and works in Bristol, United Kingdom.
Albert is a comic-creating, scrawny little wolf who, along with his misfit friends, battles the Honeyroast brothers, the school's alpha male sports jocks: three bratty pigs. Sons of the local property magnate, they will stop at nothing to torment their weaker classmates. The story resumes many years later when Albert is a mailroom assistant and lives in a dingy one-bed studio in Brooklyn where the Honeyroast brothers are now his landlords. Tragedy strikes and Albert is forced to take the mantle against his oppressors and fulfill his destiny as the crime fighting "Lone Wolf."
Bjorn Rune Lie, originally from Norway, is an illustrator and author living in Bristol, United Kingdom.
Scott Donaldson a freelance writer who lives and works in Bristol, United Kingdom.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published November 20, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 25, 2016
This one is a tough one to review because it purports to be the first in a series, but it's not clear whether any more of the series will be made. That said, I do think a super-hero origin story is in many ways a full-arc.
So, if you want read a noirish retelling of the big bad wolf with protagonist wolf and three bullying pigs, in which the pigs are super rich and mean and the wolf becomes a super hero to avenge some shitty evil big business rich people behavior, check this one out.
What else can I say about it? It's short. I guess it's for kids? But maybe not really? The art is great but I don't know if I found the art and storyline together compelling. The color palette is, well, a lot of red and blue and yellow. Night time pages are more copper-brown. There is a faded/washed-out look to the pages, and there are no black lines (very different from the Adrian Tomine book I just read, in which even in more faded color schemes the outlining is clear.)
You sense that I am ambivalent. Yes. I do not know what to make of this little Nobrow fairy-tale super-hero cartoon-noir book. It's not fantastic, but it was fine to get out of the library and read. And I am curious to see other work by these three artists.
So, if you want read a noirish retelling of the big bad wolf with protagonist wolf and three bullying pigs, in which the pigs are super rich and mean and the wolf becomes a super hero to avenge some shitty evil big business rich people behavior, check this one out.
What else can I say about it? It's short. I guess it's for kids? But maybe not really? The art is great but I don't know if I found the art and storyline together compelling. The color palette is, well, a lot of red and blue and yellow. Night time pages are more copper-brown. There is a faded/washed-out look to the pages, and there are no black lines (very different from the Adrian Tomine book I just read, in which even in more faded color schemes the outlining is clear.)
You sense that I am ambivalent. Yes. I do not know what to make of this little Nobrow fairy-tale super-hero cartoon-noir book. It's not fantastic, but it was fine to get out of the library and read. And I am curious to see other work by these three artists.
January 6, 2025
The Wolf's Whistle is a cute little retelling of the story of the Big Bad Wolf from the Three Little Pigs fable, this time framing him as a sympathetic character. Albert, our protagonist, is an aspiring comic artist who is drawing pages for his own publication entitled The Wolf's Whistle. But his life is made a constant struggle due to three pigs who are sons of a local property magnate who seems to have some criminal connections. As Albert continues to pursue his career in comics, the impact of the Three Little Pigs on his life only continues to grow.
Told like a children's story with respect to the narrative voice and art style, The Wolf's Whistle is definitely a little more sophisticated than for really young readers. The format allows for the whimsical telling of the Big Bad Wolf's life, and Bjørn Rune Lie's illustrations really deliver on the quaint quality of the story. The biggest gripe here is that the story reads rather unfinished, with the closing pages feeling more like a setup for something even more interesting.
Told like a children's story with respect to the narrative voice and art style, The Wolf's Whistle is definitely a little more sophisticated than for really young readers. The format allows for the whimsical telling of the Big Bad Wolf's life, and Bjørn Rune Lie's illustrations really deliver on the quaint quality of the story. The biggest gripe here is that the story reads rather unfinished, with the closing pages feeling more like a setup for something even more interesting.
October 15, 2021
This should be a series. I was disappointed to find no other books.
March 9, 2022
Children's Book Style = No Phylactere
It's cute enough.
It's cute enough.
December 12, 2012
This illustrated book is kind of a hybrid...not really a graphic novel, but a very short book written for grade-school readers. At its core is a cute idea, that the classic fairy tales can be retold in ways that somehow redeem the villains. This was to be the start of such a series, but notes inside the book made me question whether the rest of the series will ever exist.
Worse, this book is not a complete story. Instead, it is a comic book-style origin story of a costumed hero wolf, seeking revenge for his friends who were foully harmed by gangster pigs. The end. No, really.
Even more revisionist than books like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, it is an interesting piece of a story, but doesn't leave the reader any path from the end of this book to the traditional fairy tale. Also, it could have used a little more copy editing. "past time" is not the same thing as "pastime," for example.
The result is a grim little story that depends on concepts ranging from 1940s comics and pulps to traditional fairy tales. If it had been a complete story, I would have given it another star. It reads like one of those flashback origin stories in a comic book, but with no continuation or resolution.
Not horrible, but more than a bit disappointing.
Worse, this book is not a complete story. Instead, it is a comic book-style origin story of a costumed hero wolf, seeking revenge for his friends who were foully harmed by gangster pigs. The end. No, really.
Even more revisionist than books like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, it is an interesting piece of a story, but doesn't leave the reader any path from the end of this book to the traditional fairy tale. Also, it could have used a little more copy editing. "past time" is not the same thing as "pastime," for example.
The result is a grim little story that depends on concepts ranging from 1940s comics and pulps to traditional fairy tales. If it had been a complete story, I would have given it another star. It reads like one of those flashback origin stories in a comic book, but with no continuation or resolution.
Not horrible, but more than a bit disappointing.
July 30, 2011
This little book blew me away. Amazing drawings, masterfull technique. It's also a beautifully written and touching story. The idea behind this book is to show some other stories and angles behind our fairy tales. Great idea! And, last but not least, beautifully published by Nobrow, wonderfull colourscheme, nice paper, hardcover binding, ... Love it.
November 12, 2012
Great art, cute story, and thought provoking re-make , or rather, the prequel to the 3Little Pigs...
January 7, 2015
fantastic graphic about a wolf who is a superhero and works against 3 bullying architecturally inclined pigs.
January 28, 2015
Both dark and laugh-out-loud funny. I loved the stylish illustrations for this twisted version of the Three Little Pigs, told from the perspective of the wolf.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews