HowOOOOOOOOOOO's it goin', Groove-ophiles! Halloween is Friday, so this week we're gonna focus on the spooky and the supernatural--well, more than usual--this week! Let's kick things off with one of Marvel's most successful supernatural characters--
Werewolf by Night! Marvel's version of "I Was a Teen-Age Werewolf" was basically created by Roy Thomas and his then-wife Jean, then handed over to writer Gerry Conway and artist Mike Ploog for more development. After a short, successful run in
Marvel Spotlight issues 2-4 (November 1971-March 1972),
Jack Russell (yep, that was his name) was given his own mag in June, 1972, with the writer-artist team of Conway and Ploog intact.
Ol' Groove has to say right here, that while
Tomb of Dracula,
Man-Thing, and
Ghost Rider get most of the press (they were the faves and the longest-running of the supernatural color mags),
Werewolf by Night is my personal fave of 'em all. I always dug werewolf tales, and Ploog's hip, Will Eisner-inspired art just blew me away here. Later, when Doug Moench and Don Perlin settled in as regular creators, it was a thrill ride, too. Heck,
WbN ran 43 issues (through December 1976)! Somebody was diggin' it with me! How cool was
WbN? Check out this titanic tale from ish #1 for a taste and see what you think!
Yeah, this was a beautiful comic in its early days. Loved Ploog, and also Gil Kane and Tom Sutton on the art a little further on.
ReplyDeleteWolfie wasn't the least of Marvel's early '70's monsters. That dishonor probably belongs either to the Golem or It! The Living Colossus. But, despite having the longest run of the stable, it wasn't a barnburner, either, especially once Mr. Ploog moved on. I never found Don Perlin's depiction to be compelling or even remotely wolfish. Ploog's issues were lovely, tho'. His few comics appearances since are always worth seeking out. I recently read the b/w tale by Paul Dini and Mike in SPIRIT 9 from a few years ago. Beautiful job. Will woulda loved it.
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